Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
Jan. 7, 2021
Inside news
Iowa State's first round of COVID-19 vaccinations arrived in late December, an encouraging development despite the continued need for patience and diligence.

COVID-19 testing returns to Johnny's lounge Jan. 11 with an emphasis of spreading the work across the university. Support staff, many who volunteered, will work at the testing site as contact tracers and case investigators. 

From a bin-busting 647 nominations, 52 individuals and teams learned this week they received a COVID-19 Exceptional Effort Award, which recognize the extraordinary and innovative ways Iowa Staters strived to overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

Spring semester won't start until Jan. 25, giving faculty time to rest and get a jump on work that can improve their instruction and lighten the load this term.

The university and city signed on for a national testing event. Preregister to save time at the testing site, where participants will self-administer the nasal swab test.

With CyBox data storage more than halfway to its reduction goal, individual quotas are on hold and the focus is simply on getting under the university quota by July 1.

Faculty and staff will continue to have additional time off options for absences related to COVID-19 under a new set of policies that went into effect Jan. 1.

A recent procedural change has heightened the urgency for new employees to promptly complete the federally mandated I-9 hiring document in Workday.
Announcements
The following announcements were added this week:
  • Jan. 15 town hall will focus on vaccine availability, distribution
  • Coming next week: Share your thoughts on Workday, HR and finance delivery
  • Federal judge halts enforcement of diversity training order
  • Online resources available for stimulus information
  • Ombuds team launches a blog for ISU employees
Around campus
As the COVID-19 vaccine begins to be distributed in Iowa, scams are being reported that prey on those at higher risk, such as older adults. Know the facts to protect yourself and your loved ones.

To combat difficulties with standard statistical models, Iowa State researchers developed a network-based approach to measure the impact of COVID-19 policies and vaccination strategies during the stages of the pandemic.

Nearly 1,000 audio recordings of notable talks from the long-running Iowa State lecture series will be digitized thanks to a grant from the National Recording Preservation Foundation. The 991 recordings from the 1970s to the 1990s will be preserved digitally, captioned and made publicly accessible, including lectures by Angela Davis, Barbara Ehrenreich, Seymour Hersh, Arthur Miller and Benjamin Spock.

The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust committed $300,793 over two years to help ISU researchers develop a quick-response paper test strip to detect the coronavirus. The saliva test began development in late spring 2020 under the direction of chemistry professor Robbyn Anand.

Iowa State professors look at the advantages of working out in groups versus alone in an essay for The Conversation.
Appointments
  • Steven Harris, University of Manitoba, to chair of the departments of plant pathology and microbiology, and entomology, effective by April 1
Retirements
Last week
  • Ed Goedeken, library, Dec. 31, send congratulations to his Kudoboard
  • Gloria Jones-Johnson, sociology, Dec 31, send congratulations to her Kudoboard
  • Chris Minion, veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine, Dec. 31, January virtual reception TBA

This week
  • Vicky Hubby, library, Jan. 4, send congratulations to her Kudoboard
  • Ellen Olson, mathematics, Jan. 4, send congratulations to her Kudoboard
  • Jane Vogelzang, library, Jan. 5, send congratulations to her Kudoboard
  • Elizabeth Amdahl, logistics and support services, Jan. 8
  • Susan Tourtellott, utility services, facilities planning and management, Jan. 8

Next week
  • Sue Finestead, global programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Jan. 14, send well wishes via this Qualtrics page
  • Jenny Froyd, office of the registrar, Jan. 15
  • Debbie Lettow, office of the registrar, Jan. 15
  • Janelle Wallerich, office of the registrar, Jan. 15
Seminars and conferences
Open forums
  • Town hall, COVID-19 vaccine distribution and spring testing plans, Jan. 15 (2-3 p.m., via Webex)
Learning opportunities
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) programming

Student Innovation Center programming
Previous Inside coverage
About us
Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.