College News
Dean Wintersteen Addresses Name of the College
Today Dean Wintersteen sent a letter to College of Agriculture faculty and staff to outline a process of changing the College's name to "College of Agriculture and Life Sciences." The Dean will address the change at the Jan. 24 College convocation and an open forum is scheduled for Feb. 14. The Dean's letter, plus questions and answers on the proposed change, history of the name and other information can be found online. Comments can be sent to letusknow@iastate.edu.
Leaders to Discuss Reviving University, Industry Partnerships
Dean Wendy Wintersteen will be part of a panel discussion about public-private partnerships Jan. 4 at the University of Illinois' 2007 Crop Protection Technology Conference. The panel will discuss the Illinois land-grant university's agribusiness partnerships. Wintersteen will begin the discussion with a presentation on the relevance and effectiveness of extension corn and soybean pest management programs.
College Convocation Date Changed
The College of Agriculture's spring semester convocation will be Jan. 24. It will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. The program includes remarks by Dean Wendy Wintersteen and the presentation of College awards.
Butter Cow Lady Creates a Bronze One for Dairy Farm
College alumna Norma "Duffy" Lyon, known for her butter sculptures of cows, completed a bronze one for the new dairy farm. Lyon created a life-size sculpture of a dairy cow, called "Jersey Jewel, 2006," which was unveiled in a ceremony Dec. 8. It is on display in Kildee Hall until it can be placed at the new farm, set to be completed next fall. Lyon is known as the "butter cow lady" for nearly five decades of sculpting cows, people and other objects out of butter at the Iowa State Fair. The dairy farmer from near Toledo earned a bachelor's degree in animal science from Iowa State in 1951.
College Development Head Presented Achievement Award
Rich Bundy, first assistant vice president for development at the Iowa State University Foundation, has been honored with the Professional Achievement Award by the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association Inc. Award recipients are recognized for their significant career activities and accomplishments, leadership activities in professional and community organizations, other awards and recognitions. Bundy joined the foundation in 2000 and is responsible for development programs in the College of Agriculture, the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Plant Sciences Institute.
Ag Study Abroad Contest Winners Named
Forestry senior Luke Gran and Erik Timmons, a liberal arts and sciences student, won the Agriculture Study Abroad Contest: There and Back: Reflections of ISU World Adventurers. Their group entry, Experiencing India Study Abroad: ISU Students' Voices, was a combination of songs and video. They reflected their study abroad experiences in India by composing and singing a song to accompany a video they created. The contest was designed to encourage returned study abroad students to reflect on and share their international experiences with others. It was open to any College student who studied abroad and any students who participated in College study abroad programs.
Irradiation May be the Answer to E. Coli Outbreaks
Irradiation of produce could be a possible solution to outbreaks of E. coli, says Dennis Olson, professor of animal science and professor-in-charge of Iowa State's Linear Accelerator Facility, a commercial-sized irradiation facility. A petition, which would permit the use of irradiation for bacterial control of fruits and vegetables, has been under review with the FDA for more than six years.
Report, Recommendations from Bioeconomy Summmit
The final report from the Nov. 28 summit on "Ensuring Iowa's Leadership in the Bioeconomy" makes more than 100 recommendations to state lawmakers.
Researchers Developing Machinery to Harvest Corn Stalks
Stuart Birrell, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is working to design, build and test machinery that will harvest corn stover -- the stalks, cobs and leaves -- when farmers bring in their grain. The stover could be the source of plant fiber that feeds the next generation of ethanol plants.
Farmland Survey News Conference is Tuesday
A news conference to announce the results of the 2006 Iowa Farmland Value Survey conducted by Iowa State is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19. The news conference will be held at the Extension 4-H Youth Building.
Ag Journalism Alum and Wife Establish Lecture Series
Gene Chamberlain (agricultural journalism '54) and his wife Margaret (general science '55) have donated to the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication to begin bringing in a lecturer of national stature in news or advertising for the Chamberlain Lecture Series. The Chamberlains, retired owners/publishers of the Mobridge Tribune in South Dakota, committed $10,000 per year starting in 2007 for the series. They also have provided support for the creation of the Chamberlain/Iowa Newspaper Foundation Fellowship, which will bring a visiting fellow from the INF's membership to ISU throughout each year to confer with Iowa State Daily newspaper staffers and journalism classes.
Deadlines & Reminders
Jan. 5: Deadline for proposing a workshop topic for this summer's Iowa 4-H Youth Conference, contact: Brenda Allen, bsallen@iastate.edu or 4-1567
Jan. 24: College convocation, 2:30 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
Communications Kiosk
Don't Confuse Compliment and Complement
A compliment is a flattering or praising remark, as in "a compliment on your skill." A complement is something that completes or brings to perfection, as in "the lace tablecloth was a complement to the antique silver." The words are also verbs: to compliment is to praise, while to complement is to supplement adequately or to complete. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003)
Infograzing
New Head of Experiment Station Directors Regional Group
Arlen Leholm was named the new executive director of the North Central Regional Association (NCRA) of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors effective Feb. 1. Leholm will leave his current position as University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension dean and director. Daryl Lund, Leholm's predecessor, retires Jan. 3, after serving the NCRA for six years. (CSREES Update, Dec. 15)
Food Media Ranks Top Stories
A survey of U.S. food writers and editors found the top food-related news story of the year was news surrounding the E. coli bacteria outbreak associated with spinach. The September E. coli outbreak was traced to farmed spinach from California's Salinas Valley. The outbreak killed three people and infected more than 200 in 26 states. Conducted by Hunter Public Relations, the survey of more than 1,200 food editors is an annual sampling of the top food-related stories in the media. The school soft drink ban made second place in food-related news. In response to the growing threat of lawsuits and state legislation, the country's top three soft-drink companies announced that they would remove sweetened carbonated soft drinks and iced teas from school cafeterias and vending machines. Stories about the how organic is going mainstream was the third most popular food story. (Institute of Food Technologists newsletter, Dec. 14)
Internal Voices
Amber Herman Asks Peers and Guests to Devote Time to Community
"What matters to me, is ending world hunger. Every three seconds, a child dies of a hunger related illness. Twenty-five thousand people perish everyday from hunger. Iowa has 3 million people. If 25,000 people died of hunger in Iowa, everyday, the entire state population would be wiped out in four months. This silent tragedy occurs around the world daily. I have dedicated my life to stopping it. ... Today, you will leave this auditorium an ISU alum. You will most likely live in a different community. No matter where you live, share your passion. Get involved with something that truly matters to you. If YOU love gardening, help a neighborhood or school plant a garden. If you love sports, coach a youth team. If you love children, be a mentor. Live your life fully by getting involved. Today there are 185 graduates. If we all dedicated one hour -- 60 minutes a week -- for one year to volunteering in our communities, we would have given over 9,620 hours to public service. That makes a difference. So, get involved with an issue that is a moral imperative to you. See it solved. We can do that when we have a vision and work together." --Amber Herman, a public service administration in agriculture major, addressed fellow graduates and guests at Saturday's convocation.
Olson: Foof Irradiation Could Prevent E. Coli Outbreaks
The recent E. coli outbreaks are playing as a familiar morality tale of too little regulation. The real story is a much bigger scandal: How special interests have blocked approval of a technology that could sanitize fruits and vegetables and reduce food poisoning in America ... We asked several leading health scientists whether food irradiation could have prevented the E. coli outbreak at Taco Bell restaurants. "Almost certainly, yes," says Dennis Olson, who runs a research program on food irradiation at Iowa State University. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 18)
Dickson: New Food-Safety Device no Guarantee
Bacteria in food have been a growing concern for consumers. A company marketing a new hand-held "electronic nose" says holding the device over your raw meat can tell you if it's fresh or not ... Food-safety experts say that, even if the device does exactly what the company says it does, its usefulness is limited ... Spoiled meat with a high bacteria count is unpleasant, but not generally dangerous, says James Dickson, a food microbiologist at Iowa State University. "What's make you sick is the harmful bacteria - the salmonella and the E. coli and the rest of those - and if they are not present, you're not going to be sick," says Dr. Dickson. But it takes only a tiny amount of bad bacteria to become sick from eating it. As few as 10 E. coli organisms or a few thousand salmonella could make someone violently ill, says Dr. Dickson. Cooking meat thoroughly and following good kitchen hygiene is the only way to protect from food-borne bacteria. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 12)
External Voices
Parents Comment on Graduates' ISU Ag College Experience
Last Saturday, the College of Agriculture honored graduating seniors for the fall semester at a ceremony in C.Y. Stephens. Below are comments gathered from a couple parents of graduates: "Our son, Austin, is a graduate in the turfgrass management program. He first went two years to Kirkwood and received his associate degree, worked two years and then came to Iowa State to finish his four-year degree. He came in as a nontraditional student and it's been a wonderful experience. He's had the opportunity to do two internships, including one at the Congressional Golf Course in Washington D.C. ... He's had a great experience. ... Everyone was very, very helpful in helping him line up his classes and helping him learn how to apply for internships and steering him in the right direction. I can't say enough good things about the college." -- Debby Fischer of Garnavillo, mother of Austin Fischer, a horticulture graduate.
Parents Comments, Part Two
"I think this is a wonderful institution that provides great opportunities for students, especially in agriculture. One of the things we were very pleased about was the job placement, the high percentage of graduates that get placed in jobs and well-paying jobs, so they can support themselves and their families. And as we heard from Dean Wintersteen this morning, for those who are still looking for work, the college will assist those students and that is comforting to know. They also have many opportunities in the graduate program that offers students an opportunity to continue their education here in Iowa and I hope stay in Iowa, and work and participate in our state and stay involved here. I've been really pleased. It's nice to have state institutions that are able to provide our kids with the ability to get a good education in the state and stay nearby. It's good to have the academic opportunities but it's good to have the support systems of family and friends and that contributes to the student's success when they stay local." -- Lynn Heuss of Des Moines, mother of Jessica Heuss, an animal science graduate
Marginalia
Plans of our Recent College of Agriculture Graduates
The following notes are taken from examples of plans outlined by graduating seniors in the College who earned their degrees last Saturday: - will be teaching at Benton Community Schools in the Agriculture Department - will be working with the Iowa DNR - will be an agronomist with Two Rivers Coop, Pella - will be working for Syngenta, Ames - pursuing a career in agricultural photography - will continue to operate a cow/calf operation - working for Monsanto as a seed production trainee - will be an agronomy production specialist with Northeast Iowa Cooperative, Clermont - planning to become a conservation officer - currently employed at BASF Plant Science, Ames - will attend graduate school at ISU to obtain a master's in industrial and agricultural technology - will work for John Deere as a precision ag specialist for 6 dealerships - will be a service rep for Kinze Manufacturing, Williamsburg - will work for brokerage firm R.J. O'Brien, West Des Moines - will work as a merchandiser for AGP, Hastings, Neb. - will work in a grain accounting position with Cenex Harvest States, InverGrove Heights, Minn. -will return home to join the family farm - will look for job opportunities involving protection of Iowa's soil and water quality - will continue a naval career as a student aviator in Pensacola, Fla. - will participate in an ISU dietetics internship -will work for Broken Top Golf Club, Bend, Ore. Next issue: Jan. 2
Ag Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
Subscribe: Ag Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag Online unsubscribe."
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