The University of Iowa Libraries

Kim Landhuis was born on April 12, 1943 in Saigon, Vietnam. She came to the United States from Vietnam to continue her education at McPherson College in Kansas and graduated from Buena Vista College, Iowa in 1983, earning a bachelor's degree in education. In 1972 she married a physician, Jesse Landhuis and the couple raised two sons, David and Timothy. Kim Landhuis was hired by the Fort Dodge Community schools and taught ESL from 1983 to 1985 and worked as a substitute teacher from 1985 to 1990. She was elected twice to serve on the Fort Dodge school board from 1990 to 1993 and was elected to serve on the Iowa state school board from 1992 to 1993. In 1994 she ran as a Republican candidate for the Iowa Senate District 7 seat and lost to Rod Halvorson. In 2004 Landhuis received a Juris Doctor from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. She volunteered her legal knowledge at Elder Law of Michigan and the Education Department of the Michigan Supreme Court Hall of Justice.

The Kim Landhuis papers date from 1943 to 2004 and measure 2.5 linear inches. The papers are arranged in three series: Biographical information, Board of Education, and Iowa State Senate campaign.

The Biographical Information series (1946-2004) includes two autobiographical essays, and photographs of Landhuis in Vietnam as a child with her father and as a student dressed in traditional long dress (au dai). Family photographs include Kim and Jesse Landhuis as homecoming royalty at McPherson College, their engagement, and wedding, baby pictures of their two sons, graduation ceremonies, family activities and vacations. Newspaper clippings, recipes, and photographs of Landhuis's award winning cooking complete this series.

The Board of Education series (1991-1993) consists of an award presented to Landhuis, two published essays written during her tenure on the Board of Education and "Project Newborn," a program developed to teach new parents about how to care for their newborn babies.

Landhuis's senatorial campaign was run on a "Family First" platform. Her stand on the issues of education, family values, and morality can be seen in the campaign materials consisting of a campaign plan, photographs, advertisements, and newspaper clippings located in the Iowa State Senate Campaign series (1993-1994).

Alternate Extent Statement: One audiocassette [AC342]; Photographs in Box 1.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no.328 ) were donated by Kim Landhuis in 1995.

Preferred Citation: Kim Landhuis papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Landhuis, Kim, 1943-

Dates:
20th century
2000-2009

Topics:
Vietnamese American women
Political campaigns
Family life
Women in education
Women in politics
Child care

Occupations:
Teachers
School board members
Political candidates

Geographic Names:
Fort Dodge (Iowa)
McPherson (Kan.)
Saigon (Vietnam)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Personal papers
Photographs

Browse:
Teachers and Teaching
Women, Politics and the Law