Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Finalists for executive associate dean



- ISU gets biggest cash gift



- Gift-giving for agriculture



- New communications group



- MIPM saving a bundle



- 100 sign up for workshop



- Deadlines & reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- ISU facts in Spanish, Russian



INFOGRAZING



- Soil testing lab '94



- Business-university collaborations



MARGINALIA



- Home cooking, '90s style







C O L L E G E N E W S







FINALISTS FOR EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN



Three finalists for the college's executive associate dean position

will be interviewed in March. Finalists and dates they will be

on campus are: Colin Scanes, professor and chair, Department of

Animal Science, Cook College, Rutgers University -- March 9-10;

Dennis LeMaster, professor and head, Department of Forestry &

Natural Resources, Purdue University -- March 14-15; and Michael

Chaplin, professor and head, Department of Horticulture, ISU,

March 20-21. More details in next Ag Online.



ISU GETS BIGGEST CASH GIFT



The largest-ever cash gift to ISU was announced today (Friday).

The $5-million gift from the Lied Foundation Trust will fund the

Christina Hixson Opportunity Awards. The $2,500 scholarships will

be awarded each year to 100 Iowans (one from each county and one

more) who might otherwise be unable to attend ISU. Application

deadline: March 15. The gift kicks off an ISU campaign to raise

$26 million for scholarships. Check local media and the next Inside

Iowa State for more details.



GIFT-GIVING TO AGRICULTURE



Gifts to the College of Agriculture totalled $1,631,627 for the

first half of the fiscal year, according to the ISU Foundation.

Tops in gift activity were the College of Engineering ($5,589,686)

and the Athletic Department ($3,670,375). Other gifts included

Vet Med at $2,874,495 and Family & Consumer Sciences, $1,330,152.

Total ISU gifts from July to January: $30,976,816.



NEW COMMUNICATIONS GROUP



Ag Information Services has formed a communications advisory group

to examine ways to improve college internal communications. If

you have thoughts or ideas, please contact: Barbara Kalsem, ag

& biosystems engineering; Linda Drennan, ag education &

studies; Ina Couture, agronomy; Bruce Menzel, animal ecology;

Renee Knosby, animal science; Deanne Brill, biochemistry &

biophysics; John Schlenker, economics; Donald Lewis, entomology;

Judy Strand, food science & human nutrition; Rose Turner,

forestry; Kim Gaul, horticulture; Anita Nimtz, microbiology, immunology

& preventive medicine; Mary Jo Vivian, plant pathology; Ramona

Wierson, sociology; Doug Bull, zoology/genetics; Marty Behrens,

administration; and Ag Information staff.



MIPM SAVING A BUNDLE



The Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Preventive Medicine

is saving a bundle . . . literally and figuratively. To reduce

costs of paper and making copies, MIPM began a program last summer

encouraging e-mail communication among faculty, staff, collaborators

and students. Examples of e-mail replacing hard copy: meeting

minutes, announcements, information requests, job opportunities,

a newsletter, appointment scheduling. Also, students log on to

the MIPM server to get some course notes and syllabi.



100 SIGN UP FOR WORKSHOP



More than 100 faculty and staff have registered for "Human

Resources: Enhancing the Professional Work Environment in the

College of Agriculture,"the Feb. 28 professional development

workshop. Deadline for signing up was today (Feb. 17). Signups

will still be accepted on Monday, Feb. 20. Questions? Call Robert

Martin, 294-0896.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



FEB. 21 -- University Research Grant applications due, 104 Curtiss.



FEB. 22 -- Examples of impacts of research, extension and teaching

from departments and centers due, 304 Curtiss; for report by Joint

Council (U.S. land grants and USDA agencies).



FEB. 22 -- FFA Breakfast, 2nd floor, Curtiss, 7:30 a.m.



FEB. 28 -- College professional development workshop, Scheman,

5 p.m.



MARCH 1 -- Instructional Development Project proposals due, 124

Curtiss.



MARCH 1 -- P&S Professional Development Grant requests due,

107 Beardshear.



MARCH 1 -- Final deadline, approval of experimental summer-session

courses.







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









ISU FACTS IN SPANISH, RUSSIAN



Spanish and Russian versions of "How it Works," the

pocket-size ISU fact book, are available from the International

Agriculture Programs Office, 117 Curtiss. For more information:

Mary de Baca, 294-1851 or mmdb@iastate.edu.







I N F O G R A Z I N G







SOIL TESTING LAB '94



In 1994, the Soil Testing Laboratory in the Department of Agronomy

tested 14,453 soil samples. Forty-six percent were from crop fields,

28 percent from fields where research is conducted and 7 percent

from lawns and gardens. The rest were samples from crop and research

fields tested for soil nitrate or cornstalk nitrate. The lab provides

information and recommendations on soil nutrients, helping people

make decisions on fertilizer and herbicide use.



BUSINESS-UNIVERSITY COLLABORATIONS



Businesses that collaborate with universities on projects report

59 percent higher productivity than competitors, according to

a Coopers & Lybrand survey. But more than half of the companies

reported problems, including: a faculty culture not receptive

to business; lack of interest by academicians in designing programs

and resources for business; insensitivity to growth-oriented goals;

and inappropriate course material for employee training. (Investor's

Business Daily, Feb. 6)







M A R G I N A L I A







HOME COOKING, '90s STYLE



Kraft Foods doesn't for a minute believe people are turning into

a nation of health-conscious dieters. "Americans don't change

their habits that fast. It's like a glacier," says Kraft's

executive VP in charge of cheese. A survey found the top three

entrees in American homes in 1994 were pizza, ham sandwiches and

hot dogs. Macaroni and cheese was number six. "Like it or

not, these are the foods of the '90s," says a survey official.

(Wall Street Journal, Jan. 25)