COLLEGE NEWS - FFA breakfast Feb. 25 includes proclamation signing - Making the connection a fact of life for FFA president - Faculty to vote on animal science graduate program - Teaching bioethics: Two programs on Feb. 22 - Ag Comm: Using small groups in teaching - First hundred students get in free to national forum - Indian ag researchers to visit ISU labs - ISU proposes sustainability workshop for World Bank - An opportunity to help Georgian researchers - ISU-Tuskegee student exchange this spring - Padgitt named interim director, Extension to Communities - ISU Turf Club mows down the competition - Patty Judge to speak at Farm Op banquet Feb. 28 - Wanted: Students for Thailand internships - Rural job quality the focus of Feb. 27-28 meeting - Students planning events for National Ag Day in March - World Bank official to present grant workshop in April - Ideas for Farm Progress Show? - Deadlines & Reminders COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK - College web servers exceed 5 million hits in 1998 INFOGRAZING - Why new ag freshmen chose to come to ISU EXTERNAL VOICES - One farm writer’s view of agriculture MARGINALIA - Fine art (sour cream not included) ................................................... C O L L E G E N E W S ................................................... FFA BREAKFAST FEB. 25 INCLUDES PROCLAMATION SIGNING Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco and ISU President Martin Jischke will sign a proclamation declaring National FFA Week at an FFA breakfast at 7 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 25, Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Agriculture faculty and staff are invited to participate and show support for FFA. If you plan to attend, RSVP today (Friday, Feb. 19) to Laurie Denniston, ISU Collegiate FFA Chapter, ldennist@iastate.edu. MAKING THE CONNECTION A FACT OF LIFE FOR FFA PRESIDENT "Making the Connection" is the theme for National Future Farmers of America Week, Feb. 20-26. The theme fits the travel schedule of ISU’s Lisa Ahrens, who will log an estimated 100,000 miles around the world this year as president of the National FFA. Ahrens, an agronomy and agricultural business major, was elected president last fall. ISU students also hold state FFA offices: Kathy Striegel, reporter (ag education); Nick McKenna, secretary (ag biochemistry); and Matthew Welk, southeast vice president (agriculture). FACULTY TO VOTE ON ANIMAL SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM College of Agriculture faculty will be asked to vote on changes to graduate majors in the Department of Animal Science. The department restructured its graduate programs from seven to five majors. The college’s curriculum committee has approved the proposed revisions. The college faculty now must approve the changes. By Monday, Feb. 22, each departmental representative on the curriculum committee will have a copy of the executive summary and entire proposal. The executive summary also will be attached to an e-mail to be sent next week from Dean Hoiberg's office. In this e-mail message, each faculty member will be asked to vote yes or no by March 8. If approved by majority vote, it will be reviewed at the university level and the Board of Regents. For a copy of the entire proposal: Jerry Young, 4-5889 or jwyoung@iastate.edu. If you have questions, contact Young or Joe Colletti, 4-4912 or colletti@iastate.edu. TEACHING BIOETHICS: TWO PROGRAMS ON FEB. 22 Karen Muskavich of Indiana University will give two presentations on bioethics on Monday, Feb. 22. Muskavich has developed methods for teaching ethics and interweaving ethical issues into technical subject matter. "Using and Developing Case Studies for Teaching Bioethics" will be held in 118 Horticulture at 4:10 p.m. The "Teaching Bioethics With Case Studies" workshop will be held in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union, 7:30 to 10 p.m. Preregistration is requested for the free workshop. Contact Gary Comstock, comstock@iastate.edu. Comstock and Richard Gladon, horticulture, organized the programs. AG COMM: USING SMALL GROUPS IN TEACHING "Using Groups in Teaching," an Ag Comm workshop, will be held Tuesday, Feb. 23, in 8 Curtiss, noon to 1:30 p.m. Amy Slagill and Maggie LaWare from the English department will present ideas on using small groups in teaching and learning situations. All Ag Comm programs include a brief overview of information and skills, sharing of experiences from faculty and a general discussion. Lunch will be available. Ag Comm works to enhance communication skills across the agriculture curriculum. RSVP to Norma Hensley, 4-6614 or nhensley@iastate.edu. FIRST HUNDRED STUDENTS GET IN FREE TO NATIONAL FORUM The first 100 ISU students who register to attend the National Forum on Agriculture will get in free. "Climate Change and the Implications for Agriculture and Energy" is the theme for the 1999 forum, March 1-2, in the Scheman Building. Students who register by Feb. 26 will not have to pay the $50 registration fee. At the forum, science and policy impacts of climate change on land use and energy use will be outlined by industry, government and university speakers. To register: 4-5961, or check online. INDIAN AG RESEARCHERS TO VISIT ISU LABS A delegation from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will visit the college Feb. 28 to March 5. The visit is part of an agreement with ICAR to develop collaborative research and training projects. The effort is funded by the World Bank. The ICAR scientists will visit the Center for Crops Utilization Research, the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and other campus labs. For more information: Ramesh Kanwar, 4-4913 or rskanwar@iastate.edu. ISU PROPOSES SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP FOR WORLD BANK The World Bank has asked the College of Agriculture to submit a proposal on hosting a workshop on sustainable agricultural production systems. The workshop would help World Bank managers make decisions on agricultural strategies for developing countries. The World Bank has requested a proposal from ISU that can be circulated among its managers within a month. For more information: Ricardo Salvador, 4-9595 or rjsalvad@iastate.edu, or Ramesh Kanwar, 4-4913 or rskanwar@iastate.edu. AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP GEORGIAN RESEARCHERS The World Bank is developing a project to support reforms in agricultural research, extension and training in Georgia, the former Soviet state. One of the objectives is to develop competitive grants for on-farm technology adoption and dissemination. The project is looking for a faculty member willing to work for about a month with Georgian scientists on developing competitive grant proposals. This opportunity also may interest faculty who have just retired or are planning to retire in the near future. For more information: Ramesh Kanwar, 4-4913 or rskanwar@iastate.edu. ISU-TUSKEGEE STUDENT EXCHANGE THIS SPRING The college, in conjunction with the 1998-99 All-University Celebration in honor of George Washington Carver, is establishing new ties with Tuskegee University. The first of a series of student exchanges will take place this spring. Economics professor Marvin Hayenga and economics staff member Danette Kenne will take four students to Tuskegee March 6-10. The four students are Byron Sleugh, agronomy; Eva Timesa Rigby-Williams, agricultural and biosystems engineering; Othman Abdullah, animal science; and Sarah Denburger, agricultural education. Tuskegee students will come to ISU April 14-18. PADGITT NAMED INTERIM DIRECTOR, EXTENSION TO COMMUNITIES Steve Padgitt, professor of sociology and extension sociologist, has been named interim director of ISU's Extension to Communities. Padgitt, a faculty member since 1982, coordinates the undergraduate program in Public Service and Administration in Agriculture. He succeeds Paul Coates, who has taken a faculty position in the political science department. ISU TURF CLUB MOWS DOWN THE COMPETITION ISU’s Turf Club took first place out of 35 teams at the annual Collegiate Turf Bowl, part of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America national meeting in Orlando Feb. 8-14. ISU’s four-member team answered written questions, solved math problems and identified soil, seed and weed samples. The club’s advisor is Nick Christians. PATTY JUDGE TO SPEAK AT FARM OP BANQUET FEB. 28 Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge will speak at the Farm Op Club Banquet on Feb. 28 at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center. The event begins at 11 a.m., meal at noon. Faculty and staff are invited. Tickets are $12 in 206 Curtiss. For more information: Andy Demuth, 292-8864 or ademuth@iastate.edu. WANTED: STUDENTS FOR THAILAND INTERNSHIPS The Ag Study Abroad Office has an opportunity for agriculture students interested in a summer internship in Thailand. As part of an exchange between ISU and Kasetsart University, the students will travel to Bangkok for two months (approximately May 21 to July 20), where they will learn about farming techniques, culture and rural development. Students would pay travel expenses. Room and board will be covered by the program. For more information: Eduarda Becerra, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu. RURAL JOB QUALITY THE FOCUS OF FEB. 26-27 MEETING Rural Iowans will learn more about improving the quality of jobs in their communities at an ISU conference Feb. 26-27. The conference is part of ISU’s Quality Jobs for Quality Communities program, which provides information and support to help rural communities focus on developing high-quality jobs. Participants will include teams of citizens from four communities selected last fall for a pilot project. The project will help design economic development strategies that match each community's job quality values. For more information: Terry Besser, 4-6508 or tbesser@iastate.edu. STUDENTS PLANNING EVENTS FOR NATIONAL AG DAY IN MARCH The Ag Student Council is planning events for National Agriculture Day in March. The Ag Man and Woman of the Year will be chosen. Students can pick up applications in 23 Curtiss. Completed applications are due March 4. Winners will be announced on March 24, following a continental breakfast on central campus. Other events on March 24: a noon barbecue; an evening panel discussion on agricultural issues, followed by a reception for the Ag Man and Woman of the Year that will include samples of international foods. More details will follow. For more information: Amy Swartzendruber, 268-3272. (National Agriculture Day is March 20.) WORLD BANK OFFICIAL TO PRESENT GRANT WORKSHOP IN APRIL Alex McCalla, director of the World Bank’s rural development department, will be the presenter at "Understanding World Bank Funding Opportunities: Learning How to Develop Projects and Partnerships with the World Bank," a Successful Grantsmanship workshop to be held April 29 in the Memorial Union, 1 to 3:30 p.m. For more information: Deanne Brill, 4-2517 or dbrill@iastate.edu. IDEAS FOR FARM PROGRESS SHOW? If you have exhibit ideas for ISU’s tent at the Farm Progress Show in September, contact Gerald Miller, 4-4333 or soil@iastate.edu. DEADLINES & REMINDERS Feb. 19-20: Cellular Differentiation: 5th Annual Spring Symposium, Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 4-6116. Feb. 22: Deadline, agriculture international research and education grants for graduate students and post-docs, 4-8493. Feb. 22: Using and Developing Case Studies for Teaching Bioethics, 4:10 p.m., 118 Horticulture, and Teaching Bioethics With Case Studies workshop, 7:30 p.m., Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Feb. 23: Using Groups in Teaching, Ag Comm session, 8 Curtiss, noon, 4-6614. Feb. 25: FFA Breakfast, Campanile Room, Memorial Union, 7 a.m. Feb. 27: Ag Business Club Banquet, Scheman Building, 233-5948. March 1-2: National Forum for Agriculture, Scheman Building, 4-6257. March 13-16: Project LEA/RN workshop for ag faculty, Scheman Building, 4-1167. ....................................................................... C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K ....................................................................... COLLEGE WEB SERVERS EXCEED 5 MILLION HITS IN 1998 The college’s web servers last year responded to more than 5 million requests for information, or hits. An average of 13,577 hits was recorded daily. About 32 percent of the hits came from educational institutions other than ISU. Hits from ISU addresses came to 22 percent. The top three countries accessing the college web site, with about 4 percent of the hits, were Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. ................................................... I N F O G R A Z I N G ................................................... WHY NEW AG FRESHMEN CHOSE TO COME TO ISU What are the reasons that agriculture freshmen gave for choosing to attend ISU? The results are from ISU’s entering freshman survey conducted last fall. Good academic reputation: 74% Graduates get good jobs: 64% Good social reputation: 29% Graduates go to top grad schools: 37% Offers special programs: 28% Offered financial assistance: 20% Size of college: 16% Low tuition: 16% Rankings in national magazines: 7% Wanted to live near home: 5% Info in a multicollege guidebook: 2% ................................................... E X T E R N A L V O I C E S ................................................... ONE FARM WRITER’S VIEW OF AGRICULTURE "Agriculture is too vital to be viewed entirely from the barnyard, too important to be entrusted entirely to the bureaucrats." -- Don Kendall, farm writer for the Associated Press for 23 years before his retirement in 1991. His byline was a fixture in newspapers across America, especially in the Farm Belt. Kendall died this week in Maryland. He was 70. ................................................... M A R G I N A L I A ................................................... FINE ART (SOUR CREAM NOT INCLUDED) The winner of this year's $200 Golden Potato award in the Baked, Mashed and Fried art exhibit (an annual potato art show in Moses Lake, Wash.) is "Larry's Half-Baked Theory of Evolution" by Larry and Joyce Oates. The mixed-media diorama depicts primordial potatoes slithering out of the sea and onto land. But after that huge evolutionary leap, the spud ends up on a floral-pattern couch, blankly staring at a television set. The exhibit, now in its sixth year, is backed by the Washington State Potato Commission during February, National Potato Month. (Associated Press, Feb. 15)
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