College News
- Ag faculty-staff retreat to examine distance learning
- Two ag alumni events during ISU class reunions
- Food security goals discussed at forum
- DNA to Dessert: Teaching talented and gifted about ag
- Sixth Teacher's Academy on Ag Awareness in June
- New FSHN chair officially begins July 1
- Calling all volunteers: State fair exhibit coming up
- Ukrainian exchange students arrive in Ames
- Visiting Russians to discuss building ag curricula
- Deadlines & Reminders
Communications Kiosk
- Backyard Topics column makes its summer debut
- College calendar planned for Curtiss Hall kiosk
Infograzing
- ISU: Where ag doctorates get their bachelor's degrees
External Voices
- The Class of 1947 remembers . . . and thanks
Marginalia
- The Class of 1947 remembers those moonlit nights
College News
Ag Faculty-Staff Retreat to Examine Distance Learning
The college's Professional Development Committee has chosen distance learning as the theme of the annual ag faculty-staff retreat on Aug. 21. Look for more details in upcoming issues of Ag Online.
Two Ag Alumni Events During ISU Class Reunions
Nearly 300 alumni and guests from the classes of '27, '32, '37, '42 and '47 are attending ISU Alumni Days, June 5-7. On Thursday evening, a social hour for agriculture alumni was held in the Scheman Building. A reception for 40 ag alumni was held this morning in the Pioneer Room, with remarks by associate dean Eric Hoiberg. (See "External Voices" and "Marginalia" items.)
Food Security Goals Discussed at Forum
More than 80 Iowans participated in the National Consultations on Food Security on May 21 at ISU. The public forum was one of 16 held around the country that day to discuss priorities for U.S. action to address the World Food Summit goal of reducing world hunger by half by 2015. Four participants from the ISU meeting (including George Beran in MIPM) went to Washington, DC, this week to discuss the next stages of the action-plan process. The meeting was organized by International Agriculture Programs and the World Food Prize Foundation. For more information: Denise Bjelland, 4-2883.
DNA to Dessert: Teaching Talented and Gifted About Ag
Agriculture faculty and staff members from eight departments will teach courses for 20 talented and gifted middle-school students enrolled in "DNA to Dessert," June 15-21. This is one of the summer programs offered by ISU's Office of Pre-collegiate Programs for Talented and Gifted. Among other activities, students will conduct soil tests, diagnose crop diseases, choose ingredients for new food products, conduct Internet research and create a video. For more information: Gaylan Scofield, 4-2883 or ggs@iastate.edu.
Sixth Teacher's Academy On Ag Awareness in June
Seventy teachers will attend the Teacher's Academy on Agricultural Awareness at ISU, June 16-18 and June 18-20. Working with the state's farm and commodity groups, ISU offers training to show the teachers how they can incorporate agricultural information into their classrooms. The teachers also develop new ag activities for the classroom. More than 300 teachers -- mostly from elementary schools -- have attended the academy over the past six years. For more information: Robert Martin, 4-0896.
New FSHN Chair Officially Begins Duties July 1
Diane Birt, the new chair of the Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition and director of the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition, is now on campus. Pam White continues as interim chair through July 1, then will return to her teaching and research duties. Birt was a professor at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She can be reached at: 2312 Foods Sciences Building, phone: 4-3011; fax: 4-8181; e-mail: dbirt@iastate.edu.
Calling All Volunteers: State Fair Exhibit Coming Up
Volunteers are needed for the college's exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 7-17. Because 1997 has been declared the "Year of Water" in Iowa, the exhibit will focus on ISU's work to protect and enhance water quality. A memo has been sent to all departments looking for six volunteers for each day. The time slots, starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m., are divided into three four-hour shifts, with two volunteers for each shift. To choose the best time for your schedule, please sign up quickly. Volunteers get free admission and parking passes. For more information: Amy Litterer, Ag Information, 4-0707, or Marty Behrens, 4-5616.
Ukrainian Exchange Students Arrive in Ames
Six National Agricultural University students from Ukraine arrived at ISU today to spend the summer learning about American agriculture. This is an exchange that began last year with six ISU students working on internships in Ukraine. The program is sponsored by International Ag Programs and by private donations from the Ukrainian American community in the United States. For more information: Victor Udin, 4-8971 or vaudin@iastate.edu.
Visiting Russians to Discuss Building Ag Curricula
A USDA-sponsored delegation from Russia will spend two days at ISU in July to discuss the design and development of curricula, particularly in agronomy and plant sciences. The delegation includes national program leaders in curriculum development and agricultural university officials. For more information: Eric Hoiberg, 4-6614, or Elena Polouchkina, 4-8493.
Deadlines & Reminders
June 16-18, 18-20: Teacher's Academy on Agricultural Awareness
June 22-25: National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture 1997 Conference; 4-5145
June 24-26: State 4-H Conference; 4-1607
June 29-July 2: American Meat Science Association's 50th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference; 4-3280
Aug. 7-17: Iowa State Fair
Aug. 21: College faculty-staff retreat
Communications Kiosk
Backyard Topics Column Makes Its Summer Debut
Last week Ag Information debuted "Backyard Topics," a weekly column highlighting ways to enjoy and learn about the outdoors and nature. College faculty and staff are sources of information for the column, which is being distributed this summer to Iowa news media. This week's column, on adopting a tree, can be viewed on the college's Web site. Have an idea for a column? Contact Ed Adcock, 4-2314 or edadcock@iastate.edu.
College Calendar Planned for Curtiss Hall Kiosk
A College of Agriculture calendar is planned for display on a kiosk video monitor outside the Brenton Center in Curtiss Hall. If you have upcoming activities, events or meetings, send them to Gaylan Scofield, ggs@iastate.edu.
Infograzing
ISU: Where Ag Doctorates Earn Their Bachelor's Degrees
The National Science Foundation recently published data on science and engineering doctorates awarded from 1991 to 1995. ISU ranks number one as the baccalaureate-origin institution for students earning doctorates in agricultural sciences.
External Voices
The Class of 1947 Remembers... And Thanks
Members of the ISU Class of 1947, now on campus for their 50th reunion, were asked to list favorite college memories. The following were written by ag alumni. A forestry alum: "I had some excellent teachers at Iowa State." An animal husbandry alum: "My ISU diploma and various ISU connections have certainly been a prime asset over the years." An ag education alum's memory: "Studying and working under V.J. Morford and other great and caring professors." A horticulture alum: "Prof. Pickett sold me on the joy and satisfaction of working with plants." An animal husbandry alum: "My most cherished memories must be meeting and having classes with professors Schearer, Kildee, Anderson, etc." An ag education alum: "I am, after all these years, so thankful for all the respect and help I received from professors and university administrators while a student at ISU." An ag engineering alum's memory: "Working in Ag Engineering Experimental Laboratory on new inventions." The same alum added: "Making life-long friends with faculty and students and learning not only how to earn a living, but how to live a life. We have been richly blessed. Thank you Iowa State for a job well done."
Marginalia
The Class of 1947 Remembers Those Moonlit Nights
Other reminisces from '47 ag alumni, now on campus for their 50th class reunion. One alumnus wrote: "One moonlit fall night a group of us drove to the College orchard in my '39 Ford convertible for a supply of apples. (Probably forbidden fruit tastes better.)" Another's memory: "Scaring some freshmen out of the College apple orchard by firing off fireworks which sounded like gun fire." One alum wrote: "Poaching rabbits on the golf course on moonlit winter nights." The same alum wrote that the concrete floors in the Pammel Court Quonset huts were so cold that "damp diapers caused the baby to freeze to the floor." Another alum wrote: "Soil mapping the dairy farm bull pasture (bulls in the pasture) and trying to buy steel fence posts for the Ag 450 farm during the war." One alum remembered: "We enjoyed our beautiful campus very much, and especially the greetings of 'Fine night,' from the Campus Night Watchman in the evenings."