The College of Agriculture Newsletter
Iowa State University
October 21, 1994 No. 4

C O N T E N T S

COLLEGE NEWS
- Open forum with President Jischke Oct. 27
- Seminar on USDA competitive grants program
- More female undergrads in college
- Land manager named for Experiment Station
- World Food Prize awarded

COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK

- Mouse squeezers

INFOGRAZING

- Attitudes of college freshmen

C O L L E G E N E W S

OPEN FORUM WITH PRESIDENT JISCHKE OCT. 27
College of Agriculture faculty and staff are invited to an open forum with President Martin Jischke at 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 27, in the CCUR Theatre, 1951 Food Sciences Building. President Jischke's visit to the college also includes meeting with ag administration, college cabinet, ag council executive committee, and faculty in agricultural economics and the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

SEMINAR ON USDA COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM
At noon on Monday, Oct. 24, a seminar on submitting proposals to the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program will be held in 133 Meat Lab. Susan Lamont, Experiment Station assistant director, will give an overview of the program and offer tips on proposal preparation. Bring a brown bag lunch; beverages and cookies provided. For more information: 294-3629 or 294-4544.

MORE FEMALE UNDERGRADS IN COLLEGE
Women now make up about 35 percent of the College of Agriculture's undergraduate enrollment, compared to 31 percent last year. The number of female undergraduates increased by 125 from last year (to 905), while male undergrads enrolled fell by 18 (to 2,594). The pre-veterinary program has the most women enrolled, 167. The department with the largest gain in women was animal science, with an additional 54 enrolled this fall.

LAND MANAGER NAMED FOR EXPERIMENT STATION
Mark Gannon has been named land manager for the ISU Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. He will oversee the use of agricultural land owned by the Experiment Station, the Committee for Agricultural Development and the ISU Agricultural Foundation. Gannon operated a farm real estate appraisal and management business in Ames. The ISU alumnus received a bachelor's degree in ag business in 1979. His office: 20 Curtiss Hall, 294-3854.

WORLD FOOD PRIZE AWARDED
Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh was awarded the 1994 World Food Prize on Oct. 12. The economist founded the Grameen Bank, which makes loans to the poor, providing them the means to increase their income and afford more food. On Oct. 14, Yunus and members of the prize's Council of Advisors participated in the first World Food Prize Youth Institute at ISU. Students from 14 Iowa high schools presented papers on world food issues. The Youth Institute will be an annual event. The College of Agriculture is secretariat for the World Food Prize.

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

MOUSE SQUEEZERS AND REPETITIVE MOTIONS
The Center for Workplace Health says that most computer users squeeze a mouse much too hard, and should hold it as if they were holding a small bird. For a copy of the center's Six Rules for Mouse Use, mail $2 and a 9 x 12 self addressed stamped envelope to CTDNews, PO Box 239, Haverford, PA, 19041. For those at ISU who want advice on how to avoid repetitive motion syndrome, contact Louis Mitchell, Environmental Safety and Health, 294-7668.

I N F O G R A Z I N G

ATTITUDES OF COLLEGE FRESHMEN
Some figures on attitudes of freshmen entering U.S. colleges, fall 1993, from the Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac.

Percentage who agree strongly or somewhat that:
Colleges should prohibit racist and sexist speech: 62
Realistically, an individual can do little to change society: 32
The federal government is not doing enough to control environmental pollution: 84
The federal government is not doing enough to protect consumers from faulty goods and services: 71

Percentage who said these objectives were essential or very important:
Being very well-off financially: 74
Raising a family: 70
Being an authority in own field: 67
Helping others who are in difficulty: 63
Developing a meaningful philosophy of life: 44
Helping to promote racial understanding: 41
Participating in a community action program: 25
Becoming involved in programs to clean up environment: 28

Percentage who said their political views were:
Far left: 2.5
Liberal: 24.7
Middle of road: 49.9
Conservative: 21.4
Far right: 1.5

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO AG ONLINE

Send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu (if you're on the college server, just AGCOLLEGE/BMEYER). To unsubscribe: Same thing, with "Ag Online unsubscribe." Comments? Write, call, e-mail or fax to the addresses below.

AG ONLINE
Ag Online is a bimonthly electronic newsletter for ISU College of Agriculture faculty and staff. Editors: Brian Meyer (bmeyer@iastate.edu) and Ed Adcock (eadcock@agcollege.exnet.iastate.edu), Agriculture Information Services, 304 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011. Phone: 515-294-5616. Fax: 515-294-8662.

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