.................................................. COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... LAMKEY APPOINTED AGRONOMY CHAIR Kendall Lamkey has been named the chair of the agronomy department with a three-year appointment, effective Feb. 15. He was appointed interim chair last year for a two-year term. More: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=310 ISU TEAM TOPS COMPETITORS IN DAIRY CHALLENGE Last weekend, Iowa State's team at the Sixth Annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge repeated last year's first-place, top-ranked “Platinum” performance. The ISU team consisted of Laura Leazer, Emily McDowell, Lydia Moeller and Lorilee Schultz, and was coached by Lee Kilmer. It was the largest contest held so far this season with 29 teams competing at four dairy farms located in Iowa and South Dakota. The ISU College Agriculture co-hosted the contest with South Dakota State University in in Sioux Falls. COLLEGE STUDENTS PRESENTED LEADERSHIP AWARDS Two College students were honored at the Student Scholars and Leaders Recognition Ceremony March 25. Tyler Strom, majoring in agricultural business and economics, won two scholarships: the David J. Henry All-university Leadership and Academic Excellence Award and the Carnot H. Thomas and Lillian M. Thomas Award. Jessica Slavik, majoring in animal ecology and animal science/pre-veterinary, received the Junior Leadership Award, which includes a scholarship. IOWA SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION TO PRESENT RESEARCH PRIORITIES David Wright, Iowa Soybean Association research director, will present a seminar April 13 on the check-off priorities for production research. The seminar will begin at noon and end at 1:30 p.m. in 3140 Agronomy. Pizza and pop will be served. COLLEGE STAFF ELECTED TO P&S COUNCIL Two College staff members were recently elected to terms on the Professional & Scientific Council. Valerie Evans, agricultural & biosystems engineering, and David Meisinger, U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, will join the council at its annual reorganization meeting in June. AGCOMM WORKSHOP ON INCREASING STUDENT INTERACTION Ways to improve student interaction in digital classrooms will be the subject of the next AgComm Workshop. It will begin at noon Wednesday, April 4, in 8 Curtiss Hall. A light lunch will be served. RSVP to Cheryl Abrams at 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu. FARM OP STUDENTS COMPETE WELL IN NATIONAL CONTEST Six Iowa State University Farm Operations Club members competed at the National Post Secondary Agricultural Student conference in Idaho Falls, March 13-17. Gavin Burgess, Alex Johnk, Eric Dial, Cole Burrack and Tim Smuck were on the College Bowl Final Four Team. Gavin Burgess and Alex placed second on the National PAS Horticulture/Floriculture Team; Alex Johnk was the second place Horticulture/Floriculture Individual; and Jessica Tekippe had the third place Dairy Production Job Interview. BLOCK AND BRIDLE CLUB HOSTS PIG AND LAMB SALES The Block and Bridle Club's pig and lamb sales are scheduled for the next two Saturdays. The pig sale begins at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 7, in the Farm Bureau Pavilion. Its lamb sale is set for 7 p.m., April 14, in the Farm Bureau Pavilion. MOTHERS IN THE WORKFORCE TOPIC OF LECTURE Wendy Stock, economics professor at Montana State University, will deliver the F. Wendell Miller Lecture Friday, April 6. It is titled, “The Plateau in Maternal Labor Force Participation Rates” and will deal with trends in maternal labor supply from 1986 to 2006. The lecture begins at 4 p.m. in 368A Heady Hall. PANEL AND MILLER LECTURE DEAL WITH WOMEN'S CAREERS The economics department will present “Rewards and Challenges: career development for women in academics and industry,” Friday April 6. The panel discussion is sponsored by the ISU Women's Enrichment Fund Mini Grant Program and The Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics profession (CSWEP). It will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in 368A Heady with refreshments at 3 p.m. The panel will include women with nontraditional careers. Panel members are: Elizabeth Hoffman, vice president and provost; Ruth MacDonald and Diane Birt, food science & human nutrition; Mitsy Metschke, Sauer-Danfoss; Libuse Brachova, biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology; and Wendy Stock, economics professor at Montana State University-Bozeman. The discussion will be facilitated by Arne Hallam, economics. Later Friday, April 6, Stock will deliver the F. Wendell Miller Lecture. It is titled, “The Plateau in Maternal Labor Force Participation Rates” and will deal with trends in maternal labor supply from 1986 to 2006. The lecture begins at 4 p.m. in 368A Heady Hall. LECTURE SERIES TO CELEBRATE IOWA STATE SESQUICENTENNIAL A series of lectures associated with the 150th celebration of the founding of Iowa State University and the College of Agriculture begins today. Three lectures are scheduled to take place this week and will begin a year of lectures sponsored by the College of Agriculture, its departments and centers. Learn more: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=309 GROWTH FACTOR AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION CONFERENCE IN JULY The Office of Biotechnology and the biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology department will sponsor a symposium on Senescence, Aging and Cancer July 26 to 29. The 16th Annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Conference will bring together speakers from the aging and tumor suppression sides of this growing field. The deadline for abstracts is May 25. Registration is due July 5. More: http://www.bb.iastate.edu/~gfst/homepg.html DEADLINES & REMINDERS April 3: Gamma Sigma Delta initiation and awards ceremony, 5 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union April 5: Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture research symposium, 2 to 5 p.m., 1204 Kildee Hall, those wishing to attend should contact Charles Sauer, GPSA program coordinator, 4-6518 or csauer@iastate.edu, no later than 5 p.m. on April 2 April 5: College promotion and tenure workshop, 3:30 p.m., CCUR Theater, 1951 Food Science April 10: College promotion and tenure workshop, 3:10 p.m., CCUR Theater, 1951 Food Science April 15: Shivvers Memorial Lecture, Wendell Berry, 7 p.m., Memorial Union April 12-13: National air quality workshop, hosted by the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence and National Pork Board, Des Moines, contact: David Meisinger, 4-7556 or drdave@iastate.edu April 12: Institute for Food Safety and Security symposium, "Food Safety and Public Health: Production, Distribution and Policy," Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, contact: Gail Stecker, 4-4781, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/ifss/home.html April 16: Deadline for College of Agriculture computer-based instructional proposals, more: http://www.anslab.iastate.edu/tac/06-07/2007%20COA%20RFP.pdf May 21-23: Spring Research Conference on Statistics in Industry and Technology, Scheman Building, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/src/home.html ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... PERSUADE ISN'T THE SAME AS CONVINCE “Persuade” is associated with actions: "Persuade him to buy a suit." “Convince” is associated with beliefs or understandings, as in "She convinced the auditor of her honesty." The phrase “persuade to (do)” has traditionally been considered better than “convince to (do).” Both verbs will take a that-clause, as in "The committee was persuaded that an all-night session was necessary,” or “My three-year-old is convinced that Santa Clause exists." (The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003) ........................................................ INFOGRAZING ........................................................ VET MED EARNS FULL ACCREDITATION STATUS The College of Veterinary Medicine has been granted full accreditation status by the Council On Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Details: http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2007/mar/vetmed.shtml NACTA CONFERENCE IN JUNE AT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS The North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) annual conference will be June 20-22 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The theme is the “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.” More: http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/NACTA PREVENTING DISCRIMINATION: GRAD STUDENT TRAINING SCHEDULED Five training sessions for graduate students on preventing discrimination and harassment are set for April. If a graduate student has taken the training, they do not need to take it again. These sessions are listed on Access Plus as “Graduate Students Only - Discrimination and Harassment Training.” Contact: Lisa Lee, Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and Outreach, 4-7612. MORRILL MEMORIAL LECTURE NOMINATIONS SOUGHT Nominations are due May 25 for the 2007 Justin Smith Morrill Memorial Lecture. The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service requests nominations for the lecture that will be presented at the 120th annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges to be held in New York City, Nov. 11-13. Nominations may be submitted to Jim Spurling, jspurling@csrees.usda.gov. CSREES SEEKS HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service seeks nominees by Aug. 24 for the CSREES Hall of Fame. CSREES Hall of Fame inductees must have worked, coordinated or supported activities exemplifying CSREES' synergy of excellence in any combination of research, education and extension approaches on local, regional, national or international levels, and will have demonstrated a measurable and positive impact on the agency. A committee will judge nominees based on synergy of research, education, extension and nominee's role; measurable impact on CSREES; and endorsement or letters of support. Submit nominations to Jim Spurling, jspurling@csrees.usda.gov. ........................................................ EXTERNAL VOICES ........................................................ CLIMATE CHANGE TIED TO BIODIVERSITY “This growing recognition of the seriousness of climate change is entirely to be welcomed, and in fact is long overdue. It should not, however, eclipse another equally pressing crisis humanity has brought upon itself: the biggest reduction in the variety of life on Earth since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Before I am accused of special pleading for an agenda in which I have a close interest, let me come straight to the point: unless biodiversity loss and climate change are tackled together and with equal priority, the impact of both on the lives of future generations could be very much worse.” --Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of UN Convention on Biological Diversity, “It's not just about climate” (BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6408789.stm) ........................................................ MARGINALIA ........................................................ THANKS, PROF: ISU STUDENTS ACKNOWLEDGE FACULTY, STAFF Several College of Agriculture faculty and staff were recognized for their support of students honored at the March 25 Student Scholars and Leaders Recognition Ceremony. Students listed the following for special recognition: Don Beitz, animal science/biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology; Adam Bodganove, plant pathology; Nancy Boury, George Brant, Joan Cunnick, Matthew Ellinwood, Doug Kenealy, Lee Kilmer, Brad Skaar and Curtis Youngs, animal science; Tom Brumm and Raj Raman, agricultural and biosystems engineering; Dermot Hayes, economics; Rita Knight, agriculture administration; Patrick Schnable and Andrew Manu, agronomy; Steve Padgitt, sociology; Lisa Schulte, natural resource ecology and management; and Lester Wilson, food science and human nutrition. Next issue: April 9 ........................................................ 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, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.