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.

Henry H. Kildee

Henry Herbert Kildee was born on a farm in Osage, Iowa, in 1884. He received his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State in 1908 after being high individual in the Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest at the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, scoring more points on all classes of animals in the students’ judging contest. He joined the faculty of Iowa State College in 1909 and the following year was made head of dairy husbandry. In 1916, he went to the University of Minnesota as head of dairy industries, but he received his master’s from Iowa State in 1917. He returned to Iowa State in 1918 as the head of the animal husbandry department, a position he held until 1935. He was named dean of agriculture in 1933 and served in that position until he retired in 1949. In 1965, the animal science department moved into its own building, Kildee Hall, named for Henry H. Kildee.

Fast fact: Kildee was an unusual livestock judge, because he judged every breed of dairy and beef cattle, swine and draft horses, rather than specializing in one breed or species.

Jay Lush

Jay Lush

In the early 1900s, animal breeding was regarded as more of an art than a science. Jay Lush changed that. Lush is known as the father of modern scientific animal breeding and genetics. He advocated breeding not based on subjective appearance of the animal, but on quantitative statistics and genetic information. The idea was radical at the time because animal selections were based on appearances in the show-ring. Lush combined management practices, genetics and statistics to formulate a new scientific foundation for livestock improvement. From 1930 to 1966, Lush was a professor of animal science at Iowa State. In 1937, Lush authored a classic book “Animal Breeding Plans,” which greatly influenced animal breeding around the world. Lush mentored 279 graduate and doctoral students. During his career, Iowa State attained a worldwide reputation of excellence in animal breeding and genetics, a position still held today. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1967.

Fast fact: In 1974, an auditorium in Kildee Hall was named after Lush. At the dedication Lush said, “I hope this auditorium will be the scene of many interesting lectures on new developments in science and that those findings will have an obvious and close bearing on promoting human welfare.”

Wise Burroughs

Animal scientist Wise Burroughs discovered diethystilbestrol, — stilbestrol for short — a growth promotant that was widely used by the nation’s cattle producers to significantly increase animal gain. Burroughs had discovered that quality clover hay contained estrogens that enhanced growth and he used that information to determine the levels of the ingredient that would produce desired effects. The discovery was announced to a packed room at the annual ISU Cattle Feeders Day program in 1954. By 1967, two-thirds of Iowa’s fed cattle were receiving stilbesterol, saving Iowa farmers about $16 million in feed costs annually. For 20 years or more, this was one of the most widely used growth stimulants ever in beef cattle because it promoted faster, cheaper beef production. However, because of suspected human health risks, it was banned from use in 1979. Burrough’s work attracted many graduate and undergraduate students to Iowa State to study animal nutrition. During his long career, Burroughs was responsible for several advances in ruminant nutrition.

Fast fact: A portion of the proceeds from the patent for stilbestrol was used to build Lush Auditorium.

Richard Willham

Richard Willham

Richard Willham is known for his many contributions to the beef cattle breeding industry and his leadership in the Beef Improvement Federation. He is recognized as a major force behind the development of national sire evaluation and national cattle evaluation programs. Willham earned a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State in 1954 and a master’s in animal breeding at Iowa State in 1955. After military service, he returned to Iowa State and completed his doctorate in 1960. He went to Oklahoma State in 1963 and started a beef selection project involving Angus and Hereford cattle. In 1966, he returned to Iowa State where he continued his beef cattle breeding research. He developed the Computer Cowgame, a tool for teaching principles of selection using performance records. Breeders and commercial producers played the game, gaining a better understanding of genetic principles and selection practices. The game continues to be used in animal breeding classes worldwide. In 1996, he wrote the 100-year history for the ISU animal science department titled “A Heritage of Leadership.” He also has written four books and 27 papers on livestock heritage.

Fast fact: In 1990, Willham was guest curator of an exhibition at the Brunnier Art Museum at Iowa State University titled “Art About Livestock.”

Lauren Christian

Lauren Christian was an internationally recognized expert in swine genetics and the first director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center at Iowa State. The native of LaPorte City earned a bachelor's degree in animal science at Iowa State, followed by master's and doctorate degrees at the University of Wisconsin. He joined the Iowa State faculty in 1965. He was named Teacher of the Year in 1968, an Honorary Iowa Master Pork Producer in 1980 and a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in 1995. Christian was a consultant for private and corporate firms associated with swine production. He lectured and was a pork industry consultant in more than 20 foreign countries, including Japan, the former Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Christian died in 1998. The Lauren Christian Swine Research Center at Iowa State's Bilsland Memorial Farm near Madrid, a place where Christian conducted much of his research, was dedicated May 8, 2007.

Fast fact: The annual Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open golf tournament raises money for the Lauren L. Christian Endowment, which provides financial support for undergraduate and graduate students and continued swine and pork educational opportunities through Iowa State.

*Some historic photographs courtesy of the University Archives.

150 Points of Pride Archives