COLLEGE NEWS
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COLLEGE GRADUATES TO BE HONORED AT CONVOCATION SATURDAY
Faculty and staff are invited to help recognize the fall semester graduates at the College of Agriculture convocation Saturday, Dec. 16. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. in C.Y. Stephens Auditorium and will include individual recognition of the graduates attending. Amber Herman, public service and administration in agriculture, will give the speech to graduates and guests. The Ag Council will present senior awards to: Ruth Neil, public service & administration in agriculture and political science, for academic achievement; Valerie Krumm, agricultural education, for distinguished service; Justin Jedlicka, agricultural studies, for leadership excellence; and Elizabeth Ratashak, food science, for outstanding senior. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. with cookies, milk, coffee and hot chocolate being served.
EMERITUS PROFESSOR AND GRADUATE STUDENT RETURN FROM AFGHANISTAN
Extension development work recently took Mary Holz-Clause, interim associate vice president for ISU Extension and director of the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, and Lynn Jones, emeritus professor of agricultural education and studies, to southern Afghanistan. They returned last week from Jalalabad, where they have been working with Nangarhar University and the International Federation of Hope (IF Hope) to develop an extension curriculum. Holz-Clause, who is in the doctorate agricultural education program, obtained a grant from IF Hope. They also conducted initial assessment for some opportunities for value-added agriculture and further processing. A focus of If Hope's work is to find higher value crops to compete with poppy production.
NATURAL RESOURCE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT STUDENT CHAPTER AWARDED
The Iowa State Student Subunit of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) was recently named the Most Active Student Subunit in the North Central Division of AFS for 2006. The award was based on the group's activities in educating the public about fisheries and aquatic issues and enhancing the development of fisheries professionals at Iowa State. This is the second year that it has won the award. The subunit was established at Iowa State in 2005.
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE SURPASSES UNITED WAY GOAL
College faculty and staff donating to the United Way surpassed the $50,000 goal for the fall fundraiser. College contributors gave $56,151.50, helping the university raise $271,046.72. The university goal was $271,000.
KINZE AND DEERE DONATE FARM EQUIPMENT
KINZE Manufacturing Inc. and Deere & Co. last week presented equipment to the agricultural and biosystems engineering department. KINZE donated a model 3500 planter and Deere donated a model 7930 tractor. ISU faculty and students will be using the equipment as a teaching tool in several machinery courses. KINZE President Jon Kinzenbaw and his daughter Susanne Veatch, a KINZE vice president and Iowa State business alum, presented the planter Dec. 7. The tractor presentation was Dec. 8 and is the result of an on-going agreement with Deere to provide a tractor each year.
IOWA STATE RECEIVES GRANT TO STUDY TURKEY AIR EMISSIONS
A new, two-year study of air emissions from two Midwest turkey production units will get underway in March 2007, funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture 's National Research Initiative on air quality. Iowa State is the lead institution on the project. Details: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news/2006releases/turkeyair.html
DANIEL VOYTAS NAMED AAAS FELLOW
Two Iowa State faculty have been named fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Daniel Voytas, professor of genetics, development and cell biology, was cited for his important contributions to plant genomics and the study of transposable elements. Learn more: http://www.iastate.edu/%7enscentral/news/2006/dec/aaas.shtml
RESEARCHERS ADAPT CORN PICKER TO HARVEST STOVER
Agricultural and biosystems engineering researchers are working to design, build and test a combine attachment that will harvest corn stover -- the stalks, cobs and leaves - along with the grain. The stover could be the source of plant fiber that feeds the next generation of ethanol plants. More: http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2006/dec/stover.shtml
NATIVE SPECIES DIRECTORY ASSURES QUALITY AND ORIGIN OF SEED
The Iowa Crop Improvement Association (ICIA) has published the Native Species Directory as a resource for finding quality seeds that are native to the state of Iowa. The directory contains seed production information for more than 150 species originating in Iowa that have been certified by ICIA. The directory is free. Contact information: 4-6921, iowacrop@iastate.edu, http://www.agron.iastate.edu/icia
FEED MANAGEMENT FOR CNMP DEVELOPMENT
The agricultural and biosystems engineering department will offer a national feed management training 8 a.m.to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Scheman Building. The training is designed to prepare consultants for U.S. Department of Agriculture certification as Technical Service Providers. The one-day course will address how feed management can be used to assist in nutrient management planning for animal feeding operations. More: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/feedmgmt/home.html
ALUM INDUCTED IN IOWA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
Alumus Steve Zumbach was one of four business leaders inducted into the Iowa Business Hall of Fame Dec. 7. The Des Moines lawyer has volunteered on the ISU Foundation and was presented the ISU Alumni Medal and Order of the Knoll awards. The hall of fame was created in 1975 to honor Iowans who have made significant contributions to the business community. Zumback earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural business and a doctorate degree in economics from Iowa State in 1973 and 1980. (Des Moines Register, Dec. 7)
ALUM TO HEAD TENNESSEE COLLEGE
Earl Yarbrough Sr., former dean of North Carolina A&T State University's School of Technology, will become president of East Tennessee's only historically black college. His tenure at Knoxville College is expected to begin in January. Yarbrough earned a doctorate in industrial education and technology at Iowa State in 1976.
ALUMNUS AG ADVISER IN IRAQ
Randy Frescoln, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Business-Cooperative Program in Iowa, this month began serving on a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Iraq. He is an agricultural adviser on the team. Frescoln served as an adviser during 2004 in Afghanistan. He earned a master's of agriculture in May 2006 and a bachelor's degree in farm operations in 1978.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Dec. 13: Deadline for ordering soy candles from the Agricultural Education Club for the holidays, contact: Rachel McCulloh, rmac@iastate.edu or (563) 249-0384
Dec. 15: Deadline for Center for Integrated Animal Genomics grant proposals, more: http://www.ciag.iastate.edu
Jan. 5: Deadline for proposing a workshop topic for this summer's Iowa 4-H Youth Conference, contact: Brenda Allen, bsallen@iastate.edu or 4-1567, more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/StateConference/index.htm
Jan. 24: College convocation, 2:30 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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GUIDE RELEASED FOR SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL EDITORS
A guide to promoting integrity in scientific journal publications has been published by the Council of Science Editors (CSE) Editorial Policy Committee. The “White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications” was created to acquaint new editors with the scope of their duties and as an aid for editors who are establishing and benchmarking their journals' policies and procedures. The White Paper is available at: http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/editorial_policies/white_paper.cfm. CSE is a professional organization with 1,200 members dedicated to promoting excellence in the communication of scientific information. (EurekAlert, Dec. 7)
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INFOGRAZING
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FACULTY AND STAFF SOUGHT FOR DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Higher Education for Development is taking applications for the Development Specialists Program, which provides opportunities for short-term assignments with USAID missions. The Development Specialists Program was designed to allow U.S. higher education faculty and staff to work with USAID missions on assignments of two to six weeks to provide technical and advisory expertise. Opportunities are available to individuals who apply for inclusion on the Development Specialists roster. Higher Education for Development seeks expertise in fields that support USAID's priority development sectors. For the Environmental Science sector, the designated specializations include ecology, forest management, global climate change, hydrology and soil science. More: http://www.aascu.org/alo/devspecialist/devspecialist.htm.
RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS ON THE WEB
Conference proceedings from the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference held in October by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Department of Energy are on the web at: http://www.technologyforums.com/6en/program.asp
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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EQUIPMENT FOR NEW GRADUATES
“A college education should equip one to entertain three things: a friend, an idea and oneself.”
--Thomas Ehrlich, senior scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
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MARGINALIA
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EXTENSION SPECIALIST WINS CONTEST FOR ELECTION PICKS
Rich Pope, entomology extension, won the IowaPolitics.com Election Contest. He picked all the major races correctly and was the closest on guessing the percentage in the Iowa governor's race and the agriculture secretary's race. Pope wins a one-year subscription to e-mail products from IowaPolitics.com, a for-profit political news service.
Next issue: Dec. 18
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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/
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