Hello CALS,
Welcome to the start of the academic summer! Be careful out there doing your field work, in the lab, or on personal time. Safety first, always.
This past week, we had graduation exercises, and they were terrific - see a few photos below. Among the many special things, in addition to our students graduating, were remarks at CALS Convocation by Jeff Iles, remarks at the University Undergraduate Commencement for CALS by alum and friend Roger Underwood, and an honorary doctorate awarded to alum and friend Larry Buss! If you weren't able to attend these celebrations, you can watch the recordings: CALS Convocation and University Undergraduate Commencement.
Last week, we learned that Iowa's state government concluded its legislative session for 2025 and increased the budget for the Agriculture Experiment Station. Very exciting news. We also learned that President Wintersteen will be retiring from the ISU presidency in January 2026. Her work here for more than 40 years has been remarkable, extraordinary, transformative and impactful – from her beginnings as an Extension field specialist and doctoral student, to her accomplished service as Dean of CALS, and President of Iowa State since 2017! Please help me congratulate her, and work together with her over the next months as the university continues all its efforts in high gear.
We surely need some rain. Have a great week - Dan
Scenes from CALS
Not long ago, I snapped this photo of interesting sandbars and currents in the Des Moines River and asked five of your colleagues to caption it. What I saw was an old river with a wide flood plain wandering its way toward the ocean.
Captions from your colleagues:
J Arbuckle (SOCCJ) was poetically inspired:
A sandbar is a peaceful spot
To look for driftwood, a smooth rock, a fossil
Listening to the gentle, hypnotic flow of the river
Andy Vanloocke (agron): “Rivers are collectors of our landscape. They are focused demonstrators of a complex interacting web of physics, chemistry and biology. As the water of the Des Moines River makes its final bends on its way to the largest city in the state, we’re reminded of its long path; from salty sea water, freshened by the physics of evaporation, enriched by the chemistry of the soil, and ushered by biology back to the atmosphere through the transpiration stream; only to make the trip again in a few days or weeks. Each time, so dutifully and dependably our existence here is built upon it, whether or not it crosses our minds.”
Andy also asked ChatGPT for a “witty caption of the photo” and got back - "When two rivers meet but can’t quite agree on a paint color" and for a poetic caption and got back -- “Where muddy currents kiss the clear, the river whispers tales in shades of near.”
Ramesh Kanwar (ABE): “Well-managed rivers of Iowa make our landscape beautiful, lush and green”
Charlie Lowen (EEOB): "Spring brings renewal to life in the river and beyond, but also new tensions as flowing waters carve away at the banks and deposit sediments downstream, creating sharp boundaries with the land and where waters mix in this ever-changing system."
