Second week of the semester

January 25

(l-r) Students Sydney Zabel, Adriana Cromie and Vivian Johnsen cut fabric in their Apparel Assembly Process class (AMD 121) Tuesday in a MacKay Hall teaching lab relocated from LeBaron Hall. The course teaches the principles of garment and related product assembly using industrial machines and production equipment. By the end of the semester, students will produce their own shirt and pair of blue jeans.

Search begins for next senior vice president and provost

By Megan Landolt, office of the president
January 25

Iowa State has launched a national search for the next senior vice president and provost. President Wendy Wintersteen has named an 18-member search committee to seek a successor to Jonathan Wickert. Wickert announced last week his plans to move to the faculty in the department of mechanical engineering this summer. He has served an Iowa State-record 12 years as university provost.

Nominations welcome

Parker Executive Search is assisting with the search and will help develop a strong pool of candidates. Members of the campus community are invited to submit candidate nominations online. Review of materials will begin immediately and continue until the appointment is made. The search timeline aims to have finalists interview on campus between mid-April and early May. Information will be shared throughout the process on the provost search website.

Search committee

David Spalding, who serves as vice president for economic development and industry relations; dean of the Ivy College of Business; and professor of finance, is chairing the search. Other members of the committee are:

• Sarah Bennett-George, teaching professor, apparel, events and hospitality management; College of Human Sciences; and president, Faculty Senate
• Sarah Bentil, associate professor, mechanical engineering, College of Engineering
• Christine Cain, president, Graduate and Professional Student Senate
• Jonathan Fox, professor, human development and family studies, College of Human Sciences
• Michael Golemo, University Professor, music and theatre, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Dermot Hayes, Distinguished Professor, economics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Jennifer Holliday, president, Student Government
• Thomas Holme, Morrill Professor, chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Michael Kimber, department chair and professor, biomedical sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Sophia Magill, senior advisor to the president, office of the president
• Surya Mallapragada, associate vice president for research; Distinguished Professor, chemical and biological engineering; and scientist, Ames National Laboratory
• Seda McKilligan, senior associate dean, College of Design; and professor, industrial design
• Paul Sanchez-Ruiz, assistant professor, management and entrepreneurship, Ivy College of Business
• Patrick Wall, area beef field specialist, ISU Extension and Outreach; and president, Professional and Scientific Council
• Charles Yier, librarian, research and instruction services, University Library
• Toyia Younger, senior vice president of student affairs; and associate graduate faculty member, School of Education
• Qijing Zhang, Distinguished Professor, veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine

Monica Sasse, executive assistant to the dean of the Ivy College of Business, will provide administrative support.

Another senior VP search

The search for the next senior vice president for operations and finance will launch later this spring.

 

Hundreds will test drive Workday Student next week during mock sessions

By Anne Krapfl
January 25

Students, professional staff and faculty will participate in a hands-on practice exercise next week in Workday Student. It's part of the training planned to prepare would-be users for March, when they'll complete tasks in the platform for real. The "mock semester" simulation also will be a barometer of sorts for Workday Student implementation teams on highlights and perhaps some hiccups that need attention.

"We need the consumer to test it, practice on it, maybe even try to break it," said Jason Follett, an academic advisor in the software engineering department, Professional and Scientific Council officer and member of the planning team for the mock semester. "What we learn should help shape training materials and communications in February for go-live in March."

Academic advisors will be represented among the 500-plus students and employees who preregistered to show up, log in and complete tasks in Workday. After logging in, advisors will navigate student records to locate, for example, an academic record or progress toward degree completion. On their advising dashboards, they'll find their advisees and try tasks such as overriding or substituting requirements in a student's degree program, and adding, removing or overriding a hold on a student's record.

Student participants, undergraduate or graduate, will log into Workday and, working with their own academic records, drop or replace a class from their schedule and update their personal and contact information.

Faculty will review a class roster and submit interim and final grades. Faculty who advise students also will complete the advising tasks.

The tasks available to be completed will be limited, not the full range of tasks in Workday Student. Participants also will be invited to try the tasks on various hardware -- desktop, tablet or smartphone.

Where is it happening?

The mock semester event features five sessions. The first-floor testing center in Durham Center will host the mock semester exercise for most of the week, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Jan. 29-Feb. 1. On Friday, Feb. 2, the simulation moves to the College of Veterinary Medicine (3-5 p.m.).

About 100 faculty and staff will take part, and more than 70% of the participants will be students. As an incentive, students were offered priority registration status for fall semester. On site, participants also can enjoy lots of ISU-branded giveaways, and snacks and beverages.

What do we hope to learn?

Allowing users to test drive Workday Student is an important goal, but observing their efforts and collecting their feedback on the experience also are a vital part of the mock semester exercise. That input will include both a short survey and informal conversations among participants and Workday Student implementation team members, many of whom will attend the sessions.

"Providing exposure to the system among key user groups -- students, advisors, faculty, staff --and collecting feedback to help us plan for the next go-live for Workday functions are key goals for this event," said Laura Doering, associate vice president for enrollment management, who serves on several Workday Student committees and the mock semester planning group. "Lots of team members will be talking with students and other participants about ease of use, what they think of the platform, tasks they completed, any suggestions they want to give us."

Dean of Students Sharron Evans said she's hopeful that tasks in Workday make sense to students.

"With students, it often comes down to how intuitive the processes are, how easily -- or not -- they're navigated, whether the language makes sense to them or creates confusion. That will be an important thing to learn from this exercise," said Evans, also a planning team member.

The current timeline is for students to have access to Workday for the first time on March 4. Later in the month, on March 26, returning students will begin registering for fall classes in Workday. Registration for summer session will remain in AccessPlus.

 

Related story

• Large Workday Student data transfer begins Jan. 27, Jan. 18, 2024

Senate to vote on addition of Graduate Council

By Jeff Budlong
January 25

The Faculty Senate will vote at its February meeting on a proposal to move the Graduate Council into its academic affairs council to make it part of the senate. The change would give the full senate decision-making authority for all graduate faculty, graduate and professional students and postdocs. 

The 15-member Graduate Council serves as the executive committee of the graduate faculty. It approves new graduate programs and establishes educational policies that govern graduate education throughout the college. Iowa State has approximately 1,500 graduate faculty members and 4,300 active graduate students.

Because postdoctoral associates are employees, the proposal recommends moving responsibility for their employment policies from the Graduate Council to the office of the vice president for research. 

The proposal -- which comes from concerns expressed by faculty, departments and colleges -- would create more communication about issues or concerns and include more people with an interest across campus. The goal is increased transparency and as changes work through the senate process, every department and college would have a chance to discuss them.

If the proposal is approved, the Graduate Council would be renamed the Graduate Faculty Cabinet to avoid placing a council within a council. New language would be added to the senate bylaws to include the Graduate Faculty Cabinet.

"We spent all fall having conversations, meeting with a lot of different groups and held a couple of open houses for everyone on campus to attend and discuss this," said judiciary and appeals council chair Steve Freeman. "We ended the fall semester with a vote of all graduate faculty and they were overwhelmingly supportive of it."

Presidential review

The senate approved the initiation of a review of the office of the president. The Faculty Handbook calls for the senate to periodically conduct reviews of those in senior vice president positions and above. Its last review was in 2018 for the office of the senior vice president and provost.

President-elect

Meghan Gillette, associate teaching professor in human development and family studies, was unanimously voted the next president-elect. She will take office in May, when president Sarah Bennett-George (apparel, events and hospitality management) passes the gavel to president-elect Rahul Parsa (finance).

Spring conference

Parsa announced three keynote speakers for the Faculty Senate spring conference on March 21 in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. The theme of this year's event is "AI in Teaching and Research." The event is free. The guest speakers are:

• Alumnus Gagan Chopra, Microsoft
• Alumnus Karthik Balakrishnan, Principal Financial Group 
• Anjana Susrala, professor of information systems, Michigan State University

Other business

Senators approved:

• Updates to the grading policy on repeating courses in the course catalog. The changes clarified which grades could be used to calculate a cumulative GPA and which courses count toward the 18-credit repeat limit.
• An online master of digital health program that combines aspects of health care, technology and data analytics. It focuses on using digital tools and analytics to improve human health through wearable devices, telehealth and mobile health. 
• A bachelor's program in sports media and communication with applications ranging from youth to professional sports. Areas of study and practice include broadcast television, social media, talk radio, podcasts, websites and video games. 
• An undergraduate minor in applied mathematics to teach students various aspects of mathematics to supplement their major. 
• A name change for a bachelor's program, from biological and premedical illustration to scientific illustration and visualization, in the colleges of Design and Liberal Arts and Sciences. The change is intended to improve visibility and clarify the full breadth of what the program offers.

Three finalists named for MU director post

January 25

Three finalists have been selected in the search for the next director of the Memorial Union (MU). The finalists will interview on campus this week and next, and their schedules will include an open forum with the campus community. All forums are 11 a.m.-noon in the MU.

 The finalists, and the date and location for their campus forums, are:

• Brad Hill, interim co-director of the Memorial Union, Iowa State, Jan. 25, Room 3580
• Chad Garland, senior director of student life and event services at the University Center, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Jan. 26, Cardinal Room
• J.J. O'Toole-Curran, interim executive director of the Kansas Memorial Union Corp., University of Kansas, Lawrence, Jan. 30, Campanile Room

Hill has served as associate director for operations at the MU since 2019. As interim co-director, he helps develop leadership and collaboration opportunities for campus life units, develop and administer the MU's annual budget and evolve the MU master facilities plan.

Hill, who completed bachelor's and master's degrees at Mississippi State University, was the assistant director for student activities for that university's Lyceum Performing Arts Series prior to coming to Iowa State. He had a wide array of responsibilities, from advising student groups to contract review, and also directed student scholarship programs.

Garland has served in his current post at the University of Colorado since 2015, supervising more than 80 staff members in areas from student life to campus events. He helps implement the departmental five-year strategic plan and deals with all contracts for events and campus space rentals.

An Ohio Wesleyan University undergraduate who earned a master's degree at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, Garland has served in several interim leadership roles at Colorado. These include interim director of the student affairs division's finance and budget office and (for more than two years) interim senior director of the Ent Center for the Arts, a performing and visual arts center.

O'Toole-Curran oversees the operation of three student union facilities at Kansas. She advises six student organizations, from campus radio to varsity esports, and handles promotion efforts for the union.

O'Toole-Curran, a University of Kansas undergrad who earned a master's degree from Emporia State University, Kansas, has served in a variety of student-serving roles, including residence director at the University of Tulsa; student development specialist with the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University, College Station; and assistant director of student life at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. At Kansas' Memorial Union since 2006, she has held director positions in programming, marketing and media, and finance.

During the open forum, each candidate will present their vision for "an ideal Memorial Union" and respond to questions from the audience. Paper candidate evaluation forms will be on site for those who want to submit one.

Hill and MU associate director for student engagement Kristine Heflin have served as interim co-directors of the MU since April 2023, following the death of director Steve Winfrey.

Remember the Learning app in Workday for your development

By Anne Krapfl
January 25

More than 5,800 faculty and staff completed at least one training course or professional development module in Workday Learning in its first year.

The "Learning" app in Workday went live last Jan. 23, replacing the 12-year-old Learn@ISU as the university's repository for training and development content.

When all users are factored in -- including graduate assistants and hourly student employees -- the course completion number tallied more than 53,000 in the first year. That includes everything from lab safety training to purchasing card orientation to guidance for interpersonal communication. Some trainings are required for compliance; many focus on individual development.

What's in Workday Learning?

About two dozen Iowa State units have added some 750 courses to the platform, according to Steve Couchman, learning and development specialist in university human resources. High-volume units include environmental health and safety, Ames National Laboratory and ISU Dining.

In July, university human resources moved all its new employee orientation series into Learning. Since then, 445 employees and graduate assistants have completed their onboarding there. They also get an early introduction to Workday, where so many of their human resources-related tasks will occur during their ISU careers.

In addition to university-created courses, more than 11,000 LinkedIn Learning offerings are available to the ISU community in Learning. Couchman said the university purchases licenses annually for employees and students to LinkedIn Learning, a library of instructional videos covering business, technology and creative skills for both professional and personal development.

"It's one of those great, free benefits to ISU employees that they sometimes forget about," Couchman said. "There are so many development opportunities available there."

Iowa Staters have completed 850 LinkedIn courses since last January, a 4% increase over the previous year. Examples include training for Microsoft (such as 365 Fundamentals, Excel or PowerPoint) and Adobe (XD, Spark Post, Captivate) products. Some are part of a learning series; others provide certification upon completion. The user pays the exam fee for certification, but nothing for all the coursework.

"Many of these provide training that employees can apply immediately to their job -- usually at no expense. It's a win for the employee and the department," Couchman said.

He said several factors contributed to a strong inaugural year for Workday Learning:

• Available 24/7.
• Easy to use. Technology issues (lags, drops) for users are rare.
• Completed trainings become part of your professional record in Workday. Managers can see what their employees are completing.
• User can apply filters in the course catalog to hone their search.
• The regular software updates Workday provides to ISU include enhancements to Learning.

Opportunities to grow

Couchman anticipates a big addition to Learning this year will be training associated with the university's implementation of Workday Student. He said he also hopes to collaborate with several small but heavily used service units to provide some of their training in Learning.

"I'm really proud of our first year and the job our implementation team did," he said.

Though perhaps not at the same rate as year one, Couchman expects Learning's content to evolve every year.

"Because all these learning opportunities are in Workday, we can adapt and grow this network as Workday grows with the university," he noted.

 

Memorial Union to introduce room fee for departments

By Megan Moore, Memorial Union marketing
January 25

The Memorial Union (MU) has made many improvements to enhance the building's meeting rooms and event spaces. With these revitalization efforts, coupled with rising operational costs, on July 1 the MU's event management office will begin charging a nominal room fee to university departments for some rooms or room setups. However, eight rooms still will be available in a standard furniture setup at no fee to departments. 

The intent behind the standard setups is to maintain a free option for departments and to use the meeting spaces more efficiently.

"These standard setups will help us prepare rooms in half the time, allowing us to serve more students, faculty, staff and Ames community members on a daily basis," said Seth Dohrn, assistant director of hospitality services at the MU. 

Budgeting for next year

The MU is announcing the rate policy now so departments have the information this spring as they develop their fiscal year 2025 budgets. The event management team will be contacting individuals or offices who have meeting room reservations after June 30 to make any needed adjustments. The departmental room fees are less than one-fourth of the public rental rates. 

"Our goal has always been to serve the campus community the best we can. We feel we remain a very good, cost-effective option," Dohrn said. "The new departmental rental fees will help us to continue reinvesting in our event services infrastructure and increase the amenities we're able to offer customers."

Custom spaces

The eight rooms for which customers will choose a setup according to their needs are shown in the first table. Reservations include an eight-hour rental option and six furniture layout options. The second table lists the eight rooms departments can reserve at no cost with the standard setup. 

 

Customized rooms 

Room	Department fee	Maximum capacity (varies with setup)
Durham Great Hall	$150	500
Sun Room	$125	370
South Ballroom	$100	270
Campanile Room	$75	180
Cardinal Room	$75	100
3580	$75	160
Oak Room	$50	80
3512	$50	70

 

Rooms with a standard setup*

Room	Standard setup	Capacity with standard setup
2210	Boardroom	16
2213	Boardroom	10
Gold Room	Theater	64
2630	Theater	140
3534	Oval tables	21
3538	Open square	12
3540	Boardroom	12
3560	Oval tables	80

*No room fee for departments if used in standard setup

 

In addition, four small meeting rooms located in or near the first-floor food court will remain free for departments to reserve.

Dohrn said there's been "a purposeful effort" to update the building's meeting spaces to make them more comfortable and functional for the groups that use them. This includes projectors and screens, AV controls, video capture technology, wall paint, flooring, digital signs outside rooms and tables and chairs. 

"We can't thank our campus partners enough for choosing the Memorial Union for their event planning needs. We look forward to serving Iowa State for many years to come," Dohrn said. 

Questions regarding the departmental room fees effective in FY25 may be directed to the MU event management office, 515-294-1437 or eventmanagement@iastate.edu.

Gansemer-Topf will lead the School of Education

By Brittney Rutherford, College of Human Sciences
January 25

Ann Gansemer-Topf has been named the director of the School of Education and Frances S. and Arthur L. Wallace Professor in the College of Human Sciences, following a national search.

She currently serves as director of graduate education and a professor in the School of Education as well as a faculty affiliate in the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Her appointment as director will begin July 1.

"Dr. Ann Gansemer-Topf is a successful leader and nationally recognized scholar who brings a strong vision for working collaboratively with faculty, staff, students and partners to this role," said Laura Jolly, Dean and Dean's Chair of the College of Human Sciences. "She is a champion for student success and her innovative approaches to teaching and learning will create an exciting future for the School of Education."

As director, Gansemer-Topf will oversee all facets of the nationally known School of Education. Robust undergraduate programs prepare hundreds of future teachers, master's and Ph.D. programs educate leaders at all levels of the education system and high-impact research contributes to national conversations on education and improved student outcomes.

"I have benefited tremendously from the faculty, staff and students at Iowa State and in the School of Education and I am honored to serve in this leadership position," said Gansemer-Topf. "I look forward to working with Dean Jolly, continuing collaborations and building partnerships to ensure that the exceptional work of our faculty, staff and students uplifts our land-grant mission of making a better place for students, Iowans and the world."

Gansemer-Topf has served in several leadership roles in the School of Education since she joined the team in 2012 as an assistant professor. Her research focuses on assessment of student learning, student success, effective teaching and learning strategies and educational policy related to enrollment management.

Earning the moniker, "Dr. G-T," from the hundreds of students she has advised, mentored and taught throughout her career, the deep connections Gansemer-Topf creates and her passion for education have been honored with College of Human Sciences Mid-Career Teaching Award and the Iowa State Alumni Association Faculty and Staff Inspiration Award. She also recently was inducted into the Iowa Academy of Education.

Gansemer-Topf brings an interdisciplinary lens to leadership and education with work in residence life, academic advising and institutional research and strategic planning prior to joining the ISU faculty.

She is engaged at the national level through service in NASPA, a professional organization in the field of student affairs, the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Association. Her research profile includes more than 70 publications, 100 professional presentations and numerous invitations to speak to various educational associations.

Gansemer-Topf earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Loras College, Dubuque; and a master's degree in professional studies/higher education and doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, both from Iowa State.

She will succeed the School of Education's interim director, Mary Gresham.

Construction delays, Mother Nature are no match for student health and wellness team

By Angie Hunt, news service
January 25

Work on a key piece of the SHOP food pantry expansion was on track to be completed over winter break, until construction crews ran into some unexpected delays, pushing back the Jan. 8 reopening plan. The pantry had to remain closed while its north wall was opened to the adjoining room.

The student health and wellness team took the news in stride and quickly developed a plan to offer a temporary mobile food pantry delivery service until SHOP could reopen. April Lopez, a food security and basic needs specialist, said they planned to provide pre-packaged bags of food to students.

And then it was Mother Nature's turn to throw a curveball.

Snowstorms on Jan. 9 and Jan. 11 disrupted the Food Bank of Iowa's scheduled delivery to SHOP. The disruption meant the food order -- around 5,000 pounds -- wouldn't arrive in time for SHOP's initial plan for mobile food bank deliveries.

"Initially, there was a little panic," Lopez said. "We had a backup plan and then we had to change plans again. Fortunately, thanks to our strategic partnerships with ISU Dining and Fareway, we were able to respond quickly."

In collaboration with ISU Dining, the team devised a plan to expand the Give A Swipe program and provide students two meals at ISU Dining centers while the SHOP was closed. Donor support from Danny and Carla O'Neill made possible the free meals.

"When I reflect back on my days at Iowa State, I reflect on great memories that changed the trajectory of my life," Danny O'Neill said. "Thankfully, being food insecure was not something I had to suffer from. The thought of ISU students struggling makes me want to help in any way that I can. If each of us can do just a little something, we can eliminate this situation today."

In addition to the Give a Swipe program, student health and wellness distributed $25 gift cards for Fareway. Despite the doors being closed, SHOP served 300 students and their families in two days.

"It's so nice to see people step up to make things happen," said Erin Baldwin, associate vice president of student health and wellness and director of the Thielen Student Health Center. "Whenever we have a student need, people are quick to help and make sure we can support our students."

Expansion will provide space for additional needs

The SHOP expansion is one of 19 strategic plan projects to receive funding for fiscal year 2024. The additional space will allow SHOP to keep more fresh food on hand. There also will be room for campus and community partners to meet with students to identify other resources available to help them succeed at Iowa State.

"Our strategic plan focuses on being the most student-centric leading research university," said Brian Vanderheyden, director of student wellness. "The expansion, along with the campus community's determination to overcome these recent roadblocks, perfectly illustrate Iowa State's commitment to this mission."

SHOP reopened on Wednesday, Jan. 17. While the work to open the wall is complete, Lopez said crews still are working on flooring, new shelving and other finishing items in the space.

One-man show highlights second annual Carver Day celebration

By Brian Meyer, strategic relations and communications
January 25

On Thursday, Feb. 1, George Washington Carver will tell his story in person* in the Durham Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

(*In person -- thanks to alumnus Paxton Williams' portrayal of the world-famous agricultural scientist in a performance for the second annual Carver Day celebration at Iowa State.)

Registration and beverages begin at 5 p.m., and the program starts at 5:30 p.m. The Carver Day event is free, but an RSVP registration is encouraged by Tuesday, Jan. 30. The program will be livestreamed.

Last year's inaugural George Washington Carver Day program resulted from the Iowa Legislature's 2022 unanimous vote to establish Feb. 1 in the state as an official day of recognition for Carver.

Carver received his college education in Iowa, starting with Simpson College and later becoming Iowa State's first Black student and faculty member. He left Iowa State for a lifelong career at Tuskegee Institute (now University) in Alabama, where he introduced improved farming systems and developed hundreds of food products from peanuts, sweet potatoes and other plants native to the southern United States.

Paxton Williams, an attorney with Belin McCormick in Des Moines, has made significant contributions to keeping Carver's story and legacy alive and relevant for new generations. He wrote his one-man show as an Iowa State honors student, and has since performed as Carver hundreds of times across the United States and in other countries. From 2005 to 2009, Williams served as the executive director of the George Washington Carver Birthplace Association in Diamond, Missouri. He served as associate producer for an Iowa PBS documentary on Carver and was the content expert on a National Geographic Reader Series book on Carver.

Williams earned a bachelor's degree in political science and communication studies from Iowa State in 2000. He earned graduate degrees from the University of Birmingham, England, the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Law School. In 2023, Iowa State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored him with its Carrie Chapman Catt Public Engagement Award.

More about the Feb. 1 event

In addition to Williams' performance, the Carver Day celebration will feature:

• Recognition of Iowa State students involved in the annual Food Insecurity Challenge, a campus competition that educates students about local and global hunger issues and challenges them to develop solutions.
• Remarks by Jay Byers, president of Simpson College; and Rolundus Rice, chief operating officer and vice president for student affairs at Tuskegee University.
• Reflections on Carver's legacy by Kenneth Quinn, former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and emeritus president of the World Food Prize Foundation; and Simon Estes, the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist-In-Residence in the department of music and theatre.

Following the program, ISU Creamery ice cream will be served. More information on the 2024 program and Carver's legacy are online.

Carver exhibitions

University museums will open three exhibitions about Carver on Feb. 1:

• George Washington Carver, The Student and Innovator, Dean's Art Gallery, first floor of Curtiss Hall
• George Washington Carver, The Student and Artist, Farm House Museum
• George Washington Carver, The Student and Visionary, self-led tour on campus