Homecoming fun

November 02

Photo by Christopher Gannon.

Homecoming added lots of activity to central campus this week, including banners by teams of Greek organizations, a large lunch tent (a homecoming button gets you a daily special) and a large stage for the first two rounds of the Yell Like Hell spirit competition and other events. Homecoming events move to the Alumni Center Friday evening for happy hour, pep rally and Cardinal Court. Faculty and staff have a special invitation to several events.

A mustache keys learning about pest management

By Jeff Budlong
November 02

Industry extension specialist Adam Sisson transforms into Sebastian Eugene Barthlolomew and interviews pest management experts for the YouTube series "The Undergrowth." Provided photo.

How do you get Iowans interested in the weeds, insects and diseases that threaten crops? Turns out a suit bought at a secondhand store and a fake mustache does the trick.

In plant pathology, entomology and microbiology (PPEM), the duo of industry extension specialist Adam Sisson and media production specialist Brandon Kleinke used their expertise to create an unlikely way to deliver news about pests and plant diseases -- Sebastian Eugene Bartholomew. Sisson transforms into the pompous, know-it-all professor for the YouTube series, "The Undergrowth," where he interviews pest management experts with a combination of humor and serious questions to share information Iowans can use.

"We hope that people will learn through the presentation," Sisson said. "We want to catch their attention, and then we hope they will learn something on subjects they may not otherwise be all that interested in."

In roughly 20-minute interviews, the topics range from the effects of singing to plants, to why beehives are disappearing at faster rates. Sisson interviews a different expert -- mostly from the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program -- on location with viewers learning with each topic. Links to ISU Extension and Outreach and other informative websites are provided in the description of each video.

All the effort has helped the IPM YouTube page garner nearly 3,800 subscribers and more than 780,000 views since May 2018. More than 440,000 of those views have occured in 2023.

The evolution of Sebastian

Sisson began performing as Bartholomew to combine several of his interests. The project started in spring 2022 with Sisson teaching how to get rid of troublesome pests through phytopoetry, or plant poetry, he wrote.

Adam Sisson, left, and Brandon Kleinke combine to write and produce the YouTube series "The Undergrowth" for the plant pathology, entomology and microbiology department. Photo by Christopher Gannon.

"I used to write lots and lots of poetry, so I decided to bring my passion to my job," he said. "It allowed me to bring my passion of creative writing to work through plant poetry. "

To complete the concept, Sisson wears a suit he purchased 20-plus years ago and an exaggerated mustache to bring Bartholomew to life -- with a little trial and error.

"When you get into the suit and pretend to be someone else, it allows you to act like someone else. And it's fun," he said. 

Sisson said getting the mustache to stick to his face during shoots included a discussion with the music and theatre department, double-sided tape and eyelash glue.

The series -- which is set to seasons and takes time off to accommodate other work for Sisson and Kleinke -- resumed a couple of months ago with the new format. To keep guests on their toes, they don't receive any of the questions in advance. Sisson said it takes a couple of hours to develop a script and the questions for each expert.

"Typically, the expert has already seen an episode or two so they kind of know what to expect, and we tell them we want this to be educational but to react to Sebastian however they want," he said.

The success of the series has led to faculty contacting Sisson to be in a video. A recent video features a graduate student who was recommended by his academic advisor.

Kleinke credits Sisson's relationships within the department with making the series a success because experts trust the information will be shared in a positive manner.

"When you have that trust, it is nice going in," Kleinke said. "Our boss [PPEM professor Daren Mueller] really lets us get wild and crazy with our creativity, and encourages it."

The work of many

When Sisson isn't filming the latest installment of the series for "The Royal Academy of Iowa State University" [Sebastian's words], he makes extension education materials, including the manual "Corn and Soybean Field Guide," to help farmers identify pests in their fields.

Sisson may be the face in front of the camera, but he is quick to deflect praise to Kleinke, who uses multiple cameras and spends hours editing the final product, as well as extra time on location setting up for the interviews. PPEM graphic designer Keaton Hewitt and program assistant Joey Cornelis also help with graphic design and social media to promote the series.  

New fall faculty reflect range of department objectives

By Anne Krapfl
November 02

Iowa State welcomed 72 new faculty to campus this semester. The diverse group, which reflects hires since July 1, features nearly a dozen already tenured faculty members and the rest distributed among term and tenure-track appointments.

"It's a really good cohort with each member contributing to Iowa State's mission in a different way," said associate provost for faculty Dawn Bratsch-Prince. "If we're paying attention to our strategic plan, we have to have excellent teaching, we have to have strong research and we have to lead the way on innovative solutions for our state and our world."

Departments' hiring needs vary greatly across the university and within colleges, she said. Some are looking to build their tenure ranks, some value area practitioners who bring immediate real-world skills and experiences to their students, others need to keep pace with steady enrollment growths. Each fall's incoming faculty group also reflects the shifts in enrollment as student demand for academic majors changes.

She said two initiatives funded with initial 2022-31 strategic plan money -- strategic faculty hires and degrees of the future -- are starting to impact faculty hiring across the university. But decisions announced last spring about six new degree programs and 16 faculty positions that will build Iowa State's research capacity in emerging areas will greatly impact the next round of faculty hires, for fall 2024.

Selected degrees of the future include new bachelor's programs in digital storytelling, precision agriculture, game design and integrated health sciences, and master's programs in digital health, and finance and technology. Developing, proposing and getting approval for new degree programs all the way through the state Board of Regents process takes time, but there will be others.

For now, she said, "We have high hopes for the degree programs that are on the table. Depending on enrollments, there may be more hiring for those in the future."

The strategic faculty hires will be shared among six colleges and focus on four emerging research areas: critical materials, climate science and sustainability, cybersecurity and human health initiatives. Those new faculty could begin arriving this winter, but most will start next August.

A $2.8 million directive from the 2023 Iowa Legislature to expand degree and certificate programs in high-demand, STEM-related disciplines that support the state's workforce will mostly support current faculty and new initiatives, Bratsch-Prince said. The funds must be spent by the end of June 2024, which limits how they can be used. But Iowa State has requested an additional $10 million to continue and expand this effort in the next fiscal year, and STEM workforce development could be another factor in future faculty hires, she said.

Faculty hires since mid-June, by college

Agriculture and Life Sciences (6)

Ivy College of Business (9)

College of Design (14)

College of Engineering (21)

College of Human Sciences (5)

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (12)

College of Veterinary Medicine (5)

Enrich helps employees understand their finances

By Jeff Budlong
November 02

Iowa State's support for employees continues with a new offering in Adventure2 -- the Enrich personal financial tool. Enrich is a virtual program that helps employees understand financial topics including retirement, budgeting, mortgages and student loans.

The information is presented in several formats from videos to infographics and articles and doesn't require a significant time commitment. Enrich launched Oct. 24 and adds to a growing suite of resources available in Advanture2, including the Parenting Success Solution.

"Over the last five or 10 years, we have really seen financial well-being become a more important aspect of people's overall well-being," said ISU WellBeing coordinator Stephanie Downs. "If we are not addressing the financial aspect, we are missing an important piece of the well-being of our employees."

Login

Employees can access Enrich by signing into Adventure2 and clicking on the "Services" tab, or they can log in to Enrich directly.

"We want Adventure2 to be a hub for well-being and as we add new tools, we will look to put them there to provide employees one spot where they can go for a multitude of their needs," Downs said.

Getting started

Employees begin in Enrich by completing the financial wellness checkup, which helps the program learn about financial issues relevant to them and recommend the best courses and tools to achieve goals. Content is tailored, whether individuals are beginning their career or preparing for retirement. Those who log in through Adventure2 receive points for signing up and completing the checkup.

Enrich also provides suggestions to encourage better money management. The money personality test can show why people feel a certain way about their finances, their viewpoint on money and how others impact the decisions they make with their money.

"We like the ease of navigation and most of the sessions are quick and provide a lot of information," Downs said. "The money personality test can really help you understand why you do what you do financially."

Open enrollment

Downs said the addition of Enrich is another tool employees can consult during benefits open enrollment -- it began Nov. 1 -- as they make selections for calendar year 2024. ALEX -- an interactive virtual benefits counselor that's free, confidential and available 24/7 -- offers recommendations on which options to pick. ALEX also can be accessed under the "Services" tab in Adventure2.

Sustainability committee takes new approach to its work

By Anne Krapfl
November 02

As it completes its fourth year of advisory service, the University Sustainability Committee (USC) has refined its charge and assembled a subcommittee structure to help its 20-plus members tackle the work. Five subcommittees will focus on different categories in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's STARS (sustainability tracking, assessment and rating system). Since 2013, Iowa State has maintained a gold rating, second only to platinum in the four-tiered system that regularly raises its metrics.

Because it assesses "all corners of campus" -- academics (curriculum and research), operations, planning and administration, and engagement (on campus and in the community) -- director of sustainability and committee vice chair Merry Rankin called STARS "a relevant and very representative measure of campus sustainability." Universities not ready to pursue a STARS rating still use its framework to assess their progress on sustainability efforts, she noted.

The five subcommittees will explore:

• Information collecting: Sustainability-related courses
• Information collecting: Sustainability-related research
• Campus operations
• Campus messaging: Processes and strategies
• Best practices: STARS platinum-level achievements at other universities

Their work will supplement Rankin's information gathering for the next STARS submission in 2025. Involving more people and promoting awareness of the process should result in a more accurate, more complete data set for the STARS submission, said new USC chair Ted Heindel, Bergles Professor of Thermal Science and University Professor in mechanical engineering.

"We think our faculty, staff and students are doing relevant work that isn't being recognized, whether they don't know we're looking or they're not sure if their work checks the box," Heindel said. "Our subcommittees will need to find ways to reach all parts of campus."

Professor of geological and atmospheric sciences Bill Gutowski, who remains on the committee, led the group since it formed in spring 2020. Heindel and Gutowski worked with President Wendy Wintersteen over the summer to broaden the committee charge beyond its initial focus on energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy. The committee serves in an advisory capacity to Wintersteen.

STARS is the goalpost

Gutowski noted STARS "is the goalpost in front of us right now," though it's not the endgame.

"The real issue is being sustainable, making progress as a university and being a positive contributor to our community, to the state. STARS is an excellent way to measure what we're doing," he said.

As part of their work, the subcommittees also will look for cost-saving or low-cost actions that improve campus sustainability more generally. For example, ISU Dining removing trays from the dining centers several years ago greatly cut down on campus food waste, Heindel said.

The newly appointed subcommittee chairs will meet for the first time Nov. 3 to launch their work for the year.

Heindel acknowledged a very broad -- even differing -- understanding of sustainability among members of the university community -- and that's OK.

"Our committee can't do everything in that broad realm. We're trying to focus our efforts in some subsets where we can make a difference," he said. "The work of these subcommittees shouldn't dissuade anyone at Iowa State from sustainable actions in other areas. We all can impact sustainability in our own way."

Members of the campus community who want to pass along information to the committee may email it to Heindel, theindel@iastate.edu.

University Sustainability Committee: members

• Ted Heindel, chair, mechanical engineering
• Merry Rankin, vice chair, office of sustainability
• Bill Gutowski, past chair, geological and atmospheric sciences
• Mitch Amundson, Ames National Laboratory
• Maithilee (Mai) Bahirat, undergraduate, environmental sciences
• Rachel Eike, apparel, events and hospitality management
• Don Fortmann, Ames National Laboratory
• Virginia Hanson, agricultural education and studies
• Kristine Heflin, Memorial Union
• Pol Herrmann, management
• Mark Kruse, utility services
• Ruth MacDonald, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences administration
• Sara McMillan, agricultural and biosystems engineering
• Haylie Moore, undergraduate, global resource systems
• Karen Rodekamp, ISU Dining
• Daniela Sanchez-Gutierrez, graduate student, chemical and biological engineering
• Amy Erica Smith, political science
• Elizabeth Smith, graduate student, community and regional planning
• Julie Stevens, landscape architecture
• Blake Van Der Kamp, undergraduate, agricultural and life sciences education

Planning underway for student mental health strategic plan

By Jeff Budlong
November 02

The need for mental health resources for students have expanded in recent years, and now Iowa State will implement a university-level plan to guide those looking to support students. The development of a student mental health strategic plan began earlier this semester and will continue through a series of steps over the next four years.

"Student counseling services and the ISU police department mental health advocates work diligently to support mental health concerns on campus as well as faculty and staff who work on departmental initiatives in the areas where they are seeing students struggling," said Melanie Reed, student wellness, mental health promotion and suicide prevention strategy specialist. "With the various mental health programs occurring on campus, it has created a siloed process and students don't always know where or how to access resources. A mental health strategic plan that will solidify what help is available for them campuswide."

To provide a concise mental health plan for campus, Iowa State partnered with the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit that helps colleges and universities develop strategic plans to enhance the mental health of students. The four-year process began Aug. 1, made possible when the project was selected as one of 19 proposals funded through the 2022-31 strategic plan.

"To improve mental health, we really need to have a comprehensive approach that addresses preventative and proactive actions, resources, and establish policy and protocol," student wellness director Brian Vanderheyden said.

Strategic plan

The first year focuses on developing the strategic plan. Vanderheyden and Reed put together a task force of 37 individuals (see breakout) of various roles on campus who bring different expertise and knowledge. It spans all four divisions with vice presidents, faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students. Reed met with each invitee to discuss the task force's focus and no one declined to take part.

The task force first met on Sept. 28 and is completing needs and baseline assessments for campus that will set benchmarks for future years. The needs assessment analyzes a mental health survey sent to 4,000 students on campus that included undergraduate, graduate and professional students to provide quantitative data.

"The baseline assessment -- due Nov. 15 -- is eight sections and between 250-300 questions," Vanderheyden said. "We divided the questions among subject matter experts on the task force who are pulling data and talking to others across campus to collect information."

Results from the survey and assessment will be sent to ISU's Jed Foundation consultant in preparation for an on-campus visit March 4-5.

"Working with Jed gives us a neutral party reviewing the data and determining where there are gaps and where we can improve on what we are already doing," Reed said.

The visit

On the first day of the visit Jed representatives will meet with campus leaders and partners along with student focus groups. The second day will be dedicated to a strategic plan workshop with the task force and Jed representatives.

"After the visit, we will use all the data and discussions we have to put together the institution's strategic plan focused on mental health," Vanderheyden said. He hopes the process is complete by the end of spring semester.

What's ahead?

The second and third years of the partnership focus on implementation of the strategic plan. The task force will provide leadership to put it in place across campus. The fourth year involves sustainability planning and a second benchmark assessment to measure progress and impact since year one.

"After that we move into alumni status with the Jed Foundation, with the idea that every couple of years we complete strategic planning at the university level and work on implementing it," Vanderheyden said. "This is not a one-and-done thing. This builds the infrastructure to plan and then we are able to keep it going."

Alumni status ensures access to Jed Foundation resources after the initial four-year commitment.

Purchase a piece of Hilton Magic history

November 02

Larger image.

Editor's note: Due a problem with the payment processor, the Nov. 6 sale was halted. It will resume at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 20.

The athletics department, via ISU Surplus, is selling pieces of the basketball floor used in Hilton Coliseum from 2020 through last winter. The online sale begins at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6, and payment is by credit card only.

Prices for the 12-by-12-inch floor pieces vary from $50 to $100 per piece, depending on the type of floor and its location on the court. There are multiple options, for example, all-red pieces, all-clear pieces, miscellaneous line pieces or logo pieces.

Each floor piece has a QR code, and a map adhered to the back shows the customer where that piece was located on the court.

With limited quantities available, there is a limit of two floor pieces per purchase. Customers can choose a shipping option or local pickup at the ISU Surplus facility, 925 Airport Rd.