College News
Your Input Sought on Budget Model Proposal
College of Agriculture faculty and staff are encouraged to review and comment on the proposed budget model for the university. The Budget Model Development Committee has completed an initial study and issued its first report. The report includes a preliminary list of objectives for the new budget model and presents issues and questions about allocating revenues and distributing expenses. Send comments to: budgetmodel@ iastate.edu. The 5-page report is available online.
Dec. 6 Budget Forum to Assess New Model
How will the proposed ISU budget model affect teaching and learning? The College of Agriculture Curriculum Committee invites faculty and staff to a Tuesday, Dec. 6, forum to share ideas and concerns on the impacts of the new budget model proposal. The session will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 13 Curtiss Hall. Background on the new budget model is available online.
Service Learning Students Help Clean up Tornado Damage
Students in agricultural education and studies Leadership in Agriculture course cleared downed trees, large branches and other debris after last month's tornadoes. Every semester, 50 or more students in the course's sections complete service learning projects as part of their development as leaders. This year, the students intended to rake leaves for elderly Ames residents, but instead switched to tornado victim assistance. PowerPoint presentations -- with photos of students at work -- will be displayed during Dead Week on the flat panel screen in the rotunda of Curtiss Hall. Instructor Sorrel Brown, associate professor Nancy Grudens-Schuck and teaching intern Beth Foreman teach the course.
Researchers' Goal is Making Odor Reduction Cost Effective
Two Iowa State agricultural engineers are studying an old idea for lowering livestock facility odor emissions, but with a new twist.
Animal Genomics Research Grants Announced
A total of $175,000 has been awarded to 19 projects in the fall 2005 research grants provided through the Iowa State University Center for Integrated Animal Genomics (CIAG). The grants provide support for genomics infrastructure research needs and for research personnel working with CIAG faculty.
New Risk Assessment Course Offered by Iowa State
Iowa State is among the first in the nation to offer a course in risk assessment for the biological sciences. The graduate course teaches students how to interpret the risk of adverse incidents in such situations as transgenic contamination, the occurrence of salmonella in food and other agricultural or biological situations.
Women Faculty: Apply for Leadership Program
College of Agriculture women faculty who have an interest in attending a leadership program this summer are asked to apply to Interim Senior Associate Dean Joe Colletti. The Provost's office is offering partial funding to support a faculty member's attendance. One nomination from the College will then be submitted to the Provost for consideration. Names of interested women faculty along with information on the leadership program they would attend are due Dec. 22.
Brenton Center Wants College Announcements
The Brenton Center invites College of Agriculture announcements to run on two plasma television screens on the ground floor of the Curtiss Hall rotunda. The display system provides a valuable resource to announce events such as student club meetings, notices of new course offerings, speakers or lecturers coming to campus, and career services or student services information. There is no charge. Announcements can be supplied in these formats: PowerPoint slides, still photographs, Flash movies, web page addresses, Quicktime and AVI movies. E-mail your announcements to: agchat@iastate.edu. Contacts: Rod Fischer, videoguy@iastate.edu or 4-9970 and Gaylan Scofield, ggs@iastate.edu or 4-0045.
Agronomy Faculty, Student Recognized by Agronomic Societies
The agronomy department received several awards at the 2005 international annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America Nov. 6-10 in Salt Lake City. Alfred Blackmer, professor, received the W.L. Nelson Award for Diagnosis of Yield-Limiting Factors; Antonio Mallarino, professor, was named a fellow of ASA; Russ Mullen, professor, received the Crop Science Teaching Award; and Mary Wiedenhoeft, associate professor, was honored with the Agronomic Resident Education Award. Jason Haegele, a senior majoring in agronomy and agricultural engineering, won the Hank Beachell Future Leader Scholarship.
Pope Receives Certified Crop Advisory Plaque
Rich Pope, entomology extension program specialist, recently received a plaque from the Iowa Certified Crop Advisory Board of Directors in recognition of his dedicated service to the Iowa CCA program. The plaque was presented during the Agribusiness Association of Iowa Expo held at Hilton Coliseum.
Deadlines and Reminders
Dec. 7: Deadline to order Block and Bridle gift sets of cheese and sausage, order forms are available at 120 Kildee Hall, contact: ssc@iastate.edu or 4-1865.
Dec. 8: Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture marketing workshop, 8:30 a.m., Gateway Conference Center and Hotel
Dec. 9: Forestry Club Christmas tree sale, 3 to 6 p.m., Reiman Gardens' Maintenance Building
Dec. 10: Forestry Club Christmas tree sale, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Reiman Gardens' Maintenance Building
Dec. 11: Forestry Club Christmas tree sale, noon to 6 p.m., Reiman Gardens' Maintenance Building
Dec. 17: College Convocation for graduating seniors, 9:30 a.m., C.Y. Stephens Auditorium
Communications Kiosk
Loosening isn't the Same as Lose or Loose
To lose something is to be deprived of it. To loose something is to release it from fastenings or restraints. To loosen is to make less tight or to ease a restraint. Loose conveys the idea of complete release, whereas loosen refers to only a partial release. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, 2003)
Infograzing
Payne is New Iowa State University Extension Leader
Jack Payne, vice president for University Extension at Utah State University, Logan, has been named vice provost for extension and outreach at Iowa State. He will begin his duties Jan. 15.
Management Plan Developed to Meet Federal Requirements
Some federal agencies have begun requiring a management plan for potential conflicts of interest when grant proposals are related to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. This prompted the development of a management plan to be used at Iowa State in cases where there is potential for conflict of interest related to research/intellectual property issues.
International Education Research Foundation Seeks Research Proposals
The International Education Research Foundation invites individuals and organizations to submit appropriate research project proposals for funding. Its mission is to conduct research and disseminate information on world educational systems and to facilitate the integration of individuals educated outside the United States into the U.S. educational environment and work force. More: http://www.ierf.org/grants.asp
Office of Research Compliances Changes Name
ISU's Office of Research Compliance (ORC) has changed its name to the Office of Research Assurances (ORA) effective Dec. 1, to more accurately reflect the unit's mission. Because a large portion of the office's responsibilities involves fulfilling the requirements of our assurances with federal funding agencies the change was made. More: http://www.compliance.iastate.edu/
National Agricultural Library Web Site Redesigned
The National Agricultural Library (NAL) has launched its redesigned Web site (http://www.nal.usda.gov) as a gateway connecting users with the services of NAL and with the billions of pages of agricultural information within NAL collections and information resources. NAL is part of the Agricultural Research Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.
External Voices
Migratory Birds a Victim of Bird Flu Scare?
". . . We shouldn't scapegoat migratory birds for a problem of our own making. H5N1 [avian influenza virus] is a product of intensive poultry production, especially in regions like Southeast Asia. . . The biggest risk to this country comes not from a bird crossing the Bering Strait, but from an infected human boarding a jet. Will that realization stop officials and the public here from eventually making the kind of counterproductive demands we've already heard in Asia, for the mass culling of migratory birds or the destruction of wetlands and other habitats? Or will it draw attention to measures that cut to the root cause of this problem, like better monitoring and oversight of global poultry production, and curbing the worldwide (and often illegal) trade in wild birds, a step the European Union has already taken?"
- Scott Weidensaul, author of "Return to Wild America," writing in The New York Times, Nov. 30
Next issue: Dec. 12
Ag Online
Editor: 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 Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag Online unsubscribe."
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