COLLEGE NEWS
- Open forum with Jischke and Richmond on Sept. 29
- Regents approve Plant Sciences Institute
- Calling all volunteers -- help needed in Amana
- Farm Progress Show tent highlights many ISU projects
- Goudy interim head of Rural Development Center
- Fall enrollment figures for the college
- Help welcome new and returning minority students
- New Project LEA/RN Group to begin meeting
- Ag Alumni Society announces four award winners
- Iowa Farm Safety & Health Week proclaimed
- Sneak peek of book on people sustaining the land
- ‘Sand County Almanac’ marks 50th anniversary
- Fostering locally grown food the topic of cable show
- Communications workshop for new ag instructors
- Plans begin for NASA-funded center at ISU
- ISU Family of the Year named (dad is an ag alum)
- Reception planned during ISU family weekend
- Think tank on animal agriculture sets meetings
- Field day honors cooperators in Bear Creek project
- Reiman Gardens brown-bag programs continue
- Twenty ag courses taught in Brenton Center this fall
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Print is a great medium if you’ve got a great idea
INFOGRAZING
- By the numbers: Meat eaters and plant eaters who read
- Fifty most useful web sites, according to Yahoo
INTERNAL VOICES
- Mentors impressed by ag minority summer program
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Bet on biotech, not the ’net, for future science moguls
MARGINALIA
- College’s local food program improves community
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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OPEN FORUM WITH JISCHKE AND RICHMOND ON SEPT. 29
Agriculture faculty, staff and students are invited to attend an open forum with President Jischke and Provost Rollin Richmond at 11:15 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 29, in 1951 Food Sciences (the CCUR Theater). The forum is part of their visit to the College of Agriculture. They will meet with college administrators and students, and with faculty and staff of the Department of Animal Ecology.
REGENTS APPROVE PLANT SCIENCES INSTITUTE
A proposal to create a Plant Sciences Institute at Iowa State was approved by the Board of Regents on Thursday. The institute will be the umbrella organization over a group of centers, each focused on specific areas of plant sciences. President Jischke told the regents the institute is "as bold an initiative as our university has undertaken in a very long time," and added, "We are building a very strong base here in areas related to the plant sciences."
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS -- HELP NEEDED IN AMANA
Urgently needed: volunteers to work in the ISU tent at the Farm Progress Show in Amana, Sept. 28, 29 and 30. Two shifts are available each day, one from 7 to 10 a.m and 12:30 to 3 p.m, and the other from 10 a.m to 12:30 p.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m. Volunteers are needed most on the first shift Sept. 29 and both shifts on Sept. 30. Please sign up ASAP so tickets can be ordered and delivered before Sept. 22, with the Farm Progress office closes and moves to Amana. To get more information and to volunteer, please go online.
FARM PROGRESS SHOW TENT HIGHLIGHTS MANY ISU PROJECTS
The Iowa State tent at the 1999 Farm Progress Show, Sept. 28-30, features more than 30 displays and field plots, focusing on topics such as value-added agriculture and conversations across the generations. A new feature this year is the ISU hoop building, featuring educational programming, live radio broadcasts and listening sessions, where ISU Extension staff can gain feedback from producers, agricultural leaders, farm families and agribusiness professionals on the current status of rural communities and farming.
GOUDY INTERIM HEAD OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Willis Goudy is the interim director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development while director Cornelia Flora is on a year’s sabbatical. Flora, who will return to her position next July, has been conducting research in Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, and on Oct. 1 will begin a term as the endowed chair in sustainable agriculture systems at the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, University of Minnesota. Goudy, a University Professor of sociology and director of ISU Census Services, just completed a term as chair of the sociology department.
FALL ENROLLMENT FIGURES FOR THE COLLEGE
Fall enrollment in the College of Agriculture is 2,888 undergraduate students, which is 19 students shy of enrollment a year ago. The total ends an 11-year streak of enrollment increases. This fall the college has 631 graduate students, the same number as a year ago.
HELP WELCOME NEW AND RETURNING MINORITY STUDENTS
MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences) will host a welcome reception for all new and returning minority students in the College of Agriculture at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22, in 142 Curtiss. College of Agriculture faculty and staff are encouraged to stop by. Refreshments will be provided. Door prizes (T-shirts, mugs, etc.) will be given away. Please RSVP by Monday, Sept. 20, to Nina Grant, 4-1701.
NEW PROJECT LEA/RN GROUP TO BEGIN MEETING
A new Project LEA/RN group will start up this semester as part of the USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant received by Steve Jungst, forestry, and Barb Licklider, education student services. College of Agriculture faculty who have not had previous experience with Project LEA/RN are welcome to join, as well as those who attended the introductory four-day workshop last March. The group will provide faculty with an opportunity to interact with others interested in learning new classroom techniques and discussing ways to improve teaching. Meeting times for the group will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on the following Tuesdays: Sept. 21, Oct. 12, Oct. 26, Nov. 9, Nov. 30 and Dec. 14. To sign up, contact Jungst, 4-1587 or sejungst@iastate.edu.
AG ALUMNI SOCIETY ANNOUNCES FOUR AWARD WINNERS
The College of Agriculture Alumni Society has chosen its 1999 award winners. They will be recognized at ISU’s homecoming on Oct. 30, in the ag alumni tent about an hour before game time. The tent will be located next to the Alumni Association's tent in the southwest corner of the parking lot across from the Jacobson Building. There is no charge for admission. Duane Acker of Atlantic, (‘52 B.S., animal science, ’53 M.S. and ’57 Ph.D.), will receive the Meritorious Service Award. Reg Clause of Jefferson (‘72 B.S. animal science) will receive the Production Agriculture Award. David Hettinga of Minneapolis (‘71 Ph.D., food microbiology) will receive the Professional Agribusiness Award. Harold Hodson, Jr., of Ames (‘61 B.S., animal science, and ‘65 Ph.D.) will receive the Innovators in Agriculture Award.
IOWA FARM SAFETY & HEALTH WEEK PROCLAIMED
Two ISU faculty members, Chuck Schwab, agricultural and biosystems engineering, and Steve Freeman, industrial engineering, attended the Sept. 9 signing of a farm-safety proclamation by Gov. Tom Vilsack. The proclamation declared Sept. 19-25 as Iowa Farm Safety and Health Week, and Sept. 22 as Iowa Farm Safety and Health Day for Children and Youth. Both Schwab and Freeman are active in farm-safety activities. 1999 marks the 56th observance of National Farm Safety and Health Week.
SNEAK PEEK OF BOOK ON PEOPLE SUSTAINING THE LAND
ISU entomology professor Jerry DeWitt and professional photographer Cynthia Vagnetti teamed up to document the lives of farm families who are using sustainable agriculture practices across the nation. They interviewed and photographed families in 20 states, traveling more than 45,000 miles. They will assemble their materials for a book, "People Sustaining the Land." A preview of their work can be seen on The Digital Journalist web site, http://digitaljournalist.org, which is the web site of Time magazine photographer Dirck Halstead. Look for the "Gifts and Graces of the Land."
‘SAND COUNTY ALMANAC’ MARKS 50th ANNIVERSARY
October marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Aldo Leopold’s "A Sand County Almanac," a book that outlined the Iowa native’s "land-ethic" philosophy. Dennis Keeney, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, will participate in a national conference to examine Leopold’s legacy Oct. 5-7 in Madison, Wis. More information about the book and the author can be found online.
FOSTERING LOCALLY GROWN FOOD THE TOPIC OF CABLE SHOW
Rich Pirog of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will be part of a discussion of efforts to boost local food production on Iowa News & Views, a TV series on state and community issues that airs on local cable TV systems around Iowa. The show will run on Channel 10 in Ames the week of Sept. 20 at 10:30 p.m., Tuesday; 5:30 p.m., Wednesday; and 6:30 p.m., Friday. (See today's "Marginalia" item.)
COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOP FOR NEW AG INSTRUCTORS
On Tuesday, Sept. 21, Ag Comm will hold a workshop for new ag faculty and instructors at 4:30 p.m. in 8 Curtiss. To attend, RSVP to Norma Hensley, 4-6614 or nhensley@iastate.edu. Ag Comm is the college’s program to enhance students’ communications skills. Ag Comm has several workshops, open to all who teach in the college, scheduled for the rest of the academic year. Topics will include: ethics in communications; effective use of visuals; texts in technical courses; teaching in large groups and lecture halls; the role of communication activities; and writing and using essay exams in technical courses. For more information: Robert Martin, 4-0896 or drmartin@iastate.edu.
OCT. 1 DEADLINE TO APPROVE NEW EXPERIMENTAL COURSES
The College of Agriculture Curriculum Committee reminds faculty that the deadline is Oct. 1 for approval of experimental courses to be offered spring semester 2000. Agriculture faculty wishing to have an experimental course approved and listed in the Schedule of Classes need to get the experimental course form to the curriculum committee in time for its next meeting, Sept. 27. Contact your departmental curriculum committee representative or Joe Colletti, chair, 4-4912 or colletti@iastate.edu.
PLANS BEGIN FOR NASA-FUNDED CENTER AT ISU
Last week, several ISU faculty members met with NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss details for the National Food Technology Commercial Space Center, which will be based at ISU. The center, announced in July, will work with companies to develop foods or food-processing methods that are suitable for space travel. Faculty included Dennis Olson, head of ISU’s Utilization Center for Agricultural Products, who will direct the center.
ISU FAMILY OF THE YEAR NAMED (DAD IS AN AG ALUM)
The ISU Student Alumni Association and ISU Parent’s Association have selected the L. Craig and Kathryn Harris family of Shenandoah as the 1999 Family of the Year. L. Craig Harris earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in 1968 and his master’s in agricultural economics in 1977. Kathryn Harris also has two degrees from ISU. They have two children, Shannon, a ’95 graduate, and Chad, who will graduate in 2001. The Harrises will be honored during ISU Family Weekend, Sept. 24-26.
RECEPTION PLANNED DURING ISU FAMILY WEEKEND
The College of Agriculture will host a reception for parents and families of ag students during ISU’s Family Weekend, Saturday, Sept. 25, beginning at 9 a.m. in 220-240 Scheman. Representatives from departments will be there and door prizes will be given away.
THINK TANK ON ANIMAL AGRICULTURE SETS MEETINGS
The Think Tank on Animal Agriculture is a forum of ISU faculty and staff who are working to identify areas in animal agriculture that may lead to problems in the future and to seek solutions before problems arise. The group has set meeting dates for the current academic year. The next meeting, which will focus on genetically modified organisms, will be held Monday, Sept. 27, in the Cardinal Room, Memorial Union. A social time begins at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and discussion at 7 p.m. Stan Johnson, vice provost for extension, will lead discussions. Cost for dinner is $11. To attend, call Jane Linn, 4-2063, by Sept. 24. Future meetings are set for Oct. 25, Nov. 29, Jan. 24, Feb. 28, March 27 and April 24. For more information: Don Beitz, 4-5626 or dcbeitz@iastate.edu, or Gene Freeman, 4-3352 or genef@iastate.edu.
FIELD DAY HONORS COOPERATORS IN BEAR CREEK PROJECT
On Thursday, a field day was held at the Ron Risdal farm near Roland to honor the landowners and cooperators who have participated in ISU’s Bear Creek watershed research and demonstration project. In the past year, the project site has received two national honors as a model for applying stream corridor restoration technology and for improving community, environment and water quality. On Wednesday, 35 board members of the state’s Farm Service Agency toured the site.
REIMAN GARDENS BROWN-BAG PROGRAMS CONTINUE
A correction from the last Ag Online: the Reiman Gardens brown-bag lunch programs will continue on a monthly basis beginning in October. They are held twice a month from April through September. From October through March the programs are held on the first Thursday of the month in the Mahlstede Building.
TWENTY AG COURSES TAUGHT IN BRENTON CENTER THIS FALL
This fall, 20 of the 21 courses scheduled in the high-tech Brenton Center classrooms are College of Agriculture courses. Eleven departments are represented in those 20 courses. Many of the courses are taught with the aid of the World Wide Web, CD-Rom and videotape. Besides the credit courses, the center averages 15 to 30 hours of seminars and meetings in its facilities.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Sept. 18: Farm Safety Day Camp on campus, 268-1843
Sept. 19-21: Heartland Environmental and Resource Economics Workshop, 4-6336
Sept. 20: Mini-symposium on conjugated linoleic acid, Ensminger Room, Kildee Hall, 4-3280
Sept. 21: Ag Comm: new faculty/instructors workshop, 8 Curtiss, 4:30 p.m., 4-6614
Sept. 24: Faculty improvement leave applications due, 138 Curtiss
Sept. 28-30: Farm Progress Show, Amanas
Sept. 29: President Jischke and Provost Rollin Richmond visit college
Oct. 1: Deadline, registration for BBMB Symposium, 4-6116
Oct. 1: Deadline, experimental courses for spring 2000, 4-4912
Oct. 13: WebCT: A Course Management Tool, Brenton Center seminar, 8 Curtiss, 4-9732
Oct. 14: World Food Prize award ceremony, Des Moines, 4-0706
Oct. 15: Deadline, proposals for Dean of Agriculture’s International Research Grants, 4-8493
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
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PRINT IS A GREAT MEDIUM IF YOU’VE GOT A GREAT IDEA
"When you start with print, you learn the only thing that counts is the idea. If the idea is strong, print makes it stronger. On the other hand, in print, you can't hide the lack of an idea. Print is the perfect medium for the best writers -- and a great place for big ideas." -- Anonymous. (From InsideCARD, the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development’s newsletter)
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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BY THE NUMBERS: MEAT EATERS AND PLANT EATERS WHO READ
Average copies of Vegetarian Times magazine sold each month: 325,000
Average copies of The American Hunter magazine sold each month: 929,000
(Brill’s Content, August)
FIFTY MOST USEFUL WEB SITES, ACCORDING TO YAHOO
Yahoo Internet Life has chosen its third annual 50 most useful Web sites in 10 categories ranging from reference to shopping. FedStats is one of the reference winners as is Babelfish Translation Service (http://babelfish.altavista.com), which allows you to translate letters you write. Also included in the article are 10 "Supremely Useful Sites" and 10 sites that make the Internet easier to use.
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I N T E R N A L V O I C E S
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MENTORS IMPRESSED BY AG MINORITY SUMMER PROGRAM
Below are comments from faculty who were mentors in the college’s Agriculture Minority Summer Internship Program this past summer. The comments are taken from a survey conducted by the Agriculture Minority Programs office. Enrolled in the program were 18 students -- nine undergraduates from eight colleges and nine students from eight high schools -- who conducted research in the labs of faculty from agriculture, veterinary medicine and family and consumer sciences. Mentors’ comments: "Now I more fully appreciate the potential of this program for developing our future leaders and linking ISU projects to the student’s home community." "The program extends more freedom to students to carve out their own pathway." "Gives us the opportunity to [help] students define project goals and outcomes and allows them to take a project and run." "I like the idea that the intern’s research will link her into an ISU program for the future." "Meeting new people with new perspectives was a highlight for me." "There are lots of other research areas in our department that could provide mutually beneficial experiences." "It is a great opportunity for prospective students and for ISU." "This is the first time I’ve been able to truly take a hands-off approach with a project."
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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BET ON BIOTECH, NOT THE NET, FOR FUTURE SCIENCE MOGULS
"We're not going to need more HTML coders five years from now; we're going to need biotechnologists. Everyone wants to start an Internet business today, because they don't realize that the science moguls of a decade down the road will be the biotechnologists." Paul Saffo, a director of the Institute for the Future, a research group in Menlo Park, Calif. (New York Times, Sept. 2)
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M A R G I N A L I A
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COLLEGE'S LOCAL FOOD PROGRAM IMPROVES COMMUNITY
The Leopold Center has supported efforts to foster local food production. Similar efforts are ongoing around the country. One example: How do you feed 100 homeless people daily, provide a stable market for local organic farmers and make pigs happy in one fell swoop? At Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, they've done it through innovations in providing meals for the university's students, faculty and guests. Through a co-op of local farmers, the college buys seasonal organic food, providing farmers with economic stability. A local farmer composts the college’s pre-consumer food waste, and pigs eat the food scraps. Uneaten cafeteria food is distributed to a local soup kitchen. The college encourages use of ceramics rather than disposable dinnerware. It buys in bulk to save packaging and recycles half of its solid waste. The college’s efforts were recognized last May with a National Award for Sustainability given by Renew America and the President’s Council on Sustainable Development.