Women in Control of the Maine Legislature: What Difference Will It Make? will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Elizabeth Mitchell, speaker of the house; Dale McCormick, treasurer of the state of Maine; Jane Amero, minority leader of the senate; Rochelle Pingree, senate majority leader; and Carol Kontos, house majority leader, will participate in this discussion.

“In Maine, all the major positions of legislative leadership, save one, are in the hands of women,” said James Carignan, dean of the college. “It is appropriate to investigate the impact of women’s voices in the area of public policy as we cross the threshold to a new century,” Carignan said of the series which will also include lectures by three nationally recognized feminist journalists.

Helen Zia, Ms. magazine editor and social justice activist, will speak on Feb. 27. Essayist and poet Katha Pollit will speak on March 10. Journalist and author Peggy Orenstein will lecture on March 26. All talks will be given at 7:30 p.m. in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives.