Message from the Dean - February 2, 2026

February 2, 2026

Happy Monday, CALS,

Last week I was in Florida with Francis Owusu, Sarah Roelfs and Nick Van Berkum for annual alum and donor visits, and an ISU Foundation event where this year the incoming ISU president, David Cook, was introduced. It was a terrific event with lots of steadfast supporters of the university present and many with CALS connections. Our college always has a strong contingent of alums there, and it’s a great chance to see and spend time with them. Among the projects and topics discussed were:

  • a wide variety of undergrad scholarships
  • the Uganda/Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program
  • the Beef Teaching and Innovation Farm project
  • the global resource systems major
  • the EARTH and St. John campus programs
  • emergency and completion grants
  • Study USA ideas
  • land use and water quality
  • fellowships for graduate students
  • our new initiatives with the American Farm School in Greece
  • and much more.

Events coming up this week:

George Washington Carver Day of Recognition Program - Tonight, Monday, Feb. 2, at 5:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. I hope many of you will attend. Keynote speaker Amanda Williams, visual artist and architect, will discuss Carver’s Egyptian Blue Dye. Also during the program, there will be terrific music by the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir. The program will conclude with ISU Creamery ice cream!  

Inaugural CALS Research Day - Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 1-5:30 p.m. in the Student Innovation Center. There will be poster presentations, Three Minute Thesis presentations, awards and snacks. This is a terrific opportunity to learn about the length and breadth of your CALS research enterprise (>$50 million this year, more than 600 graduate students, approximately $750,000 in seed grants), enjoy time with current and meet new colleagues and collaborators, and take a few moments to step back and think about your own research anew. This is organized by Associate Dean Danny Singh and his team, and will be followed later by two Think-And-Do Tanks to further develop ideas and energy around our research and discovery efforts.

Have a great week, and let me know what you’re thinking. - Dan

Scenes from CALS

Three people seated on a stage in front of a projected image of the Iowa State University logo.
Iowa State alums and CALS supporters Jim ('78 agricultural business) and Marcia ('78 family environment) Borel, recipients of our inaugural Knapp-Wilson Award, interviewing incoming ISU President David Cook ('92 political science, speech communication) at the main ISU Foundation event in Florida last week!
Three people posing for a selfie.
I took this selfie with Dana and Martha Robes in Florida last week before the ISU Foundation event. The Robeses are the key supporters of our satellite campus, the U.S Virgin Islands, Fork in the Road Facility and programs on the island of St. John.