Women of IU Conference

The Women of IU Conference offers members of the Indiana University community an opportunity to both learn and network. The conference brings together individuals across all nine IU campuses to come together for a common purpose: to celebrate women. The conference’s format has changed over time and has included keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and panel discussions from IU women leaders. Speakers have included Martha Sanders Hoover, former prosecutor and owner of Patachou, Inc., Laysha Ward, a Black executive at Target and IU Alumna, and Marie E. Hamilton Abegunde, the founding director of The Graduate Mentoring Center at Indiana University. Conference sessions have included topics on networking, upward mobility, #metoo, and the unique experiences of women of color in the academy.

This year’s conference will be held at the Madam Walker Legacy Center. As the last surviving iconic building on Indiana Avenue in Indianapolis, this building once was the headquarters and manufacturing plant of Madam CJ Walker Hair Care and Beauty Products and has much of its original 1927 architecture. The building, however, is more than it’s architecture, as its stage has housed numerous greats, like Nat King Cole and Patti LaBelle. The building also symbolizes the accomplishments of Black women. Please read more about the history of the Center here.