Intensive research and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of women who placed an early imprint on the Hoosier state led to “More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women,” a book by a duo wrapping up this year’s Distinguished Speaker series at Tri-State University on March 17.

Writer Rachel Lapp and her mother, Dr. Anita Stalter, academic dean and vice president for academic affairs at Goshen College in Goshen, Ind., will discuss their book at 7 p.m. in the University Center’s Fabiani Theatre. 

After reading through journals, letters, newspaper accounts and other narratives, the pair chose 10 early Hoosier women who have impacted history, and summed up their lives in 3,000 words or less. The authors’ goal was “to see where Indiana women in history have been role models … (and) bring voices to women who haven’t been included in that fourth-grade social studies class,” Lapp said.

Indiana women whose voices will ring out in the presentation include Madame C.J. Walker, whose parents once were slaves, who educated herself and became a millionaire after launching her hair product business. Another, Rhoda Johnson Coffin, the daughter of Quakers, advocated for the poor and mentally ill and helped establish the first women’s prison in the state.

The mother-daughter research and writing team brings a complex set of higher education credentials to bear on their work. Dr. Stalter is a lifelong educator, and has served Goshen College in her present capacity since 2001. A former professor of education and chair of the education department at the college, she holds a doctorate in curriculum, teaching, and educational policy from Michigan State University.

She has also published articles and made numerous professional presentations in the areas of teacher education, multicultural classrooms, teachers as researchers, faith development in children and adolescents, women in higher education leadership, and academic assessment. She has led Goshen College through successful re-accreditation processes and overseen the creation of new majors and special initiatives, including Goshen's Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning,

Lapp holds a master’s degree in multicultural communication from Chicago’s DePaul University, and teaches in the communication department at Goshen College. A former journalist, she led publications, media relations, multimedia and other campus communication efforts as director of public relations at the college for seven years. She served as faculty adviser to the student newspaper for a year and recently joined an academic colleague in two initiatives of the communication department's Peace and Justice journalism project, co-leading small groups of students on trips in Central American and Sub-Saharan Africa to report on issues of international significance. She has a particular interest in critical cultural scholarship in communication studies.