Hello CALS,
I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed some of this beautiful weather! We had a good Cyclone win on Saturday, and some solid rain late last week to help recharge the soil for next year.
Late last month as part of National Farm Safety and Health Week, representatives from ISU Extension and Outreach, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Allee Demonstration Farm, plus many other groups partnered to hold the annual Ag-Citing and Safety Days for third grade students in Buena Vista County. The event took place at the Allee Demonstration Farm near Newell, Iowa. You may recognize some of the presenters in this Ag-Citing video, including Fred Hall, dairy field extension specialist, and Kris Kohl, field extension agricultural engineer, who both serve northwest Iowa.
Last week was the ISU Foundation’s Governor’s Week (working with and celebrating the many donors who support us, and the conclusion of the nine-year campaign that has raised over $1.5 billion for our university – simply amazing!). And on top of that we had:
- CALS Week (didn’t the students do an amazing job of that?!);
- the official opening of the Student Innovation Center (one-of-a-kind in the nation);
- the announcement of Lisa Schulte Moore, professor of natural resource ecology and management, as a MacArthur Fellow (please watch for details about an informal event that will take place Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. to celebrate her award);
- the medallion ceremony honoring Zhiyou Wen, professor of food science and human nutrition and director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research, who was named to the William K. Deal Agricultural Innovation Professorship;
- the awarding of the endowed position that David Acker now holds as Associate Dean for Global Engagement; and
- the Deal Lecture by Chris Cornelius, who is an Iowa State alum ('83 agricultural journalism) and co-owner of Cornelius Seed.
Whew – that’s a lot. I saw so many of you out and about participating in these activities – thanks for that!
You also pushed ahead through week six of the semester and now into week seven!
COVID continues to haunt us, but numbers locally may be trending in a good direction. Please remain diligent on our Cyclones Care precautions to keep our community safe.
We do seem to be in one of those times when we balance between the stressful and easy. The semester is going well, but worries about COVID-19 are real. Donations and research funding are up, but the budget is otherwise constrained. Salary increases were provided, but not necessarily sufficient. Jobs can be stressful, but these same jobs matter so very much to the success of the future. Challenging adjustments to programs like Workday and ISD have been made, and yet these programs are a part of an institutional drive for more effectiveness. Students missed normal times on campus due to COVID-19 precautions, and now are here on campus and thoroughly engaged. The pandemic has stolen nearly 700,000 lives and hurt countless others in our country, and yet the development of remarkable vaccines was accomplished in record time. I am sure you could add more couplets to this list, but whenever the list is complete, I know being a Cyclone is as good as it gets.
Please let me know what you’re thinking. My best - Dan
Nature in Focus
The large, white tent west of Curtiss Hall on central campus was home last week to many CALS Week activities, including various lunches and the CALS Study Abroad Fair.
Huge thanks to the CALS faculty and staff who volunteered to help Youth and Shelter Services with various clean-up projects during the United Way Day of Caring event. Pictured are, top to bottom, Ellen Johnsen and Stephanie Clark, food science and human nutrition; Jill Cornelis, Iowa Soybean Research Center; Lori Oh, CALS budget and finance; and Ruth MacDonald, CALS administration. Not pictured: Kevin Schalinske, food science and human nutrition.
Please keep sharing your photos with me via email!
