COLLEGE NEWS
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COLLEGE VISIT DAY DRAWS 85 STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
Today more than 85 high school students, plus their parents and family members, were hosted on campus as part of a College of Agriculture Visit Day. The visit was a chance to showcase to students the diverse areas of the College. Invitations had been sent to high school students who had expressed interest in agricultural fields. The students, primarily from Iowa and the Midwest (but also from as far away as Pennsylvania), toured campus and departments, met faculty and students, listened to presentations and asked questions to a panel of ISU faculty, staff and students. The event was developed by the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and organized by AGR and the College of Agriculture. Jacob Thomsen, senior in agronomy, was student chairman of the event.
COLLEGE BUDGET FORUM SET FOR APRIL 3
The College of Agriculture and the Ag Caucus will hold a College Budget Model Forum from 8:30 to 10 a.m. April 3 in 1951 Food Science (CCUR auditorium). Participants will discuss the Third Report of the Budget Model Committee released on March 23 (http://www.iastate.edu/~budgetmodel/) and assist with the College's response.
GAMMA SIGMA DELTA INITIATION AND AWARDS APRIL 4
The Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture is having its 2006 Initiation and Awards Ceremony on April 4 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. It will be from 5 to 6 p.m. with a reception immediately following in the South Ballroom. Outstanding seniors and juniors will be recognized. Alumni and faculty awards will be presented and recipients will be recognized. The ceremony is open to the public.
COATS RECEIVES AWARD FOR RESEARCH IN AGROCHEMICALS
Joel Coats, professor of entomology and toxicology, has received the International Award for Research in Agrochemicals. A one-day symposium in honor of Coats was held today, March 27, in Atlanta at the American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition. The symposium included topics on natural products and environmental toxicology. More: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news/2006releases/coats.html
MACDONALD A PANELIST AT THURSDAY'S CNN "FIT NATION" EVENT
Ruth MacDonald, chair of the food science and human nutrition department, will be a panelist Thursday, March 30, on CNN's "Fit Nation College Tour" to be held in ISU's Fisher Theater from 4 to 5:30 p.m. CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is bringing the CNN event to campus with the focus on students. The purpose of the event is to try to tackle the obesity epidemic in a tour across the nation's colleges, for a series of town hall meetings to educate and search for solutions. Iowa State is the latest stop on a tour of seven schools. CNN selected MacDonald; Marc Shulman, chief of staff at Thielen Student Health Center and physician to ISU student-athletes; and Cael Sanderson, Olympic gold medalist and former four-time undefeated NCAA champion (and now associate head wrestling coach at Iowa State) to serve on a panel on stage with Dr. Gupta. Gov. Vilsack and Sen. Harkin have been invited to participate. Learn more about the tour here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2006/fit.nation/
ANIMAL SCIENCE JUDGING ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN REACHES $825,000
The judging team endowment campaign at Iowa State brought in more than $825,000 during the past year. The endowment funds will be used to fund coaching positions and support judging teams. Learn more: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news/2006releases/judgingendow.html
GREIMAN NAMED RODEO QUEEN
Agricultural studies sophomore Cassidy Greiman of Waterloo was named the ISU Rodeo Queen for the 2006-2007 school year. She was crowned during the annual Cowboy Ball and Awards Banquet on Saturday.
STAFF MEMBERS EARN ACE HONORS
Two staff members in the College of Agriculture recently were honored by the Association for Communications Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences. Brian Meyer, agriculture communications, has been elected director of ACE's North Central Region. Ann Bugler, Brenton Center, has been named Pioneer Award winner for the North Central Region. The award honors communicators in each region who demonstrate exceptional leadership and technical skills and make significant contributions to ACE during their early careers. Bugler has served as co-chair of the Iowa ACE chapter for almost four years.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
March 27: Think Tank on Animal Agriculture, 6 p.m., Cardinal Room, Memorial Union
March 30: Block and Bridle Club Cake Auction, 5:30 p.m., Farm Bureau Pavilion
March 31: Administrative Internship Program applications due, http://www.provost.iastate.edu/faculty/internships.php
April 4: AgComm workshop, noon, Room 8 Curtiss Hall, RSVP Cheryl Abrams at 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu
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
April 19: "Safe and Secure Food for Public Health and National Security" symposium, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Comfort Suites Hotel, 2609 Elwood Drive, contact: Gail Stecker, 4-4781
April 28: Spencer Award nominations due, more: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2006/spencer_022706.htm
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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WHEN DO YOU USE A OR AN?
Use "a" before any word beginning with a consonant sound, "a utopian dream." Use "an" before any word beginning with a vowel sound, "an officer" or "an honorary degree." The word historical and its variations cause missteps, but since the h in these words is pronounced, it takes an "a." Example: "The tour included an hourlong talk at a historical society." Likewise, an initialism, whose letters are sounded out individually, may be pared with one version, while an acronym, which is pronounced as a word, beginning with the same letter may be paired with the other, "an HTML document describing a HUD program."
(The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003)
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INFOGRAZING
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RESEARCH GRANT SERIES CONTINUES THURSDAY
The Department of Energy will be the focus of the Vice Provost for Research office’s fourth Research Grants Workshop for Effective Strategies for Developing Grant Proposals. It will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in 1213 Hoover Hall. A panel including College faculty Alan DiSpirito and Alan Myers, biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology and Steve Rodermel, genetics, development and cell biology, will address issues relating to both open competitive grants and how to use Ames Lab to write proposals to find new funding opportunities.
ACTIVISM SYMPOSIUM SET FOR FRIDAY
Walk the Talk: From Theory to Activism is the title of a symposium Friday, March 31, for Iowa State students, faculty and staff. The symposium will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Memorial Union. It will include a lunch/plenary session with a keynote speaker discussing forms of activism and breakout sessions focusing on career planning for the nonprofit sector, creative justice and stories of activists. More: http://www.iastate.edu/~wsprogram/activism%20conference/homepage.htm
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SUMMIT REGISTRATION DUE APRIL 10
The second Iowa Women’s Leadership Summit will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 28 in the Sun Room. Women leaders from education, politics, business and nonprofit organizations in Iowa will gather to discuss and develop strategies for building women’s leadership in the state. Students, faculty and staff are invited to register. There is no registration fee, but all participants must be registered by April 10. More: http://www.wlc.provost.iastate.edu/
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INTERNAL VOICES
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WANTED: WOMEN AG ENGINEERS
Ag engineering faculties across the U.S. are working to recruit and graduate a larger and more diverse student crop. The U.S. graduates about 60,000 engineers per year, and the number of men, as well as women, is flat or dropping. China graduates 1,000,000. “If we’re to remain competitive in technology in the world, the numbers must grow,” says Carl Bern, Iowa State University ag engineering professor. “Women constitute the largest untapped pool of candidates. Our women graduates are successful. They have great career choices, but they’re underrepresented.” (Successful Farming Magazine, Mid-March, 2006)
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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ALUM LOOKS FOR MORE RISK AND REWARD
“I never saw myself as a company guy. I wanted something that involved a little more risk-taking with more reward at the end.”
--Tyler Bruch (B.S., farm operation, 2004), on his agricultural experience in Brazil (Tri-state Neighbor, March 15, http://www.tristateneighbor.com/articles/2006/03/17/tri_state_news/top_s...)
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MARGINALIA
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COMBINE GAME SIMULATES HARVESTING AGAINST FOE
Combine Combat is a new online game created by Successful Farming magazine’s Agriculture Online and sponsored by Deere & Co. The object of the game is to harvest fields of corn and soybeans while outwitting Rowdy Rival, a competing combine. Picking up featured items on passes through the fields earn bonuses and power-boosts. Obstacles, like giant boulders, make the game more interesting. Scoring is based on the number of bushels you harvest, at average prices, plus the bonuses collected. More: http://email.agriculture.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eyR2044bA0TM0G4UU0Af
Next issue: April 3
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AG ONLINE
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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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