College News
- Attend Sept. 17 open forum with President Jischke
- National search is on for associate dean-extension
- Nobel Prize winner to speak at B&B symposium
- ISU Agricultural Foundation turns 60
- Reiman Gardens celebrates its second year
- Garden field days attract more than 500
- Crowds flock to Agronomy Day
- 1997-98 chairs of college standing committees
- Deadline Oct. 17 for International Research Grants
- Request for proposals: Iowa Soybean Promotion Board
- Dates set for AgComm meetings
- Land-grant issues discussed in downlinked series
- Deadlines & Reminders
Communications Kiosk
- A call for clarity in journal paper writing
Infograzing
- After-hours counselor available for student crises
- Nineteen fall courses offered via distance education
- Many inquisitive visitors at the fair
External Voices
- Student motivation for those first crucial weeks
Marginalia
- Warning: Reading this prose may be a precursor of plasma energy collapse
College News
Attend Sept. 17 Open Forum With President Jischke
Agriculture faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend an open meeting with President Jischke on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 3:10 to 4 p.m. in the CCUR Theatre (1951 Food Sciences). The meeting is part of the President Jischke's annual daylong visit with college personnel and students.
National Search is on for Associate Dean-Extension
Nov. 1 is the application deadline for the position of associate dean for extension in the College of Agriculture. The search committee -- six faculty members, four staff members and a farmer -- is chaired by Willis Goudy, chair of sociology. Wendy Wintersteen has been interim associate dean since August 1995. For more information: Goudy, 4-8311 or wjgoudy@iastate.edu.
Nobel Prize Winner to Speak at B&B Symposium
Stanley Cohen, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine, will speak at the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics' ninth annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Symposium, Sept. 25-28. The topic of this year's international symposium is epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signaling. Cohen, a Vanderbilt University biochemist, and Rita Levi-Montalcini shared the Nobel Prize for their discovery of EGF. For more information on the symposium: 4-7978 or gfst@molebio.iastate.edu, or see the website.
ISU Agricultural Foundation Turns 60
The ISU Agricultural Foundation observes its 60th anniversary with a reception and dinner today (Friday). The foundation's mission is to help beginning farmers and support the College of Agriculture. This year the foundation has awarded $52,000 in scholarships to ag students. Organized in 1937, the foundation was made possible by gifts from C.R. Musser, a Muscatine banker. Musser's daughter, Marion Musser Lloyd, will attend today's activities, along with past and present foundation trustees.
Reiman Gardens Celebrates Its Second Year
It's been two years since the Reiman Gardens were dedicated, a "birthday" that was observed at the gardens this week. This year the gardens displayed more than 18,000 annual plants and more than 100 species of perennials. Last year more than 100 organized tours were given, with a similar number so far this year. More than 30 couples have married in the gardens.
Garden Field Days Attract More Than 500
This summer, 531 people attended evening field days for the home demonstration gardens at seven ISU Research & Demonstration Farms. The gardens are used to evaluate new varieties and techniques used in home vegetable and flower gardens.
Crowds Flock to Agronomy Day
Agronomy Day attracted 1,110 visitors to the Agronomy/Ag Engineering Research Farm on Thursday. Of that number, 260 were high school students.
1997-98 Chairs of College Standing Committees
Chairs of the college's standing committees this year are: Joe Colletti, curriculum; Paul Brackelsberg, academic affairs; Jim Kliebenstein, recruitment; Bruce Menzel, minority programs; James Dyer, professional development; Howard Tyler, honors program; Richard Shibles, faculty awards; Gail Nonnecke, student awards/scholarships; Russ Mullen, transfer/articulation; Ed Braun, plant health and protection; Ken Holscher, BS-Off Campus and Master of Agriculture supervisory; and Gaylan Scofield, technology advancement.
Deadline Oct. 17 for International Research Grants
The Dean of Agriculture's International Research Grants Program aims to expand and strengthen international research collaborations on problems of mutual interest to Iowans and cooperating countries. Deadline for proposals is Oct. 17. Applications have been sent to departments, or check the website. For more information: Elena Polouchkina, 4-8493 or elenap@iastate.edu.
Request for Proposals: Iowa Soybean Promotion Board
The ISPB will provide more than $3 million for research that expands soybean utilization and improves soybean profitability. Project preproposals are due Oct. 31. See the college website for submission instructions.
Dates Set for AgComm Meetings
A series of AgComm meetings has been scheduled to help agriculture faculty incorporate communication skills development into their courses. AgComm is the college's communication-across-the-curriculum program. The first session, on Oct. 1, will be an overview for new teaching faculty and teaching assistants. It will be held noon to 1:30 p.m. in 106 Curtiss, with lunch served. Future meetings will be held Oct. 22 and Nov. 19 in 142 Curtiss; and Jan. 27, Feb. 17 and an April date in 8 Curtiss. For more information: Robert Martin, AgComm coordinator, 4-0896, or Rebecca Burnett, AgComm consultant in the English department, 4-5654.
Land-Grant Issues Discussed in Downlinked Series
Vision 2020 is sponsoring a downlink of "21st Century Land-Grant Universities: Action on Issues," a series of teleconferences originating at Clemson University. The next seminar is Oct. 2; others follow once a month through February. All run from 10:30 a.m. to noon in 116 Pearson. Preregistration is suggested. The sessions will be videotaped. For more information: 4-2092 or visit the website.
Deadlines & Reminders
Sept. 15: Habla usted espanol? Deadline, Spanish Language/Latin American Culture class registration, 4-3972.
Sept. 17: Open meeting with President Jischke, 1951 Food Sciences.
Sept. 25-28: 9th annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Symposium, 4-7978.
Oct. 1: AgComm seminar for new teaching faculty and TAs, 106 Curtiss, noon.
Communications Kiosk
A Call for Clarity in Journal Paper Writing
In an effort to improve scientific writing, a group of physicists and journal editors plans to present journal paper submission guidelines to the American Institute of Physics publication board. The guidelines will recommend that journal editors "make clarity of presentation 'an (explicit) condition of acceptance of an article,' that abstracts be made more generally intelligible and that the best-written articles receive special recognition." Martin Blume, editor-in-chief at the American Physical Society, said, "The idea is to make a small dent in this loss of general understanding." (From Science, Aug. 15.)
Infograzing
After-Hours Counselor Available for Student Crises
After regular business hours, ISU Student Counseling Service has counselors available for crisis calls involving students, including suicidal or traumatic situations, or similar events where a counselor's advice or presence is critically needed. Michelle Clark is the after-hours liaison for the College of Agriculture. Each department has received details about the program.
Nineteen Fall Courses Offered Via Distance Education
Nineteen courses in the college are being delivered via distance education this semester. Nine are offered on the ICN; four on the Web; five on videotape; and one on satellite. The courses are in genetics, microbiology, zoology, agricultural education, agronomy, biochemistry & biophysics, sociology, horticulture, economics and animal science.
Many Inquisitive Visitors at the Fair
Last month, almost 150 visitors to the college's state fair exhibit wrote down questions that they wanted answered. Some wanted information on well-water testing and soil testing. Some asked for water quality education materials. Some wanted to know how to control grasshoppers and water lilies. Others asked about the best grasses or trees to use for stabilizing stream banks. Several asked for information on attending ISU. All requests for information were filled or forwarded to the appropriate persons.
External Voices
Student Motivation for Those First Crucial Weeks
The percentage of college freshmen who drop out or transfer during their first year is at an all-time high: nearly 27 percent, according to ACT Inc. That's why the hottest new market for motivational speakers is colleges. In hiring the speakers, colleges hope to dissuade students from dropping out or transferring. "It helps us keep students in those first few weeks, and those are crucial weeks," said Linda Perez, coordinator of academic services at North Park University in Chicago. "It gets them out of their dorm rooms after their parents have left, so they're not in there crying all alone." (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 4)
Marginalia
Warning: Reading This Prose May be a Precursor of Plasma Energy Collapse
Some scientists and editors want to make scientific writing easier to understand (see "Communications Kiosk"). To illustrate the problem, the following opening sentence of a physics journal paper was cited in the Aug. 15 issue of Science: "The need to obtain adequate ELMy H-mode energy confinement simultaneous with operation near the neoclassical tearing mode beta-limit and at/above the Greenwald density limit suggests that careful optimization of plasma performance will be required to obtain the desired fusion power performance, and that 'active means' to control or inhibit the onset of neoclassical tearing mode activity -- a common precursor of plasma energy collapse or disruption in present experiments operating near the beta and/or density limits -- will be required."