COLLEGE NEWS
- Mark your calendar: Ag convocation set Aug. 27
- Enviable spots await on state fair schedule
- Peanuts, pencil rubbings and prizes at Carver exhibit
- Martin named head of ag education and studies
- World Bank officials learn about Iowa agriculture
- Tuskegee, 1890 schools explore student opportunities
- International forum to examine livestock issues
- Plant Introduction Stations observe 50 years
- ISU short course marks 20 years of sausage savvy
- AGEDS "seminar on wheels" hits the road
- USDA sustainable ag workshop to visit Ames
- Conference proposals due Monday to Leopold Center
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Dealing with message overload
INFOGRAZING
- Latest figures show rise in summer enrollment
- Record number of high school grads go to college
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Annual R&D funding must be justified, earned
MARGINALIA
- Hint on center of the earth: You’re getting warmer . . .
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR: AG CONVOCATION SET AUG. 27
The College of Agriculture’s fall-semester convocation will be held at 4 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27, in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. A reception will follow. New faculty and staff will be introduced.
ENVIABLE SPOTS AWAIT ON STATE FAIR SCHEDULE
Prime spots (believe us, they’re all prime) are available on the Iowa State Fair schedule for volunteers to help staff the college’s exhibit, Aug. 13-23. Already signed up to work a shift? Double your fun -- work TWO shifts! You’ll receive free admission and parking tickets, and a College of Agriculture polo shirt (your choice of red or navy) to wear during your shift. Tickets, shirts and display information will be distributed at an orientation session later this month. The shirts will be available for sale in early August once the free ones have been distributed to volunteers. Contact: Marty Behrens, 4-5616 or behrens@iastate.edu.
PEANUTS, PENCIL RUBBINGS AND PRIZES AT CARVER EXHIBIT
The theme of the college’s state fair exhibit is the legacy of George Washington Carver. The display will include peanut plants grown in an ISU greenhouse. Visitors can take home a memento by doing pencil rubbings of Carver’s image. Carver postage stamp pins will be given away in daily drawings, and a grand prize will be awarded -- two tickets to Bill Cosby’s performance at ISU on Aug. 30.
MARTIN NAMED HEAD OF AG EDUCATION AND STUDIES
Robert Martin became head of the agricultural education and studies department on July 1. He had served as interim head since January when Richard Carter was named director of the Brenton Center for Agricultural Instruction and Technology Transfer. Martin, a professor in the department, joined ISU’s faculty in 1983.
WORLD BANK OFFICIALS LEARN ABOUT IOWA AGRICULTURE
This week 25 World Bank officials attended a weeklong workshop at ISU organized by the college. The program, which focused on how Iowa has worked to balance intensive agriculture and environmental concerns, ended today (Friday). The officials hope to apply what they’ve learned to agricultural development programs in developing countries. ISU ag faculty and administrators from 10 departments and centers were involved in the program, as were representatives from the University of Iowa, University of Nebraska, USDA and 10 Iowa companies and organizations. The group also toured farms, agribusinesses and research sites in central and southeast Iowa.
TUSKEGEE, 1890 SCHOOLS EXPLORE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
Faculty and staff members from Tuskegee University and 15 1890 institutions (historically black land-grants) came to Iowa in June to explore opportunities for their students. Staff from Pioneer Hi-Bred International and ISU joined them. During six days of site visits and discussions, participants talked about new working relationships among the groups. Recommendations for action will be compiled in August. For more
information: Mary DeBaca, 4-8574 or mmdb@iastate.edu.
INTERNATIONAL FORUM TO EXAMINE LIVESTOCK ISSUES
The college-coordinated "Animal Production Systems and the Environment International Conference" will be held July 19-22 in Des Moines. The meeting will provide a forum for communication among producers, scientists, policy-makers and communities. Researchers from around the world will present the most current understanding of issues related to nutrient management, odor control, water quality and socioeconomic topics. Check the webpage for the 150 presentations, poster sessions and forums scheduled, and a registration form.
PLANT INTRODUCTION STATIONS OBSERVE 50 YEARS
Fifty years ago, the USDA established four regional sites to maintain the genetic diversity of crop plants and their wild relatives. The North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station at ISU now has more than 44,000 plant populations. The ISU station will host the 1998 Plant Genetic Resource Management Meetings, July 20-24. The meetings will include a symposium marking the 50th anniversary. Other anniversaries to be observed are the 40th of the National Seed Storage Laboratory, Colorado, and the centennial of the Plant Introduction Office, Maryland. Several regional and national committees involved in managing plant genetic resources will convene. For more information: Mark Widrlechner, 4-3511.
ISU SHORT COURSE MARKS 20 YEARS OF SAUSAGE SAVVY
For an ISU short course, it’s been both the best of times and the wurst of times. Keeping meat-industry workers on the cutting edge of technology has been the aim of ISU's sausage and processed meats production short course, which observes its 20th year this year, July 20-24. Since 1979, more than 1,600 participants have learned about innovative methods for making sausage, ham, bacon, roast beef and other processed meats. This year, 80 are coming from 18 states and seven countries. They'll work in teams to formulate and process products. On the final evening, they’ll sample their work at a "wurstfest." For more information: Joe Cordray, 4-4266.
AGEDS "SEMINAR ON WHEELS" HITS THE ROAD
This summer a vanload of ISU graduate students has hit the road to learn about the role of agricultural education around Iowa. The format for Robert Martin's AGEDS 615 course is usually a series of classroom discussions. But since the course was offered this year during the summer, and since most of the grad students were unfamiliar with Iowa agriculture, Martin decided to make it a "seminar on wheels." The group has visited the Cenex/ Land O'Lakes Answer Farm near Fort Dodge and innovative high school agriculture programs in Algona and Forest City. Today (Friday), the group will visit high school, community college and ISU Extension programs in eastern Iowa. The grad students are from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Utah, Maryland, Colorado and Iowa. Also taking the course are a visiting professor from Zimbabwe and an Iowa native working in Papua New Guinea.
USDA SUSTAINABLE AG WORKSHOP TO VISIT AMES
Forty farmers, researchers and educators will meet in Ames July 13-15 as part of a regional workshop sponsored by the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) professional development program. The training focuses on watershed management and agriculture, and will feature a tour of Bear Creek. Several ISU researchers will make presentations. For more information: Anne Larson, Leopold Center, 4-0626.
CONFERENCE PROPOSALS DUE MONDAY TO LEOPOLD CENTER
Proposals for the third quarter of the Leopold Center's conference and workshop support program are due by 5 p.m., Monday, July 13. For a copy of the request for proposal information form, check out the center's web page (www.leopold.iastate.edu). For more information: Rich Pirog, 4-1854 or leopold@exnet.iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
July 13: Deadline, conference and workshop support proposals, Leopold Center, 4-1854.
July 13-15: USDA SARE workshop, 4-0626.
July 19-22: Animal Production Systems and the Environment international conference, Des Moines, 4-5961.
July 20-24: 1998 Plant Genetic Resource Management Meetings, Gateway Holiday Inn, 4-3511.
Aug. 13-23: Iowa State Fair.
Aug. 27: College of Agriculture Convocation, Sun Room, 4 p.m.
Sept. 4: "Agricultural Contracts: Freedom or Restraint?", Fall Agricultural Policy Conference, Scheman Bldg., 4-6257.
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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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DEALING WITH MESSAGE OVERLOAD
Feeling overwhelmed by incoming phone and e-mail messages? Here’s a strategy outlined in the June issue of Currents, the magazine of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Prioritize messages by asking these questions: Who is it from? (The boss or someone you've never heard of.) Am I the best person in the office to handle it? When’s the deadline? Is it important in the long term? (If it's important but not near the deadline, deal with it at the end of each day.) Would anything bad happen if I ignore this message? (If not, delete.) Does it look non-essential but interesting? (Set aside for later).
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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LATEST FIGURES SHOW RISE IN SUMMER ENROLLMENT
Preliminary figures on summer enrollment show there are 480 undergraduate and 520 graduate students in the College of Agriculture, compared with last summer’s counts of 425 and 503, respectively. Overall, ISU has 8,840 students for summer semester. These figures will probably change because many courses have non-standard start and stop dates. Last year, the final count was 400 students more than the preliminary figures.
RECORD NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADS GO TO COLLEGE
Department of Labor statistics show that a record 67 percent of 1997 high school graduates attended college in the fall of that year. Of those, almost two-thirds were enrolled in four-year institutions. More than 70 percent of female graduates went on to college, compared with just under 64 percent of male graduates. White high school graduates attended college at a rate of 68 percent, while Hispanics had a rate of 66 percent and blacks 60 percent. (AAU's Public Affairs Report, June 1)
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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ANNUAL R&D FUNDING MUST BE JUSTIFIED, EARNED
"I have often heard what the federal government -- and the budget -- should do to 'fix' the problems and stresses at universities, but I have seldom heard what universities and the scientific community are doing to promote and improve our long-standing partnership . . . Although there is general and broad support for investments in R&D, funding is not an entitlement. Annual funding must be justified and earned. The scientific community must learn to be more effective in explaining the scientific enterprise, how priorities are set and how success is measured." Franklin D. Raines, director of the Office of Management and Budget from September 1996 to May 1998. (Science, June 12)
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M A R G I N A L I A
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HINT ON CENTER OF THE EARTH: YOU'RE GETTING WARMER . . .
Americans continue to score poorly when asked basic scientific questions, according to a National Science Foundation survey (New York Times, July 2). But those surveyed in the United States still did better on the quiz than all other countries but Denmark. Among the questions, with the correct answer and the percent of Americans who got it right:
- Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. (True) 93 percent.
- The center of the Earth is very hot. (True) 82 percent.
- The earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. (False) 51 percent.
- How long does it take the Earth to orbit the sun? (one year) 48 percent.
- Lasers work by focusing sound waves. (False) 39 percent.
- What is a molecule? (Smallest particle of an element or chemical compound that retains the characteristics of the element or compound.) 11 percent.