COLLEGE NEWS
- ISU receives Fund for Rural America grants
- Plans for new centers evaluated this summer
- May 9 convocation will recognize 370 graduates
- Forum today for minority liaison officer candidate
- Web information and forms for Ag Honors Program
- Forest Service chief visits campus
- Life in Hungary presentation on Monday
- AST program observes 25th
- New biotech summer program for undergrads
- Writing, illustrating children’s forestry book
- Latest banking schools involve Albanians, Bosnians
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- The dreaded large e-mail attachment
INFOGRAZING
- College part of ag school profile in newspaper
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Leopold on cultural values for wild things
MARGINALIA
- Gary Larson: The ‘oh please, oh please’ syndrome
- Why Gary Larson draws so many cows
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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ISU RECEIVES FUND FOR RURAL AMERICA GRANTS
ISU has received three grants totaling more than $1 million from the Fund for Rural America (FRA), a USDA rural development program. The grants will fund projects to develop a standard measure for livestock odors; identify sources of cancer-fighting substances in legumes; and use the ICN, Internet and other telecommunications methods to offer programs to southwest Iowans. ISU also is a collaborator on eight other grants. ISU’s grants were three of 115 announced this week. The FRA had received more than 1,000 proposals. FRA will fund $100 million in rural development projects annually for three years.
PLANS FOR NEW CENTERS TO BE EVALUATED THIS SUMMER
Last fall ISU received three center-planning grants from the Fund for Rural America. ISU also is a partner in nine other planning grants. The plans will be evaluated this summer for further funding. An announcement on new centers is expected this fall. The USDA funded 32 planning grants from more than 460 proposals.
MAY 9 CONVOCATION WILL RECOGNIZE 370 GRADUATES
The college convocation on May 9 will recognize about 370 spring and summer graduates. A reception at 8:15 a.m. precedes the convocation at 9 a.m. in C.Y. Stephens Auditorium. Faculty and staff are encouraged to come early to meet with graduates and their parents as there will be limited time after the ceremony. The Ag Council will present senior awards to Shannon Prantner, agronomy, for academic achievement; Estee Walter, animal science/ag education, for distinguished service; Minde Jo Hibma, ag business/agronomy, for leadership excellence; and David Edwards, ag biochemistry/genetics, for outstanding senior. Kimberly Lynch, who is graduating in public service and administration in agriculture, will deliver the address.
FORUM TODAY FOR MINORITY LIAISON OFFICER CANDIDATE
A public forum will be held at 4:30 p.m. today (Friday) in 8 Curtiss for the second of two candidates for the minority liaison officer position in the College of Agriculture. The candidate, Jennifer Kimble, is assistant area coordinator of campus living services at George Mason University. The other candidate, who was on campus last week, is Nina Neubert, academic counselor in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, University of Nebraska.
WEB INFORMATION AND FORMS FOR AG HONORS PROGRAM
The Ag Honors Committee has established a web page for application forms and general information about the College of Agriculture Honors Program. Old application forms should be discarded. For more information: Howard Tyler, 4-6434 or htyler@iastate.edu.
FOREST SERVICE CHIEF VISITS CAMPUS
Mike Dombeck, chief of the U.S. Forest Service and an ISU ag alum, visited the college on Wednesday. Dombeck, who earned a doctorate in fisheries biology in 1984, gave a presentation on the Forest Service's natural resources agenda, talked to an animal ecology/forestry class about ecosystem management, and discussed diversity programs with college administrators. He also visited the Bear Creek riparian buffer research site near Roland. Dombeck was appointed to his position last year and is responsible for 155 national forests and grasslands totaling 191 million acres.
LIFE IN HUNGARY PRESENTATION ON MONDAY
Two Hungarian students will talk about life in their homeland on Monday, May 4, 4 to 5 p.m., in 8 Curtiss Hall. Peter Hajdu and Ildiko Borsos have been studying at ISU for the past semester. Their presentation will include information on Hungary, the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and their ISU experiences. For more information: Eduarda Becerra, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu.
AST PROGRAM OBSERVES 25TH
The Agricultural Systems Technology (AST) program has reached its 25th anniversary. In 1973 the Department of Agricultural Engineering developed a new curriculum called agricultural mechanization, now known as AST. The program trains students to manage machines, chemical processes, computers and other technologies used in agricultural systems. In its first year, the program had three students. Today it has about 125. Since its start, more than 350 have graduated in the program. A recent top student in AST had a starting job offer of $42,000.
NEW BIOTECH SUMMER PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADS
A new summer program for undergraduate students in molecular biotechnology will begin this year. Parag Chitnis, biochemistry & biophysics, and David Oliver, botany, are organizing the program, which will run for three years with support from the National Science Foundation. The program offers an eight-week research assistantship to 10 undergrads. They will receive guidance and supervision from a faculty member whose area of research best matches their interests. Potential areas of study include protein engineering, plant molecular genetics or animal biotechnology.
WRITING, ILLUSTRATING CHILDREN’S FORESTRY BOOK
Janette Thompson and Mark Vitosh, forestry, are writing a children’s book about trees in urban areas. John Smith, a research associate in forestry, is illustrating the book. "The Forest Where Ashley Lives" will explore the benefits of trees in communities. The book’s heroine, Ashley, is seven years old. The book is scheduled to be distributed to grade schools in Iowa and other Midwestern states by the end of 1999. It is funded by a grant from the USDA Forest Service’s Urban Forestry Center, Chicago.
LATEST BANKING SCHOOLS INVOLVE ALBANIANS, BOSNIANS
The Center for International Agricultural Finance held its 46th school in April, a three-week program for Albanian central bankers. Besides coursework on campus, the group interned with FDIC examiners at the Coon Rapids State Bank, Coon Rapids, and the Federal Reserve Bank, Chicago. Ron Prescott coordinated the school. Since 1990, 1,235 people from 25 countries have graduated from the center’s schools. The 47th school, underway now, involves a group of Bosnian government officials working to restructure the country’s banking system after years of war.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
May 5 — "Developing and Using Portfolios," College of Agriculture spring in-service, 230 Scheman, 5 p.m. 4-8363.
May 5 — Closing date, applications for director of career services, College of Agriculture.
May 6 - Roger Bruene retirement reception, 2 to 5:30 p.m., Campanile Room, Memorial Union.
May 9 — College of Agriculture Convocation for Graduating Seniors, 9 a.m., C.Y. Stephens.
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
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THE DREADED LARGE E-MAIL ATTACHMENT
One frustration about e-mail is large attached documents that take forever to download. This is a problem especially if you're checking mail from somewhere off-campus, which can result in higher phone bills or failed online connections. A suggestion to senders: Consider converting the document into an Acrobat PDF file and placing it on a web site, and then e-mail people on how to find it. (This option also will reduce the load on sometimes over-taxed mail servers.) A suggestion to receivers: if you're a Mac user with Eudora and want to check your e-mail off-campus without downloading big attachments, go into the Special menu, look under Settings and go to Checking Mail. Check the box that says "Skip messages over __ K" and put 20 in the blank. (For Windows users, use the Tools menu, go to Options and find Checking Mail.) Attachments over 20K will be saved on the college server until you’re back in your office. If you use the same computer in your office, uncheck the box in settings and the attachments will download.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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COLLEGE PART OF AG SCHOOL PROFILE IN NEWSPAPER
The College of Agriculture was one of seven Midwestern agricultural schools profiled in the April 17 issue of Indiana Agrinews. The article listed facts and figures on each university’s program, with a special emphasis on international study. The article stated: "Michigan State, Iowa State and Purdue have all increased their number of foreign study options. The other schools are right behind them."
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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LEOPOLD ON CULTURAL VALUES FOR WILD THINGS
"We who labor in conservation are prone to forget that there was a time, within the memory of some still living, when it presented no field for endeavor. Wild things were something to be overcome and forgotten, not something to be preserved and cherished. Man was thought civilized to the extent that he divorced his existence from his own wild origins. The idea of cultural values in wild life had no painless birth. A whole generation of conservationists had to fight for the recognition of such values, before the present task of preserving them could begin." From an unpublished piece of writing by Aldo Leopold, read by Leopold biographer Curt Meine at a tree planting April 22 near Curtiss Hall, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conservationist’s death.
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M A R G I N A L I A
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GARY LARSON: THE ‘OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE’ SYNDROME
As a child, "The Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson and his brother spent many hours by the waters of Puget Sound at low tide, wading in their boots, swinging their nets (and catching) grunt fish, octopus, salamanders, sea anemones. "We had this theory that all naturalists suffer from the ‘oh please, oh please’ syndrome," he said. "You're wading somewhere, and you see the biggest and most beautiful whatever. And all you can think, as you try to get up close, is, ‘Oh please, oh please.’ " (New York Times, April 28)
WHY GARY LARSON DRAWS SO MANY COWS
"I've always thought the word cow was funny," he said. "And cows are sort of tragic figures. Cows blur the line between tragedy and humor." (New York Times, April 28)