Helen LeBaron Hilton

"I’ve known and admired Bev for many years. Her dedication to the important issues of our time are an inspiration to all of us."
—Alice McKee, 1994

Helen LeBaron Hilton, the former dean emeritus of the Home Economics College at Iowa State University, urged her graduates to follow her example by involving themselves in public policy-making and programs that would benefit families. Born in Morrisville, Vermont in 1910, Hilton was a member of the National Committee for the 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth and the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. During her 23-year tenure as ISU Dean, Hilton directed a decade-long Home Economics Education Project at Baroda University in India and, during this time, was chosen to be the first president of the Association of Home Economics Administrators. Hilton also lent her leadership skills to state and local organizations, serving on the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women and the Iowa Children's and Family Services Board, besides being the first woman elected to the Ames City Council. In 1980, the south wing of the Home Economics Building at ISU was named for Hilton. Hilton was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1983.

UPDATE: Hilton died in August of 1993. Prior to her death, she was honored with the first Ames League of Women Voters Carrie Chapman Catt Award, and the College of Family & Consumer Sciences honored her as its first honorary alumna.