Hello, CALS, and Happy Monday!
Week two begins, and despite the stress of losing air conditioning for a day on campus last week and intense heat for a few days (especially for those students in older dorms without air conditioning), I am certain that everyone is glad to be back at it and have the rhythm of campus life re-established. It was a hot week for sure last week, and the air conditioning outage from a fire in the university power plant was unwelcome in every way. Our Facilities Planning & Management colleagues did an outstanding job of containing and putting out the fire, then working relentlessly to put the equipment back together and return power and cool air to the campus in record time. Truly terrific work on their part.
Last week and over the weekend were some great, unique CALS events, from SoyFest on main campus on one of the hottest days ever, with Greg Tylka and Jill Cornelis and the team from the Iowa Soybean Research Center, to Bug Village '23 and insect collecting with Ginny Mitchell, Greg Courtney and others from PPEM who hosted 2,200(!) people on Saturday in and around ATRB to explore the world of insects! We also hosted on Thursday last week the executive officer and chief of staff (Kim Alexander and Rachel McClain) from Collegiate Edu-Nation, organized by Mike Retallick and involving a good number of faculty from various departments and colleges, and especially those from AgEdS (Ag Ed/FFA), 4-H, and One Health perspectives. They have a terrific program, gaining national recognition, on ways to enhance the engagement of students beginning in third grade all the way through early college high school and beyond.
Looking forward to another great Cyclone week and the start of the football season! Remember to join us at the CALS Alumni BBQ this Saturday morning at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center before the kickoff of the ISU vs. UNI game!
My best - Dan
Scenes from CALS
Donald Lewis shows off a bug to some of the roughly 2,200 visitors at Bug Village '23 this past Saturday, hosted by the Insect Zoo in ATRB. Attendees also had the chance to try their hand at insect collecting while on campus.
Can you spot the Marston Water Tower in this view of campus from atop the new Iowa State University Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex?
Amid the heat last Wednesday, SoyFest took place on campus in front of Parks Library. The event was incredibly well done by our colleagues in the Iowa Soybean Research Center, including Jill Cornelis, Greg Tylka and the rest of their team. While there, I grabbed a selfie with Joan Cunnick, professor of animal science, Tylka, and Christie Weibbecke from the Iowa Soybean Association.
