Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Community colleges present 'wish list' to college



- Get on the bus to visit community colleges



- Water quality seminars to air statewide



- VISION 2020 workshop on cooperative learning Jan.

23-24



- Four Faculty Research Exchange Visits this semester



- Students will benefit from new engine lab



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Short advice on short words



INFOGRAZING



- House ag committee may examine ag research



- Public concern for education not a passing fad



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Connecting to readers of farm publications



MARGINALIA



- Move over Bossy, here's Bunny







C O L L E G E N E W S







COMMUNITY COLLEGES PRESENT 'WISH LIST' TO COLLEGE



Last month, agricultural program leaders from seven Iowa community

colleges visited campus to talk about collaboration with ISU.

They surveyed existing agreements and activities and compiled

a "wish list," which included: better ISU recognition

of resources in community colleges and industry; co-advisers (ISU

and community college) for transfer students; ISU degrees offered

on community college campuses; and better access to ISU resources.

For more information: Gerald Klonglan, 4-4763, or Eric Hoiberg,

4-6614.



GET ON THE BUS TO VISIT COMMUNITY COLLEGES



VISION 2020 is setting up bus tours to community college campuses

around Iowa for this semester and fall semester. The goal is to

introduce ISU faculty and administrators to their counterparts

at community colleges, and discuss ways to promote smooth transitions

for transfer students. Last fall, two bus trips were organized.

Dates in February and April have been confirmed for visits to

six campuses. Information will be sent to department offices.

For more information or registration: 4-2092.



WATER QUALITY SEMINARS TO AIR STATEWIDE



Agriculture and water quality is the theme of the third annual

sustainable agriculture seminar series sponsored by the Leopold

Center, in cooperation with the college's Professional Agriculture

Off-campus Program. The nine-part seminar, offered for graduate

credit through the animal science department, will be transmitted

to 12 sites around the state via the Iowa Communications Network.

All seminars will be held Thursday evenings in the Brenton Center

(13 Curtiss) except for the final one, which will be held on a

Saturday morning. Those at ISU may attend free of charge. For

a complete list of seminar topics and speakers, contact the Leopold

Center, 4-3711. Also, look for upcoming seminar topics under "Deadlines

& Reminders."



VISION 2020 WORKSHOP ON COOPERATIVE LEARNING JAN. 23-24



"Cooperative Learning, Problem-based Learning and Authentic

Assessment" is the title of a VISION 2020 workshop to be

held Jan. 23-24 at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center, Ames. It's

open to ISU and community college faculty and staff. Participants

will learn how to infuse core competencies into the classroom;

how to integrate business perspectives into a curriculum; and

how students can show what they know. This is part of a VISION

2020 series examining employer/educator interaction in higher

education. The workshop begins at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23 and

ends at 1 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24. For more information or to register:

4-2092.



FOUR FACULTY RESEARCH EXCHANGE VISITS THIS SEMESTER



During spring semester, four College of Agriculture faculty members

will work on projects with their counterparts at historically

black land-grant institutions. The Experiment Station sponsors

this program to strengthen linkages between ISU faculty and the

faculty at the historically black (1890) institutions and tribal

colleges (1994 institutions). William Graves, horticulture, will

visit the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; U. Sunday Tim,

agricultural & biosystems engineering, and Harold Crawford,

agricultural education & studies, will both visit North Carolina

A&T University; and John Schafer, agronomy, will visit Alabama

A&M University. Proposals for Faculty Research Exchange Visits

during fall semester are due May 1. For more information: 4-4763.





STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM NEW ENGINE LAB



The Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering dedicated

the John Deere Engines Laboratory on Jan. 7 in Davidson Hall.

The renovated lab will include the latest in large agricultural

engines and equipment, allowing students to work on state-of-the

art engines. The $174,000 renovation was made possible by a $145,000

gift from the John Deere Foundation, Moline, Ill. The Experiment

Station provided the rest of the funds.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



Jan. 23: Current and Future Issues Affecting U.S. Agricultural

Environmental Policy Related to Water Quality - Paul Johnson,

chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 7:30 p.m., Brenton

Center (sustainable ag seminar)



Jan. 28: Spanish grammar/conversation courses for ag-vet med faculty

begin, 4-3972.



Jan. 30: Current and Future Quality of Iowa's Surface and Groundwater

Resources - Darrell McAllister, Iowa Department of Natural Resources,

7:30 p.m., Brenton Center (sustainable ag seminar)



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









SHORT ADVICE ON SHORT WORDS



Winston Churchill advised: "Short words are best and the

old words, when short, are best of all." William Zinsser,

author of "On Writing Well," says short, active verbs

push sentences forward, while "passive verbs tug fitfully."

Zinsser uses the example of Lincoln's second inaugural address

that contained 505 one-syllable words and 122 two-syllable words

out of 701 total words.







I N F O G R A Z I N G







HOUSE AG COMMITTEE MAY EXAMINE AG RESEARCH



At the first agriculture committee meeting of the 105th Congress

on Jan. 8, House Ranking Minority Member Charles Stenholm vowed

in his opening remarks to take "a comprehensive look at agricultural

research." His other priority areas included rural development,

oversight of Farm Bill implementation and USDA reorganization.

Chairman Bob Smith set the tone for future committee actions by

speaking of bipartisan efforts. He emphasized that early actions

would center on forestry issues, oversight of international trade

agreements and the Freedom to Farm Act. He also mentioned farm

credit policies, the research and extension title and the Conservation

Reserve Program as other areas of priority. (From an AESOP Enterprises

newsletter.)



PUBLIC CONCERN FOR EDUCATION NOT A PASSING FAD



While support for public spending can ebb and flow over time,

Americans demonstrate ongoing loyalty to certain causes, including

education, health care and the environment, according to the National

Opinion Research Center in Chicago. Since 1972, the center has

tracked Americans' attitudes toward social issues and spending

policy. According to the center, Americans have long supported

education and have become increasingly concerned that education

spending is insufficient. The percentage who think the U.S. spends

too little on schools and students rose from 51 percent in 1974

to 73 percent in 1990, then fell slightly to 71 percent in 1994.

(American Demographics, October)







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







CONNECTING TO READERS OF FARM PUBLICATIONS



"No wonder when farmers are surveyed, they say farming is

a business rather than a way of life. They are wise enough to

know that MUST be their answer. Yet, for the most part, farm magazines

have failed to editorially hold hands with their readers who in

quieter moments, gain strength by drinking from an inner fountain.

Now is the time for farm magazines to shake themselves awake and

commit themselves to offering readers not just one dimension of

farming but the beautiful and meaningful wholeness of it."

Fred Myers, a 35-year member of the American Agricultural Editors'

Association, writing in the organization's January newsletter.









M A R G I N A L I A







MOVE OVER BOSSY, HERE'S BUNNY



A Dutch biotech firm has created a line of transgenic female rabbits

that secrete into their milk a potential drug containing an enzyme

for use in treating a rare human disease. In people with Pompes

disease, the enzyme does not convert glycogen in their muscles

to glucose. As a result, they suffer muscle damage and breathing

problems. A company scientist said rabbits mature fast and produce

milk quickly, which makes them "perfect little biofactories"

for churning out regular doses of enzymes. The company is investing

in a milking facility that will keep about 200 rabbits -- enough

to meet worldwide demand. (Science, Dec. 6.)