COLLEGE NEWS
- ISU to host 1998 MANNRS conference in Des Moines
- FY 97 gifts to college total more than $38 million
- Non-traditional undergrads, by the numbers
- Forestry student teams tackle real-life problems
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Be aware of attracting unsolicited e-mail
INFOGRAZING
- New-student survey: Show me the financial aid
- Web portfolio a new requirement for graduation
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Publicly funded research vital to industry
- Publicly funded research vital to nation
MARGINALIA
- Technologies we love to hate
C O L L E G E N E W S
ISU TO HOST 1998 MANNRS CONFERENCE IN DES MOINES
Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences
(MANNRS) will hold its 1998 national conference in Des Moines.
The event, hosted by ISU, will be held April 2-4, and is expected
to draw 400-500 high school and college students, faculty, staff
and agribusiness representatives. Plans include campus visits
and a reception with ISU faculty and staff. For more information:
Charanne Parks, 4-1701 or cparks@iastate.edu.
FY 97 GIFTS TO COLLEGE TOTAL MORE THAN $38 MILLION
Gift activity in the College of Agriculture from July 1996 through
April 1997 totaled $38,729,700, according to the ISU Foundation.
This includes the anonymous $34 million gift announced at the
kickoff of ISU's capital campaign last fall. In the same time
period a year earlier, gifts to agriculture totaled $5,048,266.
Gift activity for the entire university for the July-April period
was $83,389,159. A year earlier it was $55,365,177.
NON-TRADITIONAL UNDERGRADS, BY THE NUMBERS
A few statistics about ISU's non-traditional undergraduate students
(from the Office of Institutional Research):
Number enrolled in the College of Agriculture last fall: 243
Number enrolled in ISU: 2,721
Percentage of the college's fall enrollment: 8.9
Percentage of ISU's fall enrollment: 13.3
Percentage of 16 peer universities' fall enrollments: 11.8
Percentage increase at ISU since 1987: 16
Percentage increase since 1977: 85
FORESTRY STUDENT TEAMS TACKLE REAL-LIFE PROBLEMS
This spring, six ISU forestry student teams addressed real-life
problems as part of their work in Forestry 454, the capstone forestry
course that puts four years of studies to the test. The teams,
working on practical problems submitted by Iowa clients, developed
management plans for Indian Creek Nature Center, Red Rock Lake,
Camp Dodge, Wentland Woods and the Four Corners Recreation Area,
and a business plan for Iowa Woodworks. Offered since 1975, the
course gives students experience to help prepare them for careers.
For more information: David Countryman, 4-1166.
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
BE AWARE OF ATTRACTING UNSOLICITED E-MAIL
Mass unsolicited e-mail, or "spam," is the electronic
equivalent of junk mail. Tom Hillson, the College of Agriculture's
computer services manager, says posting questions in Usenet news
groups or e-mail discussion groups monitored by "spammers"
can result in your address being added to their lists. Another
way of getting on their lists is requesting information from Web
sites, but failing to check the option asking that your address
not be sold to others. Hillson says this shouldn't discourage
you from using the Internet, but you should be aware of potential
spam problems. For those with Eudora e-mail, there are a number
of e-mail filters available online that may help. They can be
downloaded from: http://www.mmgco.com/nospam/
For more information and tips on how to deal with unsolicited
e-mail, Hillson suggested the macintouch website.
I N F O G R A Z I N G
NEW-STUDENT SURVEY: SHOW ME THE FINANCIAL AID
(More from last fall's survey of 540 new students in the College
of Agriculture.)
Percentage who received financial aid (scholarships, loans, work
study, etc.): 73
Percentage who said aid covered more than 50 percent of their
costs: 33
In 1985, percentage who said aid covered more than 50 percent
of costs: 52
Percentage whose source of aid was work-study: 20
In 1985, percentage whose source of aid was work-study: 10
(According to ISU's financial aid office, 60 percent of ag students
qualified for aid based on need this year.)
WEB PORTFOLIO A NEW REQUIREMENT FOR GRADUATION
Starting in the year 2000, Kalamazoo College students will be
required to create a portfolio of Web pages documenting their
academic and extracurricular activities. The exercise is meant
to improve the academic advising process by dividing activities
into five categories: lifelong learning, career readiness, social
responsibility, intercultural understanding and leadership. (Chronicle
of Higher Education, May 23)
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
PUBLICLY FUNDED RESEARCH VITAL TO INDUSTRY
A study prepared for the National Science Foundation by a private
research group found that 73 percent of the main science papers
cited by American industrial patents in two recent years were
based on research financed by government or nonprofit agencies.
This finding constitutes "strong evidence that publicly financed
scientific research plays a surprisingly important role in the
breakthroughs of industrial innovation in the United States, suggesting
that impending cuts in the federal science budget might eventually
hurt the economy." (New York Times, May 13)
PUBLICLY FUNDED RESEARCH VITAL TO NATION
"At a time of scarce resources in Washington, it is tempting
to see the scientific community as just one more hungry claimant.
That's shortsighted. Like public education, serious funding for
science is a vital national investment." David Gergen, in
a May 19 U.S. News & World Report editorial detailing efforts
of the scientific community and some members of Congress to increase
federal funding for science.
M A R G I N A L I A
TECHNOLOGIES WE LOVE TO HATE
What are the technologies that Americans wish had never been invented?
According to a consumer survey, the top three are voice mail,
Internet shopping and car cell phones. "(Voice mail) is not
only far and away the thing (the top choice), but it's probably
the biggest negative to customer service today," said C.
Britt Beemer of the survey firm. Internet shopping customers said
it was more difficult than they thought it would be, took too
much time and they worried about customer service. Married women
with children viewed car cell phones as a road hazard that jeopardizes
their families, Beemer said. (Investor's Business Daily, May 22)