College News

CALS ENROLLMENT REFLECTS POSITIVE MOMENTUM

Curtiss Hall building sign with students standing and walking in the background.

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences enrollment for fall 2021 is 4,401 students – 3,844 undergraduates and 557 graduate students. While this represents a decline in total enrollment from fall 2020, there is some very encouraging momentum on priority outcomes such as recruitment and graduation rates. CALS contributes significantly to the nearly 60% of students on campus enrolled in STEM majors, helping to solidify Iowa State’s leadership as a university of science and technology. More

  • CALS leads first-year student retention numbers on campus at 90.6%.
  • CALS increased the number of newly recruited students by 3.2% compared to last fall.
  • Multicultural representation in CALS increased, with a record 12% of undergraduate students identifying as ethnicities other than white.
  • The largest undergraduate majors are animal science, animal ecology, agricultural business, biology, agricultural studies, industrial technology and agronomy, making up 68% of CALS enrollment.
  • More than 57% of CALS undergraduate students are women. University-wide, female students make up just over 43% of the student population.
  • More than 30% of CALS undergraduate students are from states other than Iowa, reflecting a university effort to expand recruitment markets. University-wide non-residents make up more than 35% of the student population.

SCHULTE MOORE NAMED 2021 MACARTHUR FELLOW

Lisa Schulte Moore standing with her arms crossed while standing in a grassy field. She is wearing a white shirt with a multi-colored scarf and blue jeans.

Lisa Schulte Moore, natural resource ecology and management, has been named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow. The prestigious awards, sometimes called “genius grants,” identify scientists, artists, entrepreneurs and others who have demonstrated exceptional creativity and who show promise for important future advances. She is the first Iowa State faculty member to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. More

WOTEKI APPOINTED TO PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL

Catherine Woteki

Catherine Woteki, food science and human nutrition, has been appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. PCAST is the sole body of advisors from outside the federal government charged with making science, technology and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. Woteki is known internationally for her expertise in agriculture, food, nutrition, health and science policy. More

NSF AWARD SUPPORTS PLANT RESEARCH, LEARNING OPPS

A new three-year, $985,450 award from the National Science Foundation is supporting research by Dior Kelley, genetics, development and cell biology, and Olga Zabotina, biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, exploring fundamental questions about how hormones regulate cell wall properties during plant development. In the process, they will engage college students and Iowa’s youngest learners. More

FOOD TOLERANT CROPS A BETTER CHOICE FOR FARMED POTHOLES

Increases in weather variability, especially more intense, frequent spring rainfall, are likely to adversely impact crop yields in areas susceptible to flooding and ponding. Recent research by a team led by Andy VanLoocke and Patrick Edmonds, agronomy, shows miscanthus, a grass species known for its high biomass production, is likely to have better survival and yields and could be more profitable in those water-logged areasMore

SOCIOLOGIST RECEIVES GRANT TO ADDRESS DISASTER RESPONSE

David Peters, sociology and criminal justice, is part of a team of five Iowa State researchers selected to receive the 2021 Bridging the Divide seed grant. The $25,000 award will be used to investigate methods of expediting post-disaster safety assessments of structures. The team hopes to address disaster recovery challenges by having community members assist in observing the damage inflicted on communities. More

U.S. FARM REPORT FEATURES ECONOMISTS AND ABE RESEARCHERS

Four adults sitting in chairs on Iowa State University's central campus.

U.S. Farm Report kicked off their 2021 college roadshow season at Iowa State. Broadcast on Sept. 11, the show features Tyne Morgan along with: panelists Dermot Hayes and Lee Schulz, economics, and AgriTalk host Chip Flory ('87 ag journalism); Chad Hart, economics; Cyclone Power Pullers; Peiyang Li, Jacek Koziel, Baitong Chen and Adina Howe and Jared Flater, showcasing research projects in agricultural and biosystems engineering; and Gannon Cook, senior in agricultural business. More

ROSS TO SERVE IN NEW ASSOCIATE CHAIR POSITION

Jason Ross

Jason Ross ('00 animal science), animal science and director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center, will serve a four-year appointment as the department’s associate chair for industry engagement. This new role will help promote Iowa State’s animal science department programming both locally and globally. He'll also collaborate with the animal agriculture industry to gain insights on needs for curricular offerings and to engage the industry in departmental internship programs for students. More

GARDEN PROJECT GROWS ACROSS THE STATE

The Growing Together Iowa project helps counties combat food insecurity by donating produce grown in community gardens to food pantries. Gardens vary in size and produce based on community needs and volunteer availability. The program is co-funded by ISU Extension and Outreach and has donated 441,000 pounds of fresh produce since its inception. More

FARM TO TABLE TASK FORCE ANNOUNCED IN IOWA

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and ISU Extension and Outreach Vice President John Lawrence ('84 animal science, '86 MS economics) have announced members appointed to the Farm to Table Task Force. The purpose is to identify strategies that will improve the farm to table supply chain, making it easier for farmers to access markets and sell their productsMore

IOWA FARMERS RESPONDING TO CHANGING WEATHER

A new study examines how farmers are responding to the increasing threats brought on by weather extremes, pests and disease. Changes in five major adaptive management practices were examined. Lead author is Suraj Upadhaya, post-doc research associate in natural resource ecology and management. Co-author is J. Arbuckle, sociology and criminal justice. More

IOWA DAIRY INDUSTRY SURVEY RESULTS NOW AVAILABLE

A group of dairy producers in Iowa were surveyed in 2020 as part of a research effort coordinated by ISU Extension and Outreach dairy specialists. Results provide insight on the current state of the dairy industry in Iowa and will be summarized through reports for educators, industry collaborators, elected officials and the general public. More

DAIRY TEAM LAUNCHES SPANISH NEWSLETTER IN IOWA

The ISU Extension and Outreach dairy team has launched a bi-monthly newsletter in Spanish to bring relevant information to Spanish-speaking employees in the agricultural industry. The Latinos Trabajando en Siouxland/Celebración de Vida newsletter has been distributed to employers in northwest Iowa. More

ISU EXTENSION AND OUTREACH RESOURCES, EVENTS

 

Alumni News

CALS BBQ DRAWS MORE THAN 400 ALUMNI, FRIENDS

Five individuals standing in a circle talking to each other during the CALS BBQ

The annual CALS BBQ made a big comeback this year after the 2020 gathering was canceled due to COVID-19 regulations. This year's event, held Sept. 4 at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center in Ames, welcomed more than 400 alumni and friends of the college. See more photos

CALS ALUMNI STEP UP TO HELP MAKE FIELD OF DREAMS COME TO LIFE

Casey Scheidel ('04 horticulture), president of Iowa Sports Turf Management, and his team of fellow CALS alumni, Eric Van Ginkel ('11 horticulture) and Mitch Countryman ('17 horticulture), spent three days at the Major League Baseball field at the Field of Dreams finishing grading and laying the sod in preparation for the big game. "When an opportunity comes up like that, you kind of throw conventional wisdom out the window," Scheidel said of his quick decision to assist. More

SWANSON HOSTS KOSOVO'S TOP AGRICULTURE OFFICIAL

Stuart Swanson (’90 agricultural business) hosted Kosovo’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, Feton Peci, and other delegates from Kosovo on Swanson’s row crop farm near Galt, Iowa. Peci’s visit in Iowa was focused on learning more about American agriculture and developing partnerships that could be beneficial to improving Kosovo’s own agriculture industry. One of those partnerships was signed with Iowa State. More

BUILDING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES WEBINAR SERIES FEATURES CALS ALUMNI

Theressa Cooper, CALS assistant dean for diversity, has launched a webinar series titled "CALS Alumni Conversations: Building Inclusive Communities." The one-hour webinars provide an opportunity to hear, engage and ask questions of diverse CALS alumni scholars and professionals within the food and agricultural systems industry as the college seeks to build a more inclusive and welcoming CALS community. Each webinar takes place from noon - 1 p.m. CST.

Speaker lineup:

For more information on how you can participate, contact Theressa Cooper, tncooper@iastate.edu.

 

Young Alum of the Month

Photo of Young alum of the month

Lauren Mellenthin ('19 animal ecology) is a PhD student in the Dunn Lab at Yale University. Her days are spent researching the evolution of gelatinous animal bodies, such as jellyfish. What she enjoys most about her job is collecting the jellyfish. She gets to scuba dive and participate in research cruises where they collect deep sea jellyfish from 3,000 meters down with a remote-operated vehicle, which she said is like peeking into another world!

 
 

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