Hello CALS colleagues,
Happy Monday as we start another busy week on our way to the start of the fall semester and the Iowa State Fair!
I know one thing on everyone’s mind is the changing status of the pandemic and how that might affect our work. Truth is – it’s a bit too early to know how things will evolve. It is also true that your university leadership is working intently on this continuing challenge, as we all have since early March of 2020. It seems like an impossibly long time we’ve been in this COVID-epoch, and yet, if we think back on it, there have been many distinct phases and we are again in a new one. There are still new things to be discovered about the disease itself, how we protect ourselves from it, how it's treated, and its differential impacts. Please keep diligent. In this newsletter there is information from ISU on upcoming vaccine clinics that start Aug. 17, and lots more on the ISU COVID-19 website.
Iowa State continues to provide guidance regarding House File 802 and its requirements related to racism and sexism training at state governmental agencies, including the Regents institutions. This FAQ document on the Provost's website outlines Iowa State’s efforts to comply with the new law, including its implications for training and instruction. All faculty, graduate student instructors and P&S staff engaged in instructional activities are aware of this.
Lately I have spent time on the topic of nitrogen science and management, and how we manage our soils sustainably and productively. It makes me think of two great quotes from the introductory remarks of the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Rattan Lal: “People are a mirror image of the land they live on” and “Soils are the fingerprint of the people who live on the land.” Good and interesting ideas to contemplate.
My best for a great, safe week. - Dan
Nature in Focus
Cynthia Hicks, communications specialist with the Seed Science Center, captured this photo of a hibiscus beautifully blooming outside the Seed Science Building.
Greg Schoenbaum, research scientist in agronomy, found this bird nest in a corn nursery. He said it was only about six feet off the ground.
Matt Helmers, director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and professor in agricultural and biosystems engineering, submitted this aerial image of the Big Wall Lake Wildlife Management Area and adjacent farms in Wright County, Iowa, taken July 17. The photo was captured while filming for a wetland video series, Wonders of Iowa’s Wetland, created by Adam Janke, assistant professor in natural resource ecology and management, and Kay Stefanik, assistant director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center.
David Acker, associate dean for global engagement and director of the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, shared this photo of the ISU-Uganda Program team. Similar to the frontline health workers we recognize in the U.S., this team of Ugandans has served as frontline workers in Uganda helping their communities reach food and nutrition goals during the pandemic. They literally went “the extra mile” to help the most vulnerable community members, including pregnant mothers, infants and children, Acker said.
Please keep sharing your photos with me via email!
