VISIONS Magazine: Summer 2013 Issue by Iowa State University Alumni Association

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R M E M B E R S O F T H E I O WA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N |

lives

Summer 2013

How nine Iowa State professors are mixing it up in and out of the classroom

G E TTI NG START ED

by Carole Gieseke

CGIESEKE@IASTATE.EDU

Life in balance

he idea of “having it all” has been in the news a lot lately. Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, has set off a series of media and face-to-face discussions about her portrayal of this country’s stalled women’s movement. It makes me think about my own life – or now, as it seems to me, my two lives. As a young mother, dead set on having a successful career, I did everything I could to balance my life. I went to work early. I worked hard all day. I tried to save my evenings and weekends to spend with my family. I compromised on my social life and curtailed my outside activities. My house wasn’t all that clean. I think I made it work pretty well – and that’s the first key. “Pretty well” isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough. The second key is that I had a husband doing the same thing: working hard all day and lots of nights, but also helping raise two kids and take care of the house. And giving up much of his personal life to make his career and family run smoothly. Not everyone is as lucky as we were. There are a lot of single parents out there. Parents whose spouses don’t pull their weight. Parents who have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. We were lucky to have good jobs that allowed us some flexibility. We called it “tag-team parenting.” Especially when one of our daughters was sick, we’d take turns at home. One of us would go to work very early and come home at noon. The other would go to the office at noon and work into the evening. It was important that one of us was home with our sick child, but we knew we had to keep up with our responsibilities at work. Back then, it was all about compromise. Today, I don’t worry so much about the number of hours I work. Both my husband and I are still very career2

focused, but the kids are grown and gone. Sometimes I look back on those early days and wonder how we ever did it. When did we have time for sleep? I’ve been thinking about this lately for other reasons besides the Sandberg book controversy. In a recent Des Moines Business Record article titled “Tough Choices,” central Iowa CEOs and business leaders reflected on how they balance their work and personal lives. “You can’t have it all,” Steve Zumbach (L)(’73 agricultural business), an attorney with Belin McCormick law firm, said in the article. “Because we were both ambitious and both focused, we simply assumed – incorrectly – that we could excel in our professions and we could excel raising our children.” Zumbach and his wife, Kathy, struggled to raise their two young children while at the same time working two ambitious jobs. Eventually, Kathy quit her job to be a stay-at-home mom. “I never coached Little League,” Steve said. “I never coached soccer. I missed swimming meets. And I rarely played games or did things that were just for fun.” Steve’s a very successful lawyer and community leader. Somehow I never envisioned him having to struggle with his priorities. But we all do. When I started working on this issue’s cover story last winter, I wasn’t expecting the faculty stories to be so much about balance. I thought the focus would be on professors’ unique teaching styles and interesting research projects. Instead, I found time after time the faculty were, indeed, strug-

gling with the same kinds of balance issues that the rest of us find challenging – especially those faculty on tenure track who have not yet been granted that coveted status. A father with three young children under the age of 5 often works late into the night as he tries to find enough time to prepare for classes, grade papers, and conduct his research. A woman with two young children attempts to get her oldest son interested in her study on insects so he’ll understand why mommy has to be away. A talented mid-career business professor gives up tenure track to focus on teaching – and her family. A young professor spends more than 40 hours a week EACH on his teaching and his art. A young engineering professor is raising two children with the help of her mom while her husband serves in Afghanistan. It’s a challenge to be great at everything we do. Sometimes we have to settle for “good enough.” I think what I took away after interviewing these nine professors is that somehow – with the help of family and friends, a flexible department chair, and maybe a little extra caffeine – they are all somehow finding a way to make it work. I am inspired by each of them. 

SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

One of Iowa State’s hidden treasures, Christian Petersen’s History of Dairying mural and fountain (1934) in the courtyard of the Food Sciences Building, has recently been restored. See the full story on page 7. PHOTO BY JIM HEEMSTRA

COVER STORY

Nine lives

On the cover: Nine Iowa State faculty members illustrate what it’s like to balance teaching, research, families, and more. PHOTOS BY JIM HEEMSTRA;

FEATURES

20 26 28 33 34 38

The Greatest Decade

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SCOTT THORNTON

VISIONS Across America: Florida Photo gallery: The Cardinal & Gold Gala Cy’s Days of Service 2013 Iowa STATEment Makers Preparing next-generation ag engineers

DEPARTMENTS

2 Getting Started 4 Letters to the Editor 6 Around Campus VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

36 Newsmakers 40 Association News 46 Calendar

Printed with soy ink on recycled SOYrecyclable paper. and

PRINTED WITH

Trademark of American Soybean Association

2013-2014 ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

Chair: David A. VanHorn** # ’89 Aerospace Engr., MS ’90 Kingwood, Texas Chair-elect: Thea “Ted” H. Oberlander**# ’77 Industrial Admin. Des Moines, Iowa Vice Chair of Finance: Melanie J. Reichenberger** ’00 Industrial Engr. Shorewood, Wis. Vice Chair of Records: Alan E. Krysan** # ’87 Ag. Business Lakeville, Minn. Immediate Past Chair: Scott Stanzel** # ’95 Journalism Seattle, Wash. University Treasurer: Warren R. Madden** # ’61 Industrial Engr. Ex-officio/voting Ames, Iowa ISU Alumni Association President: Jeffery W. Johnson** # Ex-officio/non-voting Ames, Iowa ELECTED DIRECTORS

Mark D. Aljets* ’79 Indust. Admin. West Des Moines, Iowa Timothy C. Becker** # ’94 Const. Engr. Ames, Iowa Kenneth R. Bonus** ’85 Construct. Engr. West Des Moines, Iowa Joy Wiegman Boruff** # ’76 Home Ec. Journ. Moline, Ill. Richard M. Degner** # ’72 Ag. Education, MS ’77 Ankeny, Iowa Craig K. Denny** # ’71 Civil Engr., MS ’73 Lenexa, Kan. Geoffrey C. Grimes** ’69 Architecture Waterloo, Iowa Duane A. Halverson** # ’67 Ag. Business, MS ’69 New Brighton, Minn.

Ana M. Hays** # ’84 Fashion Merch. Menlo Park, Calif. Trent L. Preszler** ’98 Interdisc. Studies Brooklyn, N.Y. Nicole M. (Bell) Schmidt** ’09 Const. Engr. Overland Park, Kan. Ryan J. Schon** ’95 Agronomy Ankeny, Iowa Rebecca Murphy Stadlman**# ’74 Journ. & Mass Comm. Ankeny, Iowa Carlie C. Tartakov** # PhD ’95 Ed. Ldrshp. & Pol. Studies Amherst, Mass. Natasha S. Thomas** ’89 Marketing Scottdale, Ga. Ryan M. York** ’95 Marketing, MBA ’03 West Des Moines, Iowa

WE’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU Let us know what you think about

stories in this issue – or about other topics of interest to VISIONS readers. Email your letters to: CGIESEKE@IASTATE.EDU.

100 YEARS OF HOMECOMING

I love getting the VISIONS magazine and reading what is going on at Iowa State. Since I am currently deployed to Afghanistan, and, when home, live in Denver, Colo., I do not get the chance to visit Ames much. In fact, I haven’t been on campus in over five years. But reading VISIONS helps me feel like I am still part of the ISU family and that going back to campus will be a breeze, even with all the changes made since I graduated in 2005. The 100 Years of Homecoming issue [fall 2012] made me especially miss the school, Ames, and Iowa itself. I am already planning to make campus a stop on my planned “Homecoming Tour” in April. My parents also attended ISU (my dad graduating with both B.S. and M.S.) and have instilled a pride and legacy in both my sister (double B.S.) and me that we hope to pass down through our own families. I appreciate all you do for the ISU family!

Iowa State University values communication with alumni and other audiences, and VISIONS welcomes letters from readers about topics in the magazine. Letters must be signed and include address and daytime phone number. Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity. The editor may decide to publish a representative sample of letters on a subject or limit the number of issues devoted to a particular topic. While universities are places of open discussion, letters deemed potentially libelous or that malign a person or group will not be published. Letters express the views of the readers and not Iowa State University nor the ISU Alumni Association. Send letters to VISIONS Editor, ISU Alumni Center, 420 Beach Ave., Ames, IA 50011-1430.

2013-2014 Iowa State University Calendar

2013-2014 IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY CALENDAR

Erin Helgren*

United States Army ’05 communication studies / management Denver, Colo.

APPOINTED DIRECTORS

Office of the President Representative: Miles Lackey* ISU Assistant to the President Ames, Iowa College Representative: Melea Reicks Licht** ’00 Agriculture, MS ’05 Roland, Iowa Non-alumni Representative: Lora Talbot** # Belmond, Iowa Student Alumni Leadership Council Representative: Morgan L. Foldes*** Senior, Marketing Johnston, Iowa ISU Alumni Association Membership Key: * Annual member ** Life member # 201 2 Sustaining Life member *** Student member Meet the Board: www.isualum.org/board Meet the ISU Alumni Association staff: www.isualum.org/staff

The ISU Alumni Association mission: To facilitate the lifetime connection of alumni, students, and friends with the university and each other.

Letters 

The Homecoming Cytennial articles from recent editions of VISIONS reminded me of Homecoming 1950. That year, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars (Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Cozy Cole, Arvil Shaw, and Velma Middleton) were featured at the Pep Barbecue Friday evening as well as Homecoming dances at the Union on both Friday and Saturday nights. I was a member of the student committee responsible for the Pep Barbecue at Clyde Williams Field. Armstrong and his group were late arriving from Des Moines, and the crowd was growing restless. A small jazz band of college musicians was doing warm-up work. I met Armstrong and two or three of his group at the northwest driveway into the stadium arriving in one car with the rest following later. He offered to get the concert started with those “All Stars” who were with him if some of the college musicians would fill in until the rest of his group arrived. That was the start of a great Homecoming 1950 weekend and one that I will never forget. Neither will those college musicians who briefly sat in and played with Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. Joe Crawford**

’51 chemical engineering St. Louis, Mo.

D I ST R I B U T E D F R E E AS A B E NE F I T O F M E M B E R S HI P I N T HE I S U A LU M NI ASSO C I AT I O N • SU G G EST E D R E TA I L $17

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5/22/13 12:35 AM

If you are a member of the ISU Alumni Association, you received a 2013-2014 Iowa State calendar packaged with this issue of VISIONS. We hope you enjoy the outstanding campus photography of Jim Heemstra and proudly display the calendar in your home or office. Please be sure to take a few moments to flip to the pages of the calendar directly behind July 2014. These pages contain important information about your membership in the ISU Alumni Association as well as your connection to Iowa State University. Plus, there’s some cool new information about the ISU Alumni Center, events we have planned for this year, young alumni opportunities, club activities, and more. Happy reading, and don’t hesitate to let us know how we can serve you…all year long! – The ISU Alumni Association staff

Your Lifetime Link Starting with this issue of VISIONS, as part of our membership compaign, we will honor members of the ISU Alumni Association in our articles by bolding their names and with (A) for annual or (L) for life. We will continue to indicate membership in lists of names with * for annual and ** for life.

*Annual member, **Life member

SUMMER FALL 201 2 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

“ As a graduate of Iowa State, joining the Alumni Association was something I certainly wanted to do. But also, there are some great benefits… there are discounts that our whole family takes advantage of. I always look forward to VISIONS magazine, and I have to tell you, that calendar is a huge hit in our home.” Stephanie Salasek (’88 Speech Communications) Annual member since 1996

Your lifetime link For many generations, the ISU Alumni Association has been there to provide resources to allow ISU alumni, students, and friends to grow, connect, and reconnect with Iowa State University and with each other. We’re proud to begin serving as the Lifetime Link for all Iowa Staters from the moment they first set foot on campus. Explore isualum.org to see everything the ISU Alumni Association does for you, for ISU, and for all ISU alumni, students, and friends. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

SUMMER 2013 / VOLUME 26 / NO. 2

Carole Gieseke Kate Bruns PHOTOGRAPHY: Jim Heemstra DESIGN: Scott Thornton / www.designgrid.com COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Susan McLaughlin EDITOR:

ASSOCIATE EDITOR:

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

VISIONS (ISSN 1071-5886) is published quarterly for members of the Iowa State University Alumni Association by the ISU Alumni Association, 420 Beach Avenue, Ames, IA 50011-1430, (515) 2946525, FAX (515) 294-9402. Periodicals postage paid at Ames, Iowa, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VISIONS, ISU Alumni Center, 420 Beach Avenue, Ames, IA 500111430. For ad rates please call 515-294-6515. Copyright 2013 by the ISU Alumni Association, Jeffery W. Johnson, president and publisher.

294-6525 1-877-ISU-ALUM (478-2586) www.isualum.org

LOCAL PHONE TOLL-FREE WEBSITE

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

Bringing home the bacon

Around Campus

his year, in conjunction with ISU’s annual Ag Week, a group of students is hoping to bring a new, huge tradition to campus. Senior Jake Swanson of Ottumwa has assembled a committee of more than 75 ISU students working to create the first ever college-run bacon festival at Iowa State. Modeled after the popular Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival held annually in Des Moines, the Iowa State Bacon Festival will make its debut Oct. 19 at Hilton Coliseum. The event will feature live music, a bacon-eating contest, a pageant, educational presentations, and, of course, tasty baconbased dishes to sample from vendors and restaurants around the country. “We hope it will become like the VEISHEA of the College of Ag,” Swanson said. Details are still in the works, so for more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.baconfest.cals. iastate.edu.

Spalding to lead College of Business David Spalding, currently senior vice president and senior adviser to Dartmouth College’s interim president, has been appointed the next Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the College of Business. Spalding, who succeeds retiring dean Labh Hira (A) and interim dean Michael Crum (A), will begin his duties on campus Aug. 1. An alumnus of Dartmouth, Spalding has worn many hats during his professional career with his alma mater, including strategic planning and alumni relations. Prior to joining the Dartmouth family, he held positions with Chase Manhattan, First National Bank of Chicago, GE Capital Corporate Finance Group, Lehman Brothers, and the Cypress Group, a private equity firm he co-founded and comanaged. In addition to his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth, Spalding has an MBA in finance from New York University.

“David’s wise counsel and valued judgment made him one of the most effective and trusted administrators I worked with during my tenure as Dartmouth’s president,” said former Dartmouth president and current World Bank president Jim Young Kim. “His impressive career in business and finance, followed by his success in multiple key leadership roles at Dartmouth, provide a unique perspective that makes David the ideal person to take on the challenges facing a business school dean. Iowa State is fortunate to have him.” Spalding says he welcomes the challenge of growing ISU’s business college. “It’s a great college with an exceptional history and a bright future,” he said. “I look forward to working with the faculty and staff to help the program reach new heights and working with my colleagues across campus to provide students an education that links Iowa’s strengths to global economies and cultures.”

SUMMER 2013 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

Fountain restoration is hopeful first step toward bringing Food Sciences courtyard back to life FOUNTAIN PHOTOS: JIM HEEMSTRA

One of noted artist Christian Petersen’s most unique campus works has been largely hidden from view for three decades. But now, thanks to the efforts of University Museums and Facilities Planning and Management, Petersen’s The History of

Dairying mural and fountain is once again flowing in the Food Sciences courtyard. A 1986 addition to the Food Sciences Building enclosed the courtyard, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making the space accessible only through the building and causing the fountain to fall out of repair. Food science and human nutrition department chair Ruth A. MacDonald (A) says that, now that restoration has been completed on Petersen’s remarkable mural and fountain, the courtyard deserves to be further preserved and to become a focal point on campus like it once was. “It’s an important part of our building,” she says. “In the early days it was used a lot for the president’s parties. They had weddings, lots of events out there. Over the years it has lost its appeal, and we want to try and make it a nicer area.”

“There are always students who want to keep their distance and don’t want to touch them. I was afraid of bugs as a kid until I found out my mom hated them. So I can relate when some kids are a little hesitant to take a closer look.” Ginny Morgal, coordinator of ISU’s traveling Insect Zoo, on how kids have reacted to the increased interactivity she’s brought to the program over the last year

“So much fun in Ames. Loved hanging with you, and I hope we get to do it again soon. The VEISHEA festival rules.” Singer/songwriter Jillette Johnson (@JilletteJohnson), tweeting after her free April 18 VEISHEA concert with Tristan Prettyman and Lee DeWyze

Around Campus

Oh, Christmas tree

s spring fades into summer, most of the needles will have fallen off 75 Christmas trees that were submerged in Ada Hayden Heritage Park Lake this winter by a team of ISU animal ecology students. The sinking of the trees was a unique recycling idea conceived by Allen Pattillo, an ISU Extension program specialist in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, as a way to provide a fish habitat in the manmade lake. “Bluegill and crappie like Christmas trees for habitat and protection from predatory species,” Pattillo told the Ames Tribune. “And some other species, like flathead minnows, spawn on woody substrate.”

Lifting the shell on the turtle genome Professor Fredric Janzen, associate professor Nicole Valenzuela, and associate professor Anne Bronikowski of ISU’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology recently contributed to a study on the western painted turtle genome – with some fascinating answers to questions that have been

around for more than 200 million years. Janzen says a painted turtle’s sex depends on the temperature of its environment before it hatches from its egg; cool temps mean male, and warmer temps create females. He also said the turtles can hibernate underwater and survive for months without oxygen. “Turtles have repurposed some of the genes that they share with their relatives,” Janzen said. “But they’ve tweaked them and gotten

some innovative outcomes. Their ability to withstand freezing cold and go great lengths of time without oxygen is a result of that.” The research could have human health implications, too, Valenzuela said. “If we understand how turtles activate these genes to withstand lower oxygen concentrations, we can design therapies for people with strokes who have gone through a period of time with a lack of oxygen to the brain,” she said.

SUMMER 2013 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

2012-2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Attendance Leaders

Tennessee 11,390 ▼

MAYOR TO STAY IN OFFICE

AVERAGE FANS PER GAME (thousands)

1 1.5 11 10.5 10 9.5 9

Notre Dame 8,979 ▼

Baylor 9,160 ▼

Louisville 9,358 ▼

Iowa State 9,970 ▼

8.5 8

ollowing a successful season in which the Cyclone men’s basketball team reached the NCAA tournament’s third round for the second year in a row, head coach Fred Hoiberg (L) (’95 finance) has agreed to a new $20 million contract that will Fred Hoiberg keep him in Ames through 2023. Hoiberg had been a target of several college and NBA coaching searches after guiding the Cyclones to back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time since 2000-2001, but he says he’s thrilled to be able to stay home. “When I returned to the university three seasons ago, it was a dream come true,” Hoiberg said. “The progress that we have made so far has been very rewarding, but there is more work ahead. I sincerely appreciate the support that President Leath and [athletics director] Jamie [Pollard] have given me. Ames is my home, and Hilton Coliseum has given me countless memories as both a player and coach.”

“People tend to expect things they want to happen to actually happen. The reason this is interesting in elections is because your ability to make that happen, assuming you’re not heavily involved with the campaign, is almost zero.”

ISU names greenhouses for longtime faculty member This spring, Iowa State University officially named its horticulture greenhouses in honor of emeritus professor and former department chair (1974-1990) Charles V. Hall, who was a staunch advocate for expanding and improving the university’s horticulture facilities throughout his tenure. Current department chair Jeff Iles (A) (PhD ’93 horticulture), said that Hall’s efforts as a champion of the 1980 Horticulture Hall expansion paved the way for the $4 million teaching and research greenhouses that now bear Hall’s name. The new 12,000-squarefoot facility opened in 2011 and replaced the former greenhouses that were nearly 100 years old. Hall is perhaps known for his pioneering plant breeding research that resulted in the creation of several varieties of watermelons, including the popular Crimson Sweet.

Charles V. Hall

“As a plant scientist, his watermelon selections have delighted consumers around the globe,” Iles said, “while bringing a steady stream of revenue to Iowa State, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the horticulture department.”

Zlatan Krizan, assistant professor of psychology, commenting on his recent study of the role of optimism in political campaigns and voting

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 2013

lives

How nine Iowa State professors are mixing it up in and out of the classroom

Newborns. Natural disasters. Opportunities of a lifetime. Like everyone else, university professors have plenty of distractions. Whether they’re new to campus or they’ve spent most of their careers here, Iowa State professors have to continually figure out how to balance their teaching, research, families, and a whole lot of other things. But they do it – with caring, passion, and energy. And with boundless enthusiasm for their No. 1 audience: Iowa State students.

BY CAROLE GIESEKE • PHOTOS BY JIM HEEMSTRA

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BACK STORY:

Born in Kansas City, lived in Colorado, graduated from high school in western Iowa, got a B.F.A. in sculpture from the University of South Dakota, joined the Merchant Marines, worked as an assistant at a limestone carving symposium in Bloomington, Ind., moved to New Orleans and worked at the School of Glassworks and Printmaking. Life changer: Hurricane Katrina happened while I was living in New Orleans, and I ended up losing everything, which was hard. It was very difficult. I still feel some of those ramifications today. I got back four months after the storm hit, and the house I was living in had been gutted and torn down. There was nothing to really salvage. After (another) four months, I came to the realization that I needed to either take out loans from a bank or go back to graduate school. And that’s where a lot of problems started. I lost my entire portfolio. I lost all my work. I had played it safe – I had copies of the work in a fireproof safe, but the safe got destroyed. It was taken out with everything else. Literally I don’t have any work prior to 2006. Applying to grad schools was hard. Every place I applied to was the same – “We really feel sorry for you, and we appreciate your situation, BUT we can’t let you in if you don’t have any work to show.” There was really no proof that I was an artist. How I came to Iowa State: My sister who lives in Omaha called me and said her husband’s brother went to Iowa State for architecture and said they had a fine arts program and that I should give it a shot. I contacted Iowa State and I came up and got a tour and they accepted me on a temporary basis… and I’ve been here ever since. It was a really quick transition. So I got my master of fine arts here in integrated visual arts in 2008, and I’ve been teaching here for five years. This is the longest I’ve ever lived in one place – seven years. What I do: I teach woodworking, contemporary sculpture, drawing, introduction to 2- and 3-dimensional design, and metalsmithing. I actually have two full-time jobs: I teach and I work in the studio. The days that I’m not teaching, I’m in the studio for 10-12 hours a day. I’ve done a range of sculpture commissions for national competitions and local projects. Favorite class to teach: Contemporary sculpture. It’s something I feel very comfortable teaching. It’s fun. We get to use a lot of found things and alternative materials. It really forces the students to get creative in their approach to their assignments. About my artwork: I love doing public work because it is interactive, and I really feel that art should be interactive. It should be something you can touch. A lot of my work speaks to community. Because I have been a bit of a gypsy in my life I am always seeking out communities. When they built the south addition on the Memorial Union they cut down the biggest red oak tree in the state of Iowa. We harvested the tree and made benches for the Memorial Union. Projects like that I absolutely love. We take something down and we reuse it. As an artist, I struggle with making more stuff for a planet full of stuff.

MICHAEL STANLEY: Picking up the pieces LECTURER, INTEGRATED STUDIO ARTS, COLLEGE OF DESIGN

Inspiration: I really love that intersection of nature and manmade. I love where those two points collide. First job: I used to mow lawns at a golf course. That was a great job. It was really fun. I did that when I was 13. Some people might not know: While I was in school in South Dakota, I moved to Italy for four months and learned how to carve stone in Pietrasanta.

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

ANN CLEM: Born to teach SENIOR LECTURER IN ACCOUNTING, COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

I having a conversation one time, and I said to him, “I would teach for free.” I love teaching. This is who I am. I love to be in the classroom. My brother can tell stories – he’s younger than me, and I literally wrote him tests when he was 5 years old. I’d say, “Please, let’s play school.” I love to be in the classroom. At home: Husband, Tony; three children: Allison, an ISU sophomore in graphic design; Thomas, a sophomore at Ames High, and Ryan, a sixth grader Life changer: In the fall of 201 1, my son Thomas broke his ankle, and in a subsequent X-ray they found a tumor in his tibia. It ended up being a rare bone cancer, and it was a scary bone cancer that couldn’t be treated with radiation or chemo. So we went to Mayo immediately. He was 15. It was a long year, but he’s great now. He’s literally playing baseball. Tony and I both graduated from Iowa State. You always feel like you’re part of a family when you’re on this campus, but until you’re put in a situation like that you don’t realize… The Iowa State family rallied around us in a way that was really, really cool.

BACK STORY:

We moved around all the time. My family is from Creston, Iowa. I went to high school in Texas. I have a 1990 bachelor’s degree in accounting from Iowa State and a 2007 Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Texas. How I came to Iowa State: I joined the faculty in September 1995. I’m in my 18th year of teaching. What I do: I teach two sections of Acct 284 Financial Accounting. It’s taught in sections of 299 students each. And I teach Accounting 495/595 Advanced Accounting Problems. Favorite class to teach: I love being in those large lectures. There are a lot of faculty members who would do anything to stay out 12

of those large lectures. I love to walk in there and surprise them. They come in and they think, “Great, I’m going to sit here and someone’s going to stand behind the podium and talk AT me for the next four months.” I love to create an environment where they get comfortable and they laugh and they talk and they contribute and they ask questions. It’s a great opportunity, and you actually feel like maybe you’re making a difference in someone’s life. About Iowa State students: Iowa State students come from great homes. They come from great families. They work hard. They’re respectful of my time, they come in prepared…they’re just good students. Why teach? I remember my husband and

Some people might not know that Anne learned she was one of three Iowa State professors named to The Princeton Review’s The Best 300 Professors book at the same time Thomas was at the Mayo Clinic: It was crazy. I don’t even remember my response because it was such a stressful time. It was kind of lost in all of the chaos. Once I had time to step away from it, it was a huge, crazy honor. I think the reason that my rankings are high is simply because I enjoy what I’m doing. I enjoy being in the classroom, and I think that comes through to the students. To me, 90% of having success in a learning environment is for students to just feel comfortable. First job: Babysitting. And then running the Help Lab in the Department of Accounting at Iowa State. I tutored in the tutoring center here, which is how I ended up deciding I was going to get a Ph.D. at 21. I knew I wanted to teach. What I miss about being a student: Oh, my gosh. Honestly, nothing. I do not miss the exams. I march right across the zodiac in the Memorial Union now because I know I don’t have any tests left! SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

About Iowa State students: I enjoy any time I’m teaching. I enjoy every opportunity I can get. I enjoy that interaction with students. Veterinary students have had to work pretty hard to be successful to get into veterinary school. We have highachieving, driven students.

BACK STORY:

My mother is from Iowa; my dad’s a full Mexican. My dad is an M.D. When he finished his M.D. degree in Mexico, he was looking to do post-graduate work, so he came [to the U.S.] to do a residency, first in Arizona and then to the University of Iowa for gastroenterology. That’s where he ended up meeting my mother. She’s an Iowa gal. They got married and then right away they moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, for him to practice – and they still live there. That’s where all of us kids were born and raised. Because my mother was American, we had the advantage that we went to an American grade school and high school. Half the courses were in English, half in Spanish. I started at Iowa State as an undergraduate. As I grew up, with my mom and my dad going to the University of Iowa, that’s all I ever heard. I didn’t even know Iowa State existed. I was a big Hawkeye fan. All my relatives had gone to the University of Iowa. My uncles had a ranch three hours away from Guadalajara, and I enjoyed being with livestock. My interest in agriculture, livestock, and my mother being from Iowa – then Iowa State was the place. When I came to Iowa State in 1985 and met with my adviser, she asked, “Are you pre-vet?” I just took 10 seconds and said, “Yes, I am!” That’s what planted that seed that, hey, this is something I should pursue. So I finished my animal science program, got into veterinary school, and graduated in 1993. From there I went to northwest Iowa to Cherokee and was in private practice for almost 11 years. How I came to work at Iowa State: I wanted to come back. It was literally one of those things where you wake up and you’re like hmmm…I’ve always wanted to be involved in teaching. So I had the opportunity to come back in 2005, and that’s when I worked on my master’s of public health and shortly thereafter started my Ph.D. and then had the opportunity to work in the teaching curriculum. A lot of things just fit perfectly at the right time. (Alex completed his Ph.D. at Iowa State in veterinary microbiology in 201 1.)

Scholarly pursues: The research I’m involved in is mostly related to infectious diseases in swine. One of the projects we’re currently working on is related to clostridium difficile [commonly known as C. diff], which can be a big problem on the human side. We’ve also done research with mycoplasma in pigs, which can generate joint or respiratory problems. First job: In college I worked at food service. The challenge there is when you do a good job they put you in jobs that need to be done that no one else wants to do. I did a good job mopping, taking garbage out, and washing dishes. The people who couldn’t mop good enough got to move up to become checkers. It didn’t bother me; I enjoyed it. It helped me pay my way through school. At home: Wife, Kathy; children Nico, 16; Katie, 13; and John, 10 Some people might not know: My grandfather was an M.D. He was the doctor in charge of the bull ring in Guadalajara. So as I grew up, he was THE doctor. He had a lot of connections; he was very well known. So I would go to the bullfights with him. I felt special, because every time we go I would get to sneak in with my grandfather. We’d go through the back door, and they’d open a path for us to walk by.

ALEJANDRO “ALEX” RAMIREZ: From Guadalajara to Ames, Iowa ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC & PRODUCTION ANIMAL MEDICINE, COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

What I teach: I have taught classes in clinical swine medicine, informatics, swine records, livestock disease prevention [for undergraduates], evidence-based medicine, and Spanish for Veterinarians, and I participate in the fourth-year clinical swine rotation.

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

BACK STORY:

I grew up in Houston. Got my B.S. in 1996 at Texas Christian University and a master’s in fashion design in 1999 at Texas Woman’s University. I taught at the Art Institute of Dallas and Texas Christian University. Then I went to the University of Minnesota and got a Ph.D. in design, housing & apparel in 2007. How I came to work at Iowa State: Iowa State has a very long history of being a leader in apparel and textiles. Even when I was getting my bachelor’s degree, a lot of the textbooks I used came from Iowa State. So in my mind, I sort of hold Iowa State up as a place where knowledge comes from. It’s that longstanding reputation. I joined the faculty here in fall 2012.

are sizing and fit, and so to me I look at this and say, “How can you rent formalwear? How can it possibly fit you?” A project I did in the fall was looking at apparel for women who are breastfeeding their babies. There’s all this push about the importance of breastfeeding, but nobody addresses the social aspect of it – your clothes have to work. I looked at what is available versus what are the needs. First job: I worked in my college theatre department down in the costume construction lab. They have a slew of techniques they use in costume design.

At home: Husband, Steven; one-year-old daughter, Madeleine How I balance teaching, research, and family: Well, we’re balanced, but how did we get there? It is a trick, I’ll tell you. I just try to be really organized. It’s all about blocking time. Some people might not know: For a year, I was the fashion editor for a magazine my friend was trying to start up.

What I teach: My main focus is on pattern making. It’s really the one flat-pattern-making course that our design and product development majors are required to have, so I feel like I’m responsible for making sure students have what they need to go on and be successful with their senior collection and then get a job. I really like pattern making. It’s a really good fit for me. About Iowa State students: These students here are very polite. Most of them come to class on time, well prepared, ready to go. There’s a small percentage that are not, but they’re very good students on the whole. They don’t complain. Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing. Students are always interesting. Especially in the fashion area, they always have some new thing they want to do, and I love helping them figure out how they’re going to do it. Scholarly pursuits: One project I’m working on right now is an analysis of the reviews of garments on a website called “Rent the Runway.” Basically, people are renting formalwear and returning it. There are extensive reviews. My areas of research

ELLEN MCKINNEY: The right fit ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, APPAREL, EVENTS & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT, COLLEGE OF HUMAN SCIENCES

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BACK STORY:

My hometown is Rochester, N.Y. I have a bachelor’s degree in design studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. That’s where I started teaching. I have done some form of teaching since then. My entire career has been in this line between teaching and practice. (David also received a master’s in industrial design in 1997 at North Carolina State University.) How I came to work at Iowa State: I came in August 2010 to start the industrial design program. At the time, I was the interim chair of industrial design at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga. I had seen this job posted; it was a brand new industrial design program. It started out for me as kind of an interesting sidebar, and the more I investigated the opportunity and the more serious I got about it, the more attractive it became. The first thing that attracted me to it was the ability to start a program from scratch. After leaving here from the interview process, I could see that this was going to be a good place to start a program. The table was set for success. Define industrial design: My own definition is, “It’s the systematic, creative activity that results in products, systems, and services to satisfy commercial goals.” To a lay person I would say, “Industrial design is the activity that creates the products and things you interact with every day.” Classes I teach: I have taught most of the [industrial design] classes. I started out teaching each of the studio classes. In our discipline, the studio is where the rubber meets the road. So it was an important place for me to interject my influence and work closely with mentoring the students. Then when we started the graduate program in 2011 I worked closely with the incoming class of graduate students. This [spring] semester I’m teaching the portfolio and professional practice class. About Iowa State students: We have THE most competitive program in the College of Design. Last year [we had] 185 applications for 36 slots. So [these students] are really talented and really, really, really want to be there. They’re highly motivated. They know that there are 150 other people who want their slots. I like that. When they come in, they are absolutely on fire. Our students are good to each other, and they’re great to work with. They just love the material. Between the beautiful studio environment that we have, the stateof-the-art shop equipment and visualization tools, the internship program, the sponsored projects, the study-abroad program, I am throwing everything I can at them to make them competitive and make sure they have the best possible education. These kids take full advantage. They come back for more. VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

DAVID RINGHOLZ: Set for success ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND CHAIR, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, COLLEGE OF DESIGN

They’re humble and earnest and grateful. They’re awesome to work with. So I keep giving ‘em more. At the end of spring 2013, we will graduate our first class ever from industrial design. About my artwork: [I worked with] partners [to develop a company called] “Thing Farm” [in Atlanta]. The concept was cultivating smart and beautiful objects. We wanted to be socially responsible, environmentally responsible, smart, quirky. We got into apparel, lighting, sustainable furniture, and retail display exhibits. Eventually it culminated in doing commercial interiors. First job: Movie usher. That was my first paying job. The very first work I did was with my dad. He was a house painter. You were the lead on the 2012 Smithsonian Foldlife Exhibit: Yes. It was an enormous and expansive undertaking. Iowa State was the only design school to have a proposal accepted. We wanted to do something really special…and I wanted to be

on that team. Starting in January of last year all the way through May when we did the open house, it was all Smithsonian all the time. It went from the casual meeting to meeting twice a week to eventually being completely consuming… It just barely came together by the media opening day. I was determined to drag it across the finish line. It took everything I had to make it happen. But [in May] the actual event hadn’t even started yet. We had to take it apart, we had to package it, we had to catalog it, we had to crate it, we had to put it on the truck, we still had to do all that work. And then we had to take it to D.C. and set it up and staff it for two weeks in the worst possible environment: triple-digit temperatures, dust, over the Fourth of July weekend, with a million-plus visitors. But it was wildly successful. It made the university look so good.

BACK STORY:

Grew up in Bucuramanga, Colombia. Earned a B.S. in architecture from St. Thomas University in Colombia in 2002. Moved to the U.S. 10 years ago to study English. Everything worked out, so I was able to get in the master’s program at University of Oklahoma, where my sister was also studying. I graduated in 2005 with a master’s in construction administration. I met my husband in Florida and taught there at a small college for working adults. Then we moved to Pella, Iowa. Why construction engineering? When I was a little kid we moved to a developing area so everything was growing up around us, buildings going up all the time. I always liked that. I wanted to be in that field. It’s a

field that not a lot of women feel attracted to. I think maybe [it’s because] you need to get dirty. You’re walking in mud, you have to wear your boots, you are not wearing dresses. If you’re the kind of woman who likes to be pretty all the time, it’s probably not your field. I like to be outdoors, so I like jobs that allow me to get out of the office. I also like construction because you really are involved with people a lot. You always have to be in communication with people; you have to talk about the ideas. All the challenges are different every day. That’s probably the most exciting part. How I came to Iowa State: I was working at Pella Corp. They needed engineers…but I needed more education. So I came to Iowa

State in summer 2012 to work on my Ph.D. in construction engineering, and I also became an adjunct instructor in the department. Life changer: I had the opportunity to work with a Red Cross project in Colombia, and that’s when I really started getting more involved in construction. Guerillas and the paramilitary had pushed the farmers to [undeveloped urban areas]. They left behind everything they had. So when they came to the cities they didn’t have the skills needed to live in the city, they didn’t have houses, they didn’t have money – they didn’t have anything. One of the projects was to bring water to the communities. We also built a multi-purpose building, which was a place they could have meetings. This was a big step. Now the community could get together and make decisions and have a leader. We also helped [provide] schools and bathrooms. What I teach: I teach ConE 421 Construction Estimating and ConE 222 Contractor Organization and Management of Construction. Scholarly pursuits: I’m pretty excited because I get to do my research on something that has to do with social interaction: social return on investment on transportation programs with the Iowa DOT. I’m looking at how they prioritize maintenance, looking at the economic impact, safety, all the risk assessment…. If they don’t maintain the roads, will the economy of the state be affected? We’re measuring the social impact of the project. It’s pretty cool. First job: I worked at a shoe store at age 15. The Christmas season was completely horrible and overwhelming! It was so busy, we were throwing the shoes everywhere. At home: Husband, Orin, who works for Vermeer and is the U.S. Navy Reserves; two daughters: Alison, 8, and Vanesa, 4

CATALINA MILLER: A new challenge every day

Some people might not know: I think one thing people sometimes don’t know: They think it’s easy to come here. Nobody really knows what you have to go through. In Colombia, people think if you’re here your family had a lot of money. People here think you have connections. I came here with a work visa. It was kind of tough. My family doesn’t have a lot of money. When I came here, I came with a very, very tight budget. I was actually working cleaning houses to get money for English classes in Oklahoma. I worked hard, but at the same time I had a lot of people helping me. When you come here and somebody asks to help you, you don’t say no. You need all the support that you can have.

ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR, CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

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BACK STORY:

Grew up in Philadelphia. Received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Tufts University in 2001, a master’s in statistics at University of California San Diego in 2006, and a Ph.D. in economics in 2009 at UC San Diego. How I came to Iowa State: I finished grad school at UC San Diego in 2009 and I was looking for a job. Iowa State was the most appealing. It seemed like a really good department. Everyone was really pleasant, really nice. It seemed like a good research environment. What I teach: I teach Principles of Macroeconomics, Econ 102. It’s an introlevel class. And I co-teach Econ 674, a Ph.D. class in macroeconometrics. Typically in the fall I teach another Ph.D. class, an intro to statistical methods for economists. Scholarly pursuits: A lot of the stuff that I’ve been working on is kind of abstract, because it’s less about actually understanding macroeconomics but it’s really more about understanding the sorts of statistics and statistical methods that people use in macroeconomics. A few of the projects I’m working on now are looking at “If you had a few different forecasting models what would be the right way for picking one of them?” The focus is on the methodology instead of the actual modeling. Blog? I do have a blog. Doesn’t everybody? It’s a sports statistics blog: pseudotrue.com. I spend way too much time thinking about sports. Working with students: I like working with college students. The nice thing about college (and I appreciate this more now that I’m no longer in college) is that you really have so few responsibilities except just to learn as much as you can. I think a lot of the students really take that seriously and try to understand things. It’s fun to help with that. At home: Wife, Jess, and three children: Blair, 4, and twins Nathan and Alice, 18 months Life changer: The twins were born three months early. They were born on Jan. 26, 2012 and were due in April. They were in the NICU for a while, obviously. Alice came home on supplemental oxygen. They’re both doing really well now. Alice started crawling [in the

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GRAY CALHOUN: Balancing act ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES

spring]. It was funny, because Nate had been crawling awhile, and you could tell that she was jealous. She would watch him crawling around and she would get upset. She was proud of herself when she could start chasing after him. How I balance teaching, research, and family: I don’t know. I don’t sleep enough, which is probably not a great

strategy. I don’t know if I pull this off, but the trick is to minimize the other stuff that you’re doing so you don’t waste time: stuff other than family or physical health or research or teaching. And then just try to be disciplined. When I’m home, I’m home; when I’m at work, I’m at work; when everyone’s asleep, I work again.

LOIS WRIGHT MORTON: ‘It’s a privilege to farm’ PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES

BACK STORY:

Grew up in Pierpont, Ohio (in northeast Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border 20 miles south of Lake Erie). My mom and dad farmed. Received an M.S. in home economics education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1972, an M.S. in consumer studies from Syracuse University, N.Y., in 1977, and a Ph.D. in 1998 in development sociology from Cornell University. How I came to work at Iowa State: I was working in New York at Cornell University in the College of Human Ecology as a cooperative extension specialist. An Iowa State professor called and said, “Lois, somebody said you’re the person we should be hiring for this job.” Yeah, OK. So I sent in my application and interviewed. It was just great to be in a department with so many sociologists, so it was a fun interview. I hadn’t taken it very seriously because I was OK where I was, but they offered me the job, and my husband and son (a junior in high school) said, “Sure, we’ll go with you.” That was in August of 1999. What I do: I have a 50% research/50% extension appointment. Through both of those appointments I am carrying about $29 million worth of grants. Last fall I had eight graduate students. Scholarly pursuits: I work with the Climate and Corn-based Cropping System project. We’ve done a random-sample survey of 5,000 farmers in the upper Midwest … asking questions about water, tillage, cover crops, tiling, and other agricultural practices. I’m very interested in the practical aspects of science, why people do the things they do, and what are those factors that might influence them. That translates directly into Extension work. What kind of information do people need to know that would improve their decision making? The importance of ISU Extension: Extension is just extraordinarily important in how we connect the kinds of science we’re doing to the general public – whether it’s parenting, nutrition, or helping planning commissions or community leaders make really good decisions. Part of the work we’ve done historically out of sociology really is leadership development in rural communities, because it’s pretty clear that when you have a critical mass of leaders in a community they have a capacity to do far more than just one individual person. The role of Extension really is to be sure that science is inserted in our everyday lives so that quality of life is improved. 18

Working with students: I don’t teach classes, but I have a graduate student lab and we share sociological theories and we talk about our methods and work through problems we’re having. The great thing is that they learn from each other. It’s a really nice opportunity for them to learn collaborative science. I like lots of things about working with graduate students. They have such fresh ideas and really great perspectives. (Note: Lois recently received the Department of Sociology’s Graduate Mentor Award.) First job: Well, I grew up on a sheep farm. My job was feeding the sheep, putting up hay, doing all the things you do on a family farm. I did that from the time I was old enough to go out and follow Mom and Dad around. When we got older, Dad paid us as field hands. My first job “off farm” was between my senior year of high school and college. I worked at a camp in the Adirondacks in upstate New York, cleaning cabins.

On the side: Back in New York state, my husband and I had 30 acres and we raised red raspberries, asparagus, cut flowers, and chrysanthemums. When we moved here (to rural Colo) we bought 10 acres. The soil is awesome. Just as awesome as everybody says. But he passed away two years after we moved here. I’ve been so busy that all I do is a really big garden. And I have honeybees. I give honey away to everybody. Some people might not know: I come from what I think is at least a 10- or 11-generation farm family, and that is super important. I just think farming is one of the most important occupations this country has. It’s a privilege to be able to be a farmer, to be able to work with the land, the soil, to put those ingredients together and to watch things grow. I just feel very fortunate to have been brought up by parents who really valued the land.

Family ties: Six grown children: 5 girls and one boy, and 6 grandchildren SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

BACK STORY:

Originally from Tolland, Conn. Earned a B.A. in biology in 2000 from Bard College in upstate New York. After I got my Ph.D. in 2009 at the University of Illinois, I did a post-doc at Penn State from 2009 to 2010. I’ve been on faculty here for three years. How I came to Iowa State: The main connection was through my husband initially. He’s a faculty member in agronomy. We were both on the job market and there was an opening here in agronomy. He ended up getting the job offer, and I was really pleased to see that they had not only an entomology department but also an ecology and evolution department because those are my two academic homes. Luckily I had some really supportive people in EEOB. They ended up giving me an adjunct position for the first year that I was here; they gave me a lab and some start-up funds. [Eventually I] was able to negotiate a tenure-track position. What I teach: I have taught three classes so far. One was a seminar-type course on the topic of evolution and creationism. Then there were two graduate classes: One was geared toward organismal biologists; the other was working with students on the computational side. Next semester I will be

teaching an introductory course on animal behavior, which is my first love. Scholarly pursuits: I’m interested in wasps because they are social. Honeybees are kind of the famous example of a social animal. They’re really fascinating, and people try to compare human society to honeybee society. But paper wasps, I think, are more parallel to humans in a way. They live in slightly smaller groups, so it’s more like a tribal setting where they know each and every individual. Another aspect of their biology that I think is more similar to humans is that they fight with each other. They do cooperate – most of the time. There are queens, and there are workers, but they are always fighting with each other over the chance to become the queen. Every wasp knows its position in the hierarchy: who’s above them, who’s below them. They have a lot to keep track of. One thing we’re looking at is the difference between queens and workers. That’s sort of the fundamental question. The queen is more behaviorally dominant, more aggressive, laying all the eggs, staying on the nest. The workers have to go off and hunt for food, then they have to feed the offspring of the queen. It’s really dangerous having to go out and forage. Nobody wants to be a subordinate worker because they have to do all the dirty work.

Is a wasp born a queen: No. They’re all born the same. Any egg can become a queen or worker; it depends on the environment it’s raised in. We’re really interested in the impact of the environment on the developmental outcome. This is actually a really hot topic in human biology. Why insects? I was always interested in animals as a kid. I’ve just always really enjoyed watching animals do what they do. I love spending time outdoors. Probably the highlight of my whole childhood was catching frogs and crayfish and things down by the brook by my grandparents’ house. My mom always said, “You should study animal behavior.” I always thought, “Yeah, but you can’t do that as a job.” And it turns out you CAN do that as a job. At home: Husband, Fernando Miguez; sons Felix, 5, and Leo, 11 months How I balance teaching and research and family: You feel like your life is really crazy sometimes, and you wake up in the morning and you’re like, “All right, I have a hundred things to do today.” But instead of feeling beaten down and overwhelmed, you just have to have this attitude like, “I’m superwoman. I’m really gonna kick some butt today.” So think it’s just having a positive outlook. Some people might not know: If I weren’t a scientist I probably would be a musician. I really enjoy classical music. First job: Besides babysitting... I had a job at a diner, the Track Nine Diner. I washed dishes there and got paid $3.75 an hour. It was a terrible place to work. Practical advice about wasps and bees: Keep calm. When we work with bees, we move very slowly. We try not to bump things around. They respond to vibrations. Stinging insects are not aggressive; they’re defensive. They’re not out to get you. When a bee or wasp is foraging on a flower or on your food or if it’s in your car, the last thing it wants to do is sting you. They only sting when they’re in their nest. So don’t be afraid if there’s a bee on your food. Just try not to bite it. I’ve done that before, and it’s very uncomfortable.

AMY TOTH: Wasps like us ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION & ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY AND DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES

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The greatest W

hen the trustees offered William Beardshear the presidency of Iowa Agricultural College in January 1891, the job that lay before him was an unenviable one. The 1880s had been difficult years at the college. Since the arrival of the first students on campus in 1868, the faculty had been deeply divided over the very kind of education that IAC should offer. Strong elements in the faculty, supported by important agricultural interests in the state, believed that since IAC was founded as an agricultural college, it should focus on teaching a strictly agricultural curriculum. This group

of faculty and their supporters contended that the teaching of a “broad curriculum” that included engineering, science, English literature, and history was not part of IAC’s mission. In fact, some faculty even held that women had no place on campus or in higher education. The pro-agricultural faculty revolted against President Adonijah Welch in 1873 and, although he and his “broad curriculum” weathered that storm, these faculty members bided their time and succeeded in driving Welch from the presidency in 1883. Yet, having seized control of IAC’s administration, this group of faculty soon faced the reality that the vast majority of the

students had no wish to pursue degrees in agriculture. Thus, the pro-agriculturalist faculty could not do away with the very curriculum that they loathed without destroying the institution. Welch’s two immediate successors served only briefly. Seaman Knapp, after only a year as president, left the college for agricultural demonstration work in the South; Leigh S.J. Hunt’s “executive government” approach offended students and faculty alike. Like Knapp, Hunt submitted his resignation after only one year of service. Seeking stability, the trustees chose William Chamberlain to be the college president in 1886. An Ohio native,

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How one man – and one little train – transformed Iowa State University By Douglas Biggs

Chamberlain possessed a distinguished record as a farmer and had served as Ohio’s secretary of agriculture. Judging from Chamberlain’s career both before and after his time at IAC, there is no doubt that he possessed great skill in administration and that he effectively worked with and managed groups of individuals who held divergent views. But there is also no doubt that during his four years at IAC these same skills completely deserted him. Chamberlain entered the presidency committed to a “broad curriculum” based on science and engineering in addition to agriculture, but the ongoing faculty divisions over curriculum were rapidly supplemented by problems of

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space on campus and the isolation of IAC. As student numbers grew in the later years of the 1880s, the numbers of buildings to house them did not. The closest town was Ames, with just over 1,100 people, but it lay two miles away across the Squaw Creek. The only street linking IAC to Ames was little more than a mud track before it was paved in the 1920s. In times of heavy rain the road became impassable, and when heavy snow fell the college could be isolated from town for weeks at a time. President Chamberlain was keenly aware of these issues and annually asked the legislature to approve funds for new dormitory space. His requests,

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT / IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

decade

In the 155 years of Iowa State University’s existence, the decade of the 1890s was arguably the most significant in the history of the institution. In these years, Iowa Agricultural College (as it was then known) underwent a metamorphosis from a tiny agricultural school with barely 300 students to Iowa State College, an internationally known institution of higher education with nearly 1,000 students. One overarching factor helping to drive this transformation was the culture of the country itself. Contemporaries labeled this period as the “Progressive Age,” a time in American history marked by an almost universal desire for economic, scientific, technological, and material growth to enhance the lives of all Americans. However, broad socio-economic forces only go so far. History is ultimately about people and the organizations that they create. And in the case of Iowa Agricultural College and the city of Ames in The campus as it looked in 1892: the 1890s, one individual and Outstanding structures included The Main Building (“Old Main”) one organization stand out. and Morrill Hall. This is their story.

however, fell on deaf legislative ears and the college was forced to convert seemingly every nook and cranny in existing structures into housing for students and faculty. Without sufficient housing or a rapid-transit system to alleviate the pressure, the campus soon became over-crowded with administration, faculty, and students living on top of one another. The passions aroused by living in such cramped conditions for weeks and months on end were accentuated by a draconian code of conduct pressed onto the student body by the president. Chamberlain’s insistence on discipline (he had cards entitled “The Rules”

posted on the door of every dorm room), stern punishments for even the most minor transgression, and long sermons during compulsory chapel services regarding recalcitrant behavior, earned him almost universal student disdain. By the time IAC graduated the class of 1890 in November of that year, relations between the president and the students were strained to the breaking point. Few things could have been more embarrassing for President Chamberlain – or more telling as to how volatile relationships on campus were – than standing at the chapel rostrum in Old Main packed with parents, friends, alumni, the trustees, and the governor as the featured commencement speaker, only to find the entire graduating class had “bolted.” The students also sent a petition to the trustees outlining the president’s transgressions as they saw them. The trustees found the situation alarming enough to take rapid and summary action. They immediately sought Chamberlain’s resignation and set out to find a successor. The people’s president The man they chose was William Miller Beardshear. Born in Ohio in 1850, Beardshear had become president of Western College in Toledo, Iowa,

William M. Beardshear was hired to lead Iowa Agricultural College in 1891 when he was just 40 years old.

at the age of 31. He was one of the youngest college presidents in the country at that time, but he stood out as an individual of unquestioned ability – and one whose qualities did not go unnoticed by important individuals in the state. At a time when IAC needed inspired leadership, they found it in the person of “Prexy,” as the students affectionately called him. Beardshear was only 40 when he became president of IAC, but he possessed the physical energy and skills necessary to succeed in his new position. He was a tall man at over six feet in height; he possessed a deep, powerful voice, and he had a type of physical presence that left an impression on all who met him. His friend Louis Pammel described him as “one

The decision to build the Marston Water Tower came in 1895, one year after a severe water shortage forced the cancellation of classes. It was the first elevated steel water tower west of the Mississippi.

bove everything else, in less than 10 years he [William Beardshear] transformed a physically and educationally isolated college, with a deeply divided faculty and a student body in open rebellion, into one of the most vibrant educational institutions in the upper Midwest, if not the nation. of the most tolerant men I ever met,” and this feature of Beardshear’s personality would be tested time and again by students, colleagues, and the legislature. One of William Beardshear’s most obvious contributions to the college was as a builder. Indeed, what we now call “central campus” is a product of his vision. He understood that “buildings and improvements talk without words,” and he placed major building projects where they would have the greatest visual impact. It was he who determined the locations for Catt Hall, Marston Hall, the Marston Water Tower, Margaret Hall (now long gone),

Margaret Hall, a women’s dormitory accommodating about 100 women, was located near where LeBaron Hall now stands. Built in 1895, Margaret Hall was destroyed by fire in 1938.

and the Campanile. Most of these new structures, along with the remodeling of many existing ones to meet the needs of his growing campus community, were all funded in the middle of the long depression following the Panic of 1893, when state monies were especially difficult to acquire. Beardshear’s successes, however, were not confined to mortar and brick. He made common cause with his faculty and, in concert with them, transformed the curriculum of the college to fit the needs of a modern, progressive state and nation. Although the conflicts that characterized the 1880s did not pass easily, the president worked hard to build a “People’s College” that offered a broad-based curriculum including engineering, science, and the liberal arts.

SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

Female students in Old Main, 1892.

As he treated his faculty as colleagues, he treated his students as adults. He allowed them to make choices in dealing with important matters and then, as any adult would, when necessary reminded them of their decision. Beardshear knew that a quiet, well-placed word of his own personal disappointment at the actions of a recalcitrant group of students, a meeting to “give advice” to groups of students, or his “words to the wise” that he would post or announce, were worth a dozen well-rehearsed tirades from the pulpit in chapel on Sunday morning, or a thousand printed cards with “The Rules” on them. Beardshear believed that physical activity needed to be part of the regular curriculum, and he worked diligently to make athletics part of the college life of IAC. In 1892 the college first participated in intercollegiate athletics. Befitting Beardshear’s ambitions he sought out the most well-respected football man in the country to coach his team – Glenn “Pop” Warner. Even though coaching commitments at other institutions meant that Warner could only coach the Cyclones several weeks a year, IAC amassed an 18-8 record over the five years he served as head coach. Being the son of a pastor and having trained for the ministry himself, William Beardshear was a deeply religious man. His was a deeply intellectual faith, where touching the mind of the divine represented humanity’s ultimate goal. He passionately argued for what he called the “three h’s of education:” head, heart, and hand. Of these three, Beardshear believed the heart stood supreme because the heart “sees farther than the eye, feels more deeply than the

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

hand, and understands more profoundly than the brain.” Beardshear believed that elocution and poetry served as key elements in education, and he encouraged their use on campus. Beardshear’s work on campus was mirrored by his tireless efforts in advancing the cause of his college across the state and the nation. He traveled the state regularly, giving more than 100 lectures and presentations a year – from commencement addresses in high schools to public lectures in the largest cities and the smallest towns – extolling the virtues of Iowa State. He took on important positions in state agricultural organizations to increase awareness of ISC across the state. He took an active role in the Iowa State Teachers Association. Beardshear understood that he could not reach every citizen in Iowa with his lectures, so he invited the

tudents at Iowa Agricultural College in these years considered the Dinkey as much a part of their college experience as classes, institutional food (which, not surprisingly, they hated), and exams. citizens of Iowa to come to his college. He negotiated special fares with the major rail carriers in the state so that on certain days Iowans could come to Ames and visit his college, his faculty, and his students. In 1898 he organized the first of many Excursion Days: gala events and show days that attracted thousands of Iowans to the “People's College.” Above everything else, in less than 10 years he transformed a physically and educationally isolated college, with a deeply divided faculty and a student body in open rebellion, into one of the most vibrant educational institutions in the upper Midwest, if not the nation. Through his gentle wisdom, broad smile, and easy-going

manner, William Beardshear made his faculty, students, and alumni proud of themselves and of their institution, and, in turn, they loved him for it. The little train that changed everything Of all the people, concepts, and things that Beardshear blended together to transform his college, one of the most significant was the Motor Line – as contemporaries called it – or “The Dinkey.” This little steam tram was the brainchild of two senior electrical engineering students, James Bramhall and Charles Davidson, who, throughout their senior year of 1890, worked on a joint thesis that proposed the construction of an electric railroad between Ames and IAC. Though they woefully underestimated the cost, in July 1891 the Motor Line opened for regular business. In a moment, Ames – with its train station, and thus the rest of the country – that had been hours away down a dirt track was now only eight minutes away. In spite of derailments, breakdowns, and continual maintenance issues, the Dinkey operated on a regular schedule for the last six

The Motor Line (better known as “The Dinkey”) provided transportation between Ames and the Iowa State campus beginning in 1891. This image shows The Dinkey as it looked in 1906.

months of 1891, hauling nearly 40,000 passengers. The Motor Line also figured prominently in the progressive plans of President Beardshear. He knew that the little train was the only reliable method of transportation between Ames and IAC and, as such, it would carry tens of thousands of passengers to his campus each year. In fact, Beardshear himself determined the final positioning of the

A young woman from Atlantic Edna Meek and Iowa Agricultural College, 1893-1894

hen the institution that we know as ISU first opened its doors in the autumn of 1868, it was one of the few institutions of higher education in the United States that educated young women on the same footing as young men. Only two women had been part of the first graduating class of Iowa Agricultural College (I.A.C.) in 1872, but by 1890 the number of young women on campus had grown significantly. One of them, a young woman from Atlantic by the name of Edna Meek, had a profound impact on her classmates and on the college during her time at I.A.C. The college, in turn, had a transformative impact on her. When Edna came to Iowa Agricultural College as a freshman that spring term in 1893, upperclassmen looked upon underclassmen with disdain, and freshmen rarely found themselves in any kind of leadership positions. The social situation may have been even more challenging for a young woman who, like her name, was meek. But Edna took to life at the small college and soon involved herself in college activities. One of the groups Edna joined her freshman year was the We Hear Society, an unofficial college group intended to boost self-esteem among its members. In spite of her shyness, or perhaps to face it, Edna also

joined the all-female Cliolian Literary Society. Through her membership in the Cliolian, Edna Meek discovered that she possessed a gift for oratory. The society actually chose her over their upper-class members to compete in the college Declamatory Contest in June 1893. Edna stands out as the only freshman chosen to compete. Her talents for writing matched her skills in oratory. She penned a poem for the 1894 Bomb, wrote original songs, and, by the end of 1893 became one of the editors of the I.A.C. Student newspaper. By her sophomore year, Edna had become a young woman, meek no longer, and blooming intellectually and socially. She continued as a member of the I.A.C. Student’s editorial board and, in March, represented the Clios in an all-college debate. The six debaters included only one woman and only one underclassman: Edna Meek on both counts. If Edna Meek attended Iowa State today, she would almost certainly be featured in the Catt Center’s “Women Impacting ISU” calendar; she clearly had a deep impact on the I.A.C. community. Sadly, in the middle of her sophomore year, her college career came to an abrupt end. Edna’s widowed mother, owner of a dressmaker’s shop in Atlantic, found herself financially strapped in the wake of the worst

Edna Meek is shown in this group photo of the I.A.C. Student newspaper staff. She is on the floor, bottom right, holding the scissors.

economic downturn in American history before the Great Depression, known to contemporaries as the Panic of 1893. She had no money for Edna to pursue her education. What Edna might have become had not the depression forced her to leave school is anyone’s guess. When historians discuss the Panic of 1893 they speak in broad terms of businesses failing or of investors being economically ruined, but they rarely address the impact on individuals, especially college students. In the case of Edna Meek, the Panic of the 1893 took much more from her than a job; it robbed her of her dream. Even though Edna Meek did not graduate from I.A.C., her experiences on campus and the education she received at the nation’s first landgrant institution greatly affected the rest of her life. When it came time for Edna’s daughter Wilma to pursue higher education, she followed in her mother’s footsteps, attending the school in Ames by that time known as Iowa State College. Wilma graduated in 1928 and returned to teach school in Atlantic. Edna Meek’s story is in some ways bittersweet, but it provides a glimpse of life at Iowa State during its greatest decade, the 1890s, and a look into the life of one of that college community’s most extraordinary members – a young woman from Atlantic. SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

Ames College Railway’s route across campus to ensure that the passengers in the cars received the maximum visual impact of the model farm, stately academic buildings, and central campus. The Dinkey allowed Beardshear to move increasing numbers of students off campus to live in boarding houses and faculty to live in what they called “east Ames.” This eased the overcrowded conditions on campus and brought the city and college together as one community. Just as the Motor Line took students and townspeople to Ames and beyond, it brought the outside world to IAC. The college soon began to host regional and statewide conferences. The flow of students from campus into Ames to live, shop, and play brought a boom time to Ames throughout 1892. The existence of the Motor Line also allowed for the city to take the fateful step of annexing the land around the college into the city limits in 1892. This action on the part of the city had farreaching consequences. Annexation saw the city’s population rise to more than 2,000, which, in turn, allowed Ames to rise to the status of a “second class city.” The new status meant more resources from the state and county flowed into Ames, but annexation also brought an educated and affluent community of faculty and students into the ranks of Ames’ citizenry. It was not long before IAC faculty began to seek election to the Ames City Council, and it was also not long before groups of students came before the City Council with petitions seeking change. Over the 16 years of its existence from 1891 to 1907, the train carried more than 2.1 million passengers between Ames and Iowa State along with nearly all of the materials used to build the new structures that were added to campus in these years. But one of the most important aspects of the history of the Motor Line turns on the sentimentality that the little train produced in the minds of townspeople and students. The Ames newspapers made the Dinkey’s employees into local celebrities and chronicled great and small events on the Motor Line with enthusiasm. The Dinkey became such a part of the daily routine of the students in the 1890s that they,

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

too, chronicled its daily life in the student newspaper. Students at IAC in these years considered the Dinkey as much a part of their college experience as classes, institutional food (which, not surprisingly, they hated), and exams. An irreparable loss Throughout the later 1890s as the nation’s economy recovered, ISC’s enrollment grew. By the turn of the century it had grown to nearly 1,000 students with no end in sight. In this brief time William Beardshear had accomplished much, but his vision for the future was bold and clear. He wanted to change ISC from a largely residential campus to one where the students lived off campus on its fringes or downtown. He wanted the older buildings that had housed both

hat Iowa State College would have become in the next decade had William Beardshear lived is anyone’s guess.

students and academic units replaced with proper classroom buildings to accommodate the growing number of students attending ISC. He told the trustees in one of his annual reports in the late 1890s that the students who attended the “People’s College” should expect and receive the same level of education along with the services to support them as if they attended the University of Iowa. The burning of the north wing of The Main Building in December 1900 allowed the president to make a case to the legislature for a new central building to replace what was left of The Main. Not only was Beardshear’s planned building massive in size and stature, he estimated the cost to be a staggering $262,000. Outside of the Capitol building in Des Moines, no other public building to that point in the history of the state had cost that much money. What ISC would have become in the next decade had William Beardshear lived is anyone’s guess. The president

suffered a serious heart attack in March 1902 and endured increasing ill health for the next five months. His friends and colleagues watched over him until the end, which came early in the morning on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 1902. The Ames Intelligencer noted that, “In his death Ames and Iowa suffer an almost irreparable loss.” As William Beardshear wished, students carried his casket to its final resting place in the Iowa State cemetery. The newspapers of the time noted that the grand structures he had worked so tirelessly to build on his campus would stand as a lasting testimonial to Beardshear’s labors and memory. But it was in the decades immediately after his passing, through the lives of the students that he mentored, that his legacy was the strongest. Their devotion to Prexy’s memory was unquestioned. M. L. Merritt, the student speaker at commencement in 1904, gave a eulogy of the late president for his senior address, and when Central Hall was completed in 1906, both students and alumni called for it to be named after William Beardshear. Much like those who wished the football stadium to be named after Jack Trice in the 1970s, our predecessors at the turn of the last century had to wait to see their wishes fulfilled. Finally, in 1938, the Board of Regents yielded to the pressure and named the titanic structure after the man who had done so much to build it. Yet, William Beardshear’s greatest legacy does not lie in mortar and brick, or even in the lives of those he mentored who are now long gone, but rather in what he helped Iowa State become. His achievement of transforming a small, deeply divided agricultural school of little significance into the “People’s College,” teaching a broad curriculum, offering degrees on the same level as the University of Iowa, and of an institution with national and international standing cast a long shadow. It is with us yet. The son of an Iowa State geology professor, Douglas Biggs spent much of his youth exploring the campus and later earned both a B.A. and M.A. in history from ISU. He also holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Minnesota. Biggs is currently an associate professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Florida As part of the ongoing VISIONS Across America project, VISIONS is featuring alumni that photographer Jim Heemstra and writer Carole Gieseke encounter on their travels across the country. In February 2013, they met with alumni in Florida. Follow Jim and Carole as they travel at www. visionsacrossamerica.com; com; to read more stories or post your own, go to www.isualum.org/visionsacrossamerica.

 Brenda Marlow: Sunshine in a glass What could possibly be more “Florida” than orange juice? The state of Florida produces 67 percent of all U.S. oranges and accounts for 40 percent of the world’s orange juice supply. Next to tourism, citrus production is one of the top moneymakers for the state. Tropicana buys 30 percent of all oranges grown in Florida. The Tropicana plant in Bradenton, Fla., processes 50 million oranges a day. That translates into a million gallons of orange juice. Brenda Lanning Marlow (L) (’88 consumer food science) is a manager in manufacturing at Tropicana, where she’s worked in a variety of positions 26

for the past 21 years. She’s a quality control expert, working to roll out new products, keep production costs down, and improve efficiencies in the manufacturing process. During our visit to the plant in midFebruary, Brenda gave us a tour of just a small part of the huge, 285-acre plant, including the fruit-receiving area where truck after truck filled with fresh-smelling oranges pulled in and dumped their loads. A Marshalltown, Iowa, native, Brenda is an avid Cyclone sports fan, as evidenced by her office decorated with Iowa State posters and other paraphernalia (“I really didn’t do this for the photos,” she insists.

“It always looks like this. Just ask my co-workers.”) She’s also the president of the ISU Alumni Association Club of Tampa. As we prepared to leave, Brenda gave each of us two cold cartons of orange juice to drink on the road. And then she mentioned, as if it were no big deal, a huge personal accomplishment: She recently lost more than 90 pounds and has begun organizing Weight Watchers meetings for a group of co-workers, resulting in more than 100 pounds of weight loss within the group just over the first few weeks. That’s truly impressive leadership. Brenda is married to Steven Marlow and has two stepchildren, Joshua and Rachel. SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

 Rafael Perez-Micheli & Bridget Moore:

A perfect match

By Carole Gieseke Photography by Jim Heemstra VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

At first glance, Rafael Perez-Micheli and Bridget Moore (L) seem like total opposites. Bridget (’02 English) grew up in Ames, Iowa, the daughter of “hippie” parents. She was a “nature girl” who loved to get her hands dirty, to go camping, and to crawl under things looking for salamanders. Rafi, as he prefers to be called, (’97 art & design, ’03 graphic design) grew up in a large city in Puerto Rico, the son of conservative parents. He’d only been to the United States once before enrolling at ISU: to visit Disney World. And he’d never seen snow. The two met in the unlikeliest of places: Hickory Park Restaurant in Ames. Bridget was an on-again-off-again college student working as a waitress; Rafi was following in his sisters’ footsteps attending Iowa State and was working as a cook. Their home in Sanford, Fla., is the perfect mix of their backgrounds: Its size, downtown area, and vibe remind Bridget of Ames. The summer heat reminds Rafi of Puerto Rico. They both agree that they “love everything about this town.” Sanford is home to an annual film festival, monthly juried art shows and street parties, funky bars and restaurants, art galleries, theatres, a farmers market, and antiques stores.

“The town is disgustingly cute,” Bridget says, laughing. “It’s an oddball town, with musicians and artists and creatives going in a hipster direction.” The couple has been together 16 years and married for 10; they moved to Sanford in 2004. Bridget, who has a master’s in English with a technical writing focus from the University of Central Florida, is a proposal development supervisor for Akimeka, LLC, an IT services firm. Akimeka has multiple office locations; Bridget works in the corporate office in Maitland, Fla., just north of Orlando. Rafi is an art director for the mobile technologies department of Bonnier Corporation, which is owned by the Swedish Bonnier Group. He works at the Winter Park location of Bonnier Corp. When Jim and I visited them on a Saturday in mid-February, they were shopping for fresh produce at a farmers market in downtown Sanford. It was such a nice change of pace from central Iowa in the winter to see fresh okra, avocadoes, strawberries, cabbage, radishes, beets, and kale. Both Rafi and Bridget eat a healthy diet: Rafi recently ran his first Disney Half Marathon, and Bridget finds a wide variety of gluten-free foods in Sanford’s restaurants, bakeries, and markets.

cardinal gold N

Photos by Jim Heemstra

early 340 Iowa Staters painted the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines cardinal and gold on April 6, 2013 to provide support for first-generation student scholarships and student and alumni outreach programming. The second annual Cardinal & Gold Gala netted almost $60,000 from the auctions, raffle ticket sales, benefactors, and outright gifts. Coordinated by the ISU Alumni Association, the formal event consisted of a program, dinner, and dancing, in addition to the auctions that featured unique Iowa State-themed items, travel packages, and special offers. With the success of this year’s gala and special gifts from Sustaining Life donors, more than $140,000 has been raised during the last two years, with $61,000 of this amount going toward the Cardinal & Gold Endowed Scholarship Fund. The remainder has been earmarked for strengthening and establishing student and alumni outreach programs and efforts. The first six Cardinal & Gold Scholarships were awarded in 2012 to the following first-generation college students attending Iowa State:

Gala

✿ Joshua Carlson (mathematics), Burlington, Iowa ✿ Rosa Ko (supply chain management), Ames, Iowa ✿ Trevor Martens (animal science), Dubuque, Iowa ✿ Amanda Miller (child, adult, & family services), Ames, Iowa

Dinner in the ballroom of the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center

✿ Jonathon Saunders (software engineering), Bondurant, Iowa ✿ Megan Trader (elementary education), Columbus Junction, Iowa

(Above) ISU associate vice president and chief of staff Miles Lackey (A) with honorary co-chair John Shors (L) (’59 electrical engineering). (Right) Auction Committee co-chairs Susie Mortimer (L) (’87 marketing) and Angie Lookingbill (L) (’93 marketing).

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(Clockwise from upper left) Seated, left to right: Michele Whitty (A) (’79 leisure services), Steve Whitty (A) (’78 pol sci), Ted Oberlander (L) (’77 acct & indust engr), and Al Oberlander (L) (’75 architecture, M.Arch ’78). Standing: ISUAA President Jeff Johnson (L), Peggy Johnson (L), Cardinal & Gold Scholar Megan Trader, and Corey Trader; Mark Salem (L) (’80 English) and Laurel Salem (L) enjoy passed hors d’oeuvres during the cocktail hour; Gala attendees view auction items during the VIP Party; Julie Blake (L) (’78 phys ed) was the winner of the ISU football pendant necklace donated by Josephs Jewelers, one of two raffle drawings during the Gala.

ISU director of equal opportunity Robin Kelley, ISU vice president for extension and outreach Cathann Kress (A) (’83 social work), ISU senior vice president for student affairs Tom Hill (A), Al Jennings (L) (’56 engineering), Scott Walker, Ann Jennings (L) (’56 textiles & clothing), Janet Leath (L), and ISU President Steven Leath (L).

Save the date!

Next year’s Cardinal & Gold Gala will be held Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 (Valentine’s Day!) at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, Des Moines

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

Dancing to the music of Flipside

View photos from the Gala: isualum.org/gala

(Above) Andrea Hammes Dodge (L) (’01 journ/mass comm) and Justin Dodge (L) (’01 finance) pose with Cy. (Left) SALC volunteers.

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS 2013 Honorary Gala Co-Chairs John (’59) and Patsy Shors**# Steve (’78) and Michele (’79) Whitty* 2013 Auction Committee Co-chair: Angie Lookingbill (’93)**# Co-chair: Susie Mortimer (’87)** Julie Blake (’78)**# Azure Christensen (’01)** Gene Dreyer** Stacy Dreyer** Colleen Good** Kari Hensen (’96)* Steffany Mohan** Julie Schwalbe (’87)** Evan Stadlman (’74)**# Nancy Thompson (’81)** Kristi Tomlinson (’83)** Theresa Uchytil-Etler (’98)** Lori Vande Krol (’93)**# Kim Zieser (’86) 2013 Benefactor & Table Host Committee Janice Coble (’78)**# Tim Coble (’77)**# Kevin Drury (’83)**#

Jon Fleming (’75)**# Daryl Metzger (’76)**# Kitty Metzger**# Derick Tallman (’07) Deb Tharnish (’77)** Dwayne Vande Krol (’93)**# 2013 BENEFACTORS Bells of Iowa State ($5,000) Anonymous Donation Bank of America Merrill Lynch Colorfx and Catchfire Media Davis Brown Law Firm Campanile ($2,500) Mary Greeley Medical Center McFarland Clinic PC & Dr. Jon Fleming (’75)**# Nyemaster Goode, P.C. Rueter’s Equipment Companies Sigler Companies Steve (’78) and Michele (’79) Whitty* Cyclone ($1,250) Lora and Russ Talbot** MODUS Wells Fargo

Cardinal & Gold Couple ($500) Mark (’79) and Ann (’78) Aljets* Robert (’92) and Kerry Walter-Ashby (’92)** Mark (’77) and Julie (’78) Blake**# Chet (’76) and Joy (’76) Boruff** Greg (’88) and Brenda (’86) Cushing* Craig (’71) and Barb (’71) Foss**# Jeff and Peggy Johnson**# Michael (’77) and Carrie (’77) Thrall** Dwayne (’93) and Lori (’93) Vande Krol**# Cardinal & Gold Individual ($250) Jeff Lott (’86)**

Andy (’98) & Jenny (’97) Lashier** / Bob (’84) & Anne (’84) Lashier MidAmerican Energy Company Scott (’87) and Susie (’87) Mortimer** Kirk (’81) and Sara (’81) Nelson* Don (’80) and Laurie Nickerson* Nyemaster Goode, P.C. Larry (’73) and Pam Pithan** Ryan (’95) and Meg (’98) Schon** The Schwalbe Family Evan (’74) and Becky (’74) Stadlman**# Dan (’84) and Kathy (’87) Stockdale** Timmins, Kroll & Jacobsen, LLP Mary (’78) and Tim (’76) Wolf**# David (’81) and Kim (’86) Zieser**

2013 TABLE HOSTS SPECIAL THANKS Gary and Heather Botine* Country Landscapes, Inc. Craig (’71) and Terry (’71) Denny**# Kevin (’83) and Jeanne Drury**# DuPont Pioneer Billi Hunt (’93)** and Mike Elam Iowa State University Athletics Department Iowa State University President’s Office Al (’56) and Ann (’56) Jennings**#

President and Mrs. Steven Leath** SALC students 2012 Cardinal & Gold Scholars *

ISU Alumni Association Annual Member ** ISU Alumni Association Life Member # 2013 Sustaining Life donors

SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

CAPTURE THE CARDINAL & GOLD SPIRIT THIS FOOTBALL SEASON AT AN ISU GAMEWATCH LOCATION NEAR YOU Get your gamewatch guide online at www.isualum.org/gamewatch

Make Cyclone Central your tailgate tradition! • • • • • • • •

FREE admission 3 hours before each home football game Food* Cash bar by Olde Main Brewing Company Cyclone gear for sale Kids’ activities Cy, Spirit Squad Varsity Marching Band Step Show 80 minutes prior to kickoff • ISU Alumni Center (west side of lot A2) • Hosted by your ISU Alumni Association

AUG. 31: Cyclones vs. Northern Iowa

*Pre-order meals by noon 3 days prior to gameday at www.isualum.org/cyclone central or call 877-ISU-ALUM. Alumni Association members get a discount!

Details available at www.isualum.org/cyclonecentral

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

SEPT. 14: Cyclones vs. Iowa OCT. 3: Cyclones vs. Texas

NOV. 9: Cyclones vs. TCU • Homecoming • Sponsored by Gateway Hotel & Conference Center NOV. 23: Cyclones vs. Kansas

OCT. 26: Cyclones vs. Oklahoma State • Family Weekend

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Cy’S DAYs E C I V R E s OF

Every April, everywhere Alumni and friends volunteer 3,226 hours during the second annual Cy’s Days of Service

BEST PHOTO: Members of the ISUAA Club of Seattle gathered on April 20 to help build a Habitat for Humanity home in Renton, Wash.

Total number of participants

Counties in Iowa represented

298

Total number of hours BEST ISU PRIDE: Lorna Livingston (L) (’48 textiles & clothing) of Edina, Minn., volunteers as a hostess at the Minneapolis Airport’s Armed Forces Service Center, a “home away from home” for active military and their dependents while they are between flights. Livingston, 86, also volunteers at a mobile canteen for troops prior to deployment, as a teacher for community education classes, with a children’s food project, and with the “Honor Flight” program for World War II veterans.

Most recent ISU grad participant

Oldest ISU grad participant

3,226

Number of states represented

30 MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW for Cy’s Days of Service 2014: The entire month of April! To view more photos and project details, go to www.isualum.org/cysdaysofservice and follow Cy’s Days of Service on Facebook

Three 2012 graduates: Matthew McLaughlin (A) (civil engr & MBA), Omaha, Neb Becky Bradshaw, (marketing), Columbus, Ohio Lynn Veenstra (A) (agronomy & genetics), Ithaca, N.Y.

Lyle Morse (L) (’44) elect engr; Windsor Heights, IA

Closest to Alumni Center

Jim Almquist (A) (’54 animal science; MS ’62 rural sociology); Ames, IA

International countries represented

BEST FAMILY PHOTO: Becky Hack-Stewart (L) (’87 speech communication) and Rich Stewart (L) of Elburn, Ill., volunteered for four hours at The Marklund Home for adults with developmental disabilities.

Farthest from Alumni Center

Halef Gunawan (’04 landscape architecture), Bali, Indonesia

Introducing the 2013 class of Iowa STATEment Makers! Sponsored by the ISU Alumni Association in conjunction with the Young Alumni Council, this recognition honors the early personal and professional achievements and contributions of Iowa State’s young alumni (graduates under 32 years of age).

STATEMENT TO LEARN ABOUT THE STATEMENT MAKERS RECOGNITION PROGRAM OR TO NOMINATE A YOUNG ALUM FOR THE 2014 AWARDS, GO TO WWW.ISUALUM.ORG/STATEMENTMAKERS

Erin Bergquist* Nevada, Iowa ’02 dietetics Led a group of interns to Ghana to assist with maternal and child health issues as well as creating sustainable gardening programs in that country

Axton Betz* Charleston, Ill. Ph.D. ’12 human development & family studies Assistant professor of consumer studies at Eastern Illinois University; her dissertation on childhood identity theft victims has gained national attention

Luke Gran Nevada, Iowa ’08 forestry & international agriculture

Shelly Greving* Ames, Iowa ’04 graphic design, MBA ‘09

Passionate about promoting locally sourced food; co-founder of TableTop Farm in Nevada; next generation coordinator of Practical Farmers of Iowa

Marketing director for the Iowa 4-H Foundation; led an annual gala that doubled its fundraising between 2011 and 2012

John Bosley Des Moines, Iowa ’03 art & design

Lucas Carlstrom Rochester, Minn. ’08 animal science

Conceptualizes T-shirt slogans and art for the wildly popular Des Moines-based clothing company, RAYGUN

Pursuing medical and Ph.D. degrees at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; plans to teach, practice medicine, and do research in the area of brain and spinal cord injury

Angie Kamps Ankeny, Iowa ’03 genetics, Ph.D. molecular, cellular & developmental biology

Eric Kline* Honolulu, Hawaii ’04 management information systems

Mother of triplets who supports families whose lives have been affected by premature birth through her volunteer work with the March of Dimes

U.S. Air Force officer and special agent who conducts, manages, and oversees felonylevel criminal, fraud, and counterintelligence investigations

Kayse Carter Ames, Iowa ’10 apparel, merchandise, design, & production Co-owns and operates Ames’ Pure Bridal, named Iowa’s top bridal boutique for 2013 by The Knot Wedding Network

Sarah Low* Arlington, Va. ’02 public service & administration in agriculture Finished a sprint triathlon after being sidelined by a car-bike accident in 2010; economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture

CHECK THEM OUT ONLINE! Find out about this year’s STATEment Makers’ favorite ISU traditions, their dream 34

SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

young alum

MAKERS

young alum

2013

Jacob Cline Eldridge, Iowa ’04 mechanical engineering

Natasha Croom* Ames, Iowa ’07 zoology & entomology, Ph.D. ’11 education

Brendan Dunphy Ames, Iowa ’07 zoology, entomology & animal science

Served two tours of duty (Iraq, Afghanistan) for the U.S. Army and received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in a firefight in Baghdad; engineer with Deere & Co.

Assistant professor of higher education at Iowa State; created the Sister Circle, an organization for black women on campus and in the community

Actor and producer who runs Iowa State’s insectary and oversees the Iowa mosquito and tick surveillance program; hosts programs about insects on the Science Channel

Sushain Pandit Austin, Texas M.S. ’10 computer science

Scott Siepker Des Moines, Iowa ’05 psychology

Rachel Stork Stoltz* Chicago, Ill. ’05 biologicalpre-medical illustration

Named one of IBM’s youngest-ever Master Inventors for his work as a lead staff engineer for IBM Austin

Hosts Emmy-nominated Iowa Outdoors on Iowa Public Television; became an Internet sensation with his Iowa Filmmakers’ video, “Iowa Nice”

Helped create CEVL for Healthcare, Inc., which provides web-based educational platforms that enhance efficiency and safety in the operating room

Andrea Fellows Brooklyn, N.Y. ’06 marketing

Jamie Kay Ford* St. Paul, Minn. ’05 history

Public affairs coordinator for the Peace Corps in New York City; volunteers as the public relations chair for the Lymphoma Research Foundation in memory of her father

Advocate for Indian land reclamation; raised more than $2.5 million as a development officer for the Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Tom Vance Des Moines, Iowa ’09 journalism

Chris Williams Bondurant, Iowa ’07 journalism

Development coordinator for Central Iowa Shelter & Services; helped raise more than $7 million for the Des Moines homeless population

Created and runs the website CycloneFanatic. com, a top source of information and community for fans of Cyclone athletics

*ISU

Alumni Associaton Annual Members

jobs, role models, and more. STATEment Makers are profiled at www.isualum.org/statementmakers2013 VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

Newsmakers I O WA S TAT E A L U M N I I N T H E N E W S

A best friend’s grief We Hope You Like This Song: An Overly Honest Story About Friendship, Death, and Mix Tapes is a sad, funny, honest memoir written by Bree Housley (’01 advertising) in honor of her friend, Shelly (Warner) Bridgewater (’02 elementary education) who died in 2005 following complications of childbirth. “The book is NOT Beaches,” Housley says. “It’s brash, sometimes inappropriate, and we never steal each other’s boyfriends.” Bridgewater, Housley’s best childhood friend and ISU roommate, died at age 25 one week after her daughter, Hailey, was born prematurely. Shelly had developed preeclampsia before the birth, followed by a condition called HELLP Syndrome. Housley felt tremendous guilt for not being at her best friend’s side when she became ill. Four years later, she and her sister started a yearlong project to honor her friend’s “crazy, spontaneous crush on life.”

 High on Broadway

 Honored to be in the classroom

The Essex Independent ran a front-page story March 14 about rural Essex, Iowa, resident Don Adcock (’69 telecommunica-

Paul Hanstedt (’91 English), professor of English at Roanoke College, has received Virginia’s highest educational honor: the State Council of Higher Education’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Hanstedt’s teaching success comes from his desire to help students develop their skills in writing, reading, and cultural analysis that he says allow them to participate in the conversations that matter. “There’s so much emphasis these days on education as certification,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what you learn, just as long as you get that degree. I disagree with this. I want students to push themselves, to learn about the subject, but also to learn about who they are, about what they value, about what drives them. Every day I’m in the classroom I’m

tive arts). Adcock has been operating the stage automation for the touring production of Broadway musical The Lion King since July 2012. During the show, he says, he spends his time suspended from a grid on the ceiling on a very small platform 30 feet above the theater floor. Adcock got his start as a soundman at the Maintenance Shop at Iowa State. After graduation, he found a job with the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, then worked as a stage manager for Harry Connick, Jr. He’s toured with other musicians and the dance company Riverdance and worked in computer-controlled automation for Phantom of the Opera. 36

“We chose a new resolution each week and tried to complete it in seven days – a New Week’s Resolution, if you will,” Housley said. “By the end of the year, I had gone through a strange sort of healing, and I was ready to tell our story.” The result was a blog and the book, which was published in October 2012. “The year after Shelly’s death was a blur,” Housley said. “Writing the book was cathartic. When I sat down to write, I hadn’t detailed the guilt, so it was super therapeutic.” Housley was on campus in April for a book signing at University Book Store. She said that she’s surprised by the number of emails she’s received from ”complete strangers” who have read her book and want to talk about their own grief. “So many touching, emotional thoughts have been shared with me,” she said. Though writing the book was painful, Housley said the outcome was “exactly what I was hoping for. People tell me they’re going to call a friend RIGHT NOW. I could not have wished for a better outcome.” Housley is a freelance advertising copywriter in Chicago. She’s currently at work on book number two.

reminded that working with them as they make that discovery is an honor.”  A package deal

Nick Wilson (L) (’67 chemical engineering) was recently inducted into the Packaging Hall of Fame, the packaging industry’s highest honor, recognizing a lifetime of innovation and achievement. Wilson is president of Morrison Container Handling Solutions. Wilson was honored with the Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering from ISU’s College of Engineering in 2011.  Careers on course

A father-son alumni duo, John Newton (A) (’81 horticulture) and Mark Newton (’08 horticulture), were featured in a recent issue of Golf Course Management magazine. Mark is the 26-year-old superSUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

 The importance of mentors

One of our favorite alumni success stories, Danny O’Neill (L) (’83 political science & int’l studies), is in the news again. This time he’s featured in a new business refer-

 World Food Prize educator

Keegan Kautzky (A) (’04 political science) was featured front and center in the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Life section Feb. 12 as part of that newspaper’s ongoing “YP Spotlight” on young professionals in central Iowa. Kautzky is the director of national educational programming at the World Food Prize headquarters in Des Moines. He says meeting World Food Prize founder Norman Borlaug was “the most important thing that ever happened in my life,” leading him to work on hunger issues in Africa and for Refugees International in Washington, D.C. Now that he’s back in Des Moines, he’s working to implement high school programs and curriculum nationwide to end world hunger.  Quad-Cities pioneer

ence book titled Entrepreneurs + Mentors = Success, a 160-page narrative of 22 entrepreneurs and their mentors. O’Neill, founder and owner of The Roasterie, Inc., a specialty coffee roaster in Kansas City, Mo., is featured in the book with his mentor, Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block. O’Neill met Bloch through the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentorship Program.

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

The Quad City Business Journal called Joy Boruff (L) (’76 home economics journalism) a “pioneer” in an April 14 profile of the Moline, Ill., community leader. “Joy Boruff has given little thought to the fact that she has been the ‘first’ to do many things in her varied career. Instead, she has gone about her jobs focused on helping the Quad-Cities be a better place.” Boruff, a member of the ISUAA Board of Directors, was in the first group of women to be employed in WOC-TV’s newsroom in 1976. She was the first female host of a call-in radio public affairs show on WOCAM. And she was the first communications director for MolineCoal Valley School District. She also cofounded the Women’s Encouragement Board and the regional chapter of the Association of Fundraising

Professionals. She recently created the River Vision 2020 project, which aims to improve Moline’s riverfront. Boruff owned her own advertising/marketing company, Joy Communications, until 2001. She is currently the executive director of the Moline Foundation.  ‘A Dream Achieved’

Wendell Mosby (’01 apparel merchandising, design & production) has been named an Open Society and Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellowship semifinalist. Mosby’s “A Dream Achieved” program, which secured him the prestigious position, focuses on a strategic planning framework to empower middle school and high school students to harness their potential by teaching them to eliminate excuses and develop a comprehensive personal-strategy plan. The objectives of “Dream” are to increase self-awareness, increase self-acceptance, promote goal setting, enhance critical thinking skills, and develop leadership. Mosby is a youth development consultant in Chicago.  Art world elite

Mitchell Squire’s works are turning heads among the art world’s elite. That’s according to Michael Morain, arts reporter for Register The Register the Des Moines Register. named Squire (’94 architecture, M.Arch. ’01) one of “13 People to Watch in 2013.” Squire is an ISU associate professor of architecture, but it’s his art that’s attracted attention from one of the most exclusive art galleries in the world. Squire started the year 2012 with his New York solo debut, which led him to a September show at White Cube in London. His work this year is taking him to Chicago, the Canadian Rockies, and beyond.

SQUIRE PHOTO: CASEY SMALLWOOD

intendent of the Ames Golf and Country Club; his dad is the golf course superintendent at Iowa State’s Veenker Memorial Golf Course. Both were recognized for commitment to professionalism at a recent Celebrating Certification! event in San Diego. They each are certified by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

›››

BY MICHELE FREDREGILL

Preparing next-generation ag engineers

PHOTO: ERICH ERNST

tuart Birrell, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, is using his extensive knowledge to improve sustainability and efficiency in farming while teaching the next generation of agricultural engineers. Birrell holds the Kinze Manufacturing Professorship in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. Originally from South Africa, Birrell was drawn to Iowa State in 1998 due partially to his interest in power equipment. He noted, “In terms of agriculture, Iowa and Iowa State are really at the epicenter of the machinery industry.” The location is a significant advantage as Birrell conducts research in his specialty areas – harvesting and biomass – and translates this research into important, hands-on lessons for students, both in the classroom and in the campus organizations he advises. Birrell uses funding from the Kinze Professorship to support student activities such as the Cyclone Power Pullers, a team that competes in a national 1/4 - scale tractor student design competition each year. By designing and building a tractor from scratch, students learn about and improve on tractor design and efficiency while also increasing Iowa State’s visibility in the field: Last summer, the team took fourth place in the competition. Such groups greatly enrich student learning and help Iowa State live up to its reputation for combining superior classroom learning with practical experience. Power Puller Jason Herbers, a junior in agricultural engineering, couldn’t agree more. “It’s great to have a hands-on opportunity to use some of the latest technologies,” he said. “When I go out on an internship or get my first full-time position, I’ll know what to expect.” By establishing this faculty position, Kinze Manufacturing demonstrates its commitment to supporting Iowa’s prominence in agricultural technology as well as Iowa State’s central role in educating

Birrell conducts research in his specialty areas – harvesting and biomass – and translates this research into important, hands-on lessons for students tomorrow’s leaders in this field. Partnerships with companies such as Kinze have a ripple effect at Iowa State: Professorships attract excellent faculty and support their worldclass research, which informs their teaching, inspiring students to do great things in the world of agriculture. Thanks in part to

valuable private support, Iowa State and its students will continue to lead the charge in engineering solutions to local and global issues – like world hunger – now and in years to come. By making a gift to Moving Students Forward, Iowa State University’s five-year initiative to raise $150 million for scholarships and student support, you can help provide the means for Iowa State students to participate in hands-on experiences, like the Cyclone Power Pullers, that make a difference in their lives. For more information, visit www.foundation.iastate.edu.

SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

You can move lives forward.

Students and alumni know Iowa State provides a life-changing experience. A world-class university in a friendly setting gives students countless opportunities for learning, growth and leadership.

Through support from alumni and friends like you, Moving Students Forward, a five-year initiative to raise $150 million for student support and scholarships, will help Iowa State students achieve their dreams.

www.foundation.iastate.edu/MovingStudentsForward

You can move studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives forward.

ASSO C I ATI O N N EWS

I’m glad they asked! Over the last few months, several questions have come my way from a number of Iowa Staters. I want to thank them for bringing those questions to me or to my staff. We are committed to being responsive to your inquiries, and I encourage you to keep the questions coming our way. I thought all of our members should know the answers to some of these questions: Can non-ISU graduates, like my parents, co-workers, etc., join the ISU Alumni Association? Great

universities aren’t exclusive; they are inclusive. The Iowa State tent has room for everyone interested in helping us build the excellence and extend the reach of the university. Non-graduates buy athletics tickets, join the Cyclone Club, and attend our sporting events. Many of our faculty and staff are nongraduates, but they are solid Iowa State supporters. And, many individuals have adopted Iowa State as their university and donate generously to the university through the ISU Foundation. We call these individuals “friends of Iowa State.” So, yes, non-ISU graduates are welcome to become Alumni Association members. To date, more than 7,400 of our 50,400 members are non-graduates of Iowa State. Iowa State welcomes and salutes ALL who have a desire to help Iowa State excel. What is the Cardinal & Gold Gala? How long has it being going on, and when is the next one? The Cardinal

& Gold Gala is a black-tie-optional event held in Des Moines (the first one was held in November 2011; the second one occurred on April 6, 2013) to better engage Iowa State alumni in the Greater Des Moines market, to celebrate the university in our capital city, and to raise dollars to support first-generation college students attending Iowa State, 40

as well as student and alumni outreach programs. The event is open to all interested individuals, whether or not you live in the Greater Des Moines area. The next gala is set for Feb. 14, 2014. (Valentine’s Day!) It will again be held at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. So get your cardinal on and join us! If you’d like to be added to the invitation list, send an email to ISUAA assistant director of outreach and events Katie Lickteig (kbruxvoo@ iastate.edu). Also, go to www.isualum. org/gala to see photos from past galas. I keep forgetting to use my membership discounts when I go to the University Book Store, as well as other locations. Shouldn’t the Association have an app for this benefit? Thanks for asking this ques-

tion. The ISUAA recently partnered with Larky to help you organize all of the discounts associated with your membership through their iPhone app (an Android version will be coming soon). Sign up for this app free at www.larky.com and download the app to get discount alerts when you’re surfing online or just walking around town. You may also view all discounts at www.isualum.org/discounts or request a printed pocket version by emailing ISUAA staff assistant for membership and marketing Pam Plath at pplath@iastate.edu. May I make a gift to the ISU Alumni Association? Yes, you can! Any Iowa

Stater may make/designate a gift to the Association. When doing so, please make your gift directly to the ISU Foundation with a note that the gift is designated to support the ISU Alumni Association. For specific gifting opportunities associated with the Association, please go to www.isualum.org/giving. The Alumni Association, while a dues-supported organization, does accept gifts to assist it in carrying out its work on behalf of Iowa State and all ISU alumni, students, and friends. Gifts from donors help make the work of the

Alumni Association happen. Donors, as you know, made gifts to Iowa State through the ISU Foundation to help the Alumni Association build the Alumni Center, landscape the gardens around the Center, bring the first bronze Cy and Cyclone Tower sculptures to the ISU campus, highlight traditions, support student leadership programs, advance the awards program, and purchase the official university regalia (president’s chain of office and university mace). Is the Alumni Association currently in a membership campaign? If so, what is the goal and how can I help?

Yes, the Association is in a membership campaign. The campaign is called “Your Lifetime Link” and focuses on how your membership can keep you linked to ISU and to other Iowa Staters. Be sure to stop by the Alumni Center to see the Iowa State University “Chain of Loyalty” – a representation of all current ISUAA members (cardinal links represent annual members and gold links represent life members), and the member recognition directory, which showcases all living annual and life members. Our ultimate goal in this campaign is to surpass 60,000 paid members in 2016. We’re currently at 50,400 paid members. Just think: This is something we have the ability to do if we work together. So email me personally at jjohnsn@iastate.edu if you know someone who is not a current member or if you are interested in giving a gift membership to a family member, new graduate, co-worker, etc. You are also encouraged to personally invite them to join! That’s it for now, but I hope this answers some of your questions and positions you to help the Association and Iowa State reach its goals. Yours for Iowa State,

Jeff Johnson, President and CEO SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

ASSO C I ATI O N N EWS YOUNG ALUMNI

Fraternity provides graduating seniors a lifetime link to Iowa State AL

IO IAT

Young Alumni Council challenges young alumni to show their loyalty to Iowa State

UMN

I ASSOC

This spring, ISU’s Young Alumni Council (YAC) challenged the class of 2013 and other young alumni (graduates of the past 10 years) to show their loyalty to ISU by becoming members of ISU Alumni Association. Young alumni participating in YAC’s “Loyalty Challenge” campaign – promoted through social media and at Senior Week events on campus – automatically received a free desktop wallpaper download of alumnus Brent Yezek’s (’00 community & regional planning, ’04 landscape architecture) original artwork Change of Season and were entered to win an Apple iPad Mini with an Iowa State alumni-themed cover. More than 255 young alumni joined the Alumni Association as a result of the campaign. VISIONS recently caught up with YAC councilor Matt Hobart (L) (’04 agricultural studies, Ithaca, N.Y.), who spearheaded the Matt Hobart project: Can you tell us why implementing this campaign was important to YAC?

The Young Alumni Council’s mission is to build the nation’s largest group of engaged young alumni, so we knew we wanted to find a way to get recent grads excited about becoming members of the ISU Alumni Association. What was the goal of the campaign?

The ultimate goal is to motivate people to join the Alumni Association. Once they become members and realize the benefits, both tangible and intangible, we hope that they will continue their connection with the university by getting involved with Alumni Association programs, including events run by alumni clubs in their local area. We really want young alumni to step up and get involved. Why is it important to gain members in the young alumni demographic?

Today, young alumni make up 22 percent of the overall ISU alumni body but only represent 5.8 percent of current Alumni Association membership. Now is our time to show that young alumni are just as loyal to our alma mater. We are the future of the Alumni Association, and there is no reason we should wait until 30 or 40 years after graduating to become involved.

Save the date for ‘Homecoming 101: The Tradition Continues’ Two special Alumni Association events will take place as part of 2013 Homecoming activities at the ISU Alumni Center this fall: The 40th anniversary reunion of the Student Alumni Association / Student Alumni Leadership Council (on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8-9) and fifth anniversary of the dedication of the ISU Alumni Center (on Friday night and Saturday morning). Go to www.isualum.org/homecoming for details. 42

In an effort to encourage a greater number of its new graduates to stay connected to the university, FarmHouse Fraternity leaders funded a two-year membership in the ISU Alumni Association for its 12 graduating seniors this spring. In a special ceremony held at the fraternity, Jeff Johnson, ISU Alumni Association president and CEO, welcomed the new members. Each member was provided a cardinal chain link to personally add to the Association’s Iowa State Chain of Loyalty signifying their lifetime link to Iowa State. “Feedback from the guys has been nothing short of appreciative and excited,” said Johnson. Johnson said he hopes more Greek houses and campus organizations will consider adding this new graduation tradition. To learn more about funding new alumni memberships, contact Johnson at jjohnsn@iastate.edu.

BENEFIT BRIEFS A look at three new ISU Alumni Association member benefits

Don’t miss another discount!

It’s tough to remember all your Alumni Association discounts and use them at the right time and place. So the ISU Alumni Association has teamed up with Larky to help you get all the discounts you deserve from your ISUAA membership. It’s fun, free, and really easy. Larky gives you a personal “dashboard” of all your perks across your memberships (ISUAA – plus AAA, AARP, professional associations, and others). Get discount alerts when you’re surfing online or walking around town. Sign up for free at www.larky.com and download the iPhone app. This information can also be found on our ISUAA discount page: www.isualum.org/discounts. (Android version coming soon!) Play it Forward Golf

As part of a new national discount, ISU Alumni Association members can save up to 70% when playing golf with Play it Forward Golf. More than 500 public golf courses in the Midwest and 4,000 across the U.S. (plus more than 650 private clubs) participate in this program. Plus, the Alumni Association earns a small royalty for every reservation made. Go to www.pifgolf.com for more details. Alumni Association membership now earns Cyclone Club points

The Cyclone Club uses a priority points system to provide consistent, fair, and equitable allocation of donor benefits (primarily priority seating and parking). Did you know that your membership in the Alumni Association gives you five extra points? It’s just one more reason why it pays to be a member!

SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SUMMER 201 3

✧

YOUR PER F EC T DAY

✧

E n joy a n elega n t reh ear sa l dinn er i n f ron t of a roar in g firepla ce . Say yo u r vows in th e su n -k issed g arden. D an c e th e n igh t away with f amily a n d f r i en ds in th e bea u tif u l ballroom. T h e I SU A l u m n i C en ter is a on e-of -a -kin d sett i n g th at of fer s exception al ser vice an d u n fo r gettable memor ies. Ca ll ou r even t staf f at 515-294-4625 today to reser ve yo u r specia l even t a t th e IS U Alu m n i Cen ter. 420 Bea ch Avenue • Ames, Iowa w w w. i sua l umni center. org

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CAA is an afﬁliate organization of the Ames Chamber of Commerce

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Calendar  Alumni events

 Alumni travel

Sept. 20-21: Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity centennial celebration Nov. 8-9: Homecoming 2013 Nov. 8-9: SALC/SAA 40th anniversary reunion

BOOK NOW!

 Events in the

ISU Alumni Center Aug. 23-24: ISUAA Board of Directors annual retreat & summer meeting Aug. 31: Cyclone Central tailgate Sept. 14: Cyclone Central tailgate Oct. 3: Cyclone Central tailgate Oct. 26: Cyclone Central tailgate Nov. 7-8: Young Alumni Council fall meeting Nov. 8: ISUAA Board of Directors fall meeting Nov. 8: Pep Rally and Homecoming Celebration at the Center Nov. 9: Cyclone Central Homecoming tailgate Nov. 9: ISU Alumni Center 5th anniversary celebration Nov. 23: Cyclone Central tailgate

 On campus Aug. 22-24: Destination Iowa State Aug. 26: Fall semester begins Oct. 19: ISU Baconfest Oct. 19-20: Spirits in the Gardens, Reiman Gardens Oct. 26: Cyclone Family Weekend Oct. 26: Family of the Year Society Reunion Nov. 3-9: Homecoming Week

 Cyclone Athletics Aug. 15: Meet the Coaches Night (Des Moines) Aug. 30-31: Iowa State Athletics’ Hall of Fame Weekend Aug. 31: Football vs. Northern Iowa Sept. 14: Football vs. Iowa Sept. 26: Football at Tulsa (Thursday game) Oct. 3: Football vs. Texas (Thursday game) Oct. 12: Football at Texas Tech Oct. 19: Football at Baylor Oct. 26: Football vs. Oklahoma State (Family Weekend) Nov. 2: Football at Kansas State Nov. 9: Football vs. TCU (Homecoming) Nov. 16: Football at Oklahoma Nov. 23: Football vs. Kansas Nov. 30: Football at West Virginia with ISUAA tailgate

PATAGONIA

Amazon Feb. 28 – March 9, 2014 Patagonian Frontiers March 12-19, 2014

For a complete list of 2013 and all 2014 Traveling Cyclones tours, go to www.isualum.org/travel

AMAZON

 Lifelong learning Aug. 8: OLLI at ISU fall open house Sept. 9: OLLI at ISU fall classes begin

 Arts and entertainment Aug. 1: Art Nouveau: Lighting with Style, Farm House Museum (through Oct. 25) Aug. 27: Jay N. Darling & Maynard Reece and The Hunt (both exhibits in Brunnier Art Museum through Dec. 20) Oct. 17: Straight No Chaser, Stephens Oct. 18: Comedian Bill Cosby, Stephens Oct. 24: Memphis, Stephens Nov. 2: Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Stephens Nov. 3: Masters of the Fiddle, Stephens Nov. 4: Merry Christmas to All: 1900, Farm House Museum (through Dec. 20) Nov. 5: Estonian National Symphony, Stephens Nov. 17: Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Stephens

 Awards Aug. 1: Nomination deadline for Distinguished Alumni Award and Honorary Alumni Award* Nov. 8: Honors & Awards Luncheon & Ceremony *For criteria and to submit a nomination for ISUAA awards: www.isualum.org/awards

 Find more events online CAMPUS CALENDAR: http://event.iastate.edu/ ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: www.isualum.org/calendar CYCLONE ATHLETICS: www.cyclones.com DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND ISU THEATRE: www.las.iastate.edu/ newnews/arts/isuarts.shtml REIMAN GARDENS: www.reimangardens.com IOWA STATE CENTER: www.center.iastate.edu UNIVERSITY MUSEUMS: www.museums.iastate.edu LECTURES: www.lectures.iastate.edu/ HOMECOMING: www.isualum.org/homecoming SUMMER 201 3 WWW.ISUALUM.ORG VISIONS

Iowa State University Alumni Center 420 Beach Avenue Ames, Iowa 50011-1430

Your Lifetime Link