Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
Dec. 3, 2020
Inside news
Unlimited cloud storage for education clients is becoming obsolete, and the university's new contract with Box (branded on campus as CyBox) includes quotas for both individual and college/unit accounts. Enforcement will be phased in from January to March.

ISU Extension and Outreach is able to reach Iowans across the state during the pandemic with a shift to more virtual offerings. The quality of those offerings will be key going forward as extension finds the right balance between in-person and virtual events.

When a new open-source platform launches Jan. 19, the library's digital repository will be easier to search and to use, adding capabilities that aren't possible with the existing system and providing opportunity to adjust in the future.

Iowa State is one of 10 institutions participating in the American Council on Education's first Learner Success Laboratory, a change management process for systems, programs and culture, all aimed at boosting student success. 

The American Association for the Advancement of Science named six Iowa State researchers to its 2020 class of fellows. AAAS is the world's largest scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. 
Announcements
The following announcements were added recently:
  • Fans will return for basketball, football games this weekend
  • Celtic Christmas virtual concert tickets are on sale
  • P&S seminar focuses on building campus partnerships
  • Campus food pantry is open twice a week during winter break
  • Students may request meals from peer-to-peer program
  • Faculty, staff sought to serve as Green Dot facilitators
  • Gardens' gift shop closes temporarily
  • Forestry Club tree and wreath sale begins Nov. 28
  • COVID-19 testing site returns temporarily to Thielen
Around campus
Holiday shopping during a pandemic has some e-commerce experts predicting a "shipageddon" of delays and chaos in December. There is reason to be concerned, said Scott Grawe, department chair in supply chain management.

In an interview published by The Conversation, associate professor of art and visual culture Emily Godbey discusses monuments that memorialize disease outbreaks and whether COVID-19 will prompt any similar commemorations. 

Associate professor of philosophy Kate Padgett Walsh, in an essay for The Conversation, shares the pros and cons of forgiving student debt and how to avoid moral hazard issues.

For centuries, Native Americans grew corn, beans and squash in the same plot because they thrived together. An ISU team is measuring the health and social benefits of reuniting the "three sisters."

A team of Veterinary Medicine faculty and students who share a love of disc golf have created a nine-hole course on the grounds of the Vet Med campus. The good news? You don't have to be affiliated with the college to use it.
Appointments
  • Anna Johnson, professor of animal science, as the inaugural Artz Chair for Faculty Excellence in Animal Science, effective Dec. 15 for three years
Retirements
Last week
  • Mike Parsons, construction management, facilities planning and management, Nov. 25

This week
  • Janet Johnson, dietetic internship program, food science and human nutrition, Dec. 4 (noon-1 p.m., Webex reception), send cards by Dec. 4 to 220 MacKay
  • Carol Yanda, controller's department, Dec. 4
  • Trina Zimmer, ISU Foundation, Dec. 4, send congratulations to her Kudoboard

Next week
  • Duane Flanders, Ames Laboratory, Dec. 7
  • Julee Lund, finance delivery Hickory team, Dec. 9 (1-2:30 p.m., MU Cardinal Room), masks required, 15-person capacity

Upcoming
  • Kathy Dobbs, controller's department, Dec. 31, send congratulations to her Kudoboard
Seminars and conferences
  • Workshop, "Speaking Up: How Bystanders Can Change the Conversation About Social Bias," offered three times: Dec. 14 (9-11:30 a.m. or 2-4:30 p.m.), Dec. 15 (2-4:30 p.m.), via Zoom, part of a series sponsored by ADVANCE Midwestern Partnership of which ISU is a member, registration limited to 50 participants/session 
  • Research Days, sponsored by the office of the vice president for research, March 23-25, 2021, registration is open
Arts and events
Reiman Gardens' first walk-through holiday light show opens Dec. 3 and continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings through New Year's weekend. Winter Wonderscape opens at 5 p.m.; last entry is 8:30 p.m. Advance ticket purchases are recommended.
Learning opportunities
Vice president for research programming

University human resources/ISU WellBeing programming
  • Webinar, Introduction to Mindfulness, offered twice via Zoom: Dec. 9 (8:30-10 a.m.) or Jan. 13, 2021 (2-3:30 p.m.)
Previous Inside coverage
About us
Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.