CALS Online and Dean’s Message
Sept. 30, 2024
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS – What a beautiful fall we’re having! Harvesters are rolling, leaves are falling and the sun is shining… This week the campus will be full of visiting friends, alums and donors as the university celebrates Foundation Governor’s Week… Here is a link to an editorial in Science magazine that intrigues me as the first time I have seen a viable means of countering misinformation as it swirls and is amplified around us… More
Top Stories
CALS Continues Strong Recruitment and Student Success
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences enrollment for fall 2024 is 4,262 – 3,659 undergraduates and 603 graduate students. This represents an overall increase from last year's total of 4,250 students. CALS continues the positive trends of major-specific recruitment increases, consistently strong retention rates and strong graduation numbers. In fact, CALS recruited 14% more new first year and transfer students this fall - the highest growth rate among Iowa State colleges. (More on Iowa State enrollment including a quote from new agricultural business student Kaylee Cavanh.)
- CALS enrolled 9% more new Iowa resident undergraduates compared to last fall.
- CALS has increased the number of newly recruited undergraduates by 16% since 2020.
- Increases of newly recruited undergraduates contributed to enrollment of agricultural and rural policy studies, agricultural business, agricultural studies, animal ecology, animal science, biochemistry, biology, dairy science, dietetics, environmental science, horticulture, industrial technology, nursing and nutritional science.
Research
Research Aims to Improve Wine Production, Quality Nationwide
Aude Watrelot, food science and human nutrition and extension enology specialist, is leading a project to better understand the challenges faced by wine industry professionals across the United States. The results of the project aim to improve future regional wine production. More
Teaching and Students
Deadline Extended: Submit Abstracts for Borlaug Poster Competition
The deadline for submitting poster abstracts has been extended to Oct. 7 at 11:59 p.m. for the 21st Annual Norman Borlaug Lecture Poster Competition for Graduate and Undergraduate Students. The competition and display of posters will take place Oct. 28 in the Memorial Union, prior to the Norman Borlaug Lecture featuring 2024 World Food Prize Laureates Geoffrey Hawtin and Cary Fowler. More
CALS Career Day Set for Oct. 8
The fall CALS Career Day is Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lied Recreation Athletic Center. More than 1,500 students annually attend the career day in search of jobs and internships. The student co-chairs have put together 10 tips to help prepare for the event. More
Nominations for Senior Awards Due Nov. 1
The CALS Student Council is seeking nominations for fall 2024 senior awards. Every fall and spring semester, CALS Council recognizes graduating seniors through six different awards: leadership and innovation, academic achievement, distinguished service, outstanding ambassador of agriculture and life sciences, inclusive excellence and outstanding senior. Nominations are due Oct. 18 at 11:59 p.m. More
Extension and Outreach
Conservation on Tap in Des Moines, Oct. 17
Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with Des Moines Water Works, is holding Conservation on Tap on Oct. 17 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Lua Brewing in Des Moines. Hosts include Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center director, Mark Licht, cropping systems specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, and Ted Corrigon, CEO and general manager of Des Moines Water Works. James Heckathorns, brewer at Lua Brewing, will also join the conversation as to why water quality matters for brewing. More
Around the College
CALT Welcomes New Director of Beginning Farmer Center
Kristiana Coutu has joined the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation as senior counsel and director of the Beginning Farmer Center. She is based in Michigan. More
CALS Award Nominations Due Nov. 19
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recognizes the excellence and dedication of its faculty and staff through the conferring of college awards. Award recipients are selected from nominations made by their colleagues and peers in recognition of their commitment to the college’s missions of student learning, research discovery and innovation, service, and extension and outreach. We encourage your nominations. Award descriptions and nomination guidelines are found on the college awards website. Of special note: the Rossmann Manatt Faculty Development Award recipient will be from CALS this year. This award recognizes a tenured faculty member who has demonstrated an exceptional level of creativity and productivity in scholarship, teaching and service, and who shows great promise of continuing such achievement. Nominations for the Rossmann Manatt award are also due to the college by Nov. 19 through the online submission portal. Faculty nominations will be reviewed by the college faculty awards committee, and staff nominations will be reviewed by the staff awards committee in December. Award recipients will be honored during the annual CALS Awards Program in the spring. Contact your departmental awards committee, or Julie Stewart (jstewart@iastate.edu), for additional information.
United Way of Story County Campaign Underway
The 2024 United Way of Story County campaign is underway. CALS has set a fundraising goal of $65,000. Donations can be made through payroll deduction, credit card, check or Venmo (#CALS). More
Calendar
Oct. 2: Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed the World?
C S Liew (’79 agronomy, pest management) is presenting “Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed the World? The Role of Innovation and Thinking Outside the Box” on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. in 1148 Gerdin Business Building. Liew is managing director of Singapore-based Pacific Agriscience and will discuss global innovations developed by producers, entrepreneurs and policy makers. More
Oct. 3: The Rural Voter
“The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America” is the topic of a lecture on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. in Dolezal Auditorium, 0127 Curtiss Hall. Presenters Nicholas Jacobs, assistant professor, and Daniel Shea, professor and chair, are both with the Department of Government at Colby College in Maine. More
Oct. 8: Deal Leadership Lecture
Larry Nielsen, professor emeritus of natural resources at North Carolina State University, will present the 2024 William K. Deal Leadership Lecture Oct. 8. His presentation, “Fowl, Fish and Forest – Leadership Lessons from Great Conservationists,” will begin at 7 p.m. in Dolezal Auditorium, 0127 Curtiss Hall. The event is free and open to the public. More
Oct. 23: CALS Town Hall
Join Dean Robison for a Town Hall meeting on Oct. 23, at 12:15 p.m. in 2432 Food Sciences Building.
Oct. 29-30: Egg Industry Issues Forum
The Egg Industry Center and co-host Hy-Line North America has opened registration and a hotel room block for the Oct. 29-30 Egg Industry Issues Forum in Baltimore, Maryland. More
Dec. 5: Save the Date
A ribbon cutting and open house for the Digital Ag Innovation Center in the Iowa State University Research Park is Dec. 5 from 3-6 p.m.
Communications Kiosk
When to Hyphenate Compound Adjectives Before a Noun
(2 of 4) A compound adjective formed from a number, including an ordinal number, and a noun is hyphenated (fifteen-day trips, thirteenth-century architecture). When an adjective appears before a compound adjective like thirteenth-century, attach it with a hyphen (early-thirteenth-century architecture). The same type of compound is unhyphenated when it appears after the noun it modifies (the trips took place over a period of fifteen days, the book surveys architecture of the early thirteenth century). (Modern Language Association Handbook, 9th edition, pgs. 28-29)
Infograzing
Fountain of the Four Seasons Rededicated
A public rededication of the Fountain of the Four Seasons is Friday, Oct. 4, from 1:30-2 p.m. at the north entrance of the Memorial Union. The event will feature remarks from Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen, University Museums Director and Chief Curator Lynette Pohlman, and Student Government President Martin Hursh. More
Student Organizations Encouraged to “Preserve Your Legacy”
The University Library is holding a workshop on “Preserve Your Legacy: Records Management for Student Organizations” on Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Parks Library, Room 405. Participants will learn the basics of physical and digital records management to ensure the organization’s history isn’t lost or erased. More
Research and Innovation Roundtable Scheduled for Oct. 23
The Office of the Vice President for Research is hosting a Research and Innovation Roundtable for faculty across campus who would like to explore issues related to “Creating Circular Economies through Sustainability Innovations.” Register by Oct. 17 to participate in the roundtable on Oct. 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union (lunch provided). More
Marginalia
Meat Science Alum Hosts “Hardcore Carnivore”
Jess Pryles (’22 meat science graduate certificate) is host of Hardcore Carnivore on the Outdoor Channel. “She’s traveling the country where she’ll meet up with locals specializing in her favorite proteins.” More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/cals-online
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Thursday.