Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
Feb. 18, 2021
Inside news
Senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert told the Faculty Senate Iowa State's 2021-22 academic calendar will be adjusted to include a winter session, pending state Board of Regents approval.

A new campuswide portal allows the ISU community to query in a single search all of the self-help articles and other information on the ServiceNow platform, including material from ITS and the HR and finance service teams. 

Engineering lab supervisor Michelle Grawe and teaching laboratory specialist Ryan Braga had to innovate to keep students, instructors and researchers safe during the pandemic. The duo was recognized for their efforts with an exceptional effort award. 

The Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity moves to a virtual platform next month to keep presenters and attendees safe, but its director also sees the change as a solution to the event's capacity constraints the last two years.

One-third of Iowa State undergraduate students this spring are concentrated in 10 majors. That doesn't include the nearly 1,200 freshmen and sophomores currently enrolled as pre-business students.

Dispute resolution specialist Jai Calloway joins Chuck Doran on the team providing virtual ombuds services for Iowa State employees since August.

The 25 Year Club won't hold its 86th annual banquet to honor Iowa State employees who have worked at the university for notably lengthy and continuous stints. But the honorees will still have a chance to enjoy a meal acknowledging their service.
Announcements
The following announcements were added this week:
  • Extension offers digital courses about accessible documents
  • Purchase tickets for virtual Irish concert next month
  • Deadline for fall honors seminar proposals extended to March 5
  • Obbink steps away from public health team
  • Graduate students awarded research support 
  • Nominations sought for P&S Council seats
  • Meat Lab's in-person purchase option resumes Feb. 12
Around campus
The office of the vice president for research has awarded seed grants to two digital precision agriculture-focused projects. The grants are made possible through legislative funding, and each provides up to $50,000. They follow similar awards in 2020 in two other biosciences areas -- biobased products as well as vaccines and immunotherapeutics.

ISU researchers received a $1 million grant to study how livestock manure management affects bacteria capable of resisting antibiotics. Resistance threatens human, animal and environmental health.

Three ISU physicists have joined the Belle II experiment in Japan, where they will search for new physics in particle collisions. The trio completed its work upgrading the Large Hadron Collider in Europe before finding the next challenge. 
Appointments
Retirements
This week
  • Cindy Craig, IT services, Feb. 19

Upcoming
  • Mary Dubberke, office of admissions, March 1
  • David Frisk, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, March 1
  • Rhonda Jay, residence department, March 1
  • Robert "Carl" McCarley, building maintenance services, facilities planning and management, March 1
  • Gary Oja, building maintenance services, facilities planning and management, March 1
  • Wanda Martin, facilities services, facilities planning and management, March 3
  • Mary Davis, agronomy, March 10
Seminars and conferences
  • Richard F. Hansen Lecture in Architecture, "Working Afield," Ashley Bigham and Erik Hermann, Outpost Office and The Ohio State University, Columbus, March 3 (5:30-6:45 p.m. via Zoom), preregister to receive the link
Arts and events
U.S. Rep. Katie Porter of California, the spring holder of the Catt Center's Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics, will present a virtual lecture, "Truth to Power," Feb. 26 (7 p.m.).

As part of a spring virtual season, the Ames Town and Gown Chamber Music Association will hold its 32nd annual Musicale Sat. Feb. 20 (7:30 p.m.). The free performance includes numerous Iowa Staters (faculty): Ames Piano Quartet; Mei-Hsuan Huang, piano; Nathan Dishman, trombone; Tin-Shi Tam, model carillon; Chad Sonka, baritone; Jodi Goble, piano; Kevin Schilling (emeritus), oboe; Amy Christensen, oboe; Jonathan Sturm, violin; and Miriam Zach, organ; and (students) Rachel Keske, oboe; and Hope Metts, soprano. Sponsorships -- $50-250 -- are available, and sponsors will receive complimentary tickets to concerts next season. 
Learning opportunities
Provost office programming
  • ISU ADVANCE workshop series for term faculty, No. 3: Building Community, with a panel of term faculty college representatives, Feb. 25 (9-10:30 a.m.), register via Learn@ISU (under SVPP)

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) programming

Writing and Media Center programming
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Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.