COLLEGE NEWS
- Community colleges present 'wish list' to college
- Get on the bus to visit community colleges
- Water quality seminars to air statewide
- VISION 2020 workshop on cooperative learning Jan.
23-24
- Four Faculty Research Exchange Visits this semester
- Students will benefit from new engine lab
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Short advice on short words
INFOGRAZING
- House ag committee may examine ag research
- Public concern for education not a passing fad
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Connecting to readers of farm publications
MARGINALIA
- Move over Bossy, here's Bunny
C O L L E G E N E W S
COMMUNITY COLLEGES PRESENT 'WISH LIST' TO COLLEGE
Last month, agricultural program leaders from seven Iowa community
colleges visited campus to talk about collaboration with ISU.
They surveyed existing agreements and activities and compiled
a "wish list," which included: better ISU recognition
of resources in community colleges and industry; co-advisers (ISU
and community college) for transfer students; ISU degrees offered
on community college campuses; and better access to ISU resources.
For more information: Gerald Klonglan, 4-4763, or Eric Hoiberg,
4-6614.
GET ON THE BUS TO VISIT COMMUNITY COLLEGES
VISION 2020 is setting up bus tours to community college campuses
around Iowa for this semester and fall semester. The goal is to
introduce ISU faculty and administrators to their counterparts
at community colleges, and discuss ways to promote smooth transitions
for transfer students. Last fall, two bus trips were organized.
Dates in February and April have been confirmed for visits to
six campuses. Information will be sent to department offices.
For more information or registration: 4-2092.
WATER QUALITY SEMINARS TO AIR STATEWIDE
Agriculture and water quality is the theme of the third annual
sustainable agriculture seminar series sponsored by the Leopold
Center, in cooperation with the college's Professional Agriculture
Off-campus Program. The nine-part seminar, offered for graduate
credit through the animal science department, will be transmitted
to 12 sites around the state via the Iowa Communications Network.
All seminars will be held Thursday evenings in the Brenton Center
(13 Curtiss) except for the final one, which will be held on a
Saturday morning. Those at ISU may attend free of charge. For
a complete list of seminar topics and speakers, contact the Leopold
Center, 4-3711. Also, look for upcoming seminar topics under "Deadlines
& Reminders."
VISION 2020 WORKSHOP ON COOPERATIVE LEARNING JAN. 23-24
"Cooperative Learning, Problem-based Learning and Authentic
Assessment" is the title of a VISION 2020 workshop to be
held Jan. 23-24 at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center, Ames. It's
open to ISU and community college faculty and staff. Participants
will learn how to infuse core competencies into the classroom;
how to integrate business perspectives into a curriculum; and
how students can show what they know. This is part of a VISION
2020 series examining employer/educator interaction in higher
education. The workshop begins at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23 and
ends at 1 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24. For more information or to register:
4-2092.
FOUR FACULTY RESEARCH EXCHANGE VISITS THIS SEMESTER
During spring semester, four College of Agriculture faculty members
will work on projects with their counterparts at historically
black land-grant institutions. The Experiment Station sponsors
this program to strengthen linkages between ISU faculty and the
faculty at the historically black (1890) institutions and tribal
colleges (1994 institutions). William Graves, horticulture, will
visit the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; U. Sunday Tim,
agricultural & biosystems engineering, and Harold Crawford,
agricultural education & studies, will both visit North Carolina
A&T University; and John Schafer, agronomy, will visit Alabama
A&M University. Proposals for Faculty Research Exchange Visits
during fall semester are due May 1. For more information: 4-4763.
STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM NEW ENGINE LAB
The Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering dedicated
the John Deere Engines Laboratory on Jan. 7 in Davidson Hall.
The renovated lab will include the latest in large agricultural
engines and equipment, allowing students to work on state-of-the
art engines. The $174,000 renovation was made possible by a $145,000
gift from the John Deere Foundation, Moline, Ill. The Experiment
Station provided the rest of the funds.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Jan. 23: Current and Future Issues Affecting U.S. Agricultural
Environmental Policy Related to Water Quality - Paul Johnson,
chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 7:30 p.m., Brenton
Center (sustainable ag seminar)
Jan. 28: Spanish grammar/conversation courses for ag-vet med faculty
begin, 4-3972.
Jan. 30: Current and Future Quality of Iowa's Surface and Groundwater
Resources - Darrell McAllister, Iowa Department of Natural Resources,
7:30 p.m., Brenton Center (sustainable ag seminar)
Feb. 3: Nominations deadline, Floyd Andre and Henry A. Wallace
awards, 134 Curtiss; and Excellence in International Agriculture
Award, 104 Curtiss
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
SHORT ADVICE ON SHORT WORDS
Winston Churchill advised: "Short words are best and the
old words, when short, are best of all." William Zinsser,
author of "On Writing Well," says short, active verbs
push sentences forward, while "passive verbs tug fitfully."
Zinsser uses the example of Lincoln's second inaugural address
that contained 505 one-syllable words and 122 two-syllable words
out of 701 total words.
I N F O G R A Z I N G
HOUSE AG COMMITTEE MAY EXAMINE AG RESEARCH
At the first agriculture committee meeting of the 105th Congress
on Jan. 8, House Ranking Minority Member Charles Stenholm vowed
in his opening remarks to take "a comprehensive look at agricultural
research." His other priority areas included rural development,
oversight of Farm Bill implementation and USDA reorganization.
Chairman Bob Smith set the tone for future committee actions by
speaking of bipartisan efforts. He emphasized that early actions
would center on forestry issues, oversight of international trade
agreements and the Freedom to Farm Act. He also mentioned farm
credit policies, the research and extension title and the Conservation
Reserve Program as other areas of priority. (From an AESOP Enterprises
newsletter.)
PUBLIC CONCERN FOR EDUCATION NOT A PASSING FAD
While support for public spending can ebb and flow over time,
Americans demonstrate ongoing loyalty to certain causes, including
education, health care and the environment, according to the National
Opinion Research Center in Chicago. Since 1972, the center has
tracked Americans' attitudes toward social issues and spending
policy. According to the center, Americans have long supported
education and have become increasingly concerned that education
spending is insufficient. The percentage who think the U.S. spends
too little on schools and students rose from 51 percent in 1974
to 73 percent in 1990, then fell slightly to 71 percent in 1994.
(American Demographics, October)
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
CONNECTING TO READERS OF FARM PUBLICATIONS
"No wonder when farmers are surveyed, they say farming is
a business rather than a way of life. They are wise enough to
know that MUST be their answer. Yet, for the most part, farm magazines
have failed to editorially hold hands with their readers who in
quieter moments, gain strength by drinking from an inner fountain.
Now is the time for farm magazines to shake themselves awake and
commit themselves to offering readers not just one dimension of
farming but the beautiful and meaningful wholeness of it."
Fred Myers, a 35-year member of the American Agricultural Editors'
Association, writing in the organization's January newsletter.
M A R G I N A L I A
MOVE OVER BOSSY, HERE'S BUNNY
A Dutch biotech firm has created a line of transgenic female rabbits
that secrete into their milk a potential drug containing an enzyme
for use in treating a rare human disease. In people with Pompes
disease, the enzyme does not convert glycogen in their muscles
to glucose. As a result, they suffer muscle damage and breathing
problems. A company scientist said rabbits mature fast and produce
milk quickly, which makes them "perfect little biofactories"
for churning out regular doses of enzymes. The company is investing
in a milking facility that will keep about 200 rabbits -- enough
to meet worldwide demand. (Science, Dec. 6.)