Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Ag education senior to speak at convocation



- More ag students apply for study-abroad funds



- MidAmerica International Ag office moves to ISU



- College hospitality for overseas visitors



- Europe and Asia top spots for ag faculty/staff trips



- AgComm web site has resources for instructors



- Forestry Club selling trees through Sunday



- Block & Bridle selling sausage and cheese gifts



- Plant transformation course offered in spring



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Mind your manners on the Net



INFOGRAZING



- More Iowans expected to enroll in college



- ISU Extension watershed conference coming up



- Vision 2020 course on improving teaching



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Accountability should focus on students



MARGINALIA



- More machines ringing amok







C O L L E G E N E W S







AG EDUCATION SENIOR TO SPEAK AT CONVOCATION



Dan Belzer, senior in agricultural education and former Ag Council

president, will speak at the college convocation for fall-semester

graduates on Dec. 20 at C.Y. Stephens Auditorium. The event begins

with refreshments at 8:45 a.m. and recognition of graduates at

9:30 a.m.



MORE AG STUDENTS APPLY FOR STUDY-ABROAD FUNDS



The International Agriculture Programs office has received 109

applications for study-abroad scholarships, three times the number

received a year ago.



MIDAMERICA INTERNATIONAL AG OFFICE MOVES TO ISU



The executive director's office of the MidAmerica International

Agricultural Consortium has moved to ISU. David Hansen, ag economics,

was named executive director last summer. MIAC, which includes

ISU and four other land-grant universities, was formed in 1977

to establish program links with other countries. Its current emphasis

is Mexico. The MIAC office is located in 1553 Food Sciences, 4-3803.





COLLEGE HOSPITALITY FOR OVERSEAS VISITORS



So far in 1997, the International Agriculture Programs office

has hosted more than 260 visitors from more than 20 countries.

Countries or regions sending the most visitors: France, China,

Africa, Russia and Mexico.



EUROPE AND ASIA TOP SPOTS FOR AG FACULTY/STAFF TRIPS



To date in 1997, agriculture faculty and staff have participated

in 169 trips abroad, according to International Agriculture Programs.

Here's how the trips break down: Europe, 73; Asia, 31; Latin America,

27; Canada, 26; Africa, 9; and Australia/New Zealand, 3.



AGCOMM WEB SITE HAS RESOURCES FOR INSTRUCTORS



AgComm, the college's communication-across-the-curriculum program,

has a web site under development with funding from a USDA Higher

Education Challenge Grant. The site will serve as a clearinghouse

for faculty resources on improving students' communication and

learning in agriculture and food sciences. Check out the site

at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/grants/



FORESTRY CLUB SELLING TREES THROUGH SUNDAY



The Forestry Club is selling Christmas trees through Sunday, Dec.

7, at Reiman Gardens. Hours: 4-7 p.m. today (Friday); 9 a.m.-7

p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. During the Sunday hours,

those who want to cut down their own tree can visit the tree site.

From Ontario, take Scholl Road north across the railroad tracks,

then take the second right turn.



BLOCK & BRIDLE SELLING SAUSAGE AND CHEESE GIFTS



The Block & Bridle Club is selling summer sausage (made by

students) and cheese holiday gift boxes. Club members have a table

outside Lush Auditorium in Kildee Hall, or stop in at 119 Kildee

(4-3161).



PLANT TRANSFORMATION COURSE OFFERED IN SPRING



A plant transformation course will begin next semester, organized

by zoology/genetics and several other departments. Students taking

the course for credit will be given preference, but if openings

are available, faculty, staff and others not interested in earning

credits may sign up beginning Jan. 5. The course, offered for

the first time last spring, will be a series of five two-session

workshops. For more information: Gary Polking, 4-1813 or polking@iastate.edu,

or Kan Wang, 4-4429, kanwang@iastate.edu.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



Dec. 8: Writing Successful Teaching Grants, Gateway Center, 6:30

p.m., 4-9376.



Dec. 20: Graduation. College convocation, 9:30 a.m., C.Y. Stephens.



Dec. 20: Deadline, presentation proposals, 1998 international

conference on animal production systems and the environment, 4-4202.



Jan. 2: Foreign travel grant applications due, 138 Curtiss.







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









MIND YOUR MANNERS ON THE NET



Respond to your e-mail within 24 hours. That's one suggestion

of good Internet manners by experts in netiquette (etiquette on

the Internet). Netiquette can get complicated because of the technology

involved. For example, some consider a return receipt on e-mail

rude because it may invade the recipient's privacy. A netiquette

guide in 13 languages can be found at Florida Atlantic University's

Web site. It includes the Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

(Number 3: Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.)

The site: http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/net/index.htm







I N F O G R A Z I N G







MORE IOWANS EXPECTED TO ENROLL IN COLLEGE



In the next 10 years, Iowa will see a 5.1 percent increase in

the number of men and an 8.1 percent increase in the number of

women enrolled in higher-education institutions. Those increases

include full-time and part-time enrollees. (American Demographics,

October)



ISU EXTENSION WATERSHED CONFERENCE COMING

UP



For more information on "Watershed Partnerships:

Protecting Our Water Resources," Jan. 20-21 in the Scheman

Building: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/aged/mainprograms/wqconf.html







VISION 2020 COURSE ON IMPROVING TEACHING



Vision 2020's three-session cooperative learning course begins

in January. Two-member teams of faculty or graduate students from

ISU and community colleges can enroll to learn how non-cognitive

skills affect cognitive learning; how to involve students in active

learning; and how to make learning fun. For more information:

4-2092.







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







ACCOUNTABILITY SHOULD FOCUS ON STUDENTS



For legislators, the number-one factor for university accountability

is student success, according to Tony Kinkel, a six-term Minnesota

lawmaker and a doctoral candidate in higher education administration.

Kinkel spoke this fall at a national workshop on developing accountability

programs.







M A R G I N A L I A







MORE MACHINES RINGING AMOK



Machines made an estimated 50,000 wrong-number calls in the past

year in England. Self-diagnosing machines are programmed to phone

home when they need service. In one case, a woman was repeatedly

awakened in the middle of the night by phone calls made by a public

toilet. The toilet was programmed to ring a number if it was overflowing

or running short of supplies. Besides toilets, vending machines,

refrigerators, traffic lights and boilers can be programmed to

make calls. (TechWire, Aug. 19)