Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
April 4, 2024
Inside news
Four finalists for Iowa State's senior vice president and provost post will interview on campus this month, with the first arriving April 8. Each finalist will hold an open forum with the campus community. 

Mechanical engineering (ME) and kinesiology and health continue to be the most selected degrees among Iowa State undergraduates. ME remains the top choice among male-identifying undergraduates and animal science among female-identifying students.

Vice president for extension and outreach Jason Henderson is chairing a seven-member search committee whose work has begun. The goal is to have the new senior vice president in place by fall semester.

The security platform that monitors a computer's activity alerts IT staff if it believes a hacker is in the system. It protects university computers from hackers even when they're used off campus.

The ISU Research Park has attracted the world's top brands and incubated a range of innovative startups taking their first steps from the drawing board to the marketplace. The economic impact extends far beyond central Iowa. This feature is the third in the news service team's 2024 Innovation at Work series.
Announcements
The following announcements were added this week:
  • Plant-a-Row for the Hungry lunch and learn is April 9
  • New prep week event promotes healthy study habits, student wellness
  • Encourage your student employees to celebrate 'their' week
  • Tickets on sale for April 20 fashion show
  • Two 'Question, Persuade, Refer' trainings offered this month
  • Confirm teaching assignments, then submit course material requests
  • Exhibitors sought for new student picnic in August
  • Lawn mower service days are this weekend
  • Northbound I-35 entry ramp at 13th Street to close April 8-12
  • A few tickets remain for April 12 Charlie Berens show
Around campus
Farmers and ag industry professionals who spend a day indoors at ISU Extension and Outreach's Planter University learn to optimize their machinery for conditions in the field. They are reaping dividends for their own operations, their communities and Iowa.

Students in this spring's High Altitude Balloon Experiments in Technology course will conduct a highly anticipated experiment on April 8, when they travel to Illinois to launch a balloon during the total solar eclipse that will cross North America.

A new sandwich venue in the Memorial Union food court, Zodiac Cheesesteaks, replaces the Yumburger station. Choose from several cheesesteak varieties or build your own with nearly a dozen vegetable, cheese and sauce condiments.

Marketing adjunct assistant professor Priyanka Jayashankar organized an inaugural hackathon last month that included farmers. People from across campus used artificial intelligence to develop solutions to issues relatable to farm operations.

Employees now can verify or make changes to their contact information for ISU Alerts in Workday, not AccessPlus. This change was shared April 1 in an email from senior leaders.
Retirements
Employees, their colleagues or supervisors are invited to submit retirements and departures to inside@iastate.edu. Inside doesn't receive this information from a central source.

Next week
  • Open house, Ed Lyon, Reiman Gardens, April 12 (3-6 p.m., Garden Room, Reiman Gardens)
Campus forums
Each forum with the campus community begins at 3 p.m.
  • Candidate 1, April 8, Campanile Room, Memorial Union
  • Candidate 2, April 10, Kingland Hub, Gerdin Business Building
  • Candidate 3, April 15, Cardinal Room, Memorial Union
  • Candidate 4, April 22, Campanile Room, Memorial Union
Arts and events
The Iowa State Rodeo Club hosts its 61st annual Cyclone Stampede April 5-6 at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. Three sessions -- featuring events such as bull riding, barrel racing and roping -- will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets (adults $15; youth 6-12 $5; free for ISU students and children 5 years and younger) are available at the door.

Indoor concert on carillon model is Friday
Four carillon students of ISU carillonneur Tin-shi Tam will perform the last concert of the semester on the scale model carillon Friday, April 5 (12:30 p.m., Sukup atrium, Biorenewables Complex). Their musical program is online.

The Cyclone softball team hosts Kansas for a three-game Big 12 Conference series this weekend at the Cyclone Sports Complex. First pitch is at 4 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday. Admission is free.
Learning opportunities
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) programming

P&S Council programming
  • Seminar series workshop, P&S Classification and Compensation Structure in Action, with Dwaine Heppler, UHR service delivery, April 9 (2-3 p.m., 1210 LeBaron), register in Workday Learning
Previous Inside coverage
About us
Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.