COLLEGE NEWS
...................................................
MORE 25-YEAR CLUB MEMBERS IN THE COLLEGE
A few more College faculty and staff who have served Iowa State for 25 years were omitted from last week’s item in Ag Online. They were: Marcia Berrett, Lee Kilmer and Max Rothschild, animal science. Nancy Holcomb, food science and human nutrition, was recognized for 35 years of service.
COLLEGE PLACEMENT RATE ABOUT 98 PERCENT
Nearly 98 percent of the College’s graduates who earned bachelor’s degrees in the 2004-2005 academic year were working or furthering their educations within six months of getting their diplomas. A survey of 612 of the 617 graduates found that 65.6 percent were employed or in school in Iowa. The breakdown: 83 percent employed, 14.9 percent in school, 1.6 percent seeking employment or education and .5 percent not seeking.
COLLEGE DISTANCE EDUCATION FORUM MARCH 21
A College distance education forum will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. March 21 in 13 Curtiss Hall. The College of Agriculture and the Brenton Center for Agricultural Instruction and Technology Transfer are sponsoring the forum to take a fresh look at distance education strategies, faculty involvement, incentives, Brenton Center support, marketing and evaluation. The session also will deal with the development of a new strategic vision to function under the new university budget model. Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided. Contact: Brenton Center, 4-1862.
CAST HONORS STAN JOHNSON
Stanley Johnson, retired vice provost for extension, will receive the 2006 Charles A. Black Award from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. CAST presents the award annually to a food or agricultural scientist actively engaged in research, who has made significant scientific contributions to science and communicates the importance of food and agricultural science to the public, policymakers and news media. The award is named for the late Charles Black, professor emeritus of agronomy at Iowa State and a past president, executive vice president and member of the founding committee of CAST. Johnson will receive the award at a banquet on April 19 during CAST’s Spring Board of Directors meeting in Washington, D.C. Johnson has a agricultural economics research record spanning four decades.
AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS ASSOCIATION NAMES KLING FELLOW
Cathy Kling, economics, was recently named a fellow by the American Agricultural Economics Association for her contributions to the advancement of agricultural economics. She joined Iowa State in 1993 and was named the division head of the Resource and Environmental Policy Division for the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development in 1999. She will be honored at the association’s annual meeting in July.
MOORE NAMED ACCREDITATION PEER REVIEWER
Ken Moore, agronomy, has been named a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. He has been assigned as a consultant-evaluator for the Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ). PEAQ is the accrediting process that focuses on periodic institutional self-study and evaluation team visits.
NEW SOYBEAN TEAM LEADER AT PLANT TRANSFORMATION FACILITY
Diane Luth joins the Plant Transformation Facility as the soybean transformation team leader. Luth earned her doctorate in 1997 at the University of Florida investigating transgenic approaches to manipulating flavonoid metabolism in citrus. Prior to her appointment with the Plant Transformation Facility, she worked eight years in the Iowa State agronomy department with Charles Brummer.
JOLLY RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING PAPER
Bob Jolly, economics, co-authored a paper that has been selected as the Outstanding Choices Article for 2005 by Choices magazine, a publication of the American Agricultural Economics Association. He wrote the article, “Are Rural Credit Markets Competitive? Is There Room for Competition in Rural Credit Markets?” with Maureen Kilkenny, University of Nevada-Reno, formerly in the economics department at Iowa State. The award will be presented in July at the association’s annual meeting.
ALUM JOINS 4-H AG PROGRAMS
Michael Anderson will join 4-H Agriculture Programs as coordinator within the State 4-H Youth Development Office effective March 1. He previously served Purdue Cooperative Extension as the 4-H Youth educator in Decatur County. Anderson has bachelor’s and master’s degrees, in 2000 and 2002, in animal science from Iowa State.
ALUMNI FINISH FIRST IN BEEF QUIZ BOWL
A team of four graduates from the animal science department beat two other teams in a Beef Quiz Bowl at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Convention in Denver. The other two invited teams were from North Carolina State University and Oregon State University representing the Southern and Western regions of the United States. The winning team was composed of Patrick Hoffmann and John "Dusty" Loy, 2005 animal science graduates; and Jennifer Taylor and Conrad Spangler, 2005 dairy science graduates. Hoffmann works for Prestage-Stoecker Farms; Loy and Taylor are enrolled in the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine; and Spangler is a student in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
March 1: Nomination deadline for Gamma Sigma Delta awards and membership, more: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/gsd/
March 7: Agriculture and the Environment Conference, 8:55 a.m., Scheman Building, more: http://www.aep.iastate.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&...
March 10: Ag Weekend Experience application deadline, contact: Alicia Clancy, aclancy@iastate.edu or 4-4319, more: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/agendowment/awe.html
March 20: Application deadline, Center for Integrated Animal Genomics Competitive Research Grants Program, more: http://www.ciag.iastate.edu/SpringGrantsProgram.html
April 6: John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture, 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. seminar, Benton Center, Scheman Building
April 18: Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products (BIGMAP) Symposium, Gateway Center, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/bigmap/home.html
...................................................
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
...................................................
TIPS TO CURE NOMINALIZATION DISEASE
Many writers in government and academia suffer from what one expert calls "nominalization disease." Common symptoms: lots of weak verbs, especially "is," and wordy noun phrases that bury the real actions of the sentences. For example: "There is a data reassessment requirement in the program that is deemed essential to the success of its operation." Nominalization allows the writer to avoid active nouns and verbs, thus holding no one accountable. Identifying a real subject and using an active verb might yield the following: "We must reassess the data to ensure the program's success." Try using your word processor to highlight every "is." Redraft and invigorate these sentences by finding the actor and the action and by substituting active, lively verbs. More: http://www.engl.virginia.edu/writing/wctr/Cohesion.html or http://www.plainlanguage.gov/
(Association for Communication Excellence, Grammar Hint submitted by Sandra Clarke, Communication Manager, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University)
........................................................
INFOGRAZING
........................................................
NSF CAREER PROPOSALS SUBJECT OF WORKSHOP FRIDAY
The third workshop in vice provost for research series on research grants will focus on National Science Foundation Career proposals. It will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, March 3, in 1213 Hoover. The panelists will include faculty from a wide range of disciplines who are recipients of a Career Award and/or have served as a reviewer.
........................................................
EXTERNAL VOICES
........................................................
WATERS: SCHOOLS NEED TO TEACH FOOD
“Universal physical education is a start, and it's a shame that schools have been cutting back on recess and gym. But in a country where nine million children over 6 are obese we need the diet part of the equation, too. It's time for students to start getting credit for eating a good lunch. … Schools should not just serve food; they should teach it in an interactive, hands-on way, as an academic subject.”
--Alice Waters, restaurateur (New York Times, Feb. 24)
........................................................
MARGINALIA
........................................................
ARTICLE FEATURES ALUM WHO WENT BACK TO THE FARM
After graduating from Iowa State in 1998 in agricultural studies, Dave Hommel wanted to go back to Eldora and farm in partnership with his dad, Tim. After attending seminars for two years about planning for farm succession, the Hommels crafted a partnership that is working, according to a story in Successful Farming. More: http://email.agriculture.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eywD044bA0TM0HJtx0A4
Next issue: March 6
........................................................
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."
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 Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3680 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.