Hello, CALS,
I want to reassure, as best I can under the very uncertain circumstances we find ourselves in, that Iowa State and CALS are tracking and trying our very best to understand the many moves being made by the federal government at this time. We are clearly looking at a changed landscape of federal programming that will impact our colleagues/friends/neighbors/alums who have federal jobs, as well as all of us in the university with key connections to those people and related federal programs that support and enable our people and our work.
There are/will/may be impacts on people very directly, on current grants and programs, on facilities and administrative receipts, on future programs, and more. Let’s stay the course, be patient and resolved, stay focused on our missions, and keep our students and the purposes of our science and engagement as our true north. I know that’s easy to say and hard to do when such changes are happening all around us, but we must.
Recall that over the 167 years of our institution’s history, many times there have been uncertain and deeply challenging situations. This is part of our time. We owe it to ourselves and the many next generations of Cyclones to stay the course and allow them to inherit as fine and as excellent and relevant and impactful an institution as we received. We are here, after all, to serve. I know we will.
In the meantime, follow the lead of offices on campus such as the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration, our CALS Office of Research and Discovery, and others. Ask us questions.
This week, a group of us are in Washington, D.C., for the annual CARET meetings, when leadership of agricultural colleges and extension programs, and private citizens from each state (the “CARET reps”) come together to discuss the federal programming that supports Land-grant Universities. And then we go to Capitol Hill to make the case to the offices of our Congressional delegations.
Last Thursday evening, several of us attended the annual Ames chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) banquet, and it was a great event in many ways, including to support Town-Gown relations. If you’ve not heard that term before – it’s something that every university town engages in to build camaraderie between the local community and the higher education institution there. Not all towns get it right – but we certainly do here in Ames!
We also had the best and highest attendance ever CALS Chat last Friday in Science II. Special thanks to Alison Parker for making these events happen. I think we had over 70 people there, and the lemonade and Chex mix were enjoyed by all (and especially by Daren Mueller and other Chex mix aficionados!). I hope we’ll see even more of you at the next one (yet to be scheduled). It’s a terrific time to meet and chat and feel the wonderful community that is our college.
This week, a public seminar for our third and final candidate for the position of chair of the Department of Agronomy will take place on Thursday, Feb. 27. The public seminar will be from 9-9:50 a.m. in 2020 Agronomy Hall, followed by a faculty forum from 10-10:50 a.m. There is also a university event to recognize your colleagues who have received prestigious national and international recognitions, and we have our own such event coming up on March 11 at 4:10 p.m. in 127 Curtiss Hall (Dolezal Auditorium) to honor those staff and faculty receiving high honors in CALS. Please come out for that!
And we finally got a break in the weather – I hope you were able to get out and enjoy it this weekend!
My best - Dan
Scenes from CALS
