Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Washington meetings seek support for ag programs



- Ag alumni event in Washington well-received



- Scanes speaks at North Carolina agricultural summit



- ISU to host NACTA '97 conference in June



- Grant program to enhance international efforts



- Distance education series reaches 600 ag faculty



- New CSREES request for proposals on Web



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Taking the mystery out of e-mail attachments



INFOGRAZING



- Paying for college gets tougher for poor families



- Enrollment in college, based on family income



- Federal spending on college grants, loans



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Getting the message on research to Congress



MARGINALIA



- Swat's new on mosquito research? A remarkable feet









C O L L E G E N E W S







WASHINGTON MEETINGS SEEK SUPPORT FOR AG PROGRAMS



ISU officials and Iowans in the Council for Agricultural Research,

Extension and Teaching (CARET) recently met with members of Iowa's

Congressional delegation and staff in Washington, DC, to discuss

support for agricultural programs. CARET is a national grassroots

volunteer organization that works to enhance public support and

understanding of the land-grant system's food and agricultural

programs. Iowa's CARET delegates are Donald Latham of Alexander

and Sue Peyton of Sac City. Among the ISU officials were Dean

David Topel and Jerry Klonglan, associate dean for national programs

in the college.



AG ALUMNI EVENT IN WASHINGTON WELL-RECEIVED



On Feb. 25, the College of Agriculture hosted a well-received

event in Washington, DC, for ag alumni in the area. The college's

administrators, several of whom were in the capital for other

meetings, attended. Dean Topel discussed current activities in

the college. The ISU Alumni Foundation helped support the reception.

A few facts and figures from the event:



Number of ag alumni who attended: 50



Span of years between earliest and most recent degrees among alumni:

59



Year in which Harold Fritzel (ag economics) graduated: 1930



Year in which Greg McCarty (agronomy) graduated: 1989



Number of alumni attending who graduated in the 1930s: 3



Number of alumni who had all three degrees (BS, MS, Ph.D.) from

ISU: 3



SCANES SPEAKS AT NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL SUMMIT



Colin Scanes, the college's executive associate dean, was an invited

speaker at the Summit for North Carolina, an annual meeting organized

by North Carolina Governor James Hunt. Agriculture was the focus

of the March 10-11 meeting. Scanes spoke about the future of animal

agriculture in the United States; changes in the structure of

agriculture; the ag export situation; and the issue of animal

waste and what ISU is doing to help solve the problem. Other speakers

included Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman; U.S. Senator Jesse

Helms; Wayne Boutwell, president and CEO of Southern States Cooperative,

the largest cooperative in the South; and Steven Parrish, senior

vice president for Philip-Morris.



ISU TO HOST NACTA '97 CONFERENCE IN JUNE



The National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture's

1997 conference will be held on campus June 22-25, hosted by ISU's

NACTA group. The theme is distance learning and will feature the

Brenton Center and ISU's other high-tech facilities. The conference

will include tours of agri-industry and the Living History Farm.

Interested faculty in the College of Agriculture may obtain further

information from NACTA members or Victor Bekkum: 4-5145 or vabekkum@iastate.edu.





GRANT PROGRAM TO ENHANCE INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS



ISU's Council on International Programs has announced a $100,000

grant program to fund efforts by faculty members to further the

internationalization goals in ISU's 1995-2000 strategic plan.

Deadline for applications is April 21. For more details and tips

on successful grant applications, contact David Acker, International

Agriculture Programs, 4-8454, or dacker@iastate.edu. A Web site

on the program can be found at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cip/Grants/Grants_guidelines.html





DISTANCE EDUCATION SERIES REACHES 600 AG FACULTY



The last of five satellite programs on agriculture faculty development

in distance education was held March 11. The series reached approximately

600 faculty members at 34 universities in 22 states. Three of

the programs originated from ISU, one from Arkansas State University

and one from Alabama A&M University. An average of 16 ISU

faculty members participated in each program. ISU presenters were

Ricardo Salvador, Mike Taber, Michael Simonson and Allan Schmidt.

The program was supported with a USDA Challenge Grant to the Department

of Agricultural Education and Studies. For more information: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/departments/aged/connection





NEW CSREES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ON THE WEB



Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service is

seeking proposals for Food and Agricultural Sciences Awards. Applications

are due May 15 for a Graduate Fellowship Grants Program for Fiscal

Years 1997 and 1998 and Oct. 15 for 1997 Supplemental Grants for

Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel

Allowances. The Experiment Station notes that the funding schedule

has been changed to every other year, and the next competition

will be in 1999. Review the RFP on the college Web site at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/iaexp/rfp/





DEADLINES & REMINDERS



March 17: Foreign travel grant applications due, 138 Curtiss



March 20: Weed Management Systems: High-Tech Solutions or Education

to Protect Water Resources? Roger Becker, University of Minnesota,

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



March 29: ISU Farm Programs and Environmental Policy in the 21st

Century, Bruce Babcock, CARD, 9 a.m., Brenton Center; Concerns

and Support of the Public Regarding Surface and Groundwater Quality

in Iowa, Linda Applegate, Iowa Environmental Council, 10 a.m.,

Brenton Center (sustainable ag seminars)







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









TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS



Attaching files to e-mail messages can be a convenient way of

exchanging information, but sometimes the process doesn't deliver

a readable document. "Foolproof File Enclosures" is

a guide that may help solve some of the problems. The guide, found

on MacUser magazine's Web page, covers popular e-mail programs

for both Mac and Windows users. It includes advice for sending

files to Unix-based computers and tips for sending attachments

through on-line service providers, like America Online and Compuserve.

The guide can be found at: http://www.zdnet.com/macuser/mu_0297/handson/emailchart.html









I N F O G R A Z I N G







PAYING FOR COLLEGE GETS TOUGHER FOR POOR FAMILIES



Public four-year colleges have raised tuition 256 percent between

1980 and 1996 . . . Using Census Bureau data, Harvard economist

Thomas Kane figures an 18- or 19-year-old from a family with income

in the top 25 percent is three times as likely to be in college

as one from the bottom 25 percent. The disparity is widening as

income inequality widens. "One of the things we hope education

will do is encourage mobility so that your fate isn't necessarily

the same as your parents," said Michael McPherson, president

of Macalester College. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 30, 1996)



ENROLLMENT IN COLLEGE, BASED ON FAMILY INCOME



Below, listed by family income, are the percentages of dependent

18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in college:



Richest 25 percent -- 75 percent in 1991-93; 69 percent in 1977-79.



Middle 50 percent -- 50 percent in '91-93; 45 percent in '77-79.



Poorest 25 percent -- 26 percent in '91-93; 25 percent in 91-93



(Wall Street Journal, Dec. 30, 1996; see item above)



FEDERAL SPENDING ON COLLEGE LOANS, GRANTS



The federal government makes available $35 billion a year in grants

and loans for college students, twice its spending on welfare.

(Wall Street Journal, Dec. 30, 1996; see items above)







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







GETTING THE MESSAGE ON RESEARCH TO CONGRESS



On Feb. 11, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) spoke about university

research to a group of college engineering deans. He emphasized

efforts to inform Congress of the importance of research funding.

"What you need to do . . . is to invite members of Congress

and their staffs to spend part of a day on your campus. Don't

focus on lobbying on specific issues or programs, but on emphasizing

the importance of university research to the national and local

economy and the vital role the federal government plays in supporting

that research . . . Make sure that these members get to meet with

students. Sometimes if you listen to college administrators, it's

possible to forget their campuses even admit students on their

grounds . . . And, finally, get some local business leaders for

the meeting, especially heads of small businesses that work with

your campuses." (The

full text of Boehlert's speech is available from Ag Information,

4-0706.)









M A R G I N A L I A







SWAT'S NEW IN MOSQUITO RESEARCH? A REMARKABLE FEET



In looking for a mosquito attractant, scientists at Wageningen

Agricultural University in The Netherlands exposed the insects

to a wide variety of odors to learn what they liked best. The

clear winner? Foot odor. Feet didn't even need to be particularly

smelly; mosquitoes were just as attracted to well-washed feet.

The scientists say they hope to mimic foot odor for use in trapping

mosquitoes. (The Furrow, March)