...................................................
C O N T E N T S
...................................................
COLLEGE NEWS
- Reception today (Friday) for pioneer chair Moschini
- Farewell reception Dec. 8 for Youssef Asar
- Holiday trees and wreaths on sale by student clubs
- Cooks That Care: Free barbecued pork for the needy
- Deadlines for scheduling 2001 off-campus courses
- Workshop proposals needed for 4-H youth conference
- ISU to host second Ag Education Summit in January
- Dec. 11 deadline for help on distance education materials
- Three more community visits for Dean Ross
- Horticulture receives a wheel of a deal
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- ZIP codes the key to unlock lots more information
INFOGRAZING
- A community college without faculty departments
- Iowa farmers by race, from the latest Ag Census
EXTERNAL VOICES
- The bitter, the sweet and the obese: The nutrition war
MARGINALIA
- Don’t even ask what happened to the tummaydas
...................................................
C O L L E G E N E W S
...................................................
RECEPTION TODAY (FRIDAY) FOR PIONEER CHAIR MOSCHINI
This afternoon faculty and staff are invited to attend a reception to recognize GianCarlo Moschini, who earlier this year was named the Pioneer Chair for Science and Technology Policy in CARD. The event will be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Remarks begin at 3:30 p.m. Moschini has been an ISU agricultural economist since 1987.
FAREWELL RECEPTION DEC. 8 FOR YOUSSEF ASAR
Faculty, staff and students are invited to a farewell reception on Friday, Dec. 8, for Youssef Asar, the George Washington Carver Artist-in-Residence. The Egyptian artist came to ISU in September 1998 at the invitation of then-dean David Topel to participate in the university's celebration of Carver's accomplishments. Asar's appointment was sponsored by the colleges of agriculture and design, ISU Extension and the Office of External Affairs. Asar’s paintings are on display in several university buildings, including Kildee Hall and the Food Sciences Building. The reception will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Kildee Hall Atrium. A 3:30 p.m. program will include a presentation of art to ISU. Asar returns home to Cairo on Jan. 4.
HOLIDAY TREES AND WREATHS ON SALE BY STUDENT CLUBS
The forestry and arboriculture clubs are selling holiday trees and wreaths at Reiman Gardens today (Friday) and this weekend, Dec. 2-3, and next weekend, Dec. 8-10. Available are Iowa-grown white or Scotch pines, $20 to $25, and balsam fir wreaths, $15. The Forestry Club also has fragrant balsam fir trees, $40-$45, and Fraser fir trees, $45, for sale. Hours are Fridays, 3-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you wish to cut your own tree, you can do so this weekend only at the Forestry Club's tree plantation near the Applied Science Center, off Scholl Road. The sales support student scholarships, attendance at professional meetings and service activities. For more information: 4-1167 or 4-4912.
COOKS THAT CARE: FREE BARBECUED PORK FOR THE NEEDY
On Dec. 9, the Iowa Barbecue Society will prepare and distribute more than a ton of cooked pork to the needy in Des Moines for its annual "Cooks That Care" activity. The society cooperates with Urban Dreams and the Salvation Army on the event. ISU Extension meat specialist Joe Cordray has served on the society’s board of directors since it was founded in 1997.
DEADLINES FOR SCHEDULING 2001 OFF-CAMPUS COURSES
Deadlines are approaching for scheduling credit and noncredit off-campus courses for next summer and fall. If you plan to offer a course off campus, notify your DEO or departmental coordinator, or contact Richard Carter, 4-4-6950 or ricarter@iastate.edu, by Dec. 8 for summer courses and Jan. 12 for fall courses.
WORKSHOP PROPOSALS NEEDED FOR 4-H YOUTH CONFERENCE
Agriculture faculty and staff are encouraged to develop workshops for next year’s Iowa 4-H Youth Conference, June 26-28, at ISU. Workshop proposals are due Dec. 22 to Wendy Brock, state 4-H youth development specialist. The conference is a good opportunity to showcase College of Agriculture programs for almost 1,000 Iowa teenagers, and to recruit future students. A survey shows more than 90 percent of conference participants say they are thinking about attending ISU. For more information: Brock, 4-1607 or brockw@iastate.edu.
ISU TO HOST SECOND AG EDUCATION SUMMIT IN JANUARY
The second Summit on the Future of Agricultural Education in Iowa, set for Jan. 12 in the Scheman Building, will offer a chance for organizations to showcase their efforts to inform Iowans about agriculture. The Governor's Council on Agricultural Education is sponsoring the event. Robert Martin, chair of the council and head of the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies, says the summit is about collaboration. Many agricultural organizations aren’t aware of each other’s educational efforts. The summit will honor a teacher who has been innovative in incorporating agriculture into a curriculum. The award is sponsored by the Iowa Agricultural Awareness Coalition. For more information: Cheryl Abrams, 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu.
DEC. 11 DEADLINE FOR HELP ON DISTANCE EDUCATION MATERIALS
Proposals are due Dec. 11 for the Brenton Center’s Instructor Assistance Program for spring semester. The program helps faculty to prepare or modify instructional materials for use in distance education courses. Student workers scan slides, develop Web pages and WebCT courses, and provide Photoshop and PowerPoint expertise. For more information: Gaylan Scofield, 4-0045 or ggs@iastate.edu.
THREE MORE COMMUNITY VISITS FOR DEAN ROSS
Dean Ross has three more community visits scheduled -- Dec. 7 in Clarinda, Dec. 14 in Mount Pleasant, and Jan. 4 in Elkader. The dean has already made stops in Hartley and West Des Moines. The Dutch-treat dinners begin at 6 p.m. For more information: Mike Telford, 4-3303 or mtelford@iastate.edu.
HORTICULTURE RECEIVES A WHEEL OF A DEAL
The horticulture department received a four-wheel donation three weeks ago. A 1984 chrome-wheeled, lime-green-and-white Chevy van was donated by Dwight and Deb Hughes, who own a landscape business in Cedar Rapids. Dwight is a 1970 horticulture graduate. The Hughes’ son Tom is an ISU undergraduate in horticulture. The van will make it easier for students, faculty and staff to make trips between campus, Reiman Gardens and the horticulture research farm -- trips that often involve hauling plants. Students will take the van to Chicago on a Horticulture Club trip in January.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Dec. 5: Success Strategies for Your Agricultural Business, ICN workshop, 9 Brenton Center, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Dec. 8: Deadline, scheduling off-campus distance education courses, summer semester, 4-6950.
Dec. 11: Deadline, proposals for Brenton Center Instructional Assistance Program, 4-0045.
Dec. 22: Deadline for workshop proposals, 2001 Iowa 4-H Youth Conference, 4-1607.
Jan. 12: Deadline, scheduling off-campus distance education courses, fall semester, 4-6950.
.......................................................................
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
.......................................................................
ZIP CODES THE KEY TO UNLOCK LOTS MORE INFORMATION
You can decipher more about a ZIP code than just a mailing address. Those five numbers can provide county name, time zone, area code, latitude and longitude when entered at Zipinfo.com, http://zipinfo.com/search/zipcode.htm. If you type the digits into the EPA’s Web site, http://www.epa.gov/epahome/comm.htm, you'll have access to information such as an ultraviolet radiation forecast, a list of EPA-regulated facilities and watershed information. Other creative ways to use ZIP codes are available
at http://libraryspot.com/ask/zipcode.htm?news.
...................................................
I N F O G R A Z I N G
...................................................
A COMMUNITY COLLEGE WITHOUT FACULTY DEPARTMENTS
Faculty members will be in interdisciplinary teams rather than departments at Cascadia Community College, Bothell, Wash. The school is one 12 "Vanguard Learning Colleges" named by the League for Innovation in the Community College. The goal is student mastery of four skills -- learning actively; thinking critically, creatively and reflectively; communicating with clarity and originality; and interacting in diverse and complex environments. Doubters have expressed concern about curricular formlessness and inadequate focus on content. For more information on Cascadia: http://www.cascadia.ctc.edu/default2.htm. (Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 15).
IOWA FARMERS BY RACE, FROM THE LATEST AG CENSUS
Here’s a breakdown on the number and the race of Iowa farmers, from data analyzed by ISU Census Services from the 1997 Census of Agriculture.
Number of farm operators in Iowa: 90,792
Number who are white: 90,669
Number who are black: 35
Number who are American Indian: 50
Number who are Asian/Pacific Islander: 22
Number who are other races: 16
Number who have Hispanic origins (can be of any race): 343
...................................................
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
...................................................
THE BITTER, THE SWEET AND THE OBSESE: THE NUTRITION WAR
"The pleasures of eating are sweet but fleeting, while the warnings about food seem bitter and never-ending. The warnings we should heed are those of professional dietitians, the front-line troops who are fighting the war against poor nutrition and unbalanced diets. While they help the people who are referred to them, the rest of us only hear their advice second-hand, and even then we do not heed it -- which may explain why one person in five is now classed as obese (33 percent or more overweight) in the USA, and one in 10 in Britain." Cambridge University science writer John Emsley in the 1998 book, "Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life." The first chapter is on the Web: http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/emsley-molecules.html.
...................................................
M A R G I N A L I A
...................................................
DON’T EVEN ASK WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TUMMAYDAS
An article in the September newsletter of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation asks if farm writers need to help set the record straight when they see inaccuracies in agricultural reporting by general media. In one example cited, a metropolitan newspaper reporter, relying on phonetic spelling, quoted a weather-besieged farmer as having "lost a crapload of pudaydas."
........................................................
AG ONLINE
........................................................
NEXT ISSUE: Dec. 15 DEADLINE: Dec. 13.
EDITORS
Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu, and Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
SUBSCRIBE
Ag Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture, is e-mailed every other Friday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag Online unsubscribe."
Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 1031 Wallace Road Office Building, (515) 294-7612.