COLLEGE NEWS
- Fall convocation for ag graduates on Dec. 19
- President Jischke to visit college in January
- New Ag Council officers chosen for 1999
- Forestry Club selling trees this weekend
- Apply for faculty research exchanges in January
- Faculty research exchanges during fall semester
- International fair for ag students on Jan. 14
- Thirty-seven distance-ed courses planned for spring
- Nine projects receive funds for enhancing distance ed
- World Bank funding workshop on Jan. 14
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- For Web browsing, serif or sans serif type?
INFOGRAZING
- Statewide meeting to address low market prices
- Minority students make up 3 percent of ag enrollment
EXTERNAL VOICES
- New ag magazine addresses global information need
MARGINALIA
- ‘Tis the season for college food contests
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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FALL CONVOCATION FOR AG GRADUATES ON DEC. 19
The College of Agriculture convocation for about 200 fall graduates will be held on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 9:30 a.m. in C.Y. Stephens Auditorium. A reception in the lobby begins at 8:45 a.m. Arianne Oudekerk, an agricultural business senior from Duncombe, will give the address.
PRESIDENT JISCHKE TO VISIT COLLEGE IN JANUARY
On Jan. 28, President Jischke will visit the College of Agriculture. He will hold an open forum for agriculture faculty and staff from 11 a.m. to noon. The location will be announced at a later date.
NEW AG COUNCIL OFFICERS CHOSEN FOR 1999
Recently elected Student Ag Council officers for 1999 are: Kaleb Varrelmann, president (junior, dairy science); Angie Pithan, vice president (junior, public service and administration in agriculture); Carmen Stoner, secretary (junior, agricultural business); and Noah Wendt, treasurer (junior, agricultural business). The council is made up of 44 students from 27 clubs. Faculty advisers are Lee Burras, agronomy, and Howard Tyler, animal science.
FORESTRY CLUB SELLING TREES THIS WEEKEND
The Forestry Club will sell Christmas trees at Reiman Gardens and at the club’s tree plantation on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Select a Scotch pine, white pine or balsam fir at Reiman Gardens, or cut your own Scotch or white pine at the plantation near the Applied Science Complex on Scholl Road. For more information: 4-1167 or 4-4912.
APPLY FOR FACULTY RESEARCH EXCHANGES IN JANUARY
Next semester the Experiment Station will support Faculty Research Exchange Visits to strengthen research and teaching linkages between ISU faculty and their counterparts at 1890 land-grant universities and 1994 tribal colleges. Proposals will be accepted in January to either travel to one of the institutions or to host one of their faculty members. Announcements and application forms will be sent to faculty in early January. Past visits have resulted in collaborative grants, seminars and joint research. For more information: Mary de Baca, 4-8574 or mmdb@iastate.edu.
FACULTY RESEARCH EXCHANGES DURING FALL SEMESTER
Several faculty participated in this fall’s Experiment Station Faculty Research Exchange Visits. Paul Scott, agronomy, visited Tuskegee University to collaborate with a faculty member there on improving nutritional quality of crops. Other exchanges approved were: Joe Morris of animal ecology, with Kentucky State University; Michael Bell and Peter Korsching, sociology, with Tennessee State University; Parag Chitnis, biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, with Tuskegee; and Linda Wild, zoology and genetics, with Lincoln University.
INTERNATIONAL FAIR FOR AG STUDENTS ON JAN. 14
International Agriculture Programs is organizing an International Opportunities Fair for students on Jan. 14, 3 to 5 p.m., on the ground floor of Curtiss Hall. Students can learn about upcoming plans for exchanges, travel courses and internships. Faculty members who lead these programs will be there to answer questions. Refreshments will be served. For more information: 4-3972 or 4-8447.
THIRTY-SEVEN DISTANCE ED COURSES PLANNED FOR SPRING
For spring semester, the college will offer 37 distance-education courses, including those in weed science, livestock nutrition, sustainable agriculture, applied agricultural marketing, agricultural economics and vegetable production. This fall the college offered 19 distance education courses. The new Web-based master of science in agronomy was offered on an experimental basis, with 12 students enrolled among three courses. For more information, check the website or contact Richard Carter, 4-6950 or ricarter@iastate.edu.
NINE PROJECTS RECEIVE FUNDS FOR ENHANCING DISTANCE ED
Nine projects will receive funds from the Brenton Center to develop or improve materials used in spring semester distance-education courses. Faculty who teach courses in soils, vegetable crops, tropical agroforestry, insects, sociology, turfgrass diseases and insects, ag education and other topics will receive help on graphics, Web layout and course design. The funds are from an Extended and Continuing Education grant. For more information: Gaylan Scofield, 4-0045 or ggs@iastate.edu.
WORLD BANK FUNDING WORKSHOP ON JAN. 14
On Jan. 14, a Successful Grantsmanship workshop, "Understanding World Bank Funding Opportunities: Learning How to Develop Projects and Partnerships with the World Bank," will be held in the Memorial Union, 7 to 9 p.m. Sign up by contacting Carla Persaud, 4-9376 or cpersaud@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Dec. 18: Promotion and tenure materials due, 138 Curtiss.
Dec. 19: College convocation for graduating seniors, 9:30 a.m., Stephens Auditorium.
Jan. 4: Foreign travel grant applications due, 138 Curtiss.
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
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FOR WEB BROWSING, SERIF OR SANS SERIF TYPE?
Serif fonts are more readable on paper, but type experts lean toward sans serif fonts for computer screen display. (Serifs are those "feet" at the ends of letters in some fonts, like Times and Palatino. Sans serif are fonts without feet, like Geneva or Helvetica.) The Editorial Eye newsletter says the reason for the difference is that computer screens generally have resolutions of 72 to 120 dots per inch, whereas even the cheapest laser printers manage 300 dots per inch. Dots on the screen are so big that fine details like serifs may be exaggerated or distorted. The newsletter suggests trying sans serif fonts for Web browsing. In Netscape, fonts can be changed in Preferences, under the Edit menu. Go to the Appearance section, select Fonts and experiment with the "Variable Width Font." Size also can be adjusted, which may aid legibility.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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STATEWIDE MEETING TO ADDRESS LOW MARKET PRICES
Iowa farmers face greater challenges this year due to low market prices for their products. On Dec. 17, an ISU seminar, "Farm Management in Volatile Times," will provide information to help them. The seminar will be broadcast to 21 sites on the Iowa Communications Network. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. An export update, a price outlook, storage and marketing loan strategies and a briefing on new crop insurance alternatives for 1999 will be covered. Participants also will be divided into teams to work on a case study of a cash grain farm. For more information: Robert Wisner, economics, 4-6310 or rwwisner@iastate.edu.
MINORITY STUDENTS MAKE UP 3 PERCENT OF AG ENROLLMENT
Ninety-five minority students are enrolled in the College of Agriculture this fall. That number is 3 percent of total college enrollment. Thirty-three of the students are Hispanic American; 32 African American; 21 Asian American; and 9 Native American. Fifty-five are female. Seventy-six are undergraduates. The departments with the most minority students are animal science (24), microbiology (18) and animal ecology (11).
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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NEW AG MAGAZINE ADDRESSES GLOBAL INFORMATION NEED
"Agriculture is the fundamental driver of every nation's economy. As markets expand worldwide, the industry of agriculture is more in need of information on the financial, production and technology issues that can shape business," said Mary Thompson, editor of Global Agribusiness, a new magazine published by Farm Journal Corp. The magazine, which will be sent to 11,500 agricultural executives around the world, will publish translated summaries in Spanish, Russian, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese. It will debut Dec. 15.
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M A R G I N A L I A
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TIS THE SEASON FOR COLLEGE FOOD CONTESTS
On Thursday, as part of Senior Week activities, the Senior Class Council sponsored a chili cook-off for ag student clubs. The winner: National Agri-Marketing Association. Earlier in the semester, Cassie Biggerstaff won first prize in the plant pathology department's annual Great Apple Bake-Off. For her taffy apple pizza, she was awarded a Shade Tree Short Course T-shirt. In the biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology department's Chocolate Contest, winners were Deanne Brille's chocolate angel food cake (bake division) and Clark Coffman's flower pot dessert (no-bake division). Winners split the contest entry fees.