COLLEGE NEWS
- Welcome: New faces in the college recognized
- 1996-97 a record year for giving to the college
- Distance education retreat draws 100
- Upcoming fall field days at ISU research farms
- Sept. 4 deadline for Leopold preproposals
- Successful Grantsmanship: Global Environment Facility
- Grant writers' workshop offered this semester
- Vision 2020 trip to community colleges Sept. 9-10
- Spanish/Latin American Culture classes begin soon
- Help is available for those with
study abroad plans
- A toast (of water) to our state fair volunteers
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Checklist for proper e-mail addressing
INFOGRAZING
- A few more schools make ACT and SAT optional
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Modern make-over for colleges of agriculture
MARGINALIA
- Let's make zucchini a renewable resource
C O L L E G E N E W S
WELCOME: NEW FACES IN THE COLLEGE RECOGNIZED
At Tuesday's college convocation, department
leaders introduced faculty and staff members who have joined the
college since last fall. A list of the college's new faculty,
P&S and merit employees is available. Call Ag Information:
4-5616.
1996-97 A RECORD YEAR FOR GIVING TO THE COLLEGE
The College of Agriculture has completed a
record year for gifts --a fact that was celebrated at Tuesday's
convocation. During 1996-97, $44 million was given or pledged.
The total includes last fall's $34 million anonymous gift, one
of the largest ever made to public education in the country.
DISTANCE EDUCATION RETREAT DRAWS 100
About 100 college faculty and staff attended
last week's professional development retreat on distance education.
A packet of materials from the retreat will be sent to all faculty
and staff. For more information: Lester Wilson, 4-3889.
UPCOMING FALL FIELD DAYS AT ISU RESEARCH FARMS
Fall field days at ISU Research & Demonstration
Farms will be held on the following dates: Sept. 3, Northeast;
Sept. 4, Northern; Sept. 11, Agronomy Farm (Agronomy Day); Sept.
13, McNay (sheep); Sept. 16, Southeast; Sept. 17, Western (livestock);
Nov. 18, McNay (feedlot management). For more information: 4-4620
or check the news release online.
SEPT. 4 DEADLINE FOR LEOPOLD PREPROPOSALS
The preproposal deadline is Sept. 4 for the Leopold Center's competitive
grants program. For more information: 4-3711, or check online.
SUCCESSFUL GRANTSMANSHIP: GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
FACILITY
Grant opportunities with the Global Environment
Facility, an international program that funds projects addressing
critical environmental problems, will be the focus of a Sept.
22 grantsmanship seminar at the Gateway Holiday Inn, 6:30-9 p.m.
For more information and to register: Carla Persaud, 4-9376 or
cpersaud@iastate.edu. The grantsmanship seminars are sponsored
by the Experiment Station and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Two more are planned in October and November.
GRANT WRITERS' WORKSHOP OFFERED THIS SEMESTER
This semester, the college is sponsoring a
grant writers' workshop for 15 faculty members. At the end of
the workshop, each participant will have written a proposal for
the USDA National Research Initiative's competitive grants program.
By Sept. 12, each department will nominate faculty members for
the workshop. For more information: Shirley Riney, 4-4544 or sriney@iastate.edu.
VISION 2020 TRIP TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES SEPT.
9-10
The deadline is Sept. 5 to sign up for the
Vision 2020's Sept. 9-10 bus trip to visit Iowa Lakes Community
College, Northwest Iowa Community College and Western Iowa Tech
Community College. The trips, begun last spring, allow ISU faculty
and administrators to meet their counterparts at community colleges.
To register or for more information: 4-2092.
SPANISH/LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE CLASSES BEGIN
SOON
The colleges of agriculture and veterinary
medicine and the Institute for International Cooperation on Animal
Biologics are offering two Spanish Language and Latin American
Culture classes for their faculty and staff. A beginning-level
class will be held every Tuesday and Thursday, Sept. 23 to Nov.
13, 4:30-6 p.m. in Curtiss Hall. An intermediate-level class will
be held every Monday and Wednesday, Sept. 22 to Nov. 12, 4:30-6
p.m., at the College of Veterinary Medicine. To apply: Eduarda
Becerra, International Agriculture Programs, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu.
Applications are due Sept. 15.
HELP IS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WITH STUDY ABROAD
PLANS
The Study Abroad Office in International Agriculture
Programs provides support services to help agriculture faculty
organize study abroad programs, and to encourage student participation
to "jump-start their careers." The office offers advising,
advertising and recruitment assistance, predeparture orientation,
travel information and logistical help. For more information:
Eduarda Becerra, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu.
A TOAST (OF WATER) TO OUR STATE FAIR VOLUNTEERS
Thanks to the almost 70 volunteers who staffed
the college's water quality exhibit during the Iowa State Fair.
The display, co-sponsored by the Leopold Center in recognition
of the Year of Water, attracted thousands who stopped to learn
more about ISU's water quality efforts. More than 1,200 signed
up for drawings of rain gauges -- 200 of them asked for more information
about the college.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Sept. 3: Foreign travel grant applications due, 138 Curtiss
Sept. 4: Leopold Center preproposals due, 209 Curtiss
Sept. 9-10: Vision 2020 bus trip to 3 community colleges; register
by Sept. 5, 4-2092.
Sept. 12: Deadline, nominations for Grant Writers' Workshop, 4-4544.
Sept. 15: Deadline, register for Spanish Language/Latin American
Culture classes, 4-3972.
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
CHECKLIST FOR PROPER E-MAIL ADDRESSING
Do you have e-mail messages that keep bouncing back? Can't figure
out why? Here are several items to check to ensure proper e-mail
addressing, from the "Copy Editor" newsletter: An "at"
sign (@) is required; an internal space dooms a message, it may
need an underscore (underline character) instead; check the dots,
which may be missing or in the wrong place; commas aren't recognized,
so substitute dots; check for non-English characters or accent
marks, both of which aren't recognized; country codes are needed
for international e-mail -- you can check online
to verify the code; make sure the domain code ("edu,"
"gov," "com," etc.) is there; and if you typed
in an address from a publication, a unnecessary punctuation mark
may have been inserted at the end of a line.
I N F O G R A Z I N G
A FEW MORE COLLEGES MAKE ACT AND SAT OPTIONAL
The number of four-year colleges that don't use ACT or SAT test
scores in undergraduate admission decisions is still small but
creeping upward, according to FairTest, a nonprofit group that
opposes such tests. At least 280 of about 1,600 colleges and universities
surveyed no longer require standardized test scores of applicants,
an increase of more than 50 schools since 1995. More schools are
making the tests optional, which FairTest says reflects increasing
concerns that reliance on the test results limits diversity of
applicant pools, excludes young people whose talents aren't reflected
by multiple-choice tests and favors students who can afford coaching
courses. (USA Today, Aug. 6)
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
MODERN MAKE-OVER FOR COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE
Historically more sloth-like than their
parent universities, (colleges of agriculture) have given themselves
a modern make-over in little more than a decade. At the nation's
most prestigious agricultural schools (the land grants), enrollment
hit 98,000 in 1977, then began to fall . . . until a decade later,
when 64,000 students were enrolled. Today, that figure has climbed
to an all-time high of nearly 118,000 . . . Ag students are more
than 50 percent urbanite today. Forty percent are women (and)
one in 10 is a minority. "The No. 1 reason agriculture enrollments
are turning around is that we probably have two or three jobs
for every graduate," said Joseph Jen, dean, Cal Poly San
Louis Obispo's College of Agriculture. (Los Angeles Times, July
4)
M A R G I N A L I A
LET'S MAKE ZUCCHINI A RENEWABLE RESOURCE
Food for Thought: If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we
figure out a way to make gasoline out of zucchini? (From the Aug.
22 issue of the Department of Horticulture's newsletter.)