- Attend Sept. 17 open forum with President Jischke
- National search is on for associate dean-extension
- Nobel Prize winner to speak at B&B symposium
- ISU Agricultural Foundation turns 60
- Reiman Gardens celebrates its second year
- Garden field days attract more than 500
- Crowds flock to Agronomy Day
- 1997-98 chairs of college standing committees
- Deadline Oct. 17 for International Research Grants
- Request for proposals: Iowa Soybean Promotion Board
- Dates set for AgComm meetings
- Land-grant issues discussed in downlinked series
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- A call for clarity in journal paper writing
INFOGRAZING
- After-hours counselor available for student crises
- Nineteen fall courses offered via distance education
- Many inquisitive visitors at the fair
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Student motivation for those first crucial weeks
MARGINALIA
- Warning: Reading this prose may be a precursor of
plasma energy collapse
C O L L E G E N E W S
ATTEND SEPT. 17 OPEN FORUM WITH PRESIDENT
JISCHKE
Agriculture faculty, staff and students are
encouraged to attend an open meeting with President Jischke on
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 3:10 to 4 p.m. in the CCUR Theatre (1951
Food Sciences). The meeting is part of the President Jischke's
annual daylong visit with college personnel and students.
NATIONAL SEARCH IS ON FOR ASSOCIATE DEAN-EXTENSION
Nov. 1 is the application deadline for the
position of associate dean for extension in the College of Agriculture.
The search committee -- six faculty members, four staff members
and a farmer -- is chaired by Willis Goudy, chair of sociology.
Wendy Wintersteen has been interim associate dean since August
1995. For more information: Goudy, 4-8311 or wjgoudy@iastate.edu.
NOBEL PRIZE WINNER TO SPEAK AT B&B SYMPOSIUM
Stanley Cohen, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize
in physiology and medicine, will speak at the Department of Biochemistry
& Biophysics' ninth annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction
Symposium, Sept. 25-28. The topic of this year's international
symposium is epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signaling.
Cohen, a Vanderbilt University biochemist, and Rita Levi-Montalcini
shared the Nobel Prize for their discovery of EGF. For more information
on the symposium: 4-7978 or gfst@molebio.iastate.edu, or see the
Web site at: http://molebio.iastate.edu/~gfst/homepg.htm
ISU AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION TURNS 60
The ISU Agricultural Foundation observes its
60th anniversary with a reception and dinner today (Friday). The
foundation's mission is to help beginning farmers and support
the College of Agriculture. This year the foundation has awarded
$52,000 in scholarships to ag students. Organized in 1937, the
foundation was made possible by gifts from C.R. Musser, a Muscatine
banker. Musser's daughter, Marion Musser Lloyd, will attend today's
activities, along with past and present foundation trustees.
REIMAN GARDENS CELEBRATES ITS SECOND YEAR
It's been two years since the Reiman Gardens were dedicated, a
"birthday" that was observed at the gardens this week.
This year the gardens displayed more than 18,000 annual plants
and more than 100 species of perennials. Last year more than 100
organized tours were given, with a similar number so far this
year. More than 30 couples have married in the gardens.
GARDEN FIELD DAYS ATTRACT MORE THAN 500
This summer, 531 people attended evening field
days for the home demonstration gardens at seven ISU Research
& Demonstration Farms. The gardens are used to evaluate new
varieties and techniques used in home vegetable and flower gardens.
CROWDS FLOCK TO AGRONOMY DAY
Agronomy Day attracted 1,110 visitors to the
Agronomy/Ag Engineering Research Farm on Thursday. Of that number,
260 were high school students.
1997-98 CHAIRS OF COLLEGE STANDING COMMITTEES
Chairs of the college's standing committees
this year are: Joe Colletti, curriculum; Paul Brackelsberg, academic
affairs; Jim Kliebenstein, recruitment; Bruce Menzel, minority
programs; James Dyer, professional development; Howard Tyler,
honors program; Richard Shibles, faculty awards; Gail Nonnecke,
student awards/scholarships; Russ Mullen, transfer/articulation;
Ed Braun, plant health and protection; Ken Holscher, BS-Off Campus
and Master of Agriculture supervisory; and Gaylan Scofield, technology
advancement.
DEADLINE OCT. 17 FOR INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
GRANTS
The Dean of Agriculture's International Research
Grants Program aims to expand and strengthen international research
collaborations on problems of mutual interest to Iowans and cooperating
countries. Deadline for proposals is Oct. 17. Applications have
been sent to departments, or check the Web site at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/international/faculty/dean_grants.html
For more information: Elena Polouchkina, 4-8493 or elenap@iastate.edu.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: IOWA SOYBEAN PROMOTION
BOARD
The ISPB will provide more than $3 million
for research that expands soybean utilization and improves soybean
profitability. Project preproposals are due Oct. 31. See the college
Web site for submission instructions: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/iaexp/rfp/
DATES SET FOR AGCOMM MEETINGS
A series of AgComm meetings has been scheduled
to help agriculture faculty incorporate communication skills development
into their courses. AgComm is the college's communication-across-the-curriculum
program. The first session, on Oct. 1, will be an overview for
new teaching faculty and teaching assistants. It will be held
noon to 1:30 p.m. in 106 Curtiss, with lunch served. Future meetings
will be held Oct. 22 and Nov. 19 in 142 Curtiss; and Jan. 27,
Feb. 17 and an April date in 8 Curtiss. For more information:
Robert Martin, AgComm coordinator, 4-0896, or Rebecca Burnett,
AgComm consultant in the English department, 4-5654.
LAND-GRANT ISSUES DISCUSSED IN DOWNLINKED
SERIES
Vision 2020 is sponsoring a downlink of "21st
Century Land-Grant Universities: Action on Issues," a series
of teleconferences originating at Clemson University. The next
seminar is Oct. 2; others follow once a month through February.
All run from 10:30 a.m. to noon in 116 Pearson. Preregistration
is suggested. The sessions will be videotaped. For more information:
4-2092 or visit the Web site: http://www.adec.edu/clemson/main.html
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Sept. 15: Habla usted espanol? Deadline, Spanish Language/Latin
American Culture class registration, 4-3972.
Sept. 17: Open meeting with President Jischke, 1951 Food Sciences.
Sept. 25-28: 9th annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction
Symposium, 4-7978.
Oct. 1: AgComm seminar for new teaching faculty and TAs, 106 Curtiss,
noon.
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
A CALL FOR CLARITY IN JOURNAL PAPER WRITING
In an effort to improve scientific writing,
a group of physicists and journal editors plans to present journal
paper submission guidelines to the American Institute of Physics
publication board. The guidelines will recommend that journal
editors "make clarity of presentation 'an (explicit) condition
of acceptance of an article,' that abstracts be made more generally
intelligible and that the best-written articles receive special
recognition." Martin Blume, editor-in-chief at the American
Physical Society, said, "The idea is to make a small dent
in this loss of general understanding." (From Science, Aug.
15.)
I N F O G R A Z I N G
AFTER-HOURS COUNSELOR AVAILABLE FOR STUDENT
CRISES
After regular business hours, ISU Student
Counseling Service has counselors available for crisis calls involving
students, including suicidal or traumatic situations, or similar
events where a counselor's advice or presence is critically needed.
Michelle Clark is the after-hours liaison for the College of Agriculture.
Each department has received details about the program.
NINETEEN FALL COURSES OFFERED VIA DISTANCE
EDUCATION
Nineteen courses in the college are being
delivered via distance education this semester. Nine are offered
on the ICN; four on the Web; five on videotape; and one on satellite.
The courses are in genetics, microbiology, zoology, agricultural
education, agronomy, biochemistry & biophysics, sociology,
horticulture, economics and animal science.
MANY INQUISITIVE VISITORS AT THE FAIR
Last month, almost 150 visitors to the college's
state fair exhibit wrote down questions that they wanted answered.
Some wanted information on well-water testing and soil testing.
Some asked for water quality education materials. Some wanted
to know how to control grasshoppers and water lilies. Others asked
about the best grasses or trees to use for stabilizing stream
banks. Several asked for information on attending ISU. All requests
for information were filled or forwarded to the appropriate persons.
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
STUDENT MOTIVATION FOR THOSE FIRST CRUCIAL WEEKS
The percentage of college freshmen who drop out or transfer during
their first year is at an all-time high: nearly 27 percent, according
to ACT Inc. That's why the hottest new market for motivational
speakers is colleges. In hiring the speakers, colleges hope to
dissuade students from dropping out or transferring. "It
helps us keep students in those first few weeks, and those are
crucial weeks," said Linda Perez, coordinator of academic
services at North Park University in Chicago. "It gets them
out of their dorm rooms after their parents have left, so they're
not in there crying all alone." (Wall Street Journal, Sept.
4)
M A R G I N A L I A
WARNING: READING THIS PROSE MAY BE A PRECURSOR
OF PLASMA ENERGY COLLAPSE
Some scientists and editors want to make scientific
writing easier to understand (see "Communications Kiosk").
To illustrate the problem, the following opening sentence of a
physics journal paper was cited in the Aug. 15 issue of Science:
"The need to obtain adequate ELMy H-mode energy confinement
simultaneous with operation near the neoclassical tearing mode
beta-limit and at/above the Greenwald density limit suggests that
careful optimization of plasma performance will be required to
obtain the desired fusion power performance, and that 'active
means' to control or inhibit the onset of neoclassical tearing
mode activity -- a common precursor of plasma energy collapse
or disruption in present experiments operating near the beta and/or
density limits -- will be required."