COLLEGE NEWS
- Sign up now to staff 1999 State Fair exhibit Aug. 12-22
- Update on China study-abroad program
- Seventy-seven students traveling abroad this summer
- Ag 101 helps reporters learn more about ag issues
- Dean Topel receives USDA Honor Award
- ABE team places first in national tractor design report
- Mark your calendars: Fall convocations for college, ISU
- College welcomes alumni during ISU Alumni Days
- Two recent visits from India delegations
- Tee it up Sunday for Lauren Christian Endowment
- Can you host an international student?
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Have your e-mail follow you this summer
INFOGRAZING
- White House identifies R&D priorities for FY2001
INTERNAL VOICES
- ‘Trips like these are good for the soul’
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Educated optimism pays
MARGINALIA
- She’s pleased that women are ‘taking over’ the college
- He’s proud to have honed his taste buds at ISU
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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SIGN UP NOW TO STAFF 1999 STATE FAIR EXHIBIT, AUG.12 - 22
Faculty and staff are asked for their help in staffing the College of Agriculture’s exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 12-22. With the approach of the new millennium, the exhibit will take a look back and a look ahead at agriculture in Iowa and at Iowa State. The exhibit will include facts and photos of agriculture in the past, what it is today and where it may be in the future. There also will be a children’s activity and a daily prize drawing. Six people are needed each day of the fair. Two people will work each four-hour shift starting at 9 a.m. Volunteers will be given free admission and parking tickets for each day they work. Sign-up sheets have been distributed to DEOs and communications advisers and should be returned or faxed no later than July 21 to 304 Curtiss Hall. The fax is 4-8662. Contact Marty Behrens, 4-5616, or behrens@iastate.edu, to reserve a spot on the list.
UPDATE ON CHINA STUDY-ABROAD PROGRAM
A group of ISU students departed for China on May 25 as part of the study-abroad program that was postponed earlier in the month. The program had been put on hold May 10 due to a travel warning issued by the State Department following the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by NATO-coalition forces. Twenty-three students had originally planned to go. Eleven decided to make the trip, which will last four weeks instead of the original six. The students will return on June 22. Seven of the 11 students are from the College of Agriculture. The group has been accompanied by an ISU faculty member from the foreign language department. This weekend Eric Hoiberg, associate dean, and David Acker, director of International Agriculture Programs, leave for China to be with the group until they return.
SEVENTY-SEVEN STUDENTS TRAVELING ABROAD THIS SUMMER
This summer 77 College of Agriculture students are participating in study-abroad programs. The countries they are traveling to include Argentina, Australia, Central Europe, China, Costa Rica, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and Thailand. (See "Internal Voices" below for one student’s study-abroad experience.)
AG 101 HELPS REPORTERS LEARN MORE ABOUT AG ISSUES
"Ag 101 for Journalists," a workshop for newspaper reporters, was held Thursday at the Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm near Lewis. The workshop, organized by the Iowa Newspaper Association, was attended by 13 reporters and aimed at those without extensive ag training or backgrounds. The reporters learned about crop and livestock production and marketing and participated in hands-on activities on the farm. They also received a packet of resources for reporting on agriculture. Twenty to 25 reporters are expected to attend a second "Ag 101" session on July 8 at Kirkwood Community College. Part of the funding for the workshops was provided by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Rich Pirog of the Leopold Center is a panelist at the workshops, and ISU Extension field specialists Tim Eggers and Mark Carlton also are helping with the programs.
DEAN TOPEL RECEIVES USDA HONOR AWARD
On Wednesday, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman honored David Topel, dean of the College of Agriculture, for his national and international work as a teacher, researcher, department head, dean and agricultural leader. Glickman presented Topel with the USDA's Honor Award for Personal and Professional Excellence. The ceremony was held in the USDA complex in Washington, DC. Topel has been dean since July 1988. He plans to step down from the position later this year, but will remain on the faculty of the animal science department.
ABE TEAM PLACES FIRST IN NATIONAL TRACTOR DESIGN REPORT
A team of agricultural and biosystems engineering students competed in the second annual Quarter-Scale Tractor National Student Design Competition in Moline, Ill., in late May. They received first place for the written design report of their tractor. They also received awards for craftsmanship and ease of service and manufacturing. Twenty-nine university teams competed in the event, which was sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and several ag equipment manufacturers.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: FALL CONVOCATIONS FOR COLLEGE, ISU
The College of Agriculture fall-semester convocation will be held Monday, Aug. 23, in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. The program will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a reception in the South Ballroom at 5 p.m. The ISU Fall Convocation will be held Thursday, Aug. 26, at 3:15 p.m. in the Sun Room.
COLLEGE WELCOMES ALUMNI FOR ISU ALUMNI DAYS
About 70 agriculture alumni, along with their spouses or guests, attended ISU’s Alumni Days June 3-5. Most were from the classes of 1949, 1944, 1939, 1929 and 1924. Greeting the alumni at a College of Agriculture reception at Reiman Gardens were Dean Topel, Associate Dean Eric Hoiberg, Mike Telford of Alumni Relations and department executive officers. A total of 213 ISU alumni attended the weekend events. More than 600 people attended the dedication of the Children’s Garden at Reiman Gardens. (See "Marginalia" for a couple quotes from ISU ag alumni.)
TWO RECENT VISITS FROM INDIA DELEGATIONS
In recent weeks the college has hosted two delegations from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The visits are part of an agreement between ICAR and ISU to develop collaborative research and training exchanges. The effort is funded by the World Bank. The first delegation, which visited May 24-28, involved three officials from India and included a seminar by R.P. Kachru, assistant director general - process engineering, on crop utilization and post-harvest technology. The second delegation, which visited May 31-June 4, involved four India officials, and included a seminar on sustainability and farming systems by G.B. Singh, deputy director general - natural resources.
TEE IT UP SUNDAY FOR LAUREN CHRISTIAN ENDOWMENT
So far, 10 foursomes have signed up to play in a Department of Animal Science golf outing to benefit the Lauren L. Christian Endowment. The event will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, June 13, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Entry fee is $50. Those who do not wish to golf may attend the mixer and dinner for $20. For more information: Mike Telford, 4-3303 or mtelford@iastate.edu.
CAN YOU HOST AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT?
International Agriculture Programs is hosting several foreign students who are seeking summer and fall internships. Faculty and staff who are interested in placing students in their areas should contact the office, which is currently trying to place two students from the Slovak Agricultural University for three months; a Greek student from the American Farm School for six months; and a Guatemalan student from EARTH in Costa Rica for six months. Contact Eduarda Becerra, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
June 13: Animal Science Scramble, golf outing for Lauren Christian Endowment, 4-3303.
June 17: "Expo ’99: Creating a Thriving Iowa Agriculture," Vision 2020, Scheman Building, 4-2092.
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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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HAVE YOUR E-MAIL FOLLOW YOU THIS SUMMER
If you're going to be off campus this summer, you can have your e-mail forwarded to one of the free e-mail services. That way it can be accessed with a Web browser wherever you have a computer hooked to the Internet. Some of the free services include: Hotmail (www.hotmail.com), Yahoo mail (login.yahoo.com), Netscape Webmail (webmail.netscape.com) or Juno (www.juno.com/whatis_basic.html). After you have a new e-mail address with a service, change your post office box in Vincent. (To access Vincent, log onto your communication server with Telnet or similar software, typing in the server's name in the Host box and "Vincent" in the Window box.) At the first prompt after signing on to Vincent, type: chpobox(space)-s(space)username@hostname(your new address) and hit the return key. The items in the parentheses are for explanation (it should look like this: chpobox -s johndoe@juno.com). To return e-mail to your campus computer, go to Vincent and type: chpobox(space)-p(space)killit and hit the return key.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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WHITE HOUSE IDENTIFIES R&D PRIORITIES FOR FY 2001
The White House has issued guidance to the executive departments and agencies on research and development budget priorities in FY 2001. The memo sets 11 R&D priorities: 1) information technology; 2) the U.S. Global Change Research Program; 3) climate change technology; 4) emerging infectious diseases; 5) protecting against 21st century threats; 6) aviation safety, security, efficiency and environmental technologies; 7) plant genome; 8) food safety; 9) integrated science for ecosystem challenges; 10) educational research; and 11) nanotechnology. The memo was issued by Neal Lane, assistant to the President for science and technology, and Jack Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget.
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I N T E R N A L V O I C E S
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‘TRIPS LIKE THESE ARE GOOD FOR THE SOUL’
Over spring break, students in the agricultural education and studies study-abroad course visited Costa Rica. They kept an online journal of their thoughts and feelings, which, along with photos, were posted on a Web site. The Web site address was given to the students’ families and friends so they could keep up with their experiences. Here’s an edited entry, written by Ann Clinton Millsap, on March 14: "Each adventure got better as the day went by. I'm thinking I'm liking this Costa Rica country . . . We got our first taste of some serious hot weather as we made our way north. Out the window of the bus we saw coffee, coconut and about a million other fruit trees and colorful flowers . . . Me and eight other people rented horses and rode a couple of miles to the waterfall La Catarata. On the way up we could see the Arenal Volcano. The hike to the waterfall was straight down into the jungle, and when we finally hit the falls, we jumped in. It was so beautiful. After the falls, we headed to the Tabacon Resort at the base of the volcano. We sat and watched the volcano erupt red lava from the tip of the mountain. I kept asking at what point should I become concerned! The experience was simply incredible. Where else can you do that? . . . Trips like these are good for the soul. As you travel farther and farther away, you realize how small the world is, and how important it is to experience it. Life is good!"
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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EDUCATED OPTIMISM PAYS
"In this world, the optimists have it, not because they are always right, but because they are positive. Even when wrong, they are positive, and that is the way of achievement, correction, improvement and success. Educated, eyes-open optimism pays; pessimism can only offer the empty consolation of being right." Harvard historian David Landis, writing in "The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor," 1998.
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M A R G I N A L I A
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SHE’S PLEASED THAT WOMEN ARE ‘TAKING OVER’ COLLEGE
"As the only female graduate in animal science in 1949, I am very pleased to hear that women are taking over agriculture." Helen Maddock of Hopewell, N.J., an alumna who attended the College of Agriculture reception on June 4 during ISU Alumni Days. Prior to her comment, Eric Hoiberg, associate dean, had mentioned that the percentage of women enrolled in the college had risen to 40 percent.
HE’S PROUD TO HAVE HONED HIS TASTE BUDS AT ISU
"I am most proud of having been a member of the Dairy Products Judging Team in 1949. That was the thing that helped me most in 50 years in industry. I developed a real good taster." Robert Wight, Class of ’49 dairy industry, of Eureka Springs, Ark., at Alumni Days.