Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Seniors to be recognized at Ag Convocation



- Ag Foundation offers new scholarships



- Spanish courses for ag faculty-staff begin in January



- ISU efforts help dairy producers clean grain



- Undergrads star in research seminar



- ISU helps coordinate state FFA soil judging event



- Elementary students get most out of visits to ISU

farm



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Campus map on college's Web site



INFOGRAZING



- Copyright law: Fair use pamphlet available



- Copyright law: Archive of current information



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Out of our labs and into our communities



MARGINALIA



- "Mr. Rueber planted some big pumpkin seeds"



- A toast to the New Yee-hee-hee-hee-r







C O L L E G E N E W S







SENIORS TO BE RECOGNIZED AT AG CONVOCATION



Faculty and staff are welcome to join graduating seniors and their

families and friends at the College of Agriculture Convocation

on Saturday, Dec. 21. It will begin at 8:45 a.m. in C.Y. Stephens

Auditorium. The 9:30 a.m. program will include individual recognition

of each graduate. The Ag Council will present senior awards will

be presented to Laura Kingdon, animal science, academic achievement;

Brian Feldpausch, ag education, leadership excellence; Shane Delaney,

forestry, distinguished service; and Pauley Bradley, agronomy,

outstanding senior. About 200 agriculture seniors are scheduled

to receive degrees at the university commencement that begins

at 1:30 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.



AG FOUNDATION OFFERS NEW SCHOLARSHIPS



The ISU Agricultural Foundation is offering $26,000 in new scholarships

for ISU students: $10,000 in scholarships will help students participate

in study-abroad programs or international ag travel courses; $10,000

in tuition grants will go to students enrolled in the Professional

Agriculture Off-Campus Degree Program; and $6,000 will be awarded

to student teams that submit winning designs for swine production

systems intended for use by beginning farmers. Earlier this year,

the foundation awarded $20,000 in freshman scholarships. The Agricultural

Foundation is an endowment that, as part of its mission, seeks

to help young people start in farming and ensure their long-term

stability. For more information: Mark Gannon, 4-3854.



SPANISH COURSES FOR AG FACULTY-STAFF BEGIN IN JANUARY



Two eight-week Spanish grammar/conversation courses will be offered

for ISU agriculture and veterinary medicine faculty and staff

during spring semester. The courses, to be held Jan. 28-March

28, will meet 4:30-6 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

A beginning-level course will meet in Curtiss Hall and an intermediate-level

course will meet at the vet med college. For more information:

Eduarda Becerra, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu.



ISU EFFORTS HELP DAIRY PRODUCERS CLEAN GRAIN



Northeast Iowa dairy producers had more than 9,200 bushels of

contaminated barley cleaned during October and November, thanks

to the efforts of ISU Extension specialists and researchers in

agriculture and veterinary medicine. Cows had become sick from

eating barley contaminated with ergot, a fungus. When the problem

was discovered, ISU spread the word to producers, determined a

cost-effective way to clean the grain and, working with local

agribusinesses, arranged for the use of a grain-cleaning system

from Canada. Allamakee County extension education director Lee

Gruenhaupt said producers have told him that ISU's efforts prevented

the problem from becoming more serious.



UNDERGRADS STAR IN RESEARCH SEMINAR



At a Dec. 13 seminar, 11 students from eight departments and three

colleges participated in an undergraduate research seminar. Funded

by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Education Initiative, the

program (Research Assistants in Biological Sciences, or RABS)

gives undergraduates the opportunity for hands-on involvement

in research for one semester. For more information: Bernie White,

director, or Kathie Oulman, coordinator, 4-0022.



ISU HELPS COORDINATE STATE FFA SOIL JUDGING EVENT



This fall, 30 Iowa high school teams participated in the 15th

annual Iowa FFA Soil Career Development Event. Sponsors for the

soil judging contest included the ISU agronomy department and

ISU Extension. Agronomist Gerald Miller and extension field specialist

Virgil Schmitt helped coordinate contest activities. The top five

teams -- Montezuma, Algona, Emmetsburg, Orient and Pella -- qualified

for the International Land Judging Career Development Event in

Oklahoma next May.



ELEMENTARY STUDENTS GET MOST OUT OF VISITS TO ISU FARM



David Rueber, superintendent of ISU's Northern Research and Demonstration

Farm near Kanawha, is a featured character in two new books, "Peter

Peter Pumpkin Eater Eats Apple Pie for a Change" and "JC

Bear and Staff Do Research with Mr. Rueber." The books were

created by Mrs. Kobes and her first- and second-grade students

at Kanawha Elementary School as part of a unit on food and agriculture.

With stories, photos and drawings, the books tell of the classes'

fall visits to the ISU farm and related art, reading and math

lessons. The books -- one shaped like a pumpkin and the other

like a watermelon slice -- are limited editions: one copy of each.

They will be circulated to the students' parents. "JC Bear

and staff" is the pen name of Mrs. Kobe and her students.

For book excerpts, see "Marginalia."



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



Dec. 21: College of Agriculture Convocation, C.Y. Stephens, 8:45

a.m.



Jan. 6: First-quarter deadline, Leopold Center conference and

workshop grant applications, 4-3711



Jan. 6: Foreign travel grant applications due, 138 Curtiss



Jan. 13: Spring semester begins



Feb. 3: Nominations deadline, Floyd Andre and Henry A. Wallace

awards, 134 Curtiss; and Excellence in International Agriculture

award, 104 Curtiss







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









CAMPUS MAP ON COLLEGE'S WEB SITE



The campus map for the College of Agriculture has been added to

the college's Web site. The link at http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/

accesses an Acrobat PDF file of the map. To see the map, you need

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded at no charge. Below

the map link are instructions on finding the Acrobat software.

With it you can open the map file on your computer and print it

for visitors. You also can let visitors know the map location

at the Web site or send them the map as an e-mail attachment.

The 8.5 x 11 inch map includes the south campus down to the research

park and a building list that highlights agriculture-related buildings.









I N F O G R A Z I N G







COPYRIGHT LAW: FAIR USE PAMPHLET AVAILABLE



A "Fair Use of Copyrighted Works" pamphlet is available

from CETUS, the Consortium for Educational Technology in University

Systems. The pamphlet states: "Copyright is at a critical

juncture, and universities have an extraordinary opportunity to

influence the development of the law and related practices as

they affect higher education. If universities fail to provide

initiative on copyright issues, other parties will exert their

influence to shape the law for purposes which do not necessarily

advance teaching, learning, and scholarship." An electronic

version of the pamphlet is available on the Web at http://www.cetus.org/fairindex.html

and contains links to fair-use guidelines and other resources

that are intended to promote a fuller understanding and appreciation

of copyright laws.



COPYRIGHT LAW: ARCHIVE OF CURRENT INFORMATION



The Stanford University library is working with the Council on

Library Resources to compile an electronic archive of information

on copyright law in an effort to keep educators and others aware

of the ongoing debate over the "fair use" doctrine.

The Stanford site at http://fairuse.stanford.edu contains the

full text of court decisions, legislation and international copyright

agreements, as well as related articles on the topic. (Chronicle

of Higher Education, Sept. 6)







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







OUT OF OUR LABS AND INTO OUR COMMUNITIES



"All scientists should help to educate the public by talking

with citizens at least a few times a year in settings in which

scientists rarely are seen -- at meetings of service organizations

such as Rotary Clubs, the League of Women Voters, school boards,

chambers of commerce and city councils, particularly when complex

issues of a technical nature are discussed . . . We must step

out of our labs and into our communities, because doing so will

make us better scientists -- and better citizens." Neal Lane,

director, National Science Foundation. (Chronicle of Higher Education,

Dec. 6)







M A R G I N A L I A







"MR. RUEBER PLANTED SOME BIG PUMPKIN SEEDS"



The following excerpts are from a book project by Kanawha first

and second graders, featuring ISU's David Rueber (see "College

News"): Off we marched to the sample weed plots. Mr. Rueber

told us how seeds travel. We touched the many kinds . . . We smiled

at the wildflowers waving their blooms in the sunshine. Mr. Rueber

let us pick some. . . Mr. Rueber planted some big pumpkin seeds.

We got to choose a pumpkin for our room if we guessed the weight.

[One class guessed 200 pounds, one guessed 30.] "We will

see!" said David. "When Jack Frost comes we will pick

the pumpkins and bring them to school." And he did! . . .

Mr. Rueber told us that pumpkins are good to eat. WE LOVE PUMPKINS!

BUT SOMETIMES WE EAT APPLES! . . . October came and Mr. Rueber

began to harvest the Iowa corn. We went back to watch.



A TOAST TO THE NEW YEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-R

Researchers at the University of Hull in England said three separate

studies showed clearly that social drinkers laugh more than people

who drink very little or not at all. Psychologist Geoffrey Lowe

also cited reports showing laughing can stimulate the body's immune

system. "I wouldn't necessarily drink more as a basis of

this research," Lowe said. "I would laugh more."