- College convocation set for Aug. 26
- New interim co-chairs for MI&PM
- Form for requesting journal paper number on the Web
- Meat short courses attract participants from 19 countries
- School brings cider processors to campus
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Tips on fitting in overseas
INFOGRAZING
- Statistics on international students in college
- Virginia Tech puts grad papers on Web
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Training scientists in more than science
MARGINALIA
- Reading the manual must not have helped
C O L L E G E N E W S
COLLEGE CONVOCATION SET FOR
AUG. 26
The College of Agriculture Convocation will
begin at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union's Sun Room. A social time
including refreshments will precede the convocation. Remarks by
Dean Topel and the associate deans and the introduction of new
faculty will make up the convocation program. A Capital Campaign
Celebration at 5 p.m. will recognize the best year in the College's
history for fundraising. There will be refreshments at the celebration
which ends at 5:30 p.m.
NEW INTERIM CO-CHAIRS FOR MI&PM
James Dickson has been named interim chair
for the College of Agriculture side of Microbiology, Immunology
and Preventive Medicine. He will be co-chair with Charles Thoen,
who is representing the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dickson
is an associate professor who has been at ISU since January 1993.
D.L. "Hank" Harris stepped down as chair after completing
his five-year term. He will return to the faculty, dividing his
time equally between College of Agriculture and College of Veterinary
Medicine duties.
FORM FOR REQUESTING JOURNAL PAPER NUMBER ON THE WEB
The form used for requesting a journal paper
number is on the College Web page along with instructions on submitting
a manuscript. It is located on the Research page off the College
home page or use the URL: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/forminstruct.html
to get to the instructions and click the link for the form.
MEAT SHORT COURSES ATTRACT PARTICIPANTS FROM 19 COUNTRIES
Two processed meat short courses last month
brought 160 participants from 21 states and 19 countries to ISU's
Meat Lab. About 80 South American meat industry personnel met
last week for the seventh Sausage and Processed Meat Short Course
taught in Spanish at ISU. Activities included presentations on
meat science and processing, tours of meat processing and retail
facilities and sessions in which groups made processed meat products.
The week before English speakers attended the 19th annual Sausage
and Processed Meat Short Course.
SCHOOL BRINGS CIDER PROCESSORS TO CAMPUS
An Apple Cider School Monday drew 60 participants interested in
the beverage's quality and safety. Food science & human nutrition,
horticulture, CCUR and the Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers
Association conducted the one-day school. A significant portion
of the school was devoted to good manufacturing practices because
there have been outbreaks of foodborne illness from apple cider
and apple juice manufactured in other states.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Aug. 7-17: Iowa State Fair
Aug. 21: College of Agriculture faculty-staff retreat on distance
learning
Aug. 26: College of Agriculture Convocation, 4 p.m., Sun Room
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
TIPS ON FITTING IN OVERSEAS
Gestures and actions can say a lot and in
some cultures they communicate much different messages than they
do in the United States. There is a Web site devoted to helping
travelers avoid creating an international incident with any unacceptable
behavior at their destination. For example, diners in Austria
should keep their hands on the table because putting them in their
laps is considered rude. In France, light and brief handshakes
are the custom and hearty, pumping ones are considered "uncultured."
The Web page is located at: http://www.worldculture.com/gestures.htm
I N F O G R A Z I N G
STATISTICS ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN COLLEGE
ISU ranked 23rd among U.S. colleges and universities in foreign-student
enrollment for 1995-96 with 2,413 students, according to the Institute
of International Education. A few statistics from 1996-97 about
international students and scholars in the College of Agriculture:
Total number of undergraduates, graduates and scholars: 384
Number of undergraduate students: 37
Number of graduate students: 253
Number of scholars: 94
Number of countries represented: 78
Country with most students and scholars (109) in college: China
Countries with most undergraduates (11): Indonesia and Israel
VIRGINIA TECH PUTS GRAD PAPERS ON WEB
Virginia Tech is requiring that all graduate theses and dissertations
be posted on the Web, the first American university to do so.
More timely and accessible graduate research is the goal of the
requirement, but university officials also have objected to the
steadily increasing subscription prices of scholarly journals.
"What we've seen is cartel-like behavior. Essentially, what's
happening is the research and scholarly work is produced on campus;
they want it published so they give it to publishers, who sell
it at exorbitant prices," said Virginia Tech vice president
Earving L. Blythes. Journal publishers and other critics maintain
that posting of documents on the Internet diminishes the effectiveness
of the "peer review process" for reviewing original
research. New York Times, July 28, 1997
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
TRAINING SCIENTISTS IN MORE THAN SCIENCE
"Why are we not training scientists
for the leadership positions that so profoundly affect our futures?
Courses for nonmajors are frequently viewed as distractions, and
students who depart the so-called nerd herd to pursue careers
in business or policy-making are frowned upon. Thus begins the
vicious cycle: Bright students do not see science as a way to
reach positions of leadership, and science suffers because those
in leadership positions have little experience with science. Our
long-term future depends on citizens understanding and appreciating
the role of science in our society. ... In the next generation,
we will need not only scientists who are experts in subspecialties,
but also those with a broad understanding of science and a basic
literacy in economics, international affairs, and policy-making.
In the end, our greatest threat may not be the scientific illiteracy
of the public, but the political illiteracy of scientists."
Gregory E. van der Vink, director of planning at the Incorporated
Research Institutions for Seismology, from an editorial in the
May 23 issue of Science.
M A R G I N A L I A
READING THE MANUAL MUST NOT HAVE HELPED
An Issaquah, Wash., man who apparently became frustrated with
his personal computer, pulled out a gun and shot it. The computer,
located in the man's home office, had four bullet holes in its
hard drive and one in the monitor. Police evacuated the man's
townhouse complex, contacted the irate PC owner by phone, and
persuaded him to come out. "We don't know if it wouldn't
boot up or what," said one of the police officers at the
scene. St. Petersburg Times, July 20, 1997