Randolph-Macon College hosted the annual Women in Legislative Studies conference inside Birdsong Hall on Oct. 10 and 11, bringing together scholars from all over the country. 

“This is the first time a small liberal arts college has hosted this event,” said Dr. Lauren Bell, the James L. Miller Professor of Political Science, who serves on the association’s executive committee and helped bring the event to Ashland. “It’s something I’m very proud of.” This conference has been hosted by other prominent universities in recent years, including Rice University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Brown University.

The conference is organized to support women scholars in the political science field, including reviewing and providing feedback for scholarly projects that are in development for publication. A few of the topics discussed include the exercising of collaboration as it pertains to shared spaces in Congress, strategic party messaging in Congress, and how to better understand the power of women state legislators. 

To begin the conference, Congressman Sam Coppersmith of Arizona and Congressman John Shimkus of Illinois offered insight to their experiences in the House of Representatives and answered questions from attendees. In her opening remarks, RMC’s Interim Provost Patrice DiQuinzio reflected on the importance of their Congress to Campus visit to Randolph-Macon the previous day: “It is an amazing opportunity for students to learn about the real world, but also to learn about something that is so important to the entire length of their lives.”

These special conferences also provide opportunities for graduate students seeking publication, which Dr. Bell highlighted as important for young women entering the political science field. “This is a space that is warm and welcoming to them, and that can help build confidence…it also helps them develop a network of people in the field who can then serve as mentors and collaborators to them.” 

The honor of hosting this conference and having it organized and coordinated by Dr. Bell is just one of the many ways Randolph-Macon College is working to support women in political science and legislative studies. Dr. Bell also expressed her delight in the college hiring another female Political Science scholar, Professor Anca Turcu, who presented at the conference. Dr. Bell mentioned the importance of supporting women in this field when she states, “representation is really important for young women, we want our students to see that women do this stuff, too.”