Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Melvin named head of ABE



- Outstanding seniors



- Students in Service: In Appalachia



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- How people communicate



INFOGRAZING



- Accent on teaching



- Job growth for Ph.D.s



EXTERNAL VOICES



- 'We do not even know what we are losing'



MARGINALIA



- Mower power







C O L L E G E N E W S







MELVIN NAMED HEAD OF ABE



Stewart Melvin has been named head of the Department of Agricultural

and Biosystems Engineering. He has served as interim head since

January 1994. Melvin, an ISU faculty member since 1970, has been

active in leading Extension and research programs in soil, water

and waste management. He begins as department head on July 1.





OUTSTANDING SENIORS



About 304 College of Agriculture seniors will receive bachelor's

degrees at commencement on Saturday. Last spring, 300 earned undergraduate

degrees. The total for the university this spring is about 2,180.

At Saturday's college convocation, the Ag Council will present

five Outstanding Senior Awards. The awards recognize seniors who

have been active in their curriculum clubs and within the college.

The recipients: Amy Church, dairy science/ag journalism; Curt

Diemer, ag business/public service and administration; Darren

Obrecht, ag business; Dak Rasmussen, microbiology; and Linda Sieren,

horticulture.



STUDENTS IN SERVICE: IN APPALACHIA



During semester break, some members of ISU's Farm House fraternity

traveled to Williamsburg, KY, to participate in an assistance

project for Appalachian families. Students assembled food baskets,

helped with community programs and unloaded truckloads of toys

and clothing at a charitable center. Also during semester break,

Farm House members worked on a Habitat for Humanity project, which

helps low-income families build houses.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



MAY 13 -- College of Agriculture convocation, C.Y. Stephens



MAY - VISION 2020's 50/50 Conference, 220 Scheman (contact

294-2092)







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









HOW PEOPLE COMMUNICATE



Actions speak louder than words, especially in verbal communication.

North Dakota State University sociologist Patty Corwin says 55

percent of how people communicate is body language. Thirty-eight

percent is tone of voice. Only 7 percent is the words we speak.

Corwin spoke May 5 at an Agricultural Communicators in Education

meeting in Fargo.







I N F O G R A Z I N G







ACCENT ON TEACHING



A third of ISU's 720 teaching assistants are international students

(ITAs). Some win teaching awards. Some bring valuable international

perspectives to social science classes. And some have trouble

communicating with their students. In a 1993 ISU survey, 60 percent

of students who reported taking courses with ITAs said they had

difficulty communicating with an ITA. Only about 25 percent of

those students talked to anyone who could help correct the problem.

ITAs must pass a language testing and teaching program. The pass

rate this year is 52 percent. (A complete story on ITAs and their

students can be found in the March 10 issue of Inside Iowa State.)





JOB GROWTH FOR PH.D.s



Only about a third of new doctoral recipients will work in universities,

according to a report issued in April. Meanwhile, there is job

growth for Ph.D. recipients in business and industry, in applied

research and in non-research positions. The report recommends

curricular changes to prepare graduate students for positions

outside the academy. It is available for $34 from the National

Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington DC 20418.

(Chronicle of Higher Education, April 28)







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







'WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT WE ARE LOSING'



"Over the next century we will have to produce more food,

fiber, fuelwood and other agricultural commodities from less land

and with less water. If we are to build a world without hunger,

we will have to conserve and sustain biodiversity and use it equitably.

(Genetic erosion) arises from the loss -- due to commercial and

anthropogenic pressures -- of habitats rich in genetic wealth

. . . We do not even know what we are losing. Only about 1.5 million

species of plants and animals have been described so far. Biosystematists,

however, estimate that over 50 million species may exist . . .

The loss of every single gene and species limits our options for

the future." M.S. Swaminathan, joint winner of the UN's Sasakawa

Environment Prize for 1994 and the 1987 World Food Prize laureate,

in February's Our Planet, a UN magazine.







M A R G I N A L I A







MOWER POWER



In a span of 28 hours last month, students in the Agricultural

Systems Technology Club serviced 95 lawnmowers. Lawnmower Service

Days, the club's annual fundraising and service project, has been

held for 17 years. Students apply what they've learned in AST

258, a course on small power equipment.