Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
Sept. 1, 2022
Inside news
Five questions with Jamie Sass, director of the Writing and Speaking Center in the Ivy College of Business.

ISU's new strategic facilities plan emphasizes renovation when possible -- and demolition/replacement when not -- and sequences numerous projects that will impact more than 40 buildings.

The center's makerspaces are studios, shops and labs designed for creating and available for students, faculty and staff who want to turn innovative ideas into concrete reality. The spaces are all operating this fall for the first time.

The ISU police department has a Spanish-speaking officer and two Mandarin-speaking officers to better connect with faculty, staff and students on campus and in the surrounding communities.

Falling for a phishing attack can happen to anyone, but there are easy ways to limit your risk. Here are some suggestions from the head of the university's digital security team.

Employees may select from an expanded list of individual pronouns -- and also choose whether to share their pronoun publicly with the ISU community on their worker profile.
Announcements
The following announcements were added this week:
  • Resources available for questions about student loan debt relief
  • Undergraduate biochemists will share their summer research Sept. 8
  • Sept. 5 is a university holiday
  • Department merger takes effect this week
  • Advisors: Opportunities for student orgs to participate in Homecoming week
  • Nominations sought for Cyclone Aide summer posts
Around campus
The Cyclone football team will open its season Saturday afternoon on some hometown grass -- seeded, grown and cut from a repurposed cornfield at Iowa State's horticulture research farm north of Ames. This six-minute video by the athletics department summarizes the unprecedented project.

The National Science Foundation CAREER awards received by three research faculty provide $1.5 million in federal funding to pursue their research. The three join 39 ISU faculty who have received the award since 2016.

A research team led by architecture professor Ulrike Passe received a National Science Foundation grant to study how the Mississippi River basin's challenges affect the environmental conditions and residents of cities, suburban areas and rural areas. Five metropolitan areas will be studied, including the Quad Cities.

A $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will fund a project by Rebecca Flint, associate professor of physics and scientist at the Ames National Laboratory, focused on making permanent magnets that use fewer rare earth elements. Permanent magnets are vital in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, phones, refrigerators and aircraft.
Appointments
  • Assistant professor in mechanical engineering Todd Kingston and assistant professor in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering Qing Li, to Building a World of Difference Faculty Fellows in Engineering
Open houses and retirements
This week
  • Retirement, Deb Tootle, community and regional planning, Aug. 31 (no public event) 
  • Open house, office of risk management, Sept. 1 (3-5 p.m., 1700 Administrative Services Building)
  • Open house, Student Innovation Center, Sept. 1 (4-6 p.m.)

Next week
  • Retirement, Steve Mayberry, environmental health and safety, Sept. 6 (2-3 p.m., learning center, EH&S Services Building), post well wishes to his Kudoboard  
  • Retirement, Pam Cain, division of operations and finance, Sept. 6 (no public event), post well wishes to her Kudoboard
  • Retirement, Ann Wessman, office of student financial aid, Sept. 6 (no public event), post well wishes to her Kudoboard

Upcoming
  • Retirement, Joe Sebranek, animal science, Sept. 17 (10 a.m.-2 p.m., MU Campanile Room)

Employees, their colleagues or supervisors are invited to submit retirements and departures to inside@iastate.edu. University human resources doesn't provide them for publication.
Seminars and conferences
  • Seminar, "The Value of a Graduate Degree and P&S Higher Education Benefits," hosted by P&S Council, Sept. 13 (2-3 p.m., 3650 Memorial Union)
  • Seminar, The Journey to Your Vision, Mike Kleis, Renaissance Executive Forums of Iowa, and Joel Bennett, Veel Hoeden Consulting, Sept. 21 (8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Economic Development Core Facility), registration required; fee is waived
  • Conference, Academic High Altitude, Sept. 23-24, on campus, ballooning activities planned for the solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023, and total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024
Arts and events
It's weekend two in Cyclone Cinema's 13-week lineup of feature films fresh from the big screen. "Lightyear," a spin-off from Pixar's Toy Story franchise, will be shown Thursday-Sunday evenings (7 p.m. in the renovated 101 Carver). Admission is free, concessions are $1-$2, and the public is welcome.

The Cyclone volleyball squad hosts Drake Wednesday, Sept. 7 (6:30 p.m., Hilton Coliseum) in the first match of its Cardinal and Gold Challenge. Iowa visits on Friday, Sept. 9 (same time and location). Season tickets ($60) are still available. Single-match tickets are $5 ($3 on Wacky Wednesdays).
Learning opportunities
University library programming
Register online for each event.

University human resources programming
  • Virtual workshop, Behavior-based Interviewing, for employees who interview candidates as part of the recruiting process, Sept. 13 (10 a.m.-noon, via Zoom), register via Learn@ISU
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About us
Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.