COLLEGE NEWS
- Miller named associate dean for extension
- MANRRS conference to honor Carver
- College committee working on diversity
- Learning center to be dedicated at research farm
- Ag faculty/staff teaching workshop March 13
- Student presentation skills the next AgComm topic
- Faculty receive seed money for research abroad
- Strategic plan on global programs completed
- Bioethics topic in April: World food production
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Use underlining sparingly
INFOGRAZING
- How to submit NSF proposals electronically
- Where the outdoor labs are
- National bioethics institute planned in May
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Not everyone suited for online teaching
MARGINALIA
- Sign of spring: Plan for a Buck rose
C O L L E G E N E W S
MILLER NAMED ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR EXTENSION
Gerald Miller has been named the associate dean for extension
and industry programs in the College of Agriculture. He will coordinate
the college's extension programs and work with agricultural businesses
and commodity organizations in the state. He will work closely
with Wendy Wintersteen, who directs agricultural extension activities
at the county level. Miller has been an ISU extension agronomist
for 24 years. He was responsible for soil survey and land use
programs and has directed on-farm environmental education and
demonstration projects for more than a decade.
MANRRS CONFERENCE TO HONOR CARVER
A visit to the ISU campus April 2 will be "George Washington
Carver Day" for attendees of the Minorities in Agriculture,
Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) national conference.
ISU's MANRRS chapter is hosting the conference April 1-4 in Des
Moines. The life and work of Carver, ISU's first African American
student and faculty member, will be spotlighted. The keynote speaker
for the conference will be Miley Gonzalez, USDA undersecretary
for research, education and economics. For
more information: Mary de Baca, 4-8574 or check the website.
COLLEGE COMMITTEE WORKING ON DIVERSITY
The College of Agriculture Diversity Committee (formerly the Minority
Programs Committee) works to promote diversity activities in and
among departments, and enhance faculty involvement in diversity
programs. The committee, which includes representatives from each
department, has been planning departmental tours during the upcoming
MANRRS national conference. For more information: Bruce Menzel,
chair, 4-7419 or bmenzel@iastate.edu.
LEARNING CENTER TO BE DEDICATED AT RESEARCH FARM
On March 16, the Wallace Foundation Learning and Outreach Center
will be dedicated at ISU's Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis.
Gov. Terry Branstad, Congressman Leonard Boswell, former Congressman
Jim Ross Lightfoot and ISU President Martin Jischke will be among
the speakers. The center will house area extension specialists
and research farm staff. It will have classrooms and "incubator"
space for fledgling agricultural businesses. Funds for the building
were raised by the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development,
a private, nonprofit corporation supporting education and rural
development opportunities in southwest Iowa. The foundation was
the driving force behind acquiring the three locations that now
make up ISU's Southwest Research and Demonstration Farms. The
foundation leases the farms to ISU.
AG FACULTY/STAFF TEACHING WORKSHOP MARCH 13
The Project LEA/RN workshop for agriculture
faculty and staff will be held 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Friday, March
13, at the Scheman Building. The workshop will explain student-centered
learning techniques that can be used to help improve student understanding
and retention. Barb Licklider of the College of Education will
facilitate. Lunch is provided. Preregister by contacting Ann Holtz,
4-1167, or caholtz@iastate.edu.
STUDENT PRESENTATION SKILLS THE NEXT AGCOMM TOPIC
All faculty and teaching assistants are invited the second AgComm
workshop of the semester on Tuesday, March 24, noon - 1:30 p.m.,
8 Curtiss Hall (Brenton Center). The topic will be "Presentation
Skills: Preparing Students to Be Effective Presenters." A
light lunch will be available. If you plan to attend, contact
Norma Hensley, nhensley@iastate.edu. For more information: Robert
Martin, 4-0896 or drmartin@istate.edu.
FACULTY RECEIVE SEED MONEY FOR RESEARCH ABROAD
Sixteen researchers in nine departments have
received $33,585 from the Dean of Agriculture's International
Research Grants. The grants provide seed money to develop projects
abroad. Targeted countries or regions for the proposals include
Israel, Ukraine, China, Russia, Mexico, Australia, Asia, New Zealand
and Costa Rica. The projects would involve research in areas such
as corn storage, potato diseases, nitrogen-fixing trees, oats,
soybean-based adhesives, distance education technologies, tropical
forest preservation, soybean germplasm, livestock genetics, disease-causing
mosquitoes, rural women leaders and global climate change. For
more information: David Acker, dacker@iastate.edu.
STRATEGIC PLAN ON GLOBAL PROGRAMS COMPLETED
The college recently completed a strategic
plan for international programs. Key elements include establishing
Asia and the Pacific Rim as a regional priority, and expanding
study/work abroad opportunities and research projects. The plan
can be viewed at this website.
BIOETHICS TOPIC IN APRIL: WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION
"Is it Ethical to Increase World Food Production?" will
be debated at an ISU Bioethics Symposium on April 25 in the Curtiss
Hall Auditorium. Presenters include Ricardo Salvador, agronomy;
Luther Tweeten, Ohio State University; and Mathis Wackernagel,
Universidad de Xalapa, Mexico. Lunch will be a "hunger banquet,"
in which participants will eat the way the world eats: 15 percent
will have a first-class meal, 25 percent will have a basic meal
and 60 percent will have a bowl of rice. Registration is $5. Preregister
by April 17. Symposium sponsors include several departments, centers
and programs in the college. For more information: Clark Ford,
4-0343 or cfford@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
March 13: Foreign travel grant applications due, 138 Curtiss
March 13: Deadline, Brenton Center classroom scheduling, 4-6950
March 13: LEA/RN Workshop, Scheman Building, 4-1167.
March 24: Presentation Skills: Preparing Students to Be Effective
Presenters, AgComm workshop, 8 Curtiss, 4-0896.
March 30: Animal Agriculture Career Day at ISU, 4-7235.
April 1-4: MANRRS National Conference, Des Moines and Ames, 4-8574
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
USE UNDERLINING SPARINGLY
Underlining words to emphasize them should be done with discretion,
says Roger Parker, author of "Looking Good in Print."
Underlining more than a few words is hard to read. Readers' eyes
have trouble separating the words in passages because of the connecting
lines, plus the letters' descenders are obscured, making them
harder to identify. A better option for emphasizing words is either
bold-face or italics.
I N F O G R A Z I N G
HOW TO SUBMIT NSF PROPOSALS ELECTRONICALLY
A workshop on how to electronically submit
proposals to the National Science Foundation is set for Wednesday,
March 11. For more information: Jeff Inman 4-4567 or jinman@iastate.edu.
WHERE THE OUTDOOR LABS ARE
A manual, "Outdoor Teaching Laboratories," describes
areas near campus that may be used for outdoor labs. If you'd
like a copy, e-mail the Extension Distribution Center, pubdist@exnet.iastate.edu,
and ask for it by number -- EDC 117. Be sure to give them your
name and campus address.
NATIONAL BIOETHICS INSTITUTE PLANNED IN MAY
The first National Agricultural Biotechnology
Council Bioethics Institute will be held in Raleigh, NC, May 23-28.
Modeled on ISU's Bioethics Institute, the workshop will help science
faculty integrate discussions of ethical issues into their courses.
Application deadline is April 1. For more information: Gary Comstock,
4-0054 or comstock@iastate.edu.
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
NOT EVERYONE SUITED TO ONLINE TEACHING
"Online teaching is not for everyone.
A major hazard for us is that we come to think everyone must be
as temperamentally suited to these machines as we are. But the
computer-literate are a tiny fraction of the student population,
and the teacher population isn't much better. Even among those
who do know how to use computers, the proportion who enjoy them
is pretty small. This means we may often assume, mistakenly, that
our colleagues' slowness to get online is due to innate ineptitude;
and that students, especially the younger ones, are innately apt
at using computers." From a keynote address given by Crawford
Kilian of Capilano College, North Vancouver, at last year's Teaching
in the Community Colleges Online Conference. (For a copy of the
address, entitled "Why Teach Online," send a note to
M A R G I N A L I A
SIGN OF SPRING: PLAN FOR A BUCK ROSE
Better Homes and Gardens recently picked Carefree Beauty, one
of the "Buck roses" developed by the late Griffith Buck
of ISU, as one of the favorites it recommended to its readers
for 1998. Carefree Beauty was chosen for its ability to withstand
nasty winters, disease resistance, repeat flowering and attractive form.