Inside Update

Dec. 1, 2011
Announcements and news for ISU faculty and staff

News

Twenty initiatives receive central funding
About $4.6 million in matching funds from ISU units will leverage about $4.7 million in central funds to cover 20 new initiatives this year grounded in the university's strategic plan. The one-time funding awards vary in size from $24,000 to $1 million.

Ready, set, shop ... on campus
Who needs Black Friday or Cyber Monday? It's time for Inside's annual gift guide, which highlights items offered by campus retailers, units and student organizations.

Two finalists are interviewing this week for CELT post
Iowa State professors Cinzia Cervato (geological and atmospheric sciences) and Ann Marie VanDerZanden (horticulture) were selected in an internal search for the next director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and co-director of the learning communities program. Both finalists are interviewing this week; their schedules include an open forum.

More news: Inside Iowa State

Announcements

The following announcements were added this week:
-- Reiman Gardens is open Thursday nights in December
-- Upcoming employee wellness events
-- Espinoza to speak at P&S Council's Dec. 1 noon forum
-- Madrigal dinner tickets go on sale Dec. 1
-- CESMEE announces December events
-- Nominations encouraged for Business dean post
-- New steering committee will set the direction for high performance computing
-- Submit spring reserve requests to library now
-- Recycle your old phonebooks; Dec. 12 is collection week

See: Announcements

Teaching

Web-based course evaluation tool will get wide use this fall
This fall, more than 75 academic departments and programs will use Class Climate, a web-based tool that allows students to evaluate instructors and courses anonymously. Some courses will continue to use paper-based surveys. Around Nov. 28, students received an email for each course, prompting them to complete online evaluations (which also are accessible by logging in to Blackboard Learn and WebCT). Once grades are submitted, departments may share the evaluation results with faculty. This quick turnaround time will allow faculty to make adjustments to courses while the fall semester still is fresh in their minds.

Around campus

Christina Romer is fall Mary Louise Smith chair
Christina Romer, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers -- an agency within the Executive Office of the President of the United States -- will visit campus Thursday, Dec. 1, as the fall 2011 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics.

Lunch with the Coach series begins Monday
Cyclone women's basketball head coach Bill Fennelly resumes his coach talk series Dec. 5 (noon-1 p.m., MU Campanile Room). Subsequent dates are Jan. 9 and Feb. 13. Bring your lunch and your questions about this season.

Campus forums

This week
-- CELT director finalist, Ann Marie VanDerZanden, ISU horticulture and CELT associate director, Dec. 1 (9-9:50 a.m., 2019 Morrill)
-- Leopold Center director finalist, Thanos Papanicolaou, University of Iowa, Dec. 1 (2 p.m., 1951 Food Sciences)

Next week
-- Leopold Center director finalist, Mark Rasmussen, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine, Laurel, Md., Dec. 5 (2 p.m., 8 Curtiss)

Open houses/receptions

This week
-- Reception: "Reclaimed: Reflections of a River" (featuring artwork and writings inspired by the Skunk River Navy experience), Dec. 1 (7-8 p.m., Hach Hall lobby)
-- Open house: University Book Store, Dec. 2 (7 a.m.-7 p.m., MU)
-- Open house: The Knoll, hosted by Kathy Geoffroy, Dec. 2 (3-6 p.m., The Knoll)
-- Retirement open house: Richard Poist and Jan Stoehr, ISU supply chain and information systems, Dec. 2 (2:30-4:30 p.m., Bergstrom Commons, Gerdin, program at 2:45 p.m.)
-- Open house: Farm House Museum, Dec. 2 (6-8 p.m., Farm House, central campus)

Next week
-- Reception: Gregory and Kathy Geoffroy, 'thank you' for 10-plus years of service, Dec. 8 (3-6 p.m., MU ballrooms, enter via the Sun Room, program 4:30-5 p.m., reception line before and after program)

Upcoming
-- Farewell: Gail Ferlazzo, ISU Memorial Union, Dec. 14 (3:30-5 p.m., MU Campanile Room)
-- Retirement: Beverly Fowles, ISU veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine, retiring Dec. 28 (reception held previously)

Details about these events are on the university calendar.

Arts and events

Dec. 1 is 'A Day Without Art'
University Museums will participate in "A Day Without Art" (PDF) Dec. 1 by shrouding selections from the Art on Campus collection to remember those who have died from HIV and AIDS.

Cyclone volleyball team opens tournament play at home
Hilton Coliseum is a site for NCAA volleyball tournament first- and second-round play Dec. 2-3. The No. 4 seed Cyclones play the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 7:30 p.m. Friday and the winner advances to a 6:30 p.m. contest Saturday. Tickets are $14 for both sessions (purchase by 3:30 p.m. Dec. 2) or $10 for a single session, with discounts for youth.

Celebrate winter during WinterFest 2011
Winter is just around the corner, but instead of dreading it why not embrace it? WinterFest 2011 is Friday, Dec. 2, and offers a blizzard of fun (mostly free) activities for all ages. Find out what's planned for this year's celebration.

Holiday choral concert is Dec. 4
More than 300 voices from four Iowa State student choirs will be joined by the ISU Symphony Orchestra in the music department's 56th annual Holiday Festival of Music Dec. 4 (4 p.m., Stephens). General admission tickets (adults $10, students $5) may be purchased at the Stephens box office or at the door.

Holiday exhibit opens at Reiman Gardens
"Snug as a Bug," Reiman Gardens' holiday conservatory exhibition, is open through Dec. 31 (daily hours are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m; closed Dec. 25). The display is inspired by the nocturnal flight of luna moths and the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. Orchids are part of the design, including the dramatic Blue Mystique orchid. Regular admission prices apply.

Engineering design expo is Dec. 6
The fall 2011 edition of the mechanical engineering department's Design Expo is Dec. 6 (noon-4 p.m., Howe Hall atrium). It will feature more than 50 student projects (sophomore to senior level), many of which will include hands-on demonstrations.

More campus events
Talks, performances, athletic contests and other campus events are listed on the university calendar. Also, see the Arts and Entertainment page.

Submitting your news
Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by the Office of University Relations. Send Update news to inside@iastate.edu. For questions, call 4-7958.

Update Archives