Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- ISU Ag Week events, Nov. 7-11



- USDA-NRI grants workshop: Animal systems



- Tuition shortfall



- Report on college retreat



- Fall harvest of judging awards



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Assistors will listen



- Computer work area tips



INFOGRAZING



- Linear accelerator projects



- State appropriations rise 6 percent



EXTERNAL VOICES



- 'I happily teach this course'



- Improving regulatory policy for biotech



MARGINALIA



- Headlines of the future?



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C O L L E G E N E W S







ISU AG WEEK EVENTS, NOV. 7-11



A chili supper will be held at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 7 in the

Judging Pavilion; it's $3 per person, sponsored by the Ag Ed Club.

Ag Career Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in the

Memorial Union. On Thursday, Nov. 10, a symposium on Iowa's changing

swine industry will be held at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall, Memorial

Union; sponsored by the Ag Council, Collegiate Farm Bureau and

Alpha Zeta. For more information: Brian Meyer, (515) 294-0706;

e-mail: bmeyer@iastate.edu.



USDA-NRI GRANTS WORKSHOP: ANIMAL SYSTEMS



Forty seats are available at an interactive satellite workshop

on USDA National Research Initiative grantsmanship, focusing on

animal systems. The workshop is Thursday, Nov. 10, 1:00 to 2:30

p.m., Room 248, Engineering Annex. Peter Johnson, a program manager

in animal systems, will speak. Others who will answer questions

on the USDA-NRI competitive grants program are Sally Rocky, acting

adminstrator, USDA-NRI Competitive Grants; Peter Brayton, program

manager - virology, molecular genetics and growth and development;

Kathy Elwood, program manager - food safety and human nutrition;

and other program managers. To reserve a seat, contact Kathy Kuehl,

294-1242 (kkuehl@iastate.edu) or Shirley Riney at 4-4544 (sriney@iastate.edu).

Workshop sponsors: the College of Veterinary Medicine and the

Experiment Station.



TUITION SHORTFALL



Fewer students enrolled this fall has meant a $1.7 million decrease

in ISU tuition revenues. The College of Agriculture's share of

the tuition shortfall is $30,564. The college intends to address

the shortfall through salary savings, according to Detroy Green,

associate dean for academic programs.



REPORT ON COLLEGE RETREAT



More than 150 people attended the college retreat in August. Participants

brainstormed on what the world and agriculture would be like in

the future, and what issues will be important. A summary report

on the retreat, "Changing Course: Building a New Foundation

for Food Systems Education," was given to each DEO. For more

information: Robert Martin, chair, Professional Development Committee,

294-0896 (drmartin@iastate.edu).



FALL HARVEST OF JUDGING AWARDS



Student judging teams are doing well this fall. The soil judging

team placed first at the American Society of Agronomy's Midwest

Region Contest at Springfield, MO. The meat judging team placed

first at the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest hosted by ISU.

The dairy cattle judging team placed first at the Midwest contest,

Viroqua, WI; eighth at the All-American Judging Contest, Harrisburg,

PA; and 10th at the national contest at the World Dairy Expo,

Madison, WI. The livestock judging team placed first at the Mid-Continent

Livestock Exposition, Springfield, IL; fourth at the Mid-America

Classic, Wichita, KS; and fifth at the National Barrow Show, Austin,

MN.







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









ASSISTORS WILL LISTEN



Faculty, staff and students with questions about sexual harassment

can talk to an assistor. There are 47 assistors around campus

who have been trained to listen, ask questions and provide information

about ISU policies, and options and sources of help. They do not

provide legal advice or investigate alleged incidents. An important

point: If you take a complaint to a supervisor, he or she is required

to take action. If you are uncertain what to do and want to discuss

your situation first, an assistor is one place to start. A list

of ISU assistors was published in the Oct. 28 "Inside Iowa

State," page 6. The list also is available in the provost's

office and the personnel office, and will be put on Online ISU,

the university Gopher site.



COMPUTER WORK AREA TIPS



The December issue of Macworld features a special section on avoiding

computer-related disorders. It includes these tips for setting

up a computer work area: The equipment you use the most should

be in front of you and within 15 inches. The mouse should be close

to the keyboard and at the same height. The keyboard should be

at a height where you don't have to bend your wrists upward or

raise your forearms to type. The area of the monitor you look

at most should be slightly below eye level. The monitor should

be as far away as possible without straining to read -- 16 inches

at the minimum.







I N F O G R A Z I N G







LINEAR ACCELERATOR PROJECTS



From March 1993 through August 1994, almost 75 irradiation projects

were conducted at ISU's Linear Accelerator Facility. The research

involved scientists from more than a dozen federal, university

and private labs. Most projects have tested irradiation's ability

to control harmful microbes in beef, pork and poultry. But researchers

also have looked at controlling salmonella in eggs; reducing mold

in strawberries, corn and soybeans; reducing bacteria on roses;

improving the properties of plastics and plaster; and sterilizing

soil.



STATE APPROPRIATIONS RISE 6 PERCENT



For fiscal 1994-95, Iowa ranks 24th in the nation in amount of

state appropriations for higher education. The total is $641,207,000

-- a 6 percent increase from 1992-93. Appropriations to ISU are

$206,448,000 -- a 7 percent increase from two years ago. Appropriations

to UI are $211,304,000; UNI, $68,124,000; community colleges,

$114,388,000; and private colleges, $32,801,000. Appropriations

for student aid are $6,425,000 -- a 2 percent decline from 1992-93.

(From the Oct. 19 Chronicle of Higher Education.)







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







'I HAPPILY TEACH THIS COURSE'



Edward O. Wilson, naturalist and senior member of the faculty

at Harvard University, on teaching a course in evolutionary biology

for nonmajors: "I happily teach this course because I realize

that I am addressing the future news editors, senators, business

leaders and other members of society [who need to have a good

background in science]." (From an interview on National Public

Radio.)



IMPROVING REGULATORY POLICY FOR BIOTECH



From an article by Henry Miller in the September/October issue

of The American Enterprise, which calls for a "new intolerance"

by scientists and others toward "excessive, illogical"

biotechnology regulation: "Improvements in the regulatory

climate cannot even be hoped for unless three things occur: First,

scientists, as individuals, must learn to discuss complex scientific

and technological issues so clearly and logically that nonexperts

can understand the arguments and draw conclusions on their merits

. . . Second, professional and scientific associations, journals

and faculties must also join the debate . . . And third, those

who are not directly involved in science but who have a stake

in the ultimate applications of science and technology -- venture

capitalists, consumer groups, patients' groups and farmers' organizations

-- need to become conversant with the basic concepts that relate

to biotechnology regulation."







M A R G I N A L I A







HEADLINES OF THE FUTURE?



At the college retreat (see "College News"), participants

were asked to write news headlines they'd like to see in the year

2010. A few examples: "United Nations announces that ISU

is the first international land-grant university"; "Iowa

State University recognized: the world's people university";

"ISU develops sustainable agriculture system"; "ISU

teams accept Nobel Peace Prize for development of odorless hog";

and "ISU 50 - Iowa 10."







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