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COLLEGE NEWS <br>
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LEE KOLMER, FORMER DEAN OF AGRICULTURE, DIES<br>
Former Dean of Agriculture Lee Kolmer died on Jan. 18 at Kavanaugh Hospice in Des Moines, Iowa, from congestive heart failure at the age of 82. A visitation will be held on Jan. 21 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. A burial mass will be held on Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi in West Des Moines. Burial will be at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines. Kolmer began his tenure as dean in 1972 and led the college through the farm crisis of the 1980s. An ISU alum with master’s and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics, Kolmer served Iowa State for most of his career. First as an Extension economist, then as Extension’s state leader for agricultural and economic development, then as assistant dean of university extension. His 14-year tenure as dean is especially remembered for his focus on increasing financial investment in agricultural research, expanding the college’s international efforts and securing funds for scholarships and several college facilities. Kolmer was featured in the Spring 2008 issue of STORIES in Agriculture and Life Sciences. To view his obituary visit: <a href="http://www.hamiltonsfuneralhome.com/services/services_detail.aspx?rid=6…">http://www.hamiltonsfuneralhome.com/services/services_detail.aspx?rid=6…;
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HISTORY CHANNEL TO SHOWCASE ISU EGG EXPERTS JAN. 21<br>
The History Channel program “Modern Marvels” is exploring the topic of eggs and will feature several ISU experts on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. Those featured may include Hongwei Xin, Egg Industry Center and agricultural and biosystems engineering, Kevin Schalinske, food science and human nutrition, and Dong Ahn, animal science. <br>
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THIRD CALS AND LAS BUDGET OPEN FORUM JAN. 26<br>
CALS and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will hold the third and last budget open forum Jan. 26, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Great Hall, Memorial Union. Information from the Jan. 14 open forum will be available later this week on the CALS Budget Updates page, where there is also a link to send your ideas and comments on the CALS budget.
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SHOEMAKER AND CANNON HELP SEQUENCE SOYBEAN GENOME<br>
Two researchers from ISU were part of a team that has sequenced the soybean genome. Randy Shoemaker and Steven Cannon, agronomy, said this sequencing could lead to important improvements to the plant. “The soybean is the number one oil seed crop in the world,” said Shoemaker. “It is a multi-billion dollar industry, not only for the United States, but around the world. <br>
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RESEARCHERS STUDY ETHANOL CO-PRODUCT AS ANIMAL FEED<br>
Mike Persia, Stephanie Hansen and Dong Ahn, animal science, are working to safely increase feed use by cattle and poultry producers of a co-product made during ethanol production. The co-product, dry distiller’s grains with solubles, is rich in protein, oil and fiber.
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VIDEOS AND SLIDESHOWS FEATURED ON CURTISS HALL PLASMAS<br>
The Curtiss Hall plasma display units located in the rotunda on the ground floor have been updated to include research videos and slideshows. The research videos include Patrick Schnable and Matt O'Neil and the videos feature ag study abroad, horticulture, Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihood, the 450 farm, distance education, the fall career fair and Science With Practice. If you have videos, photos or announcements that you want displayed on the plasmas, contact Amy Upah, 4-9732 or amyupah@iastate.edu.<br>
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HORTICULTURE STUDENT RESEARCHES PRINTING MESSAGES ON APPLES<br>
Apples imprinted with messages or logos could be a specialty product for Iowa's apple growers, according to ISU horticultural research. Brandon Carpenter, a junior majoring in horticulture, conducted the project with the supervision of Gail Nonnecke, horticulture. Carpenter will present the results to apple growers at the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association annual conference Jan. 29-30. More
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HOME PAGE FEATURES STUDENT INTERN AND STUDENT WORLD PRESIDENT<br>
Both Emma Flemmig, a biology and agronomy major, and Cortney Schmidt, an agricultural and life sciences education major, are featured on the CALS web page. Flemmig is the World President of the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences. She encourages students to take advantage of the opportunity to both study abroad and interact with international students on campus. Schmidt encourages students to do the same, but also to take advantage of internships and learning community opportunities. If you know students you think should be featured, contact Barb McBreen at barbmc@istate.edu, 4-0707.<br>
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ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS POSTER SESSION JAN. 26<br>
The 2009-2010 poster session on animal breeding and genetics will be held at 2:10 p.m., Jan. 26 in the Kildee Atrium. Refreshments will be served. <br>
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RETIREMENT RECEPTION FOR ANIMAL SCIENCE FACULTY<br>
Retirement receptions for two animal science faculty members are scheduled. Jeff Berger will be honored for 38 years of service Jan. 29, 2 to 3:30 p.m. with a program at 2:30, in the Kildee Atrium. Daryl Strohbehn’s retirement reception is scheduled for Feb. 5, 3:30 to 4 p.m. in the Kildee Atrium.<br>
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BUSHNELL, HAYES AND HART ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION<br>
Leading economists in energy economics and agricultural policy will present in a two-hour ISU Extension webcast Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. Climate change legislation and regulations now making headlines will impact the economy, consumers and agriculture when they are enacted. James Bushnell, Dermot Hayes and Chad Hart, economics, will be among the speakers to help Iowans better understand the proposed policy and its expected implications for agriculture.
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HOLTZBAUER ACTING MEATS LABORATORY MANAGER<br>
Effective Feb. 1, Mike Holtzbauer will be the acting Meats Laboratory manager, following Randy Petersohn’s retirement. Holtzbauer’s contact information is mholtz@iastate.edu, 4-5321, 194 Meat Laboratory. <br>
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SPRING CONVOCATION SET FOR FEB. 12<br>
The CALS Spring Convocation will be held Feb. 12, 4:10 p.m. in the Curtiss Auditorium. The program includes brief comments from Dean Wintersteen and faculty and staff award presentations. Refreshments will follow the ceremony. <br>
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EXTERNAL FUNDING<br>
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PREPROPOSALS FOR NSF IGERT PROJECTS DUE JAN. 26<br>
The deadline for submission of preproposals for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program is close of business on Jan. 26. ISU may submit no more than four preliminary proposals, either as a single institution or as a lead institution in a multi-institution preliminary proposal, and researchers may participate as PI or co-PI in only one proposal submission. Submit preproposals to Dorothy Pimlott, dpimlott@iastate.edu. <br>
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FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS<br>
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu<br>
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March 1: USDA Outreach Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Competitive Grants Program; awards to $1.2 million for three years, $18 million total anticipated funding. <br>
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March 3: USDA Special Research Grants Program: Pest Management Alternatives Program; six to eight awards, typical awards range from $100,000 to $200,000, $1.4 million total anticipated funding.
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March 15 (letter of intent): NSF Water Sustainability and Climate; three to five Category 1 awards of up to $150,000 each for one to two years, two to three Category 2 awards of up to $5 million each for up to five years, three to five Category 3 awards of up to $1.5 million each for three to five years, $16 million total anticipated funding.
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April 8: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education: Special Focus Competition - European Union-United States Atlantis Program for 2010; 25 awards, $35,000 to $102,000 for first year depending on type of award, $2 million for new awards, $47.4 million total anticipated funding. <br>
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April 13: NSF Advancing Theory in Biology; 10 awards, maximum of $750,000 for three years (including indirect), $5 million total anticipated funding.
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK<br>
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GOOGLE IS THE WORD OF THE DECADE<br>
In its 20th annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society voted “tweet” (noun, a short message sent via the Twitter.com service, and verb, the act of sending such a message) as the word of the year and “ google” (a generic form of “Google,” meaning to search the Internet) as its word of the decade. <br>
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INFOGRAZING<br>
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SYMPOSIUM ON SUSTAINABILITY FEB. 23-24<br>
The 2nd Annual ISU Symposium on Sustainability will begin with an evening lecture and poster session on Feb. 23 and continue through Feb. 24. The symposium offers students, staff and faculty the opportunity to learn about ISU’s sustainability accomplishments, initiatives and activities of the past year, hear from those who have taken an active role in ISU’s Live Green Initiative, and gain awareness from national and international sustainability keynote speakers. Symposium events are offered at no charge.
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EXTENSION 2009 REPORT AVAILABLE ONLINE<br>
“Extension 2009: Helping Iowans Through Tough Times” provides a look at how ISU Extension has helped Iowans face the challenges of the past year. The 32-page report is available online. <br>
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SEATS AVAILABLE IN LARGE CLASS FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY<br>
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching has seats available for the spring 2010 Large Class Faculty Learning Community. Goals are to share ideas and strategies to enhance the teaching and learning in large classes at ISU, and enhance student engagement. Bi-weekly sessions will begin in February. More: contact Mark Laingen, mlaingen@iastate.edu <br>
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NEW PROFILES ON AG CENSUS WEB SITE<br>
Updated information featuring county-level farm and ranch operator demographic profiles has been posted on the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service Web site. For the first time, profiles summarize information by race, ethnicity and gender. The profiles are from the 2007 Census of Agriculture. More: <a href="http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/">http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/</a> <br>
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INTERNAL VOICES<br>
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KOLMER CREDITED FACULTY, STAFF FOR SUCCESS<br>
Lee Kolmer, who died Monday, was the sixth dean of the College, serving from 1972 to 1987. When he announced his retirement in the spring of 1987, he sent a memo to faculty that included the following lines: “I wish to extend my gratitude to the faculty and staff of the College for your continuing dedication, loyalty and excellent service to the University and the State of Iowa. Whatever success I have had is the result of the continuing efforts of the college faculty, staff and administrators to perform to the best of their ability under increasingly difficult circumstances.” In a column about Kolmer’s retirement, Des Moines Register farm editor Don Muhm wrote: “It isn’t easy being dean. Particularly being dean of an ag school during a time of farm troubles, dropping enrollment, budget constrictions and gloomy predictions for the future of farming ... As he prepared [to retire], Kolmer summed up his ISU years, saying, ‘We won some, we lost some and in some cases, we got rained out.’”<br>
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MARGINALIA<br>
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MEET THE DEANS IN WINTER 2010 VISIONS<br>
VISIONS, the magazine for members of the ISU Alumni Association, spent some time visiting with the deans about their colleges, their backgrounds and their interests. Take time to meet Dean Wintersteen and the other ISU deans in the winter 2010 issue of VISIONS. <br>
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TEACHER EVALUATIONS AFFECTED BY STUDENT-AS-CONSUMER MODEL<br>
As colleges and universities have adopted the student-as-consumer model, teacher evaluations have taken on the role of a customer satisfaction survey. The focus has switched to whether or not the student, as a consumer, “liked” the experience. The problem with the student-as-consumer model is that it presumes education to be a commodity or a service that can be purchased. Yes, teachers have a responsibility to teach—but do students understand that they have a responsibility to learn, or that learning takes a lot of time and hard work? The Chronicle of Higher Education, Dec. 18 <br>
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE<br>
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EDITOR<br>
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu<br>
Phone: (515) 294-5616
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SUBSCRIBE<br>
Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to jstewart@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."<br>
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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.<br>
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