Caroline Iverson Ackerman (March 6, 1918 – September 23, 2012) was an American aviator, journalist, reporter and educator. She was the aviation editor of

Life magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was the first director of public relations for women for

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...

Biography

Caroline Emilie Iverson was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. She was the daughter of Jacob Engval Iverson and Ella Dorothea (Schmidt) Iverson. She earned her B.A. at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in journalism and education in 1939. A licensed pilot, she received her certification in 1940. She taught courses in aviation at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

Milwaukee School of Engineering The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is a private university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campus is in the East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee. The school's enrollment of 2,820 includes 224 graduate students. As of fall 2018, ...

until 1942 when she joined ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine as an aviation researcher, reporter and advocate for flying. She became aviation editor of ''Life'', a position she held for the duration of

. In 1947, she joined

as the first director of public relations for women. Between 1947 and 1950, she worked under the pseudonym ''Carol Lane, Women's Travel Director'', an advertising character she co-developed, based on her personal experience and for which Shell Oil was later granted a registered trademark. The role was later assumed by multiple women on behalf of Shell Oil Company. As Shell Oil Women's Travel Director, she toured the country speaking as a travel expert on a lecture circuit of women's groups, church groups and advertising clubs, as well as appearing on television and radio. Her areas of expertise included budgeting for weekend get-aways and entertain children on longer car trips. She also wrote a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist penning ''Tips on Touring''. In 1997, Ackerman became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic infor ...

(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media. Ackerman received her M.S. from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1969. In 1970, she became a professor of journalism at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where she taught until 1978. She had been involved with the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

throughout her life. After her retirement from Northeastern, she assisted with communications development, wrote for and eventually became editor of the ''New England Lutheran'' until 1992. She also kept active as a freelance writer throughout the rest of her life. The papers of Caroline Iverson Ackerman are maintained at the

Schlesinger Library The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director, ...

of the

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is a part of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

.Papers of Caroline Iverson Ackerman: A Finding Aid.
http://radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University]

Personal life

In 1949, she married Leslie Ackerman, her husband until his death in 2001. They raised three children together. She died in March 2012.

Notable works

* ''Mass Media Influences on Mobile Suburban Adolescents'' (Thesis .S.-Boston University, 1969)

References

Other sources

*Popp, Richard K. (2008) ''Magazines, Marketing, and the Construction of Travel in the Postwar United States'' (Temple University Graduate School)

External links

Papers of Caroline Iverson Ackerman, 1927-2004 (inclusive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerman, Caroline Iverson 1918 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century Lutherans American Lutherans American people of Norwegian descent American women aviators Aviation journalists Boston University alumni Educators from Massachusetts University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication alumni Writers from Milwaukee American aviation writers