Message from the Dean - February 9, 2026

February 9, 2026

Hello, CALS,

A reminder about the helpful information contained on the Faculty and Staff Information webpage on the CALS website that all of you can benefit from. Also, please scan the Cyclone Support website to see all the ways that students can find assistance, or be referred to, to be most successful here at Iowa State.

And – did you know:

  • there are 17 Learning Communities associated with CALS
  • 95% of all CALS first-year students (fall 2025 = 796+) are in Learning Communities
  • freshmen and transfer students participating in Learning Communities have substantially higher retention, persistence and graduation rates over those not participating

Our CALS Staff Council, under Darwin Campbell’s leadership, has launched the p"RICE" Is Right rice drive and invites faculty and staff to donate bags of long-grain white rice to the Iowa State SHOP Food Pantry. At SHOP’s request, their most-needed items are one-pound bags of long-grain white rice. Collection points are available at Curtiss Hall, Kildee Hall, Food Sciences Building, Advanced Teaching and Research Building (ATRB), Molecular Biology Building (MBB), Agronomy Hall, and the Extension 4-H Youth Building. Additional details are posted on the The p"RICE" is Right SHOP Donation webpage.

Congratulations to everyone involved in planning the CALS Research Day, which was led by Associate Dean Danny Singh and team. It was a huge success, featuring 63 poster presentations, 29 poster judges, four Three Minute Thesis competitors, and lots of attendees in the Student Innovation Center last Tuesday.

Last Monday evening, we held the annual George Washington Carver Day of Recognition event in the Memorial Union with great attendance and success. It was terrific to have the keynote given by Amanda Williams, who has researched the sole patent held by Carver for an intense blue dye he developed using high iron clay soil and oxidation steps. Many thanks to Angie Weeks, Andy Zehr and Theressa Cooper from CALS, and many others, for making this happen each year!  

My best for a great week in these (surely temporary) spring temperatures! - Dan

Scenes from CALS

Three people holding an oversized check while another person points at it.
The Turf Club placed second and earned $12,000 at the Collegiate Turf Bowl hosted by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and John Deere. The team included horticulture students Logan McDonough, Matthew Hanten, Cooper Hastings and Quinn Leland. There were 79 teams from 33 schools across the United States and Canada. The contest included live plant identification, pest identification and management, agronomics, mathematics and other facets. This was the club's highest finish since 2019.
Person standing behind a podium on a stage, addressing a crowded auditorium.
Amanda Williams, visual artist and architect, gave the keynote address during the Feb. 2 George Washington Carver Day of Recognition Program. She shared how Carver invented and patented a way to create a famous blue pigment from clays and how she used his process and pigment for a renewal project in New Orleans and other art experiments. You can watch her presentation on the GWC event recording, starting at the 21:50 mark.
Choir standing on a stage inside an auditorium.
The Tuskegee University Golden Voice Choir performed two songs during the George Washington Carver Day of Recognition Program on Feb. 2 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. You can watch their performance on the GWC event recording, starting at the 54:45 mark.
Group of people seated on the steps inside a building.
Line of research posters on display with many people looking at them.
Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral scholars, presented their research during the CALS Research Day Feb. 3 on the ground floor of the Student Innovation Center. A total of 63 posters were on display.
Person standing in front of a room presenting a PowerPoint slide.
Action photo of Department of Economics Professor and Chair Peter Orazem speaking on the state of the national-to-local economy to a packed house at the Gateway Hotel during the Ames Regional Economic Alliance (Chamber) breakfast conference last Thursday. That same evening, he led a panel, to another packed house, in the Memorial Union on the State of the Economy with three distinguished Iowa State alums.