New student spaces at the MU

August 29

It didn't take students long Monday to settle into the renovated main lounge on the Memorial Union second floor. Under construction for about a year, the new lounge area features a water vapor fireplace, tables and chairs, comfortable seating and central campus views through the large north windows. Eight small group collaboration areas come with a wall monitor students can synch with their laptops.

This lounge is in the space previously home to the campus post office counter, staff offices, Col. Pride Lounge and the original Memorial Union desk.

It's one of two yearlong renovation projects that were completed this month. Staff in three Dean of Students units selected for the remodeled third floor office spaces in the east section of the building moved in last week. Their new office furniture arrives in late September, but teams in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, TRIO Student Support Services and the Center for Student Educational Success are at home in their new workspaces.

 

CYTown lots will be weekend-ready

August 29

 

Football fans celebrating the Cyclones' season opener will tailgate in some very new parking lots in the CYTown district Saturday. Following 18 months of nearly year-round work, two phases of underground infrastructure and lot reconstruction work are substantially completed.

Crews laid the final asphalt layer in the final lot Tuesday, with striping to follow. A majority of the (concrete) sidewalks in the lots also should be useable this weekend.

"Every day this week will look dramatically different out there," said senior construction manager Nathan Graves, facilities planning and management.

During the three weeks until the next home football game on Sept. 21, he said crews will complete any remaining sidewalks and install additional sod and grass seeding. Trees in the landscaping plan will be planted later this fall.

As passersby may note, lot B5 in the south central part of the district remains undeveloped for now. Last fall, the athletics department announced McFarland Clinic will be CYTown's first tenant, and its intended building site is adjacent to B5. Leaving it undeveloped gives McFarland leaders some design flexibility on heating/cooling options for the facility. Eventually lot B5 will be completed.

The $37.7 million project, the first of a multiphase plan to develop the multi-use entertainment district, provides underground utility infrastructure (stormwater and sanitary sewers, water, electrical and telecommunication lines), new parking surfaces and, with fill dirt, raises areas of the site so buildings and other facilities will be five feet above Ioway Creek's 100-year flood plain. The work this year designated a central north-south, building-ready corridor for future development.

Going to the game

Fans attending the home opener must download the Cyclones app to their mobile phone. They're asked to save tickets and their parking pass before leaving for the game to avoid delays. Fans who used the app last year need to update to the latest version.

Donor and public parking lots open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. The spirit rally and Cyclone Walk begin at noon. Gates to Jack Trice Stadium open at 1 p.m. with kickoff against the University of North Dakota at 2:30 p.m. Free parking is available in many campus lots on game day.

Fans are encouraged to wear their cardinal gear to this game.

The athletics department has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. Allowed bag types are:

• Plastic, vinyl, or PVC clear totes that do not exceed 12 by 6 by 12 inches and do not have a logo larger than 4.5 by 3.5 inches
• One-gallon clear plastic freezer bags (i.e. Ziploc or similar)
• Small clutch bags no larger than 6 by 9 inches

Exceptions will be made for bags containing items required for medical, family or child care.

English course redesign focuses on AI, student retention

By Jeff Budlong
August 29

Using Miller Fellowship* ($49,200) and strategic plan ($24,000) funds, English department faculty reshaped the ISUComm foundation courses, ENGL 1500 and 2500, during the past year. The courses, which all students are required to take, focus on the critical thinking, communication and composition skills that serve students during their academic careers and beyond.

English associate professor and ISUComm foundation courses director Lesley Bartlett led a redesign of the courses this summer to add lessons using artificial intelligence (AI). It was the largest effort to remake the foundation courses in English department chair Volker Hegelheimer's six years.

"It allowed us to promote shared ownership of the curriculum and ensure English faculty had a say in the approach we are taking in teaching with AI," Bartlett said.

And English associate professor Abram Anders teamed with colleagues, including Bartlett, to use fiscal year 2024 strategic plan funds to focus on improving student success and retention -- two areas impacted by the pandemic. 

The summer institute

With Miller Fellowship funding, more than 30 English instructors went back to school in June to a  "Redesign Institute" for the ISUComm foundation courses. The team of Bartlett, Amy Walton, ISUComm foundation courses assistant director; Brenna Dixon, coordinator of the English Links learning community; Katie Fulton, online learning coordinator; and Connor Ferguson, foundation courses graduate assistant; led faculty through the redesign discussion.

Bartlett ensured the institute addressed faculty concerns about AI. The group was challenged to anticipate where the ever-evolving technology could impact instruction as faculty work to help students benefit from it.

"We have to grapple with AI and the impact it will have on writing and communication instruction," Hegelheimer said. "It's important to know how to effectively deploy AI to guide students on the ethical use of it and provide guidance to instructors."

All institute participants were graduate students and term or tenure faculty in the English department. Leaders planned and organized the institute while select faculty developed the new curriculum. A wider swath of English department faculty reviewed the results and provided detailed feedback that was incorporated into the new components.

Institute participants developed learning activities and objectives to help instructors across all sections prepare students for the four major writing assignments in both courses. The result is a repository of learning activities designed to reintroduce AI to students and available to instructors this fall. Major assignments all have the same objective and grading criteria, but individual activities provide different ways of teaching students -- a requirement for courses that can have up to 70 instructors yearly.

For example, the new activities ask students to:

• Individually summarize an article about AI before discussing it in groups, incorporating their understanding of bias, ethics, intellectual property and environment
• Plug in a class assignment to Microsoft Copilot to see how it executes the prompts students write.

"The learning activities are not plug and play, but instructors can use them for ideas and inspiration or adapt them to their goals," Bartlett said. "We wanted to do the work collaboratively, involving as many instructors as we could. We were hearing from the faculty that if we are going to face AI head on, they want some support."

Institute participants also updated the statement on generative AI use in the foundation courses with the belief that students already have experience with AI.

"Last year, the statement said students had to follow their individual instructor's lead on its use," Bartlett said. "Now it says instructors still have a choice on the extent they integrate AI, but students will be reintroduced to generative AI in foundation courses through at least one activity."

The Miller Fellowship also allowed Bartlett to bring in speakers with extensive AI experience from Penn State University and Auburn University to instruct the faculty, and Anders demonstrated Copilot to provide examples of AI's abilities.

Building a foundation

English 1500 and 2500 focus on building key skills for students that improve their belief in themselves, Anders said.

The project he led last fall had three components:

• A social belonging assignment
• A comparison of retention rates for students who take foundation courses and those who test out
• Measuring the overall success of the courses

Students in 20% of fall 2023 sections of English 1500, led by voluntary instructors, completed an assignment about belonging in college and wrote about how they planned to achieve a stronger sense of belonging at ISU for themselves. 

"Students in those sections had a slightly better than 1% retention rate to the second semester than students in other sections," Anders said. "Our retention rates at ISU are super high across the board, so we are adding to a strength."

Under the direction of Bartlett, ISUComm foundation courses have played a key role in helping students adjust and succeed early in their college careers, Anders said.

In 2023-24, students in all sections of 1500 and 2500 experienced a "statistically significant growth in self-efficacy for academic writing, which is linked to retention and student success," Anders said. "The students who take one of these courses in their first year have had a relatively stronger retention rate. During the pandemic, students who took these courses weathered those challenges better and the benefit continues today."

 

* The Miller Faculty Development Fund is named for F. Wendell Miller of Rockwell City, who left his entire estate jointly to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. That gift established the F. Wendell Miller Trust, the annual earnings of which, in part, support faculty development proposals that advance the university's strategic plan. The faculty development program is administered by the office of the president and Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.

A recap of summer on campus

By Jeff Budlong
August 29

The fall semester began Aug. 26. If you were away from campus for significant chunks of time this summer, here's a quick summary of news you may have missed: 

News

• University leaders shared salary increase parameters for faculty, professional and scientific staff, contract staff and postdoctoral researchers. Increases would take effect Jan. 1.
• Regents approved tuition increases for the 2024-25 academic year and the salary policy.
• Iowa State's general fund operating budget is $802.3 million for the fiscal year that began July 1. It's an increase of $34.7 million -- nearly 5% -- over a year ago.
• The president's office announced $2.1 million in second-year strategic plan funding  for 12 projects selected a year ago for their potential to advance the plan. 
• The LeBaron Hall replacement project got underway with the demolition phase.
• The maidens in Christian Petersen's Fountain of the Four Seasons sculpture returned to the Memorial Union north lawn.
• Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business David Spalding announced his plans to retire from Iowa State in the summer of 2025.
• Beginning Oct. 1, merit, contract and professional and scientific employees and postdoctoral scholars in salary nonexempt positions will change to hourly compensation and be paid twice a month. It won't change how much they earn.
• Information Technology Services is transitioning the university's sign-on dashboard from Okta to Microsoft. An update will be provided in next week's Inside.
• As part of the Workday rollout, users no longer can complete processes in ADIN or AccessPlus, which became read-only systems earlier this month.
• Iowa State researchers attracted $346.2 million in external funding for the fiscal year that ended June 30. It's the third straight year of record research funding.
• Facilities, planning and management is restructuring its service teams and processes in an effort to improve customer service and efficiencies across the department.
• A partnership between Iowa State and LinkedIn Corp. automatically will post university job openings on the LinkedIn platform. 
• University leaders are working with the state Board of Regents to determine what actions are needed to comply with a new law that imposes restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion offices.
• Beginning July 1, Iowa State completes criminal history background checks on post-doctoral scholars and seasonal/temporary employees selected to fill positions. 
• Recycling coordinator Steve Kohtz completed a study to make recycling in campus buildings easier -- and more successful. Here's what you should know.
• A federal change moved up the deadline for digital accessibility -- when all web content and mobile apps must be accessible for all users.
• A new Office of Student Information at Iowa State will help the university get the most from its investment in Workday. The staff team will lead continuous improvement initiatives.
• The provost's office honored 31 faculty and staff with student recruiting innovation awards.

 

Appointments

Provost

• Jason Keith, dean of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering; Mississippi State University, to senior vice president and provost, effective Aug. 1

Vice presidents

• Peter Dorhout, vice president for research, reappointed to a five-year second term
• Sean Reeder, University of Missouri, Kansas City, to senior vice president for operations and finance, effective Sept. 3

College teams

• Raj Agnihotri, professor of marketing, to assistant dean for industry engagement in the Ivy College of Business
• Tandalayo Kidd, Kansas State University, to associate dean and director for Human Sciences Extension and Outreach, effective Sept. 16

Directors

• Sebastian Braun, professor in world languages and cultures, to a second three-year term as director of American Indian studies, effective July 1
• Ann Gansemer-Topf, School of Education director of graduate education, to director of the school and Frances S. and Arthur L. Wallace Professor in the College of Human Sciences
• Teri Kruse, senior manager of payroll, to (inaugural) tax director, office of budget, financial strategy and treasury, effective July 8
• Christine Prescott-Jacobsen, Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha, to director of Reiman Gardens, effective Aug. 1.

Department chairs

• Amy Burgin, University of Kansas, to chair of the ecology, evolution and organismal biology department, effective Jan. 1
• Megan Myers, associate professor of Spanish, to chair of the department of world languages and cultures, five-year term effective July 1

Interim appointments

• Pavan Aduri, professor of computer science, to interim department chair, effective July 1
• Larissa Begley, teaching professor in history, to interim director of African and African American studies, for three years, effective July 1
• Susan Bradbury, professor of community and regional planning, to interim chair of the department, effective July 1
• Steven Harris, professor and chair of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, to interim director of the Seed Science Center
• Gustavo Macintosh, LAS Dean's Professor and professor in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, to interim associate dean for graduate studies and faculty development, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for one year, effective July 1
• Jodi McGill, assistant dean of research and graduate studies for the College of Veterinary Medicine, to interim associate dean of research and graduate studies, effective July 2

Cybersecurity reminders to protect university information and equipment

By Jeff Budlong
August 29

Fall classes are underway, but one lesson not in the syllabus is how to protect university information and technology from cybersecurity threats.

Chief information security officer Rich Tener developed a back-to-school cybersecurity reminder list for faculty, staff and students that focuses on three behaviors:

• Protect your Net-ID
• Practice good cyber hygiene
• Be vigilant of phishing scams

Tener asks departments and units to make the list a part of the onboarding materials they share with all new employees.

Net-ID

Tener said a Net-ID protects access to important university data and provides several tips to keep information as safe as possible.

• Use a long, hard-to-guess passphrase for your Net-ID password
• Don't reuse the password on other sites
• Don't share the password with others
• Only enter it at login.iastate.edu

An ISU employee will never ask for a password and never send anyone else your multifactor authentication text message code. If a user is not trying to log in and receives a multifactor authentication push notification, Tener said to choose "No, it's not me" and email security@iastate.edu.

Best practices

There are several ways to ensure personal and university information is safe, beginning with keeping student and research data only on ISU computers and approved cloud services.

Always set a screen lock on your computer and other devices and lock it when you are away. To quick-lock a computer: 

• On a Windows computer, click the "Windows" + "L" keys. 
• On Macs, click "Control" + "Command" + "Q." 

Tener also advises users to install software updates as soon as they are offered and avoid fake software updates which always appear in a browser window. Only install software apps from official app stores.

Phishing scams

Phishing is a fraudulent practice that involves emails or text messages that appear to come from a legitimate source to trick people into giving away money or sensitive information or giving a scammer remote access to their device.

Faculty, staff and students can be targeted and should look out for:

• Personal assistant job scams
• Gift card scams
• Fake invoice attachments
• Links to webpages that look like login screens, but aren't Iowa State's
• Links to forms that ask for your password or other personal information

Users can report phishing emails by using Outlook's "Report Phishing" button.

Back-to-school reminders about university travel

August 29

As we embark on a new academic year, the financial and accounting compliance team (FACT), controller's office, reminds faculty, staff and students about several procedures regarding university travel. The team thanks you in advance for following these guidelines.

An additional reminder (below) affects all fee-for-service units.

Questions may be directed to the financial and accounting compliance team.

Travel guidelines

• Ticket class: All air travel must be booked in economy or coach fare. Business and first-class tickets are only permissible with preapproved medical exceptions.
• Combining personal and business travel: When university employees combine personal and business travel, they must conduct a flight comparison for the same dates and times prior to the trip. Without an accurate flight comparison, university funds cannot be used for trips that mix personal and business purposes. This comparison rule also applies to a driving versus flying consideration.
• Lodging: Reimbursement or reallocation will be provided for lodging that has a base rate at or below the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) or U.S. Department of State per diem rates, even if taxes and fees exceed the per diem. Conference hotels are exempt from these GSA limits.
• Mileage and meals allowance: Mileage and meals are reimbursed as allowances, and meals will be reimbursed according to the published per diem rates set by GSA. The team recommends that employees personally cover the cost of gas and meals during their travels and then claim reimbursement for mileage and meals. This method ensures that you receive the appropriate allowances.
• Expense reports: Submit expense report requests to finance_delivery@iastate.edu. The procurement and expense specialist team is ready to assist you with creating your expense reports.
• New travel vendor: Iowa State has partnered with Diversity Travel to assist with booking airfare, lodging and car rentals, domestic and international. More information about Diversity Travel is in this summer announcement from procurement services on travel agency changes. It joins Collegiate Travel Planners as the university's contracted travel agencies.

Rate review for fee-for-service centers

All fee-for-service accounts should have their rates reviewed at least once per year. If your account has not undergone a rate review in 2024, please contact fact@iastate.edu for assistance.

Nomination window opens for 2025 university awards

August 29

The nomination window is open for the 2025 university awards honoring faculty and staff.

Although some of the 32 different awards allow for direct nomination, many nominations route through the academic colleges. All nominations are due Feb. 10, 2025, to the office of the senior vice president and provost via electronic submission. Programs, departments, colleges and units set earlier deadlines as part of their internal review process. College deadlines are listed online, and these two websites provide information about the awards and criteria:

• Faculty awards
• Staff awards

Award decisions will be announced by May 1, 2025, and awards will be presented at a public celebration next fall.

General questions about the nomination submission process may be directed to Kati Gorman, office of the senior vice president and provost, 294-6410. Questions about an award may be directed to these liaisons:

• Distinguished, University and Morrill Professor awards; departmental leadership awards; Regents faculty award; inclusive excellence Award: Associate provost Dawn Bratsch-Prince
• Teaching, international service, advising awards: Associate provost Ann Marie VanDerZanden
• Extension/professional practice awards: Vice president for extension Jason Henderson
• Research awards: Associate vice president for research Surya Mallapragada
• Economic development and intellectual property awards: Pappajohn Center director Judy Eyles
• P&S awards: Christine Reinders-Caron, Ames National Laboratory
• Margaret Ellen White Award: Wren Bouwman, English graduate student

 

Opening events for faculty and staff

August 29

The beginning of an academic year also features back-to-school events for faculty and staff. Inside staff compiled this list of college and university events as a reminder (with apologies to three colleges that already held their events):

• Aug. 30, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., ice cream social for faculty and staff, patio behind Curtiss Hall (Harl Commons in the case of inclement weather)
• Sept. 4, College of Veterinary Medicine, 2 p.m., fall convocation and awards ceremony, 2532 Patterson (Ramsey Classroom), reception follows
• Sept. 4, Faculty new to Iowa State (universitywide), 5-6:30 p.m., reception, Sukup Hall atrium
• Sept. 10, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, fall convocation and awards ceremony, 4-6 p.m., Memorial Union South Ballroom 
• Sept. 25, University Awards ceremony, 3:30 p.m., reception follows, Memorial Union Great Hall
• Sept. 26, College of Engineering, faculty awards and honors ceremony, 11 a.m., Howe Hall auditorium

Events held earlier

• Aug. 20, College of Human Sciences
• Aug. 22, Ivy College of Business
• Aug. 28, College of Design 

Redesign institute participants

August 29

English faculty and graduate students worked in groups to develop and review changes to the ISUComm Foundation Courses during June's redesign institute.

Fellows 

• Katheryn Anderson, lecturer
• Cornell Brellenthin, assistant teaching professor 
• Ali Ebrahimpourlighvani, graduate
• Erin Frink, assistant teaching professor
• Virginia Kovach, lecturer
• Kristen  Neumann, graduate
• Ben Parker, lecturer
• Samuel Piccone, lecturer
• Josephine Wickman, lecturer
• Elizabeth Wenger, graduate

Consultants

• Sara Albright, associate teaching professor
• Gulbahar Beckett, professor 
• Wren Bouwman, graduate
• Allison Durazzi, graduate
• Richmond Dzekoe, lecturer
• Angela Hakim, lecturer
• Shaya Kraut, graduate
• Tara Labovich, lecturer
• Natalie Meyer, associate teaching professor
• Emily Riley, lecturer
• Samantha Robinson-Adams, associate teaching professor 
• Shalini Singh, graduate
• Josh Taylor, lecturer
• Eleanore Tisch, graduate

Furniture donation finds its way to Spencer families

August 29

After severe flooding in northwest Iowa in June, many families still are recovering from damage to their home and trying to replace its contents. Among many shortages, one issue is a lack of beds, especially for children as the school year begins. Sleeping on the floor night after night isn't great for learning.

Iowa State, with assistance from the Iowa Waste Exchange and Sukup Manufacturing, became one solution to the shortage earlier this month with a donation of beds and mattresses.

So far, 72 beds and 77 mattresses have been delivered to the city of Spencer. The mattresses and captain beds -- which make use of the space between the mattress and the floor with several drawers -- were unable to be sold through ISU Surplus and would have been considered waste had an opportunity to help others not presented itself.

ISU's residence department replaces its vinyl-clad mattresses after about 10 years of use (those with tears or holes are replaced immediately and disposed of).

At two university storage facilities Aug. 16, ISU staff loaded a Sukup semi-trailer, stacking and tying down the contents for the trip north. In Spencer, local families were invited to pick up beds and mattresses from the flood relief distribution center.

Des Moines Area Community College's Transportation Institute has agreed to haul another 200 mattresses to Spencer on Sept. 9. And 80 more captain's beds also await transport in mid-September.

ISU staff from the residence department, ISU Surplus and the Live Green program worked with Shelly Codner of the Iowa Waste Exchange, who recruited Sukup to supply a truck and driver. This is not the first time Codner and Iowa State have teamed up; the partnership goes back nearly 15 years on many kinds of surplus items.