AG ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture Faculty/Staff Newsletter
Iowa State University
January 7, 2000 No. 136
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C O N T E N T S
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COLLEGE NEWS
-Richard Ross named interim dean of agriculture
-Mabry new director of Iowa Pork Industry Center
-Trenkle named interim director of Leopold Center
-Carriquiry appointed to associate provost post
-Cargill to support ag faculty/staff trip to Europe
-Proposals due March 1 for computer funds for teaching
- China program still has openings for students
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Three free resources to strengthen word, grammar skills
INFOGRAZING
- Hot agriculture career choices, 2000 - 2005
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Leopold on multidisciplinary work (before it was called that)
MARGINALIA
- Hot ag career choices . . . for the next millennium
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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RICHARD ROSS NAMED INTERIM DEAN OF AGRICULTURE
Richard Ross, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named interim dean of the College of Agriculture. The national search for a new agriculture dean will continue. The announcement was made by Provost Rollin Richmond at a meeting with agriculture faculty and staff this morning (Friday). Ross, who will continue his duties as veterinary medicine dean, will assume the interim position on Feb. 1. Dean David Topel will join the animal science faculty. Provost Richmond said one issue that Interim Dean Ross will address soon is moving forward with the search for a new agronomy department head. For more details, a news release is posted at: http://www.iastate.edu/news/releases/2000/jan/agdean.html
MABRY NEW DIRECTOR OF IOWA PORK INDUSTRY CENTER
John Mabry, a University of Georgia animal scientist, has been named the new director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center. Mabry, who will begin on April 1, has been a professor in the animal and dairy science department at Georgia since 1979. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. at ISU and his bachelor’s degree at Oklahoma State University. Mabry is the center’s second director. The first was Lauren Christian, who died in 1998. The center’s associate director, James McKean, veterinary medicine extension, has served as interim director. James Kliebenstein, economics, has served as interim associate director.
TRENKLE NAMED INTERIM DIRECTOR OF LEOPOLD CENTER
Allen Trenkle, animal science, has been named interim director of the Leopold Center. Director Dennis Keeney retired Dec. 31 after 11 years as the center's first director. Six finalists have been chosen for the new director (see next item).
SIX FINALISTS NAMED FOR LEOPOLD CENTER DIRECTOR
Six finalists have been named in the search for a new director of the Leopold Center (for more information: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news/trenkle.html). During their campus visits, each will participate in an open forum from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Quaker Oats Conference Room, 9 Brenton Center. Open forum dates are: Jan. 11, William Wilcke, University of Minnesota; Jan. 20, Ann Sorensen, American Farmland Trust; Jan. 25, Charles Francis, University of Nebraska; Feb. 1, Fred Kirschenmann, Farm Verified Organic, Inc.; Feb. 3, Miguel Altieri, University of California, Berkeley; and Feb. 10, Jean Steiner, USDA-ARS Natural Resource Conservation Center. Wendy Wintersteen, director of agriculture and natural resources extension, chairs the search committee.
CARRIQUIRY APPOINTED TO ASSOCIATE PROVOST POST
Alicia Carriquiry, statistics, has been appointed to a half-time associate provost position. Her duties will include helping to provide leadership for information technology projects and the Plant Sciences Institute. Also, William Lord, electrical and computer engineering, has been appointed interim vice provost for research and advanced studies, filling the position vacated by Pat Swan.
CARGILL TO SUPPORT AG FACULTY/STAFF TRIP TO EUROPE
With support from Cargill, the College of Agriculture is offering a 10-day faculty/staff development program in Europe in May. The trip, which includes stops in England, France and the Netherlands, will focus on food safety and food processing. The program will examine food issues -- including GMO crops, mad-cow disease and dioxins -- from the perspectives of consumer groups, students, businesses, governments and universities. Space is limited for the trip, which will take place after the end of the spring semester. Interested faculty and staff should submit letters of interest to Eric Hoiberg. Letters must address how the trip will benefit teaching, research and/or extension. It is estimated that Cargill funds will cover airfare, lodging and ground transportation in Europe. Participants will be responsible for other costs. For more information: Hoiberg, 4-6614 or hoiberg@iastate.edu.
PROPOSALS DUE MARCH 1 FOR COMPUTER FUNDS FOR TEACHING
ISU’S Computation Advisory Committee (CAC) has about $600,000 available to support computer-based instruction projects. The funds come from the student computer fee central pool fund for 2000-2001. The call for proposals is available on the Web at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cac_info/proposals.html. Faculty and staff proposals are due to the dean’s office (138 Curtiss) on March 1. Prioritized proposals from each college will be sent to the CAC by March 16. For more information: Renuka Chadha, 4-2808 or renuka@iastate.edu.
CHINA PROGRAM STILL HAS OPENINGS FOR STUDENTS
Students can still sign up for this summer’s China study-abroad program. An organizational meeting will be held Jan. 18 on the seven-credit, five-week program. Cargill is providing support for airfare. For more information: Al Hasselman, 4-3287 or ehasselm@iastate.edu, or Shelley Taylor, 4-5393 or sztaylor@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Jan. 11: William Wilcke, Leopold candidate open forum, 9 Curtiss, 3 p.m.
Jan. 12: College strategic plan meeting, Sun Room, 10 a.m.
Jan. 13: College spring convocation, Sun Room, 4 p.m.
Jan. 14: Proposal deadline, Leopold Center workshop/conference and special event support program, 4-3711
Jan. 20: Provost Richmond visits college
Jan. 20: Ann Sorensen, Leopold candidate open forum, 9 Curtiss, 3 p.m.
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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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THREE FREE RESOURCES TO STRENGTHEN WORD, GRAMMAR SKILLS
Daily Grammar (http://www.dailygrammar.com/) offers basic grammar tips that can be e-mailed to you free five days a week, with a quiz on the sixth day. An English teacher with 30 years of experience is the author of the posts. The Daily Grammar site includes an archive of the e-mails and a grammar glossary. A Word a Day (http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/) offers a similar free service to help you expand your vocabulary. An archive of words of the day goes back to 1994. Etymologic (http://www.etymologic.com/) calls itself the toughest word game on the Web. The free game offers multiple choice origins for randomly selected words or phrases. It scores each game for you and gives you the chance to submit questions.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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HOT AGRICULTURE CAREER CHOICES, 2000 - 2005
Students with science and marketing skills will be the most sought after by employers from 2000 to 2005, according to a forecast for employment in agricultural careers. The USDA-Purdue University report states that annual job openings for food and agricultural sciences graduates are projected to be around 58,000 while the number of graduates for those jobs will be around 57,000. Thirty-two percent of the jobs will be in science, engineering and related specialties and 28 percent will be in marketing, merchandising and sales jobs. Careers expected to be in greatest demand are food scientists and engineers, landscape horticulturists, plant geneticists and outdoor recreation specialists. Weaker opportunities are predicted for service-providers to farmers and ranchers, and jobs in agricultural and forest production, veterinary medicine general practices and in some government agencies. An executive summary of the report can be found at: http://faeis.tamu.edu/supplydemand/executive.htm
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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LEOPOLD ON MULTIDISCIPLINARY WORK (BEFORE IT WAS CALLED THAT)
The following passage, from a letter written by Aldo Leopold, was read by Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Paul Johnson at last month’s retirement reception for Leopold Center director Dennis Keeney. Leopold was outlining specifications for the "perfect research enterprise." "The quest must lie in no single field of science. Like a cold trail laid at random across a thousand hills, it must transect with contemptuous abandon all those little patches which the priests of knowledge have labeled, fenced and pre-empted as ‘separate sciences.’ Should by any chance the fox be one day run to earth, no bureau or department or learned society must strut or crow as the successful master of hounds. Rather, should men marvel at how little each had known or done, over what wide horizons a single quest can lead, and even then be but a single spider's skin laid on the panorama of the unknown hills."
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M A R G I N A L I A
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HOT AG CAREER CHOICES . . . FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM
We know which ag careers may be hot through 2005 (see "Infograzing"). U.S. News & World Report asked award-winning science fiction writers to predict hot jobs in the year 3000. Here are two of their predictions: Hog Walker -- Now that human organs can be grown in genetically altered pigs, donor swine are raised in park-like settings, with outdoor exercise, a clean place to live and plenty of human company. Demand will only grow for those who have the patience, skill and physical strength to keep donor hogs in top form. Pet Designer -- Love animals? Have a creative mind? Work with genetic engineers to design unicorns, miniature elephants and funky chickens. Everybody wants to come up with the next Beanie Babies Alive or Chatty Chihuahua. But flops -- remember the micro-T. rex and talking cats? -- will get you fired. (U.S. News & World Report, Nov. 1, 1999)
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AG ONLINE
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NEXT ISSUE: Jan. 21 DEADLINE: Jan. 19
EDITORS
Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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