The College of Agriculture Newsletter
Iowa State University
May 26, 1995 No. 19

C O N T E N T S

COLLEGE NEWS
- Ag faculty approves new major
- Evaluating advisers
- Ag majors in Hixson awardees
- Visiting professors 1994-95
- Private and public transitions
- Students in Service: Design teams

COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK

- Creative problem-solving

INFOGRAZING

- Federal research funds

EXTERNAL VOICES

- Our community of concern

MARGINALIA

- And it doesn't mind the swishing tail


C O L L E G E N E W S

AG FACULTY APPROVES NEW MAJOR
The College of Agriculture faculty has approved a proposal for a new undergraduate major in agricultural communications in the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies. Next, the proposal goes to the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee for consideration. It would eventually need final approval from the Board of Regents. The department began studying the need for the new major two years ago. The program would aim to meet the needs of students who are interested in communication careers in agriculture. Under the proposal, the program would use existing courses; no new courses would be added.

EVALUATING ADVISERS
The College of Agriculture's Academic Affairs Committee has unanimously recommended that departments have students complete annual evaluations of their advisers. Departments are encouraged to use or modify existing university evaluation forms, or to develop their own. The committee, which continues to offer professional development programs for new and present advisers, hopes that departments will use the evaluations to improve advising. In a 1993 university survey, College of Agriculture students gave high ratings to their advisers and how they met their needs. For more information: Les Wilson, committee chair (or Doug Kenealy, committee chair beginning July 1), or Tom Polito, Student Services.

AG MAJORS IN HIXSON AWARDEES
Of the 105 Iowa high school seniors who were presented Christina Hixson Opportunity Awards from ISU, 19 have declared majors within the College of Agriculture. These students, who will begin classes this fall, are the first recipients of the $2,500 awards. The awards are given to at least one student from each Iowa county.

VISITING PROFESSORS 1994-95
Twenty College of Agriculture professors gave a total of 51 educational presentations in 27 Iowa high schools during the 1994-95 academic year. The Visiting Professor Program, sponsored by the college's Office of Academic Programs, provides presentations to high school classes at no cost. Since it began in 1990, 144 teachers at 112 schools have taken advantage of the program. Topics addressed this year by visiting professors included agricultural careers for the future; ethical questions of agricultural biotechnology; and "The Amazing World Inside the Rumen, or How a Cow Can Make Milk from Your Old Term Paper."

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC TRANSITIONS
"Our society and the international community are in accelerated change or public transition. You are making a private transition in a period of great public transition . . . Do not be frustrated by the establishment and the institutions and leaders that control the society you will join. Their job is to keep the existing system together and functioning. Your job is to articulate your new ideas and concepts clearly and focus on the changes in basic structures and institutions that can support them." From the May 13 commencement address at ISU given by Stan Johnson, director, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, and C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Economics.

STUDENTS IN SERVICE: DESIGN TEAMS
Agricultural and biosystems engineering students have been involved in projects to develop solutions to environmental problems. One design team has worked with a feedlot operator on a low-odor system for manure collection and application that utilizes available nutrients and prevents water and air pollution. Another design team has worked with an Iowa manufacturer on a system that places herbicides on soil instead of on crop residues in no-till and low-till fields.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING
In "The Creative Mind," author Margaret Boden describes some of the steps that should be taken to tap into one's creativity for problem-solving. First, creative thought is preceded by "incubation," or a period of intense concentration on the problem. Next, education -- exposure to diverse experiences and subjects -- is associated with creative thinking. Finally, play is important. Relaxing and downtime are key to creativity; the eureka stage often occurs when creative people take a break. (Investor's Business Daily, May 15)

I N F O G R A Z I N G

FEDERAL RESEARCH FUNDS
Some recent developments on the status of federal research funds: The Department of Energy plans to cut more than $14 billion from its budget over the next five years without jettisoning any research programs. Science advocates in Congress praised the plan, but DOE officials say it will not relieve pressure to drop several proposed research facilities. This week the Senate approved a budget resolution with an amendment that restored $7 billion in funding to the National Institutes of Health. The original resolution had cut $8 billion from NIH over the next seven years. (About half of the federal grant monies the Experiment Station receives are from the USDA; the other half come from other agencies. More on the status of USDA funds next issue.)

E X T E R N A L V O I C E S

OUR COMMUNITY OF CONCERN
"We are truly on the threshold of a different world, one in which technology is creating a global community in which very different people are forced to live together . . . Our community of concern should extend far beyond those within our society . . . After all, we live in a world which we now recognize is an ecosystem, a network of interdependencies among all parts of the earth . . . While the problems we face in the future are clearly difficult . . . hope lies in our determination to learn compassion, to champion justice and to embrace the entire earth as our home." From the May 13 commencement address at the University of Northern Iowa given by graduating senior Heather Martin. She is the daughter of Barb Martin, an account specialist with the Experiment Station.

M A R G I N A L I A

AND IT DOESN'T MIND THE SWISHING TAIL
Cows seeking udder relief can now queue up for robotic milking. Wearing a computer chip in her collar for identification, the cow can amble up to the machine when she feels the urge, and a robot equipped with ultrasonic sensors does the rest. The $250,000 three-stall milker reduces labor costs while allowing for three milkings a day, but it can't handle high volume and is best suited to 60-100 cow herds. The new technology, used in Holland and at least four other countries, still is plagued with glitches and may not be attractive in the U.S. environment of larger herds and less government support for dairy production. But cows like it, says a University of Guelph staff member, adding that some cows would come through many times a day "if we let them." (Wall Street Journal, May 8).

AG ONLINE

Ag Online is a bimonthly electronic newsletter for ISU College of Agriculture faculty and staff. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe: Send "Ag Online unsubscribe" to same address. Comments? Call, write, e-mail or fax editors Brian Meyer (bmeyer@iastate.edu) and Ed Adcock (edadcock@iastate.edu), Agriculture Information Services, 304 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011. Phone: 515-294-5616. Fax: 515-294-8662.

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