Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
Jan. 9, 2020
Inside news
Inside staff take you back inside this one-of-a-kind facility for a project update. Equipping and furnishing it will continue into March.

Two fan-driven space heaters are approved for office use on campus. But first call facilities to rule out a broader, fixable solution for your building.

A new policy effective Jan. 1 requires faculty, staff and students to preregister all Iowa State-sponsored trips they take outside the U.S., which will ensure travelers are insured and connected with useful resources before they depart.

As legislators consider funding requests, state relations officer Carolann Jensen will work to demonstrate Iowa State's impact on the state.
Announcements
The following announcements were added this week:

  • A few tables remain for Jan. 19 Goldfinch Room concert
  • Open labs announced for Canvas assistance
  • Retirement contribution limits edge up for 2020
  • ISU Theatre to perform at festival in Sioux Falls
  • Volunteers sought for LEGO state competitions this month
  • Garden trips scheduled to Chicago, Portland
  • Central Stores closed Jan. 8-10 for inventorying
  • Volunteers still sought for Science Bowl events (Jan. 25, Feb. 22) 
  • Student employee of the year nominations due Feb. 5
  • Nominations due Jan. 10 for Ivy Women in Business awards
Around campus
ISU researchers were able to restore heart muscle function in aging fruit flies. This discovery could lead to new treatments for heart disease in humans.

In an essay for The Conversation, an ISU professor explains how a caucus operates and why Iowa has its first in the nation status.

ISU's research experiences for teachers program will add academic-year professional development to its summer offerings that provide hands-on lab experience for high school and middle school instructors, thanks to a new grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.
Appointments
  • David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to associate dean for global engagement and director of the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, effective Jan. 6
  • Jay Harmon, interim associate dean for extension and outreach and interim director of agriculture and natural resources extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to associate dean and director, respectively, effective Jan. 1
  • Rachel Lukowksi, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, to director of football nutrition
  • John Patience, professor of animal science, to interim department chair, effective Jan. 7-April 5
  • Daniel Thomson, Kansas State University, Manhattan, to animal science department chair, effective April 6
  • Thomas Swartwood, program manager for the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, as the center's inaugural Entrepreneurship Fellow and associate professor of practice of entrepreneurship 
  • Shelley Taylor, study abroad program director, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to CALS director of global programs
  • Brian Vanderheyden, assistant director of ISU student wellness, to director, effective Dec. 23
Open houses and receptions
This week
  • Retirement, Donna Otto, economics, Jan. 6 (9-11 a.m., 260 Heady)

Next week
  • Reception, honoring those selected for the 2020 "Women Impacting ISU" calendar, Jan. 15 (3:30-5 p.m., presentation at 4 p.m, MU Sun Room)
  • Reception, "AiR by Catherine Reinhart" exhibition, Jan. 17 (5-7 p.m., Design on Main gallery, 203 Main St.)

Upcoming
  • Retirement, Karen Kerper, student health and wellness, Jan. 22 (1-3 p.m., program at 1:30 p.m., 2207 Thielen Student Health Center)
Open forums
  • Tuesday, Jan. 14, noon-1 p.m., MU Campanile Room
  • Wednesday, Jan. 15, 4-5 p.m., MU Gallery Room
Arts and events
As part of the lectures program's Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series, university carillonneur Tin-Shi Tam's Jan. 15 midday carillon concert will honor King. It starts at 11:50 a.m.

"Contemplate Japan," an exhibition of woodblock prints, bamboo baskets, ikebana floral arrangements, kimono, ceramics and contemporary sculpture, illuminates artistic and cultural developments in Japan over the last two centuries. It opens Jan. 15 at Brunnier Art Museum, Scheman Building, and includes more than a dozen related programs over five months.
Professional development
Provost office programming
Register via Learn@ISU . Light refreshments provided.
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Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.