Students, helping students

August 21

More than 900 student volunteers helped move new students into their residence halls on Tuesday and Wednesday (video story). The gold-clad move-in crews, able to transfer all of the contents from vehicle to room in just one trip, also welcomed newcomers, answered questions and offered directions as students arrived at their residence halls.

Campus "celebrities" also welcomed students and their families, passing out candy and meeting the new batch of Cyclones as they moved in. Pictured at right is Engineering dean Sarah Rajala introducing herself to Allison Jewell, a freshman animal science major from Mechanicsville.

Rajala wound her way through Friley Hall on Tuesday, with stops at learning communities in the Stanton (computer engineering), Spinney (chemical engineering), Chamberlain and Lincoln (electrical engineering, computer engineering), and Pennell, Palmer and O'Bryan (women in science and engineering) houses.

More than 12,400 students will live in residence housing this fall. Food trucks, faculty, classrooms and tech needs are among the other areas prepped for growing student numbers this fall. Photos by Amy Vinchattle.

Fall 2014: By the numbers

By Annette Hacker
August 21

 

Department of residence

• 12,470 students will live in department of residence housing this fall. (That’s 1,000 more than in fall 2012 and is the largest occupancy in DOR history by 750 students.)
• 1,060 total leased beds off campus (Legacy Tower = 298; Maricopa-Walton = 762)
• 436 den spaces in use. (Dens are fully furnished and house two to four students for a total of 436 beds. Students in dens will be relocated to permanent spaces by the spring semester.)
• 100 percent of new (direct from high school) freshmen and new transfer students requesting to live in DOR housing will be accommodated.
• 227: The number of returning students the DOR will not be able to accommodate. Those who submitted housing contracts after the March 1 deadline weren’t guaranteed a spot.
• 6 new Frederiksen Court buildings will be open for fall 2014 (720 beds).
• 9.8 percent more students chose Iowa State housing in fall 2014 vs. 2013.
• 90.3 percent of freshmen who lived on campus in the fall of 2012 were still enrolled at Iowa State in fall 2013.
• Between 2005 and 2013, demand for Iowa State housing increased 42.5 percent; enrollment during the same period increased 29 percent.

Five food trucks

• Finley’s Curbside Beastro (returning) and El Mexicano (new) will be near Kildee Hall.
• Indian Delights is back, but in a new location south of Coover Hall. It had been near the Marston water tower.
• Streets of Europe is new, and will be located south of Hoover Hall. The truck will serve “Eurodogs,” fish and chips, and Italian pripatta – a fried meatball and sausage patty dipped in red sauce and served on a bun with onions, peppers and cheese.
• The Cheesesteak Factory is new and will be located between Beardshear and Carver halls.

Campus food trucks will operate from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and accept cash and credit cards.

CyRide

• 6,619,162 rides provided by CyRide buses last year (a record). That’s 725,000 more, or a 12.3 percent increase, over the previous year. Transit director Sheri Kyras said she anticipates an additional 250,000 to 300,000 rides this school year based on enrollment projections.
• 2 more buses will be added to the brown route each weekday between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• 1 more bus will be added to the green route each weekday between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• 1 more bus will be added to the blue route on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• 35 drivers were hired and trained over the summer, and hiring will continue throughout the year. Applications are being accepted now.
• CyRide purchased 8 used buses from the St. Paul, Minn., transit system and began refurbishing them over the summer. Five will be ready for the fall semester; the remaining three will be on the road in the spring semester.

Students and faculty

• 34,000-plus students are expected on campus this fall, the sixth year of record enrollment and eighth consecutive year of growth.
• 67 percent of Iowa State classes have 29 or fewer students.
• 5,600 entering students attended orientation in June to help with their transition to college life.
• 70 percent of direct-from-high school students are expected to participate in a learning community this fall.
• The mean class section size is 35 students.
• 88 percent of student credit hours are taught by faculty.
• Student/faculty ratio is approximately 19:1.
• 105 new tenured or tenure-track faculty will join Iowa State this fall.

New academic buildings

• 3 academic buildings are new to campus: The Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center, which includes an indoor arena for animals; and Elings and Sukup halls, which provide classroom, office and lab space to the agricultural and biosystems engineering department.

Wired

• 100GB is the capacity of the recently upgraded ISU network. The 10-fold increase accommodates more users and bandwidth and opens doors for research opportunities.
• 100,000-plus networked devices will access the campus network daily during fall semester.
• 1:1 ratio: Every residence hall room now has a wireless access point.

 

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Hiring effort adds 105 tenured, tenure-track faculty for fall

By Anne Krapfl
August 21

The Iowa State faculty this fall includes 19 individuals recruited in the first round of Steven Leath's Presidential High-Impact Hires initiative. The positions are related to big data (11) or translational health (4), or are in fields of strategic importance to Iowa State (4). Six more individuals hired in high-impact faculty positions will arrive in Ames by fall 2015.

The 19 are members of a class of 105 tenured or tenure-track faculty hired for this academic year, and bring the three-year total (since fall 2012) to 245 faculty hires. At his installation in September 2012, Leath announced a goal of hiring 200 faculty in his first three years as president. Faculty beginning their Iowa State careers this month will help departments respond to shifts in student interest in academic programs, research needs, enrollment growth and recent faculty retirements.

"I'm very pleased with this hiring cycle," Leath said. "Our new faculty will help ensure that Iowa State continues to provide the unique academic experience our students expect and the research and services that positively impact Iowans and bolster our state economy.

"I hope everyone will join me in welcoming these new faculty members to our university community. I look forward to meeting all of them, starting with the new faculty reception later this month," he added.

Tenured/tenure-track faculty hires (Sept. 2013-Aug. 2014)

College	Total	Big data	Translational health	Strategic importance	Other
AGLS	11	2		1	8
Business	10	2			8
Design	10			1	9
Engineering	21	3	2		16
Human Sciences	21		2	1	18
LAS	27	4		1	22
Vet Med	5				5
Total	105	11	4	4	86

 

Next cycle has begun

Senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert said work already is underway on the second round of the high-impact hires initiative. Deans have sent him their proposals for targeted faculty hires in the next year. He plans to send a list to Leath in the next few weeks, with an announcement about approved positions coming by the end of September. Recruiting would begin immediately. One hundred tenured or tenure-track faculty hires again is the goal this year, he said.

"Hiring 100 new faculty in one year takes a coordinated and substantial effort from college deans, department chairs and staff, and faculty leaders who serve on search committees," Wickert said. "The importance of their work is reflected in the high quality of their new colleagues."

Welcome

Last September, Leath announced the high-impact faculty hiring initiative, pledging $2 million centrally for up to 31 positions approved through a competitive review process. Hiring units provide matching funds. Three of the position requests later were withdrawn and candidate negotiations continue on three others. Two interdisciplinary fields targeted in the first round were translational health – moving scientific discoveries into medical practices efficiently – and big data – efficient processing and analysis of large data sets to speed up research.

Following are the 19 faculty members hired in the first round of the Presidential High-Impact Hires initiative who are on campus now:

Big data

Faculty member	College	Department
Carolyn Lawrence, Agricultural Research Service, USDA	AGLS	genetics, development and cell biology
Wei Wang, Duke	AGLS	plant pathology
Joonwook Park, Southern Methodist	Business	marketing
Zhu Zhang, U of Arizona	Business	supply chain and information systems
In Ho Cho, U of Colorado	Engineering	civil, construction and environmental engineering
Soumik Sarkar, United Technologies Research Center	Engineering	mechanical engineering
Mingyi Hong, U of Minnesota	Engineering	industrial and manufacturing systems engineering
Jan Boyles, American University	LAS	Greenlee School
Lily Wang, U of Georgia	LAS	statistics
Raymond Wong, UC-Davis	LAS	statistics
Wei Le, Rochester Institute of Technology	LAS	computer science

 

Translational health

Faculty member	College	Department
Jonathan Claussen, George Mason	Engineering	mechanical engineering
Long Que, Louisiana Tech	Engineering	electrical and computer engineering
Elizabeth Shirtcliff, U of New Orleans	Human Sciences	human development and family studies
Robin Shook, U of South Carolina	Human Sciences	kinesiology

 

Strategic importance

Faculty member	College	Department
Sotirios Archontoulis, Iowa State	AGLS	agronomy
Constance Beecher, U of Kansas	Human Sciences	School of Education
Kimberly Moss, Electronic Publishing Services	Design	integrated studio arts
Yu Wang, Georgia Tech	LAS	political science

College, all-university events will launch the academic year

By Anne Krapfl
August 21

While fall semester classes begin on Monday, Aug. 25, colleges will take several weeks to officially open the new academic year. Below is a list of college opening events for faculty and staff, as well as three all-university events scheduled for mid-September.

College events

• Thursday, Aug. 21: College of Human Sciences, Fall convocation (8-11 a.m., Reiman Ballroom, ISU Alumni Center)
• Friday, Aug. 22: College of Business, Faculty-Staff family picnic (6-8 p.m., Big Bluestem Shelter, Moore Memorial Park)
• Monday, Aug. 25: College of Design, Welcome reception for all faculty and staff (6-8 p.m., Beckman Forum, King Pavilion)
• Tuesday, Aug. 26: College of Engineering, Fall convocation (3:10-4 p.m., Howe auditorium), reception follows in the Howe Hall atrium
• Wednesday, Aug. 27: College of Veterinary Medicine, Fall convocation  (8 a.m., 1226 Vet Med), continental breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 28: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fall convocation (4:10 p.m., MU Sun Room), reception follows
• Thursday, Sept. 11: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Fall convocation  (3:30 p.m., MU Sun Room), reception follows

All-university events

• Sunday, Sept. 7: Fanfare Concert, featuring ISU music faculty and students (3 p.m., Tye Hall, Music Building), free admission
• Friday, Sept. 12: President Steven Leath's annual address (8-9 a.m., MU Great Hall), refreshments available prior to the 8:15 a.m. address, with time for Q&A following it
• Monday, Sept. 22: University faculty and staff awards ceremony (3:30 p.m., MU Great Hall), reception follows

Farm Progress event showcases latest ag advances

By Paula Van Brocklin
August 21

If you're having agricultural withdrawal after the Iowa State Fair, consider a trip to Boone Aug. 26-28 for the 61st Farm Progress Show. More than 600 exhibitors, including several Iowa State units, will showcase the latest farm equipment and technologies at the three-day event. The show site is located east of Boone at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and state Highway 17.

Show highlights

Visitors will browse exhibits featuring high-tech tractors, combines and farm implements; seed and crop protection products and equipment; new seed varieties; agriculture chemicals; livestock equipment and more. Daily field demonstrations, featuring side-by-side tillage techniques, Global Positioning Systems, tractor and combine performance comparisons, and cattle-handling demonstrations, are some of the show's popular highlights.

Iowa State exhibits

Iowa State will be well represented at the show with several exhibits and demonstrations throughout the grounds, including:

• Beginning Farmer Center exhibit about farm transitioning (Wallaces Farmer Hospitality tent)
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and ISU Extension and Outreach (Iowa State tent, Seventh Street and Central Avenue)
• ISU Extension and Outreach Forestry portable sawmill demonstration (North Avenue, east end)
• ISU Cyclone Power Pullers demonstration (Central and East Avenues)
• CALS online learning exhibit (Varied Industries tent)
• Annie's Project farm management education for women (Rural Life tent)

University faculty and staff also will be stationed in the Iowa State tent during the three-day show addressing topics such as nutrient management, how to deal with production pests, and cover and biomass crops.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will visit the ISU tent Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 27, to discuss water quality initiatives. ISU President Steven Leath and CALS dean Wendy Wintersteen also plan to stop by Wednesday afternoon. Need some new ISU apparel? Visitors may purchase Iowa State merchandise from the University Book Store in the tent.

Ticket information

Daily tickets for the Farm Progress Show are $15 ($8 for students, free for those 12 and younger). Tickets may be purchased online or at the gate.