COLLEGE NEWS
- DeWitt named interim director for ag extension
- Butler on board as first Wallace Chair in college
- Engagement theme for professional development event
- Help observe the 40th anniversary of Self-Help
- Opportunity for students to serve in developing countries
- Director of knowledge center in Panama to speak March 1
- Animal art that’ll give you the warm fuzzies
- Block and Bridle cake judging event on Feb. 24
- Ag Comm: Enhancing large-group communication
- Harl named to national biotechnology advisory group
- Alternative livestock the topic of animal ag meeting
- Water Resources Research Institute seeks proposals
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Search engine for university web pages only
INFOGRAZING
- ISU race and ethnicity conference on March 3
- Nominations sought for von Humboldt Award
INTERNAL VOICES
- In agriculture, good living is the end to be attained
EXTERNAL VOICES
- On giving up prejudices
MARGINALIA
- Why value family farms more than family shoe stores?
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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DEWITT NAMED INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR AG EXTENSION
Jerry DeWitt, professor of entomology, has been named interim director of agriculture and natural resources for ISU Extension. DeWitt, with the assistance of Jim Johnson, special projects coordinator with ag and natural resources extension, will assume the duties of Wendy Wintersteen, who became interim executive associate dean of the College of Agriculture on Feb. 1. DeWitt can be reached in 109 Curtiss, 4-7801, or x1dewitt@exnet.iastate.edu.
BUTLER ON BOARD AS FIRST WALLACE CHAIR IN COLLEGE
Lorna Michael Butler, the Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture, began her new position this month. Her interests include programs that engage students and faculty in community issues that cut across food systems and the environment, and those that build relationships between farm and non-farm people. Butler, who came from Washington State University, has appointments in the sociology and anthropology departments. She can reached in 110 Curtiss, 4-6066, or lmbutler@iastate.edu.
ENGAGEMENT THEME FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENT
"Engagement" will be explored at a College of Agriculture faculty/staff professional development program set for April 24. Graham Spanier of Penn State, who chairs the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, is invited to speak. One of the commission’s reports, produced by a group led by President Jischke, examined what it meant for land-grants to be engaged with their constituents. Department leaders are collecting engagement examples to share at the program. Also invited to participate will be representatives from farming, agricultural business, community colleges, government and other groups. The program will be held at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center beginning at 3:30 p.m. and including dinner at 6:30 p.m. For more information: Lynn Jones, chair, professional development committee, 4-0898 or x1jones@iastate.edu.
HELP OBSERVE THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF SELF-HELP
ISU will observe the 40th anniversary of Self-Help International at a program on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Based in Waverly, Self-Help is a nonprofit organization that introduces practical, culture-sensitive technologies to farmers in developing countries. Iowa farmer and former USDA official Duane Acker will speak. The program also includes an exhibit of photos donated by ISU faculty members and drawings by a Yoruban artist who recently visited campus. The program from noon to 1 p.m. is open to the public. A luncheon follows at 1 p.m. To make a lunch reservation, call Shelley Taylor, 4-5393 or sztaylor@iastate.edu. The program is sponsored by International Agriculture Programs and the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society.
OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO SERVE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ISU and Self-Help International have developed a new service-learning internship in which ISU students will conduct hands-on agricultural service projects in developing countries. For three months this summer, three to five students will travel to Ghana to work with local farmers, rural youth and women interested in starting their own small businesses. International Agriculture Programs is recruiting students for the program. For more information: Shelley Taylor, Agriculture Study Abroad Office, 4-5393 or sztaylor@iastate.edu.
DIRECTOR OF KNOWLEDGE CENTER IN PANAMA TO SPEAK MARCH 1
Rodrigo Tarte, academic director of the City of Knowledge Foundation in Panama, will speak on March 1 at noon in 142 Curtiss. The City of Knowledge is an international center devoted to programs of education, research, innovative technology production and cultural exchange. Last fall the College of Agriculture organized a group of U.S. faculty to visit the campus in Panama. ISU has signed an agreement with the City of Knowledge that will expand educational opportunities for ISU students, including a two-month summer internship.
ANIMAL ART THAT’LL GIVE YOU THE WARM FUZZIES
Later this month the Department of Animal Science will host "Warm, Soft and Fuzzy," a traveling exhibit of paintings depicting . . . well, warm, soft and fuzzy farm animals and pets. The exhibit, part of the corporate art collection of the Faultless Starch/Bon Ami Company of Kansas City, contains more than 50 paintings by American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. They are scheduled to be on display from the end of February through May outside the Ensminger Conference Room in Kildee Hall.
BLOCK AND BRIDLE CAKE JUDGING EVENT ON FEB. 24
The Block and Bridle Club will hold a cake judging and auction on Feb. 24 in the Farm Bureau Livestock Pavilion in Kildee Hall. All proceeds will go to the club’s scholarship fund. Judging begins at 4:30 p.m. and the auction at 5 p.m. If you’d like to enter a cake, contact Tim Keegan, 292-3880 extension 5308 or tkeegan@iastate.edu.
AG COMM: ENHANCING LARGE-GROUP COMMUNICATION
Corly Petersen-Brooke, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, will speak on stimulating interaction and incorporating communication assignments in large-group lectures at the next AgComm workshop, Tuesday, Feb. 22, noon to 1:15 p.m., 8 Brenton Center. A light lunch will be served. RSVP to Norma Hensley, 4-6614 or nhensley@iastate.edu.
NEW COLLEGE REP NEEDED FOR ISU ATHLETIC COUNCIL
The College of Agriculture needs to elect a new representative for the ISU Athletic Council. Rick Cruse, agronomy, is completing his second three-year term. A and B faculty members are eligible. If you’re interested, contact your DEO. Nominations are due to the dean’s office by Feb. 25. A ballot then will be sent to faculty for a vote. The new representative’s first council meeting will be in late April.
HARL NAMED TO NATIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVISORY GROUP
Neil Harl, economics, has been named to a new USDA advisory committee on agricultural biotechnology. The committee will advise USDA Secretary Dan Glickman on biotech policy. The 38-member committee will meet for the first time March 29-30 in Washington, DC.
ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK THE TOPIC OF ANIMAL AG MEETING
Bill Franklin, animal ecology, will speak on alternative livestock at the next Think Tank on Animal Agriculture meeting on Feb. 28. Social hour begins at 6 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. If you plan to attend, contact Jane Linn, 4-2063, by Feb. 25. Cost of dinner is $11, payable at the door. Future meetings are scheduled for March 27 and April 24.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE SEEKS PROPOSALS
The Iowa State Water Resources Research Institute has received additional funds for its competitive grants programs. Deadline for new water-quality research proposals is Feb. 25; funding will be available after March 15. Priority areas include work on contaminants from animal waste, industry or municipal systems; effects from earthen manure storage sites; and studies on nutrients entering the Mississippi River. For more information: Jill Smart, 4-8921 or smarty@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Feb. 22: Stimulating Interaction and Incorporating Communication Assignments in Large Group Lectures, Ag Comm workshop, noon, 8 Brenton Center.
Feb. 24: GMO 2000: Assessing Risk and Seeking Opportunities Conference, Scheman Building.
Feb. 25: Deadline, nominations for college representative on ISU Athletic Council.
Feb. 28: E-commerce: The "Net" Effect on Agribusiness, CARD Agricultural Forum, Scheman Building.
March 1: College strategic planning committee meeting, 4-4763.
March 1: Proposal deadline, ISU computer-based instruction projects, 138 Curtiss.
March 2: Deadline, Miller Faculty Fellowship proposals, 138 Curtiss.
March 3: Deadline, upperclassmen scholarship applications, 4-6614.
March 3-4: The Science and Controversy of Agricultural GMOs Conference, Scheman Building.
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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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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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ISU RACE AND ETHNICITY CONFERENCE ON MARCH 3
The first Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity will be held March 3, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Memorial Union. Sponsored by ISU’s Minority Student Affairs Office, the meeting will feature George Henderson, dean of the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma and the first African-American distinguished professor there. Also scheduled to speak is Fred Gray, president of the board of the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center. The conference is free to faculty, staff and students. Following the conference, the 21st annual Minority Student Affairs Recognition Banquet will be held in the Great Hall. For more information: Minority Student Affairs, 4-6338.
NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR VON HUMBOLDT AWARD
The nomination deadline is April 21 for the 2000 Alexander von Humboldt Award. The $15,000 award is presented to a person judged to have made the most significant contribution to American agriculture during the previous five years. The award normally is given for achievements in research, but contributions in extension, public service, technology transfer or other activities can be considered. A student at the winner’s home university or institution also will be chosen to receive the $5,000 Alfred Toepfer Scholarship. ISU agronomist John Bremner won the award in 1982. For more information: Joyce Shiers, 4-2518.
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I N T E R N A L V O I C E S
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IN AGRICULTURE, GOOD LIVING IS THE END TO BE ATTAINED
"The study of agriculture should be something more than a study of its economic problems. It should be educational, moral, political, religious and social as well . . . It should be remembered that good farming is only a means and that good living is the end to be attained." George Von Tungeln, ISU rural sociologist, writing in a 1918 research bulletin on a social survey of rural families in Black Hawk County. The survey was one of the nation's first of a rural community. Ag Information's Susan Thompson recently wrote about the survey in her "Agriculture in Action" column.
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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ON GIVING UP PREJUDICES
"It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof." Henry David Thoreau, in "Walden."
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M A R G I N A L I A
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WHY VALUE FAMILY FARMS MORE THAN FAMILY SHOE STORES?
From a letter to the editor written by Steven Riethmiller of Lexington, Va., in the Feb. 14 issue of The New Yorker: "In [the Jan. 24 issue], Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts asked, ‘Why should the family farm be treated any differently from the family shoe store?’ Perhaps the simplest answer is that one can get along without shoes, but not without food. Also, lessons of husbandry and the value of physical labor, learned on a small farm, are things that many Americans continue to support and encourage. Over the past three centuries, many more immigrants have come to the United States to farm their own land than to run shoe stores. So it should come as no surprise that many people feel an attachment to the family farm that they don’t feel for the strip mall."
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AG ONLINE
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NEXT ISSUE: March 3 DEADLINE: March 1
EDITORS
Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu, and Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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Ag Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture, is e-mailed every other Friday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag Online unsubscribe."
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