CALS Online and Dean’s Message
July 14, 2025
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS – Happy Monday. Another beautiful day. It feels awkward, of late, to celebrate our weather when the devastation of the July 4th flooding in Texas is still very much in front of us. Amazing to think of how far we’ve come with understanding and forecasting weather, and yet still how vulnerable we are…
Top Stories
Nursing in Norway Program Broadens Students’ Views of Healthcare
Students’ eyes were opened to how nursing and healthcare systems differ from those in the United States during the Nursing in Norway program. Five RN-to-BSN nursing students from Iowa State and six nurses from Mary Greeley Medical Center recently participated in the program alongside six nursing students from Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway. The experience was organized and planned by Iowa State’s Dawn Bowker, director of nursing education and clinical associate professor, and Karla Kerkove, clinical assistant professor. (Photo submitted)
Research
ISRC Holding Field Tour on Aug. 5
The Iowa Soybean Research Center has organized a half-day Field Tour for Aug. 5 from 12:30-4:30 p.m. The tour includes visits to Wyffels Hybrids and the Alliant Energy Solar Farm at Iowa State University, both located in the Ames area. Iowa State ag-research related graduate students, post docs, staff and faculty are welcome to attend. Transportation is provided. The Field Tour offers researchers opportunities to explore and learn about a variety of agricultural industries and farming operations that exist outside the lab experiences. Please register before July 25. For questions, email cornelis@iastate.edu.
New Vineyard Features Concrete Posts
This spring, the team at the Horticulture Research Station was busy preparing to plant a new vineyard. The effort is led by Randall Vos, ISU Extension fruit crops field specialist, and supported financially by the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute. The reason for the new vineyard is to support grape and wine research within Iowa and the Midwest and provide a set of vines for researchers to perform experiments on without disrupting the commercial vineyard’s operations.
Teaching and Students
Record-Breaking Year for Iowa State Livestock Judging Camp
More than 190 elementary through high school students came to campus June 3-5 to participate in the Neal and Kitty Conover Livestock Judging Camp. The camp, hosted by the Iowa State Livestock Judging Team and its coach, Will Taylor, animal science, is designed to introduce students to livestock judging and develop critical thinking, communication, leadership and decision-making skills. Participating students came from Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Video: Undergraduate Researcher Studies Rice
Tristan Weers, senior in biochemistry, is helping boost the defenses of one of the world's staple crops: rice. Check out his project and learn about the research opportunities undergraduate students can take advantage of in CALS.
Extension and Outreach
Workshops Focus on Better Leases for Better Relationships
ISU Extension and Outreach is hosting a series of farmland leasing arrangements meetings across the state throughout July and August, as well as a statewide virtual webinar on Aug. 26. These annual meetings are offered to address questions that landowners, tenants or other interested individuals have about leasing farmland.
LSLA Program Enhances Conservation Professionals’ Skills
Through in-person and virtual discussions with farmers, extension specialists and each other, the unique Land Stewardship Leadership Academy helps early-career natural resource professionals in Iowa gain knowledge to build relationships with farmers and increase confidence in their skills as conservation professionals. Offered every other year, the program wrapped up its third class in May. It was developed and is led by Adam Janke, natural resources ecology and management and extension wildlife specialist, and ISU Extension and Outreach staff Julia Baker and Catherine DeLong.
A Day of Learning Across Central Iowa’s Green Industry
In June, the Horticulture Extension Team participated in an in-service activity exploring various components of the horticulture industry. The day started with a visit to Bentley Ridge Nursery near Grimes. From there, the group traveled to Des Moines Golf and Country Club, Ted Lare Design and Wills Orchard. It was a great learning experience for members of the Horticulture Extension Team to visit clients and stakeholders, understand their needs and come up with research-based approaches and strategies to better serve the horticulture industry.
Around the College
CALS Researcher on Winning Multistate Research Award Team
Multistate Research Award NC246 was selected as the regional winner of the 2025 agInnovation Excellence in Multistate Research Award for work that included efforts led by Aaron Gassman, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, to coordinate a corn rootworm monitoring network, which includes 12 states and five Canadian provinces. The initiative’s website has had 18,000 views and 500 report downloads since 2021. In Iowa, producers estimate this information has a potential annual value of $40 to $160 million statewide.
Meet Dean Owusu in Latest Podcast, ‘To Infinity and Abroad’
Meet Francis Owusu, the new associate dean for global engagement in CALS, in episode 33 of the podcast, “To Infinity and Abroad.” Student travel consultant Kylie McGlade gets to know Owusu and learns about his goals for global programming in CALS.
Alum: Eileen Gannon on Farm, Fair and Fame
Eileen Gannon (’86 ag journalism, ’91 MBA) feels a special connection to the Iowa State Fair. She first entered her baking at the fair when she was 12. In 2021, Gannon launched her own business, Sunday Night Foods, using recipes she had honed for decades. Read her story in the summer 2025 issue of the Iowa Stater.
STORIES Magazine Coming in August 2025
CALS Communications staff appear in a new reel promoting STORIES magazine, the college-wide alum magazine set to hit mailboxes in August. While readers will notice much of the same content they’ve come to love, some fun, new additions will be added. Follow #CALSstories on social media for the latest updates and sign up to receive the print or digital version of the magazine.
Calendar
July 15: Welcome Reception and Appreciation Salute
A welcome reception for Glen Ritchie, incoming chair of the agronomy department, and an appreciation salute for Mary Wiedenhoeft, who has served as interim department chair for two years, is Tuesday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Agronomy Hall commons.
July 23: Zoo Brew
Join the Iowa State University Alumni Association and CALS in painting the Blank Park Zoo cardinal and gold on July 23 for Iowa State Day at Zoo Brew. Swing by the Blank Park Zoo Pavilion from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to mingle with fellow alums, meet the colleges and check out activities, prizes and giveaways.
July 25: Solar Farm Open House
Iowa State is holding a series of open house events at the Alliant Energy Solar Farm at Iowa State University near Ames. Participants will tour the farm and learn about agrivoltaics — the integration of solar energy and agriculture. Each session will share insight on the farm’s construction and explore research conducted at the farm. The next open house is July 25, followed by three more through September. This opportunity is available at no cost to participants, but pre-registration is required online to attend.
July 31: Alan DiSpirito Retiring
Alan DiSpirito, professor in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, is retiring July 31 (no public event).
More Events Listed on CALS Website
Find more events on the CALS Events webpage. Submit events for inclusion on this list to madelyno@iastate.edu or jstewart@iastate.edu.
Infograzing
Wintersteen on Combining the Alumni Association and the Foundation
In the summer 2025 issue of the Iowa Stater, Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen penned a message. “One of Iowa State University’s greatest strengths is our tremendously loyal and supportive alumni, friends and stakeholders,” Wintersteen said. “It’s been a priority for me to work on strengthening the relationships the university has, and to forge new ones. The work requires me — and all of us at Iowa State — to tell our story in the most compelling, convincing and consistent way possible. That’s why I decided last summer to hire a consultant to conduct a comprehensive assessment of our communications and constituent engagement ecosystem — all the many ways that Iowa State University, the Iowa State University Alumni Association and the Iowa State University Foundation connect with you and many others.”
Iowa Hunger Summit on July 16 Available in Person and Virtually
The Iowa Hunger Summit is a free, public event held annually, bringing together hundreds of food security leaders from across the state. This year's theme, From the Ground Up, underscores the importance of nurturing sustainable solutions to food insecurity at every stage of life, from infancy to older adulthood and every moment in between.
Marginalia
Windows are Top Human Threat to Birds
Window collisions are now considered the top human cause of bird deaths. Two recent scientific studies estimate that more than 1 billion birds – and as many as 5.19 billion – die from collisions with sheet glass each year in the United States alone. In a May 21 article in The Conversation, Jason Hoeksema, ecologist at the University of Mississippi, shares some simple steps to reduce collisions.
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.