COLLEGE NEWS
- Experience distance education at Aug. 21 retreat
- Articulation Committee seeks input on publications
- Calendar Committee calls for comments on 2001-2003
- Don't forget the fall convocation on Aug. 26
- Meet new students at Aug. 28 barbecue
- Research farm field days attract nearly 1,500
- New RFP information on Web site
- Former college official sworn in at USDA
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- What's in a name tag
INFOGRAZING
- Update on USDA research in House and Senate bills
- Protein/peptide workshop set Aug. 21-22
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Distance learning similar to managed care?
MARGINALIA
- Surf Your Watershed
C O L L E G E N E W S
EXPERIENCE DISTANCE EDUCATION AT AUG. 21 RETREAT
The college's professional development retreat
on distance education will be held Thursday, Aug. 21, beginning
at 8 a.m. in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. After an overview
and a session on presentation skills, participants will move to
distance-education classrooms on campus. The rooms will be linked
so participants can interact with presenters at each site. The
retreat ends at 12:30 p.m. If you plan to attend, contact Norma
Hensley, 4-6614, or nhensley@iastate.edu.
ARTICULATION COMMITTEE SEEKS INPUT ON PUBLICATIONS
For the next 4-5 weeks, the college's Articulation
Committee will be updating two booklets, "Guidelines for
Approval of Transfer Agriculture Courses" and "Information
for Transfer Students." The support of the departments in
this project is appreciated. If there are questions or comments
concerning course articulation, direct them to Russ Mullen, chair,
4-3271 or remullen@iastate.edu.
CALENDAR COMMITTEE CALLS FOR COMMENTS ON 2001-2003
Tom Loynachan, agronomy, represents the college on the university's
Calendar Committee, which is now planning calendars for the years
2001-2003. If you have comments or ideas you'd like Loynachan
to share with the committee, contact him (4-3064 or teloynac@iastate.edu)
by Sept. 30. The proposed calendars and related information can be found online.
DON'T FORGET THE FALL CONVOCATION ON AUG. 26
Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend
the College of Agriculture's fall convocation on Tuesday, Aug.
26, in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. A social time begins at 3:30
p.m., followed by remarks at 4 p.m. from Dean Topel and the associate
deans. At 5 p.m., a half-hour Capital Campaign Celebration will
recognize the college's best year ever for fundraising.
MEET NEW AGRICULTURE STUDENTS AT AUG. 28 BARBECUE
Meet and greet new students at the Freshman
and Transfer Student Barbecue, sponsored by the college and the
Ag Student Council, on Thursday, Aug. 28, from 5-7 p.m. in the
Agronomy Hall courtyard. Student clubs will be on hand to share
information on their activities.
RESEARCH FARM FIELD DAYS ATTRACT NEARLY 1,500
The ISU Research and Demonstration Farms'
spring and summer field days wrapped up this month with nearly
1,500 visitors. Attendance by farm was:
Southeast, 125; Northwest, 152; Armstrong,
475; Northeast, 150; Northern, 154; Western, 30; Rhodes, 140;
McNay, 100 (plus 40 more for its Aug. 4 pasture walk); and Muscatine
Island, 75. Fall field days are scheduled at the Northwest, Neely-Kinyon,
Northeast, Northern and Southeast farms.
NEW RFP INFORMATION ON WEB SITE
Three requests for proposals have been added
to the college's Research Web RFP page.
Due Sept. 8: Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium proposals. Due
Sept. 29: Rural Information Infrastructure Program proposals.
Due Nov. 15 through Feb. 15, depending on program area: National
Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program proposals. NRI
application kits and program descriptions are available now on
the Web; hard copy will be ready after Sept. 1 by contacting Carla
Persaud, 4-9376.
FORMER COLLEGE OFFICIAL SWORN IN AT USDA
On Aug. 5, Miley Gonzalez was sworn in as USDA undersecretary
for research, education and economics. From 1988-91, he was an
assistant director of International Agriculture Programs in the
College of Agriculture. As undersecretary, Gonzalez will supervise
the Agricultural Research Service; the Cooperative State Research,
Education and Extension Service; the Economic Research Service;
and the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Aug. 7-17: Iowa State Fair
Aug. 21: Faculty-staff retreat on distance education, Great Hall;
call 4-6614 to register
Aug. 25: Classes begin
Aug. 26: Fall Convocation, 4 p.m., Sun Room
Aug. 28: Freshman and Transfer Student Barbecue, 5-7 p.m., Agronomy
Hall courtyard
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
WHAT'S IN A NAME TAG
If you're preparing name tags for an upcoming meeting, keep these
basics in mind: Make the first name as large as possible, at least
36-point type, on the first line. Keep identification of the conference
or event to a minimum to have as much room as possible for names.
Images that are screened behind the type make names more difficult
to read. Provide name tag holders with options for wearing them,
such as clips, pins or cords that fit over the head. Try modeling
a couple designs to see if they are effective. And when you wear
a name tag, try to put it on your right side. It tends to be more
visible when shaking hands.
I N F O G R A Z I N G
UPDATE ON USDA RESEARCH IN HOUSE AND SENATE BILLS
In their current versions, House and Senate appropriations bills
for FY98 USDA research call for decreased funding of 2.7 percent
and 1.9 percent, respectively. But, according to an analysis by
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, most
of the cuts would affect earmarked R&D facilities. As a result,
funding for basic and applied research would actually increase
in both bills. The chambers will resolve the differences when
lawmakers return from recess next month. The AAAS website offers
a budget breakdown online.
PROTEIN/PEPTIDE WORKSHOP SET AUG. 21-22
The third annual protein workshop, "Protein/Peptide Structure,
Function and Characterization," will be held Aug. 21-22 in
the Molecular Biology Building. The free workshop will include
presentations, posters and hands-on activities. For more information:
4-3267 or protein@iastate.edu.
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
DISTANCE LEARNING SIMILAR TO MANAGED CARE?
Distance education is the theme of next
week's faculty-staff retreat (see item in College News). In the
Aug. 10 Washington Post, Charlotte Allen writes that Educom, a
university/computer-industry nonprofit group, is the flag bearer
of distance learning. Allen continues: (Educom's) education-by-software
agenda is a kind of Clinton health plan for academia, promising
to cut costs, improve quality and broaden access to instruction.
Indeed, Educom vice president Michael Roberts makes the analogy
to managed care. "The doctors wouldn't do anything about
controlling costs by themselves, and things finally got so bad
that they took the control away from them," says Roberts.
"The faculty need to face up to those aspects of learning
that really require interaction with a faculty member and those
that don't." As examples of those that do, he mentions introductory
freshman and remedial-level courses in composition, math, science
and languages.
M A R G I N A L I A
SURF YOUR WATERSHED
Surf Your Watershed is an EPA Web site to "help you locate,
use and share environmental information on your watershed or community."
You can locate your watershed by clicking on a map or through
a word search.