150 Points of Pride

The Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has a proud and distinguished history. As part of Iowa State's sesquicentennial celebration, 150 points of pride related to the College - accomplishments, discoveries, contributions, highlights, famous and interesting people - will be posted here. These postings will coincide with 150 days of the 2007-2008 academic year, beginning Aug. 20, 2007 and ending May 2, 2008, with time off for the Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks. Check back each Monday for five new items.

Restoring the Past

In 1919 Iowa ranked sixth in the nation for wine-grape production, harvesting more than 12 million pounds of grapes. The first recorded grape production in the state was in Dubuque in 1857, but by 1940 the Iowa grape industry had all but been destroyed. The Prohibition had taken its toll, followed by the use of 2,4-D on corn, and an Armistice Day blizzard in 1940 pummeled the Midwest with 27 inches of snow. Today two professors in the horticulture department are involved with local wineries and grape producers helping to reestablish the industry. Gail Nonnecke and Paul Domoto have added their expertise of sustainable fruit crops and pomology to the expanding knowledge and production of the Iowa wine industry. Since 2000 the industry has grown from a reported 55 acres to about 500, with 22 newly bonded wineries.

Fast Fact: An ISU Extension publication states that at current industry rates it takes 9 years to pay the start-up costs and net a return of about $1,500 to $2,000 per acre per year.

Horticulture Program Study

Iowa State first offered horticulture classes in 1869, with classes being taught by Norton Townshend. Since its beginning faculty, students and alum have been committed to enriching the lives of Iowan's through research and implementation of new horticulture practices. Remaining committed to providing the best possible education for students, the horticulture department has been turning its focus inward. Currently, Marie VanDerZanden, associate professor of horticulture, is engaged in a study to determine the effectiveness of the program. The study will collect data from students who graduated between 1997-2004, and focus on their perceptions of faculty, staff, and facilities, as well as student placement. The purpose of the study is to ensure that the horticulture department is providing the most effective education possible, and help guide future policies and decisions. The study represents just one of the ways that the departments of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has been committed to providing the best education for the past 150 years.

Fast Fact: The Horticulture Department boasts a 98% placement rate within 90 days of graduation.

N.E. Hansen Spent 40 Years as a Plant Explorer

A student of Iowa State professor Joseph Budd, N.E. Hansen would establish a name for himself in the field, much as his mentor had done. Graduating from Iowa State with his bachelor's degree in 1887, and his master's degree in 1895, Hansen left Iowa to settle in South Dakota. Hansen was employed by the federal government as a USDA "Plant Explorer," while his long-time schoolmate "Tama Jim" Wilson was the head of the department of agriculture. It was a job that would gain him an international reputation. The first plant trip he took was in 1894, while he was a student at Iowa State. For the next 40 years Hansen would continue exploring Europe and Asia in search of plants. When "Tama Jim" was no longer the head of the department of agriculture, Hansen lost his funding for plant exploring. Determined to continue his career, he convinced the South Dakota State Legislature to fund his trips. The legislature funded two trips in 1913 and 1924. Hansen had found his life's passion in plant breeding and development. In 1949 at the age of 83, Hansen summed his life's work, "The idea is to leave the land in a more profitable condition than you found it." Something he managed to do.

Fast Fact: N.E. Hansen found, or developed, over 350 types of fruits, vegetables, and trees that were suitable for the weather conditions of the Northern Plains.

ISU Turf Club

The Turf Club represents only one of many clubs in the horticulture department, but the department takes pride in what the members accomplished in 2007. At the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America's (GCSAA) 13th Annual Turf Bowl competition, Iowa State's Turf Club took first place, again. This marked the sixth year in a row that a team of Iowa State students had placed first in the competition. In the 2007 competition a record setting 81 teams participated in the Turf Bowl. Iowa State had teams placing first and second, with Purdue taking third, fourth and fifth. The competition is part of a yearly event put on by the GCSAA in Anaheim, Cal. The conference includes educational seminars, career fairs and the Turf Bowl competition.

Fast Fact: Turf Club advisers David Minner and Mike Andresen won the "College Football Field of the Year" award in 1996.

Thomas Maney's Pomology Research Began in 1912

Thomas Maney was a graduate of the Iowa State horticulture program in 1912. He was hired by the college immediately following his graduation, and continued working with the department for the next 33 years. For 28 years he was the head of the pomology sub-section of the Agriculture Experiment Station. Maney was the son of a successful fruit grower and became an internationally recognized horticulturalist during his time at Iowa State. Maney's work, much like his father, was in pomology. He gained national recognition for his work with hardy dwarf apple stocks; and his paper "Grape Production and Distribution in Western Iowa" is still used today as a relevant source of information about grape growing in Iowa. In addition to his pomology expertise he worked on developing a thorn-less rose stock. One of the thorn-less hybrids of roses he created is widely used as a stock for production.

Fast Fact: Maney has a residence house named after him, the sundial plaque at the Iowa State arboretum is dedicated to him, and he is buried in the Iowa State cemetery.

*Some historic photographs courtesy of the University Archives.

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