Welcome back, CALS Colleagues!
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Whether you stayed local and got caught up on things, or not, or braved the holiday travel near-or-far, I hope you had a chance to unwind, and rewind, and contemplate all the wonderful opportunities we have to be thankful for – here at ISU and beyond. Personally, I was a road warrior, all the way to Atlanta and back, to enjoy family and a huge variety of wide open spaces to see all along the way.
Here in CALS we have such terrific and important work to do, and thanks and celebration to enjoy. Yet there is still, and seemingly always, so much concern to fill our minds – solving the hunger crisis worldwide, dealing with farm input costs locally, engaging a new generation of students with different expectations and learning styles than we’re necessarily used to, finishing the pandemic fight and preparing for the next – COVID-like or HPAI-like, and more. Thanksgiving is a time for such thinking and renewal of our spirits, to always strive to make the human and natural world better, more understandable and more sustainable. This is our work here at Iowa State, nothing less.
Our college's contributions to the 2022 United Way campaign is well underway, but we have not yet reached our goal for the Nov. 30 deadline!
The latest data had our college at 92% of our goal, just $4,715 short of the $60,000 target we have for our collective giving. You can give any amount, anytime, and every gift you make makes a difference in Story County, or for whomever and wherever you designate it.
Making a one-time gift or a recurring gift is easy. Just open Workday, look for the section called "Announcements," and click on "Donate to the United Way." Or click on either of these links:
- Enroll in payroll deduction via Workday
- Submit a one-time or recurring gift on credit card United Way’s secure site
Your donation can be life changing. Please consider helping others this way, and helping us to reach our goal.
Don't forget about our searches for the Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and the CALS associate dean for facilities and operations. Nominations for the Wallace Chair should be submitted by department chairs to Associate Dean Ruth MacDonald by Dec. 15. The associate dean position is open through Dec. 11 and can be found at jobs.iastate.edu (click on "Jobs for Internal Applicants").
As we turn the corner toward the end of the semester and the year, let’s celebrate with our students, and each other, in every way we can - from convocation and commencement to holiday parties.
Wishing you a strong and easy finish to the semester! - Dan
Nature in Focus
You all know the expression, or some version of it, "Can't see the forest for the trees." In these pictures, I give it an Iowa-take and say, "You can see the prairie through the trees," and "You can see the trees through the prairie," on a beautiful, late November Sunday afternoon along the Ioway Creek!
