College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
March 11, 2019
Top Stories
CARET Representatives Make Hill Visits in Support of Land-Grants
Last week, Iowa’s Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching representatives accompanied Dan Robison, CALS endowed dean, and John Lawrence, vice president for Extension and Outreach, on a visit to Washington, D.C., to support land-grant research, teaching and extension programs funded federally. Don Latham of Alexander, Sally Stutsman of Riverside, Bob Petrzelka of Mount Pleasant and Kevin Ross of Minden are the CARET members who advocate on behalf of CALS and Extension. The group visited with Congressional elected officials and staff members in each of Iowa’s four districts on a $125 million FY2020 request for increased federal funding for strategic priorities of the nationwide system of land-grant universities. A copy of the Iowa-focused one-pager on Iowa State provided during the Congressional visits is available online.
Teaching and Students
ISU Blood Drive Begins Today, with Support of CALS Students
The student organized Spring 2019 Blood Drive will be held Monday, March 11, through Thursday, March 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Donors will receive a Red Cross t-shirt. It is hosted by LifeServe Blood Center and ISU Blood Drive. CALS students on the ISU Blood Drive executive committee are Jake Sterle, junior in animal science, Scott Stoll, sophomore in agricultural business, Erica Cyko, junior in animal science, and Mackenzie Gunther, senior in biology. More
AST Club’s Lawn Mower Service Days Set for March 29-30
The Agricultural Systems Technology Club will hold its annual lawn mower service days March 29-30 at Sukup Hall. Routine service includes an oil change, a new spark plug, blade sharpening, air filter cleaning, deck cleaning and a power wash. Pricing is $30 for a push mower, $50 for a riding mower and $15 for a weed eater. Pickup and delivery (Ames only) is available for $15 and $20; call (515) 708-8672 or send an email request to astservicedays@gmail.com.
CALS Entrepreneurs in Pitch Contest Outline Startup Ideas
The CALS portion of the College-by-College Pitch-Off was held on Feb. 26 in Curtiss Hall. Students had 90 seconds to win over a panel of judges. Alex Irlbeck and Taylor Tuel, graduate students in agricultural and biosystems engineering, won $500 for Cattle Tech – a system for automatically tracking the weight and body types of herds – and the opportunity to participate in the ISU Innovation Pitch Competition, held March 7. More
PAS Club Named Premier Chapter, Students Advance to National Competition
The Professional Agriculture Students club competed successfully in the Iowa PAS conference Feb. 6-7. Twenty students and seven teams competed, all earning advancement to the national level. The club received the inaugural Premier Chapter Award and Katelyn Zimmerman, sophomore in agricultural and life sciences education, was elected state PAS secretary.
Extension and Outreach
Rasmussen to Speak on Impact of Cattle on Sustainable Agriculture
An Iowa Learning Farms webinar scheduled for March 20 at 12 p.m. will look at the role of livestock in sustainable agriculture. The webinar will focus on ruminant nutrition and feeding practices, and how ruminant production can be linked with crop diversity, soil health, climate and sustainable agriculture. Mark Rasmussen, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, will also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of production practices and current economics. More
Register by March 18 for ISU Community Food Systems Event
The 2019 Community Food Systems Program annual event will be held March 29 in Des Moines. Participants will discuss certification and training, and new skills and technical assistance around technology, innovation in food businesses and more. Registration deadline is March 18. The event is sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach. More
Around the College
Save the Date: Town Hall Meeting on April 5
CALS will hold a town hall meeting for all college faculty and staff on April 5 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Dolezal Auditorium in Curtiss Hall. Refreshments will be served. Endowed Dean Dan Robison will provide a welcome and remarks, including updates on budget and other issues, and then review the current status of Improved Service Delivery in CALS. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.
Three CALS Faculty Complete LEAD21 Program
Three CALS faculty members recently completed the LEAD21 leadership development program. Steven Lonergan, animal science, Daren Mueller, plant pathology and microbiology, and Toni Wang, food science and human nutrition, were part of the 14th class of the program. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities contracts with the University of Georgia to manage the program. The primary purpose of LEAD21 is to develop leaders in land-grant institutions and their strategic partners who link research, academics and extension to lead more effectively in an increasingly complex environment, either in their current positions or future leadership positions. More
Ames Tribune Profiles Dean Robison
The Ames Tribune recently spoke with CALS Endowed Dean Dan Robison about his journey to ISU. “The greatest pleasure of a university administrator is to see our students excelling and thriving,” said Robison. “I’ve been blessed to inherit this great college in this great university.” More
New ATRB Facility Featured in Local Newspaper
ISU’s new Advanced Teaching and Research Building was featured in a recent issue of The Messenger, published out of Fort Dodge. The ATRB building is a state-of-the-art research facility that is home to the plant pathology and microbiology department, and portions of the entomology department and genetics, development and cell biology department. More
Nominations for Gamma Sigma Delta due March 22
The Iowa chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture, is accepting nominations for membership and awards. Nomination forms for faculty, staff and alumni membership and awards are available online and are due March 22. More
In Memoriam: Irving Carlson, Professor Emeritus in Agronomy
Irving Carlson, professor emeritus in agronomy, died Feb. 23 in Naperville, Ill. He was 92. Carlson joined ISU in 1960. A key focus of his work was the development of new varieties of orchard grass and other cool season forage crops. A funeral service was held March 9, with burial in the Ames Municipal Cemetery. More
In Memoriam: John Meadows, Forestry Professor
John Meadows, forestry professor at ISU from 1968 to 1973, died Dec. 24 in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. He was 85. During his time in Ames, Meadows was an instructor at the 1970 Forestry Camp in Wanakena, N.Y., the first camp lasting six weeks. From ISU he went to the Tennessee Valley Authority and then USDA, where he spent 20 years as a forest economist. More
CALS Online: Next Issue March 25
CALS Online will not be published on March 18, the week of spring break. The newsletter will resume Monday, March 25.
Calendar
March 25: Shivvers Memorial Lecture
The 2019 Shivvers Memorial Lecture sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, will be held March 25 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Campanile Room. Angie Tagtow, a registered and licensed dietitian with more than 25 years of experience in public health and food policy, will present “Setting the Table: Systems, Sustainability and Policy.” More
March 28: Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture
The Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture is scheduled for March 28 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. David Montgomery, University of Washington, will present “Bringing Our Soil Back to Life.” Co-sponsors include CALS, the departments of agronomy and sociology, the Leopold Center and the Wallace chair in Sustainable Agriculture. More
April 3-4: Phenomics Symposium
A mini symposium on Novel Candidate Gene Discovery by Computing on Phenotypes will be held April 3-4 at the ISU Alumni Center. Todd Vision, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will present the keynote address. Also speaking are Maura McGrail, GDCB, Jeanne Serb, EEOB, Jianming Yu, agronomy, and Justin Walley, plant pathology and microbiology. Tours of Enviratron and the Plant Transformation Facility will also be provided. Registration is free and will remain open until March 26. Sponsored by the ISU Presidential Interdisciplinary Research and Seed Grant program. More
April 8: ADVANCE Workshop
A 90-minute ISU ADVANCE workshop will be held April 16 in the Memorial Union Campanile Room. , 9:30 to 11 a.m. or 1 to 2:30 p.m. Nancy Barcelo, special assistant for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the Chancellor of the University of Illinois, will discuss “Faculty with Multiple Identities as Strategic Agents to Institutional Change. The interactive workshop will focus on how diversity transforms how we teach, learn and know. Practical strategies will be identified to take back to the departments. Participants may choose from a morning or afternoon session. Registration deadline is April 8. To register, go to Learn@ISU, select course catalogue and scroll to SVPP events. CALS is a co-sponsor of this event.
April 9: Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture
The Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture is scheduled for April 9 at 7 p.m. in 127 Curtiss Hall, Dolezal Auditorium. Ken Isley, head of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, will present “The Role of the U.S. in the Global Food and Agriculture Marketplace. More
Infograzing
Fifth Forum Added for Faculty to Learn about Workday
A forum designed specifically for faculty will provide a targeted look at how Workday and improved service delivery will impact their teaching, research and extension work. Five sessions of the same faculty forum are scheduled, beginning Thursday, March 14. Workday, the software platform ISU will use to do business, goes live July 1, along with the ISD model that created teams of finance and human resources experts to support colleges, departments and units. More
Iowa State Research Day Scheduled for March 28
The Office of the Vice President for Research is hosting its annual Iowa State Research Day on March 28, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union. The agenda includes lightning talks, a poster session, storytelling sessions and a resource fair. Margaret Hedstrom, University of Michigan School of Information, will present the keynote address on public access to data and other scholarly products and the connection to promoting rigor in scholarship. Registration is available online. More
USDA Rural Development to Host Farm Bill Listening Session
USDA Rural Development will conduct a listening session webinar in Thursday, March 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., to listen to questions and comments from partners, stakeholders and customers who will be affected by the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. Registration is required to participate. The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 13, at 2 p.m. More
Marginalia
ISU Police Launch New Safety App
The ISU Police Department has launched a new safety app, ISU Guardian. The primary use of the app is for people walking and commuting within the community. It allows users to designate a guardian (family, friend or ISU Police) to “keep a virtual eye” on them while they have the timer activated. The app has six different icons and each of its features will provide assistance on a day-to-day basis and in crisis. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
http://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
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 Friday.