Hello, CALS,
We had graduation exercises and celebrated with our students this past week and weekend! For those of you able to attend - to join the platform parties, participate in the handshake and high-five line at CALS Convocation, hood your graduate students, or usher, marshal and direct students – thanks for being there! I hope to see others of you at these events in the future. This was my first year in about 20 that I did not attend myself, being out of town for happy family events, but missing the energy of graduation, too. It was great to have Carmen Bain and Ruth MacDonald represent the college at these events in my absence – thanks to them! And special thanks to Mary Clancy and Angie Weeks for all the work orchestrating CALS Convocation and the many people they happily enlist to lend a hand each time.
Last week we also had the annual CALS spring picnic – this time behind Curtiss Hall rather than in Moore Park. Here’s a quote about it – “The picnic was a success. We think 120-130 people attended, maybe even more, but lots stayed around and mingled. And I saw lots of new faces. And people loved the band!” Here’s a pic of our own Mark Hargrove (BBMB) and his band, The Iowa No Mountain Boys! Special thanks to Alison Parker and Angie Weeks for making the picnic happen.
This week, we officially start our academic summer, with many folks anxious to get out to the field or the barn, into the lab, greenhouse or library, or on to travel near and far. Of course, all of you do these things all year, but the summer brings a different cadence to the work. Enjoy it, and most of all, be safe. Keep your eye on the weather if you’re outside, watch out for moving parts and the business end of machines and devices, and be careful around hot, flammable or toxic things.
Below are some pics from the nighttime Northern Lights show we just had, from key events at our campus in Kamuli, Uganda, and two graphs to contemplate from The Economist (April 20, 2024. China, unemployment Degrees and difficulty, pp 32-33). By comparison, several data sources indicate that the number of U.S. college graduates per year has increased from about 2-2.5 million in 2000 to 3.5-4 million in 2022.
Anytime you snap a great photo over the summer that I might share with others, please send it to me with a caption.
My best for a great week. - Dan
Scenes from CALS
A total of 331 undergraduate students attended last Friday's CALS Convocation in Hilton Coliseum. Thank you to all faculty and staff who attended and participated in this celebratory event. See more Convocation photos on the CALS Facebook page.
Alison Parker shared this image her neighbor captured of the Northern Lights Friday evening near Alleman. Amy Kaleita also shared an image of the aurora borealis, as seen from a gravel road just north of Ames around 10 p.m. Kaleita said there was a long line of cars along that same road with people admiring and taking images of the colorful night sky.
David Acker, left, and Tim Kolschowsky, right, congratulating ISU-Uganda Program Director Gideon Nadiope and the entire 48 person staff at the 20th anniversary celebration in Kamuli, Uganda, for the ISU-UP and Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program there!
The ISU Uganda Program staff, along with David Acker, Gideon Nadiope and Tim Kolschowsky, at the CALS satellite campus in Kamuli, Uganda, for training and sharing with representatives from the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania) and Michigan State University.
The Economist published these charts showing how the number of college graduates enrolled in Chinese universities has increased in recent years.
