The new structure aligns related functions under senior leaders for closer interaction among those functions and more efficient use of university resources.

Kinsey Phillips will step into the newly created position March 25, assisting officers on mental health calls and serving as a liaison with mental health partners and resources.

Answers are coming soon for employees who haven't received a response after expressing interest in joining one of the service teams that will take on much of the university's finance and human resources work beginning July 1.

The "public" website service that hosted webpages since 1993 will be retired Dec. 31. Faculty and academic websites can be created or moved to the new "sites" service offered by ITS.

Introduction of job level guides clarifies type and level of work being done, which builds in consistency across jobs and units.

The six projects will share nearly $72,000 to develop innovative approaches to student learning. The annual program drew 19 proposals requesting more than $240,000.

Classes do not meet during the university's spring break, March 18-22, though university offices remain open. Inside Iowa State will not publish on March 21; the next edition will post March 28.

The latest rankings of graduate programs by U.S. News and World Report magazine has Iowa State's program in agricultural and biosystems engineering back at the top of the list. Ten engineering programs ranked among the top 25 of public schools and the business program cracked the top 50 overall.

Building muscle strength can help lower the risk for type 2 diabetes by 32 percent. More testing is needed to determine how much strength training leads to the best benefits.

Temperature changes could impact numerous animal species where sex is determined by temperature during development. Increases in temperature can disrupt the ratio of males and females produced.

A research team led by civil, construction and environmental engineering professor Halil Ceylan installed 10 heated concrete slabs in a DOT parking lot in Ames last fall, following a successful 2016 pilot project at the Des Moines airport.

• Open house, procurement services, March 26 (2-4 p.m., first floor, Administrative Services Building), RSVPs requested
• Farewell, Hongwei Xin, agricultural and biosystems engineering; and Tong Wang, food science and human nutrition; March 27 (2-3:30 p.m., MU Campanile Room)
• Retirement, Mark Davis, utilities, facilities planning and management, April 1 (no public event)
• Retirement, John Craven, facilities services, facilities planning and management, April 5 (no public event)

• Annual leadership conference, Iowa Women in Higher Education, April 5 (Reiman Gardens, preconference workshop April 4, 2:30-6:30 p.m.), $125 (both events $150), register online
• Midwest Big Data Summer School, May 20-23 (Memorial Union), $125, register online

College of Engineering dean finalists (3 of 5)

All forums are 2-3 p.m. in the Howe Hall auditorium.

• Erick Jones, University of Texas, Arlington, March 14
• Candidate 4, March 25
• Candidate 5, March 27