College News
Friday is College's Veishea Celebration
Friday, April 11, will be the College's day for Veishea, with events scheduled between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on central campus. The Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council is hosting games, music and displays. Games include a potato-sack race, egg-spoon race, people wheelbarrow race, four-legged race, balloon toss and Girl Scout cookie-eating contest. Food will be provided by the Veishea Committee.
Ceremony Friday to Present Distinguished Awards
A College faculty member, friend and alumni are among those to be honored Friday, April 11, at the university's 2008 Distinguished Awards Ceremony. The campus community is invited to attend at 2:15 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall auditorium. Manjit Misra, agricultural and biosystems engineering and director of the Seed Science Center, the Institute for Food Safety and Security and the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products, will receive the Order of the Knoll Faculty/Staff Award. Alumnus Owen Newlin ('51, agronomy, MS '53 agronomy) will receive the ISU True and Valiant Award. Karen Kolschowsky will be given an Honorary Alumni Award for her commitment to Iowa State, the alma mater of her husband, Gerald ('62 agricultural business). Charles Manatt ('58 rural sociology), former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Dean Wintersteen to Receive Endowed Deanship Medallion
President Geoffroy will preside over a medallion ceremony honoring Dean Wendy Wintersteen, the holder of the first Endowed Deanship at Iowa State, on Friday, April 11. The ceremony will take place in front of invited guests in the Sun Room, Memorial Union, following an ISU Foundation Board of Governors luncheon. The first-of-its-kind Endowed Deanship of Agriculture and Life Sciences was last fall, thanks to a $3 million gift from an anonymous donor.
Veishea Featured in Points of Pride
This week's Points of Pride begins with a look back to the first Veishea, which was organized by a group headed by an animal husbandry student. Entomology department pride points, including research into the use of catnip to repel mosquitoes, are among this week's items. Last week looked at animal and meat science programs and the last five College deans were profiled the week before. There will be three more weeks of pride points celebrating Iowa State's sesquicentennial. More: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/coa150/points_of_pride.php
Hort Club Plant Sale Friday and Saturday
The Horticulture Club will hold its annual and perennial plant sale Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12. Hours will be noon to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Horticulture Greenhouses.
Gamma Sigma Delta Initiation and Awards Ceremony April 9
Gamma Sigma Delta, the Honor Society of Agriculture, will hold its annual initiation and awards ceremony Wednesday, April 9, in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. New members will be inducted and awards will be presented. Awards include those to alumni for distinguished service, members for fulfilling Iowa State's mission and for achievements in agriculture or related sciences. The ceremony begins at 4 p.m.
Ag Education Seniors to be Honored as Student Employees
Victoria Birkenholtz and Rachel McCulloh, seniors in agricultural education, were named student employees of distinction and will be honored at an open house to observe National Student Employment Week. The Office of Student Financial Aid will host the open house for students employed on or off campus from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 16 on the ground floor of Beardshear Hall. Brad Gee will be honored as Student Employee of the Year.
Purdue Dean to Deliver Beach Lecture April 14
The dean of the College of Agriculture at Purdue University will deliver the 2008 Spencer A. Beach Lecture on April 14. W. Randolph Woodson will give a speech titled, "Horticultural Science and Its Integration in the Broader Plant Sciences Community." The seminar begins at 4:10 p.m. in Room 118 Horticulture Hall. Light refreshments will be served before the seminar.
Ag Business Student to Work for Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids has hired an Iowa State student as one of three outreach coordinators to lead its community-based outreach program. Laura Larson, a sophomore in agricultural business, will help the chapters located in Iowa. The coordinators partner with program sponsor Archer Daniels Midland locations, existing volunteer chapters and local youth groups to identify concerns within the community, and conduct health and safety programs across their states.
Endowed Chair in Agronomy Named for Carver
With support from the state of Iowa and a private donor, Iowa State has established an endowed faculty chair in the name of its first African-American student and faculty member, world-renowned scientist George Washington Carver. The George Washington Carver Chair will be housed in the agronomy department.
ISU, Conocophillips and National Renewable Energy Lab to Cooperate on Biofuels Research
Iowa State University, ConocoPhillips and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory have reached a Memorandum of Understanding to identify promising cellulosic biomass conversion technologies.
More Soybeans, Less Corn Expected in 2008
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week Iowa farmers will plant 1.25 million more acres of soybeans in 2008 and 1 million fewer acres of corn. And that Iowa, along with Nebraska, will have the largest increases in soybean production nationwide. Iowa State University Extension soybean agronomist Palle Pedersen agrees.
Publications Report Iowans' Views on Rural Life Issues
Four new publications are available that report on the findings of the 2007 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll. The poll is designed to monitor changes in Iowa's agricultural and rural life and is a cooperative project of Iowa State University Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, ISU Extension and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Food Science and Human Nutrition Honors Listed
The following awards were received during the past year by faculty and staff in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. The awards were omitted from the booklet on departmental honors prepared for the College's spring convocation. - A paper written by Pat Murphy, Kobita Barua and Catherine Hauck (Solvent extraction selection in the determination of isoflavones in soy foods) was one of the Top-50 most cited articles published in Journal of Chromatography B from 2002 to 2007. - Jay-Lin Jane received the Outstanding Alum Award from National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. - Larry Johnson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. - Suzanne Hendrich was awarded the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. - Anne Oldham received the ISU Award for Academic Advising Impact. - Lester Wilson was named by an Outstanding Volunteer and a Faculty Fellow by the Institute for Food Technologists Quality Assurance Division. - Basil Niklolau was presented the Frances M. Craig Professorship.
Deadlines and Reminders
April 10: 44th Annual Paul L. Errington Memorial Lecture, 7:30 p.m., 1414 Molecular Biology, more: http://www.nrem.iastate.edu/news/errington_lecture.php
April 11: Deadline for proposals for instructional information technology projects
April 14: Deadline for Center for Integrated Animal Genomics grant applications, 4 p.m.
April 15: Morrill Act open house hosted by the College and ISU Extension, Christian Petersen Museum in Morrill Hall
April 18: Promotion and tenure workshop on portfolio development, 3:10 to 5 p.m., CCUR auditorium, 1951 Food Sciences building
April 22: Midwest Biopolymers and Biocomposites workshop, April 15 deadline for registering
April 23: Fifth annual symposium of the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, http://www.bigmap.iastate.edu/
April 23: Distance education reception, 4:10-5 p.m., Curtiss Hall Auditorium, social gathering following in the Curtiss Hall rotunda
April 30: Promotion and tenure workshop for associate professors, 3:10 to 5 p.m., CCUR auditorium, 1951 Food Sciences building
Communications Kiosk
Tips Help Faculty and Staff Respond to News Media
Faculty and staff are frequently asked for interviews from news media. They may be wary of talking with journalists for fear of being misquoted or misinterpreted. But a reporter and a source, with mutual respect and cooperation, can produce an accurate and informative story. In a journalist's world, some unwritten rules exist. For example, reporters constantly face impending deadlines, so it's important for you to promptly return their calls. More tips on working with the media are included in information titled, Being an Effective Spokesperson, on the College's website.
Infograzing
iPlant Conference Webcast Tonight an Tuesday
The Plant Sciences Institute is making available the webcast of the Cold Spring Harbor iPlant Collaborative meeting tonight, April 7, and Tuesday, April 8. The webcast will be in the conference room (Room 1062) of the Roy J. Carver Co-Laboratory from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. The iPlant Collaborative is a $50 million program recently launched by the National Science Foundation. The Cold Harbor Conference theme is "Bringing Plant and Computing Scientists Together to Solve Plant Biology's Grand Challenges." The purpose of the conference is to explain the nature of the project and facilitate community discussion of what are the most compelling grand challenges, as well as the data, computational tools, and cyberinfrastructure necessary to solve those grand challenges. Contact: Stephen Howell, 4-5252 or shh@iastate.edu.
April 15 Deadline for ADVANCE Lecture Proposals
The ISU ADVANCE Program has allocated $5,000 to support and partner with departments, centers and other units on campus that schedule lectures, seminars and colloquia. The ADVANCE program is sponsoring two $1,000 lectureships for the 08- 09 academic year. The program has set an April 15 deadline for proposals for ADVANCE Lectureships to bring speakers in the STEM fields. Support also is available for co-sponsorships of speakers from across all departments. The ADVANCE program is sponsoring 10 $300 awards to assist departments in bringing speakers to campus. The deadline for co-sponsorships is open. NATIONAL ACADEMIC ADVISING ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN AMES The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) regional conference will be May 18-20 in Ames. The theme is "Planting the Seeds ... Nurturing Student Growth." A discount for online registration is available before April 27.
Five Universities Share Community Engagement Honor
Community outreach initiatives at Arizona State University, Ohio State University, Penn State University, Tennessee State University and the University of Kentucky have received the 2008 Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award and become national finalists for the 2008 C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award presented annually by NASULGC, a public university association. Established in 2006, the Outreach Scholarship and Magrath University Community Engagement Awards recognize four-year public universities that have redesigned their learning, discovery and engagement functions to become sympathetically and productively involved with their communities.
Internal Voices
Tyler Strom's Incredible Four Years in CALS
"It has been an incredible four years attending Iowa State and being a part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. When first deciding to come to Iowa State, I was hesitant on what I wanted to study. I was actually enrolled in aerospace engineering, but before the first day of classes I made the wise decision of switching to agriculture undecided. After the first semester I thought I would follow my rural roots as I joined the agricultural business and economics program. With only five weeks left in my tenure at Iowa State, it's hard to believe how fast it went by. As I enter the next phase of my life as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Sweden for the 2008-2009 academic year, I am sure I will take all I learned at Iowa State from my academics and leadership activities and apply it to my experiences overseas. I will find out in a couple of weeks of my pending acceptance to Lund University in Lund, Sweden. While there I hope to begin a two-year master's program in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science. I will be sure to keep in touch with the CALS while in Sweden and in all of my future endeavors. I owe much thanks to Iowa State University and the CALS!" --Tyler Strom, senior in agricultural business and economics from Elgin, Ill., wrote this note to Associate Dean David Acker after receiving the ISU Alumni Association's Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award on March 30.
Marginalia
Dairy Farm Eases Addicts Back from Drug Abuse
"These cows are calm and giving. At the end of their stay, I think many guys have a little better idea of how to give without asking for something in return." --Curtiss Fjelstul, farm supervisor on the value of working on a dairy farm that is part of a program that provides free drug and alcohol rehabilitation in California (Farm life raises addicts' hopes, Los Angeles Times, March 31, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-farm31mar31,0,2387971.story?tra…)
Ag and Life Sciences Online
Editor
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Website: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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