Good morning, CALS,
This week is happily animated by CALS Convocation on Friday at 9 a.m. in Hilton Coliseum, and then Iowa State Commencements for graduate students on Friday at 7 p.m. in Hilton, and for undergraduates on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Hilton. Academically, these are the happiest events of the year for our students. Please consider coming out to enjoy them and help celebrate your students. Especially, please consider attending the CALS Convocation on Friday morning, and if you like, joining the handshake line – here’s how:
- Arrive to Hilton between 8-8:15 a.m.
- Sit in the reserved seating area for hand shakers in section 112 on the Hilton Floor
- When your department begins to cross the stage, please feel free to move to the congratulations line that will form between the photographer and the graduates' seats. You may shake hands, fist bump, high five, or whatever you feel is appropriate to share the joy of the day with the graduates from your department.
This week, we also have the annual board meeting of the Agricultural Endowment, led now by Carmen Bain. This is a special separate organization dating in some ways back to 1937, and now operating within the context of the ISU Foundation, but with its history predating the Foundation. The new website for the Ag Endowment outlines the work of this organization that uniquely serves our college, and I think you’ll find the history page especially interesting – check it out.
This week and next, I’ll also attend meetings with Iowa Corn and the Iowa Soybean Association, and catch up with Jeff Underwood at Kent Corporation, Glen Smith, CEO and chair of the Farm Credit Administration, Mike Gooder, owner/operator of the Plant Peddler, and Randy Hertz from Hertz Farm Management, among other conversations as we wrap up this great year in CALS!
My very best and hope to see you at Convocation! - Dan
Scenes from CALS
Craig McEnany, student services coordinator, received the Distinguished Service to Ag Award at the Iowa Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Des Moines. The award is in recognition of his career of service to agriculture at Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State!
Have you seen the recognition plaques of great people associated with CALS that are inside the entrance of the Advanced Teaching and Research Building? If not, walk over and check them out sometime.
