Announcements

December 2013

Late death notice of former Design faculty member Betty Miller

Betty Miller, Distinguished Professor emerita of art and design and an ISU faculty member from 1969 to her retirement in 1994, died Nov. 11 in Des Moines from complications of diabetes. Her cremated remains were buried at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter. Memorial donations may be made to the fine arts program at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 4114 Allison Ave., Des Moines, and the American Diabetes Association. Miller was the 1999 recipient of the College of Design's Christian Petersen Design Award.

Ames snow ordinance in effect 10 p.m. Dec. 21

The City of Ames snow ordinance will go into effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21. The ordinance is operational when 2 inches of snow has fallen on major Ames streets.  Vehicles parked along snow routes (marked by red and white signs) must be moved or they will be ticketed and towed. Drivers should move vehicles to off-street parking or to streets that are not designated snow routes. To assist in plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked vehicles from residential streets. However, only those on snow routes are required to move them. The snow ordinance remains in effect until streets are completely plowed from curb to curb, AND it has stopped snowing

Green your resolutions

Hard up for New Year's resolutions? Director of sustainability Merry Rankin has got you covered. The December edition of Live Green! Monthly also includes sustainable gift ideas and a guide to DIY weatherizing.

Register for Jan. 8 youth programs training

The offices of Risk Management, University Counsel and 4-H Extension and Outreach collectively are holding a training session for youth program leaders and administrators on Jan. 8 (noon-2 p.m., 3150 Beardshear, attendees welcome to bring a lunch). The training will address changes to youth-related policies, as well as procedures and forms that must be completed to conduct youth programs at Iowa State. Register in advance by emailing the Office of Risk Management

Presenters sought for student leadership conference

The annual Iowa State Leadership Experience, designed to help existing and would-be student leaders improve their skills and learn about leadership opportunities on campus, seeks presenters on any topic related to leadership. Participants will range from freshmen to graduate students. The conference will be held Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at the Memorial Union; there are three time slots to choose from, each approximately 40 minutes long. Submit your proposal online by Jan. 13. Questions may be emailed to the conference planning committee.

Nominations sought for Student Employee of the Year

Nominations are being sought for the annual ISU Student Employee of the Year award. The award is based on the student employee's reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism, interpersonal skills and unique contributions to the employer. Nominees must be undergraduate students on campus and employed part-time for a minimum of six months between June 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014 (anticipated). More details and a nomination form are online. Application deadline is Feb. 7, 2014.

Stay on the safe side, with CyBox storage

CyBox, ISU's cloud-based storage system, is a convenient place to stash your work files for easy retrieval from any Internet-connected computer or mobile device. It's also a safe place to store work files. CyBox has beefed-up security features that meet federal requirements for protecting student privacy. Additionally, Iowa State retains ownership of all data in CyBox. If you keep work files on other free, cloud-based services, Information Technology Services staff recommend moving them to CyBox. 

Library is testing food/beverage container recycling through Jan. 31

GSB director of sustainability Aly Straube is the driving force behind an eight-week pilot project at Parks Library to recycle empty food and beverage containers -- metal, glass and plastic. There's a blue waist-high recycling bin on every floor of the library through Jan. 31; look for it next to the newspaper recycling container.

Former journalism prof Bill Kunerth dies

William "Bill" Kunerth, 89, a longtime journalism professor at Iowa State, died Dec. 9 in Belle Fourche, S.D. Kunerth taught investigative reporting and editing courses at Iowa State for some 30 years, retiring in 1988.  His funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 14, at St. James Lutheran Church, Belle Fourche. Kunerth asked that memorials in his name be sent to the Kunerth-Wechsler Investigative Reporting Fund, Greenlee School of Journalism, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50010, or to St. James Episcopal Church, 8066 6th Ave., Belle Fourche, S.D.  57717. 

Holiday closings for Chemistry Stores

Chemistry Stores in Gilman Hall will be closed Dec. 23-25  and Jan. 1 for the holidays. It will be open normal business hours (7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.) on all other weekdays during the winter break. 

GSB seeks student feedback on sustainability initiatives

The Government of the Student Body seeks student feedback on various sustainability initiatives currently under way at Iowa State. The  anonymous online survey will take about five minutes to complete and will be used to  determine the direction of sustainability projects at Iowa State. Direct comments or questions to Mike Hoefer mjhoefer@iastate.edu.

Ames snow ordinance in effect at 10 p.m. Sunday

The City of Ames snow ordinance is expected to go into effect at 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8.  The snow ordinance goes into effect when two inches of snow falls on major arterial streets in Ames. Vehicles parked along snow routes (marked by red and white signs) must be moved or they will be ticketed and towed. Vehicles should be moved to off-street parking or to streets that aren't designated snow routes.  To assist in plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked vehicles from residential streets. However, only vehicles on snow routes must be moved. The snow ordinance remains in effect until the streets are completely plowed from curb to curb, AND it has stopped snowing.

Tree lighting ceremony moved indoors due to weather

Due to a cold forecast for today (Dec. 6), WinterFest organizers have moved the 6 p.m. Tree Lighting Ceremony indoors to the first floor of Beardshear Hall. Participants are asked to enter the building via the front (east) entrance steps.

Friday's Knoll open house extended to 5:30

First Lady Janet Leath has extended the hours of today's (Dec. 6) open house at The Knoll, the president's residence, to 3-5:30 p.m. to allow employees to arrive after the work day. The reception is part of WinterFest events. See the first floor rooms of the house, which are decorated for the holidays, and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, prepared from former first lady Ellen Parks' recipe. The university community is welcome.

Meteorological Society is No. 1, again

For the second consecutive year, the American Meteorological Society named Iowa State's student chapter the most outstanding in the nation. It is the student organization's fourth win in the past eight years.

Bus-to-train connection added for winter break

Amtrak is offering a winter break bus connection from the Ames Intermodal Facility to its Osceola station. The Thruway Bus Connection is available Dec. 18-20 and Jan. 11-13. Fares, which include bus and rail tickets, start at $61 (Chicago) and $98 (Denver) each way. Ticket information is available through Amtrak (online or call 800-872-7245).

Phonebook recycling date pushed back to Dec. 19

On Thursday, Dec. 19 -- a week later than originally planned -- campus services crews will collect old phonebooks from those university buildings that have requested a pickup. Requests (preferably one per building) need to be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16. Phonebooks should be placed in boxes, and boxes placed on docks by end of day on Dec. 18. Mixed paper is not included in the phonebook collection. Questions should be directed to ISU recycling coordinator Sue Mallas, 4-0692.

Student-planned exhibit opens in Textiles and Clothing Museum Dec. 6

"Uniformity: Passions. Perceptions. Purposes," an exhibition that researches and interprets uniforms, opens in the Mary Alice Gallery, Morrill Hall, on Friday, Dec. 6, and runs through April 12, 2014. The exhibition was planned and installed by undergraduate students in this fall's AMD257 Museum Studies class.

Some flu shots still available

A limited number of flu shots still are available for ISU employees. To get the vaccine, call occupational medicine staff at 4-0874 to make an appointment. Remember to bring your ISU ID card to the appointment. 

Hort Club is selling holiday poinsettias this week

Members of the student Horticulture Club will sell poinsettia plants this week in several campus locations. More than 20 varieties are available while supplies last. Prices are $7 (minis, winter rose white only), $10 (6-inch), $20 (8-inch, pink Cadillac and glacé only) and $30 (10-inch). Sale times and locations are:

  • Wednesday, Dec. 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Curtiss Hall
  • Thursday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Beardshear Hall lower level
  • Friday, Dec. 6, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., University Book Store entrance, Memorial Union
  • Saturday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Reiman Gardens

2013-14 Fact Book is online only

The 2013-14 Fact Book, the Wikipedia of Iowa State data, is now available on the institutional research office site. The Fact Book is online only this year. In addition to cost savings, there are other benefits to discontinuing the paper version, officials say. The online Fact Book will be continuously updated and includes more data, graphs and charts. Those who like paper can still print individual Fact Book pages or, once all pages are ready, the entire book. The book should be complete in early January. Fact Book pages also can be saved as Excel files.  Pages that are not yet updated in the new version don't have PDF or Excel links. 

Volunteers sought for winter Science Bowl competitions

About 150 volunteers, both scientific and nonscientific, are sought for the 2014 Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Science Bowl events. High School Science Bowl is Saturday, Jan. 25. Middle School Science Bowl is Saturday, Feb. 22. Campus locations for both still are being finalized. Volunteers serve as moderators, judges, timekeepers and scorekeepers. To learn more or to volunteer, contact Breehan Gerleman Lucchesi, Ames Lab public affairs, 4-9750.

Tickets go on sale Dec. 6 for Red Green show

Canadian comedian and handyman Red Green is bringing his "How to do Everything" tour to Ames for a May 6, 2014, performance (7 p.m., Stephens Auditorium). Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, Dec. 6, at 10 a.m. Tickets are $52 and available at the Iowa State Center ticket office and through Ticketmaster

Fall 2013 University Honors poster presentation is Dec. 11

The University Honors Program invites the campus community to attend the fall 2013 poster presentation and reception on Dec. 11 (3-5 p.m., MU Great Hall), featuring the fall 2013 Honors graduates and their presentations. The fall 2013 graduates as well as other Honors students will answer questions and speak with individuals interested in their projects.

Next Osborn Club lecture is Dec. 9

Eric Cochran, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, will present "Thermoplastic Elastomers from Multifunctional Biomonomers: Green Materials Without Compromise?" at the Osborn Club lecture on Dec. 9 (7 p.m., 1420 Molecular Biology). Lectures are free and open to the public following the club dinner.