33 minute read
A spring semester like no other
A SPRING SEMESTER SEMESTER LIKE LIKE NO OTHER As COVID-19 disrupts campus, Iowa State perseveres
Online classes. Remote work. Zoom meetings. Essential employees. Social/physical distance. Virtual commencement. is semester, Iowa State, along with the rest of the country and the world, learned new terms and practiced new procedures for teaching, working, collaborating, and learning in this unprecedented time of global pandemic.
ultimate flip The
How do you fl ip the switch and put 6,000 lectures, labs, and hands-on learning sessions online? It wasn’t easy. Iowa State instructors had a little more than a week to fi gure out how to move all of their spring course sections online. It took innovation, creativity, and hard work. “The switch to virtual instruction has been the fastest and most challenging teaching effort ever at Iowa State University,” senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert (A) said. “Today over 6,000 courses are being taught virtually. Frankly, this kind of work has never been done before.” “It was a mammoth undertaking,” said Abram Anders, associate professor of English. “It was all hands on deck, and we were working 24/7.” Sara Marcketti (A)(PhD ’05 text & cloth), director of the Center for Excellence
in Learning and Teaching (CELT), said the Center provided resources and plans for online instruction. A CELT Response Team was established to staff a call center and help faculty with their move online. Faculty uploaded lectures on video, prepared tutorials, and used a platform called Canvas to allow peer conferencing and reviews of draft work through discussion boards and collaborative writing apps. Some faculty chose to use Zoom for their courses. One instructor – Raluca Iancu, an assistant professor of art and visual culture – made miniature printing presses with a 3-D printer for each of her students so they could continue their printmaking projects at home. “Departments have been incredible sharing resources online,” Marcketti said. “It’s a nice unintended consequence that people are really talking about teaching and how to do it effectively.”
Mike Lyons, associate teaching professor of biomedical sciences, teaches to an empty classroom in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Mobile milestone
Disappointed they had to cancel a campus reception to honor her 50th anniversary at Iowa State, Faye Draper’s colleagues in the Admissions Office decided to not take it lying down. “We couldn’t let April 6 pass by without doing something special for Faye,” said admissions associate director Phil Caffrey. “She’s an amazing employee, and she’s been the backbone of our operations team for decades.” So, that day around noon, about 50 current and former officemates decorated their vehicles and surprised Draper with a parade outside her south Ames home, complete with horns, lights, balloons, hollering, Silly String, and even a police siren. Draper said she never imagined on April 6, 1970, when she was hired as an 18-year-old that she’d still be on the admissions team 50 years later. “It’s been a great place to work and an awesome group of people to work with throughout the years,” she said.
Faye Draper
PHOTOS: CHRISTOPHER GANNON, ISU NEWS SERVICE
“Our faculty are adapting more than 6,000 courses … our researchers are reconfiguring processes and goals ... our health and safety staff, public safety officers, and facilities personnel are working on the front line of our preparedness and response efforts… our administrators are dealing with unimagined challenges. Still, every day the Campanile bells continue to ring. e swans still glide across Lake LaVerne. And central campus expresses its beauty as the first buds of spring emerge – as if to remind us that some things have not changed.
at Iowa State will endure.”
– ISU PRESIDENT WENDY WINTERSTEEN, IN A MARCH 26 MESSAGE TO FACULTY AND STAFF
“We’re thinking about you. We’re worried about you.
We want to make the process easier for you.”
– KATHARINE JOHNSON
SUSKI, DIRECTOR OF
IOWA STATE ADMIS
SIONS, IN A LETTER
TO PROSPECTIVE
STUDENTS A CAMPUS DISRUPTED Iowa State’s COVID-19 response timeline
Jan. 28, 2020: ISU President Wendy Wintersteen (L)(PhD ’88 entomology) sends a message to the university community prohibiting student and employee business travel to China, and to practice infection control strategies by washing hands and covering coughs. At that time, five cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the U.S., none in Iowa.
Feb. 28: University restricts travel to South Korea. A Coronavirus response web page and campus workgroup have been created. Individuals are cautioned to stay home if they are ill.
Feb. 29: Students studying abroad in Italy are set to return home sooner than planned.
March 4: Spring break study-abroad programs in Africa, Asia, and Europe are suspended.
March 5: All university-sponsored international travel is suspended for 30 days.
March 8: Three cases of COVID-19 are reported in Iowa.
March 10: The university prepares for potential impacts on campus operations; students are cautioned to take steps to prevent the spread of illness while on spring break.
March 11: The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a global pandemic. Wintersteen announces that all classes will be moved online beginning March 23 and continuing
through April 3 (the two weeks following spring break). The university would remain open during this time.
March 12: The Big 12 basketball tournament is suspended; the NCAA announces that all remaining winter tournaments are canceled.
March 13: All university events, on and off campus, are canceled, postponed, or virtualized through April 4. This includes third-party events held on campus. All Big 12 spring sports are canceled.
March 14: All university-related, non-essential, out-ofstate domestic travel is prohibited until further notice.
March 17: All divisions, colleges, departments, and units of the university are asked to accommodate fl exible work arrangements to maintain university operations while maximizing social distancing.
March 18: President Wintersteen announces that virtual instruction will be extended through the end of spring semester. The state of Iowa is under a Public Health Disaster Emergency; gatherings of more than 10 people must be canceled or moved online.
The ISU Department of Residence restricts students’ ability to live in the residence halls. ISU Dining announces limited carryout food service only. All meetings and events are canceled or moved online through the end of the semester, May 9. The Memorial Union, Parks Library, and Reiman Gardens are closed to the public.
Spring commencement is canceled. A plan to live-stream graduation will be developed.
March 22: Anyone returning from spring break outside the state of Iowa is strongly encouraged to self-isolate for 14 days.
March 23: Spring semester resumes with virtual instruction; more than 6,000 courses are converted to online teaching. A temporary pass/not pass policy is put into place for undergraduate courses.
All study abroad programs starting before Aug. 15 are canceled. Summer courses will be virtual.
March 24: Iowa records its fi rst COVID-19 related death.
March 30: Refunds are offered for students holding residence hall and ISU Dining contracts.
The essentials
Much of the campus workforce began working remotely following the March 18 announcement that classes would be held online only and that students should not plan to return from spring break. But some employees simply changed direction. ISU Dining transitioned to pickup service. Custodians launched deep cleanings in mostly empty residence halls. Maintenance crews kept campus buildings running. Here’s a look at some essential campus workers on one day: April 6, 2020.
Signs posted for students moving out of the residence halls.
Darcie Buerer wipes down tile while deep cleaning a restroom inside a Larch Residence Hall.
Mike Cleaveland, an environmental systems mechanic, checks a valve on one of two boilers that serve Wilson and Wallace residence halls.
Custodian Maria Hall vacuums inside Friley Hall.
LOOKING FORWARD The outlook for fall semester
With summer classes being delivered virtually and new-student orientation visits online, the Iowa State campus is focusing its attention on what’s next: fall semester. The Iowa Board of Regents announced during its April 1 meeting that it “plans on a full, normal operation for our universities for the fall 2020 semester. This includes in-person classes, reopening of residence halls, food service, and other campus services.” Regents emphasized that this intention will be met only if it is supported by guidance from the CDC, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Governor’s Offi ce.
System control technician Pete Crow checks functionality of the fire alarm control panel inside Helser Hall.
In response to the directive, ISU In response to the directive, ISU President Wendy Wintersteen established an Executive Committee for Fall Planning, chaired by vice president for extension and outreach John Lawrence, to lead the effort. The committee will focus on classroom teaching, academic support, residence halls and dining, health and safety, and research support. Given the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, the committee will consider a full range of scenarios. On June 10, Wintersteen announced that the fall semester would begin on Aug. 17 (a week earlier than planned) and end on Nov. 25.
Innovation at work
During this unprecedented public health crisis, Iowa State faculty, staff, and students are demonstrating how they apply innovation, collaboration, and creativity to solve problems that help the community, the state, and beyond.
• Iowa 4-H asked members, leaders, alumni, judges, and friends to create 10,000 face masks to benefit their communities.
Instructions help guide participants through the process to aid communities through the coronavirus pandemic. • Unable to take hands-on learning to classrooms around Iowa, Ginny Mitchell, education program coordinator for the
Entomology Department’s Insect Zoo, began doing live shows March 23 on the zoo’s Facebook page. • The ISU Foundation created an emergency fund to support students adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cyclone
Strong Fund is providing emergency aid for students with unexpected financial obstacles to staying in school, such as paying for rent, food and technology expenses for online learning. • ISU’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, in a collaboration with the State Hygienic
Laboratory at the University of Iowa, helped expand testing capacity to expedite COVID-19 test results. The collaboration significantly increased the hygienic lab’s ability to run more tests simultaneously. The Veterinary
Diagnostic Lab also provides diagnostic services critical to the continuity of agricultural businesses, food safety, and public health. • ISU Extension and Outreach is helping farmers, families and communities deal with increasing financial, relationship, nutrition, and wellness stresses. The Iowa Concern
Hotline (800-447-1985) offers free, confidential support on legal issues, stress relief, referral services, and more. In March, hotline calls were up more than 2,400 from a year ago. • ISU – using ISU Dining refrigerated trucks – is partnering with Story County and the Food
Bank of Iowa to deliver supplies to Ames and
Nevada school districts during the COVID-19 crisis. Recently, nearly three tons of food was delivered to help feed more than 120 families in need. • IT experts at Iowa State beefed up wireless service in selected parking lots around
Jack Trice Stadium, and spread the word to students in need of a strong connection. • Iowa State statisticians developed mathematical models that track and forecast
COVID-19 in Iowa and the United States – answering the questions, “How contagious is the virus, and how rapidly is it spreading?” • Iowa State students, faculty and staff can now have library resources delivered right to their front doors. The new services –
Tech Lending Delivery and Library Material
Delivery – were created to increase access to essential technology and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. • In order to meet its financial challenges caused by the pandemic, the ISU Athletics
Department implemented a one-year, temporary pay reduction for coaches and other select staff, and it suspended all bonuses and incentives for coaches this year, among other budget strategies, saving more than $4 million. • During the COVID-19 pandemic, the seed health experts at ISU’s Seed Science
Center are working diligently to provide stability to help protect $1.6 billion in annual seed exports by the U.S. seed industry. • The College of Veterinary Medicine and
Ivy College of Business collaborated with
S&B Farms to supply Vet Med facilities with hand sanitizer, one of the first products that became difficult to find during the coronavirus crisis. • In the College of Design’s Computation and
Construction Lab, architecture students (below) are operating 3-D printers to manufacture face shields to assist with the health care industry’s pandemic response.
Bryan Dellett, third-year architecture student, looks over a pair of finished visor frames.
• Iowa State computer scientists have developed a data science infrastructure that will drastically improve research efficiencies for scientists who study the novel coronavirus. This first-of-its-kind infrastructure galvanizes 60 years of coronavirus research onto a single, searchable platform. In addition to saving time and reducing costs, this tool may lead to quicker research breakthroughs and also accelerate the time-to-market of effective antiviral therapies and life-saving vaccines. • Student Health and Wellness, in partnership with ISU Wellbeing, launched the “Keep
Community, Stay Informed, and Be Well” campaign to assist students, faculty and staff as they work and study remotely and navigate other changes in their daily lives. Course fees and prorated refunds will be given for student parking permits.
March 31: New employee leave policies are put into place.
April 3: University leaders unveil a plan to further reduce on-campus operations, including closing more campus buildings and limiting CyRide bus service.
April 8: All university events are canceled, postponed, or moved online through May 31. Many campus employees are allowed continue to work remotely until that time. A “Recovery Working Group” is convened. Summer orientation is moved online.
April 10: Wintersteen sends a letter to graduating students announcing the details of spring 2020 virtual commencement ceremonies. Students may also choose to participate in fall 2020 or spring 2021 commencement ceremonies.
April 20: The university estimates its losses and additional expenses from the start of the pandemic through the summer will be more than $80 million. Units are asked to implement a 5 percent budget reduction for FY21 and another 5 percent reduction for FY22.
The CARES Act will provide $21.6 million in emergency aid to Iowa State, half of which will go to emergency student financial aid.
April 24: Wintersteen shares Board of Regents directive that full, normal operations are expected for regent universities for the fall 2020 semester, if supported with guidance from the CDC, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Iowa Governor’s Office. Given the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, a full range of scenarios will be considered.
April 28: An Executive Committee for Fall Planning is established, led by John Lawrence, VP for Extension and Outreach.
May 8: Wintersteen announces that a phased approach will be put into place for the campus to gear back up during the summer, beginning June 1.
The first member of the Iowa State community tests positive for COVID-19.
June 2: In the state of Iowa, 20,017 have tested positive for the virus, and 560 have died. n
Senior year, interrupted
Graduating from ISU was an anticipated day not only for me but for my family. Growing up as an only child, my parents always talked about the day they would get to see me walk across the stage to receive my college diploma. On the night of my high school graduation, my parents told me that this was only the beginning. As my college years began, I knew I would be challenged and potentially face hardships, but I never thought one of those hardships was having my senior year be taken away by a pandemic. As the first grandchild to graduate from a university, my grandparents always made jokes that I was their pride and joy since I was going to be the first. When news first broke of the coronavirus with allegations that the elderly were most susceptible, my grandparents decided to self-quarantine to ensure that they would be able to attend my commencement. For two whole months, my grandparents never stepped foot out of the house. Day by day they watched the news and gave me words of encouragement, but as the announcement of commencement being canceled was released, the only thought in my head was, “How do I tell my grandparents?” Breaking the news to my family that my
Essay by Christina Do
commencement was canceled resulted in a lot of hugs, tears, and words of support. But there was one thing my grandfather told me when I broke the news to him that I will carry with me forever. He said, “For the sky has not called for me yet, so I will continue being your number-one fan.” Growing up, my grandfather and I were very close. He was the first person to hear that I got an academic scholarship to ISU and the first to hear of my college decision. As painful as it has been to be a senior during this pandemic, I am reminded every day of those who have helped me during my time at ISU and the sacrifices that have been made on my behalf. Before all of this, I had made a list of all the things I wanted to do before I graduated. The list included eating in the dining hall one last time, visiting my old dorm, going campaniling with my high school sweetheart, studying in Parks Library during dead week, and saying thank you to all of the professors who helped me along the way. Coming to ISU, I started with a completely different degree in mind. It took a lot for me to admit that my original degree of choice was not best suited for me, and it took a lot of courage to tell my parents I would be taking on an additional year. But the amazing professors at ISU truly helped me to learn my strengths and weaknesses and made me even more passionate about my area of study. The support at ISU is unmatched; we truly have some of the best professors a university could offer. They are the backbone of our institution, and I will truly miss them. As scary as the unknown is, that is what I am looking forward to the most. I have always been one to follow a strict routine and always made sure that no minute of my day went unplanned. But in light of all this, I am looking forward to how my schedule and life will be as I start my new chapter of adulthood. Sometimes it is important to take things day by day or week by week rather than planning everything out. Shifting from being a college student to a working adult will have its challenges, but I truly believe ISU has prepared me for what is yet to come. I am still reminded almost every day of what would have been an amazing senior year for me. I wrote down in my planner all the senior activities I wanted to participate in, the day my graduation dress was arriving, and the graduation photoshoot I had planned. Although I could not do everything I had planned, I still went through with taking graduation pictures, and I am slowly going through my graduation check-off list. There are a lot of things this pandemic took away from me, but it cannot take away my accomplishments. Things are changing every day because of this pandemic, but if we let it get the best of us it will leave us empty-handed. At the end of the day, I am proud to be a Cyclone and forever thankful for my amazing adventure at ISU.
Christina Do graduated on May 9, 2020 with a degree in public relations. She was one of 5,094 students to complete their degrees this spring.
– PEYTON HAMEL, AN ISU
SOPHOMORE IN GENETICS,
IN AN IOWA STATE DAILY
“HAPPY JOURNAL,” APRIL 7, 2020
Andrew Larson, a senior in forestry from LeRoy, Ill., capped off his senior year in a photo with the bronze Cy sculpture at the ISU Alumni Center. Larson served as the 2019-20 president of the Student Alumni Association and as the student representative to the ISUAA Board of Directors
“ is [COVID-19]…truly is one of the strangest things that has ever happened to me. It’s like I’m a kid and I’ve woken up to a blizzard. ere’s snow up to the window sill and
I’m scanning the bar at the bottom of the newscast, waiting to see the list of closures: [My school is] not just closed, it’s closed indefinitely, like time has just…broken.”
– TAYLOR TOMLINSON, AN ISU SOPHOMORE, IN AN APRIL 8, 2020
POST TITLED “THE CORONAVIRUS AND ITS EFFECT ON MY LIFE,”
PART OF THE CARDINAL TALES BLOG OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
AND UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES AT IOWA STATE
DAILY CONNECTION Iowa State Daily continues to publish online throughout spring semester
In a March 29 editorial titled “We are here for you,” Iowa State Daily editors told students:
“Socializing and daily life as we knew it have been turned upside down. It seems like every day we wake up and the situation in our country is different.
“With all this change, the ISD Editorial Board wants to emphasize that we are still here for you. Our content will still be coming out daily on social media and in your email inbox, just like it has all year long. We are and want to continue to be a constant in your life throughout these rough times.
“Our staff is working harder than ever to cover this pandemic safely and remotely but also with the utmost care and dedication.
“We won’t be printing a physical copy of the Iowa State Daily for the remainder of the semester…. We are dedicated to telling your stories and keeping you up-to-date on the issues and news that will impact you most as a member of this community.”
A virtual ending
Commencement goes online
Graduating seniors, graduate students, and their families celebrated their achievements with three virtual commencements on May 9.
“While we can’t be together in person, we are developing creative ways to honor you and your momentous achievement,” ISU President Wendy Wintersteen said in an April 10 letter to students graduating in spring 2020.
“We know this is not the ending you imagined to your Iowa State adventure, but the spring 2020 graduating class will forever share a special place in history,” she said. “This pandemic has challenged you in unprecedented ways, and I am so very proud of the strength of your Cyclone spirit.”
In addition to the online ceremonies – for undergraduates, graduates, and veterinary medicine – the university packaged and mailed a “Cylebration” gift to each grad, including a diploma cover, streamers, and a tassel (below). Students were encouraged to wear academic attire and to send photos to be shared.
The virtual commencements included many of the usual traditions: remarks by President Wintersteen; the national anthem sung by Simon Estes, F. Wendell Miller Distinguished artist in residence; music by the Iowa State Singers and ISU Brass Ensemble; recognition of students and conferring of degrees, and other speakers, including Jeff Johnson, Lora and Russ Talbot ISU Alumni Association endowed president and CEO.
“You are now forever a part of Cyclone Nation, as you now hold a degree from this very special university,” Johnson told the graduates. “Today, you join more than 260,000 other Iowa State alumni living in all 99 counties of Iowa, all 50 states of the U.S. and more than 152 countries. You will soon find that Cyclones really are everywhere! Congratulations, class of 2020, and always remember, you are Cyclones for life!”
Colleges offered virtual convocations, and in videos for each undergraduate college, students could hear their names being read one at a time. Approximately 9,400 people tuned in for the virtual commencement ceremonies.
20FOR20 For the class of 2020, whose senior year was nothing like they expected, 20 messages of hope from Cyclones everywhere
“ You will never forget what it means to be a Cyclone.
Jacqui (Becker) Fatka Graduate 2003
“We will continue to remain loyal, forever, true to each student in the class of 2020.”
“We are so very, very proud – and honored – to welcome you as fellow Iowa State alumni. Thomas A. Connop Class of ’76 stances are shaping who you are.
It’s OK to feel sad. It’s OK to feel disappointed. But if you also feel acceptance, this detour will make
Carrie (Tett) Truesdell
Class of 2001 “Welcome to life after ISU. You have a huge, welcoming GO, CYCLONES!!”
Brooke (Almasi) Noack Iowa State University class of 2018
Janelle Buxton Agricultural Communications
2019-20 ISUAA Board of Directors chair
“Welcome to the ISU alumni family, class of 2020. Commencement exercises were diff erent this year, but I was happy to see so many of you on campus Saturday a ernoon, all dressed up in your caps and gowns. When I le my offi ce to go home at 5 p.m., there were
still clusters of families taking pictures, trying to hold on to
graduation day as long as they could.” Connie Tapps Ringlee Class of 1970 “IT’S NOT FAIR. This isn’t what you expected. This isn’t what you paid Speech Communication Textiles and Clothing for. This isn’t what you wanted. Yet, here we are. In a world so foreign, it sometimes doesn’t feel like reality. Today’s events and circum “ Don’t think of your party as cancelled. Think of it as postponed. you stronger and more resilient.” class of 2005 “You guys make me proud to be a Cyclone.”
Jayadev Athreya
Class of 2000 alumni community to support you.”
Nupur Ghoshal, MD, PhD (1995) Associate Professor, Depts. of Neurology and Psychiatry Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Washington University School of Medicine “COVID-19 may slow your start, but it won’t stop your future. I know you got this. Go get ’em, Cyclones!!”
Jacqui Jeras Outstanding Young Alumnus 2006 On-camera meteorologist at The Weather Channel
what it means to be a Cyclone. ”
Debbie Owen Thompson Home economics education class of 1983 Outstanding Young Alum 1996 “This is a special moment, and it belongs to you.”
Carlie C Tartakov, PhD ’95 Emerita professor, Iowa State University (former board member)
“It hurts not to be able to Be safe, be well, and be proud as you represent ISU to
celebrate and say goodbye to friends on campus. But believe me, you’ve already earned your most important graduation gift: those friendships.”
Allison Engel Home economics journalism class of 1973
“There are truly #CyclonesEverywhere, so I hope that wherever your journey takes you, you will fi nd a little bit of ISU to make it feel like home.” Allison Pitz Marketing/management class of 2017
“ e virus can’t take away the value of your Iowa State University degree.
It can’t erase the memories. e best is yet to come.” Merrill Oster Ag journalism 1961
Pete Kostelnick Class of 2009, who made headlines running across America – twice
“You have the passion, the training, and the skills… Now, start writing your future and go change the world.”
Elizabeth Burns-Thompson Ag business class of 2011 Thanks to many, many alumni who responded to our request to offer messages of hope, support, and encouragement to the class of 2020. Read more messages at www.isualum.org/tothe
Don’t think of your party as cancelled. Think of it as postponed. We will gather again. We will celebrate! ”
Dan Winters Journalism & mass comm class of 2003 WHO-13 News Anchor/reporter
“EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK. classof2020
the world.”
Krista L. Klocke, M.A. PhD Student | Rhetoric & Professional Communication Graduate Instructor | SpCm 212 Iowa State University
“Education is a journey, not a destination.”
“The Campanile will always ring out for you. Cyclone Alley will always be exuberant for you. The Parks Library will always have a chair with your name on it. Our Cyclone family is large and inclusive. Even though you are graduating, we will always hold a seat at our Cyclone table for you. We stand with you in strength and love.” Patricia Tice Class of 1975 & 1983
The virus hunter
CDC scientist Steve Monroe is on the front line of this viral ‘beast’
By Benjamin Gleisser
When a traveler presenting flu-like symptoms arrived in the U.S. from China in January 2020, Stephan Monroe (’76 biochemistry), the associate director for laboratory science and safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ramped up action in the public health laboratories.
Monroe, who has been studying viruses for more than 35 years, and his CDC colleagues suspected the passenger was carrying the new coronavirus they had learned about, based on a troubling cluster of pneumonia cases in China. The CDC researchers had recently developed a diagnostic test for the virus, based on a genetic sequence shared online by Chinese scientists. Once the respiratory sample from the passenger was tested, the first case of coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) was confirmed in the United States.
“At the CDC, we’re always watching out for virus sources,” Monroe says. “We heard about the unusual pneumonias in China at the end of December 2019 and shortly thereafter it was identified as a coronavirus, the same group of viruses as the common cold. But we also believed something about this virus strain was different.”
Monroe oversees safety and quality for the hundreds of researchers working in the more than 200 CDC labs in the U.S. and its territories, and its personnel are constantly investigating new ways to rapidly test for infectious diseases while monitoring the health of communities throughout the U.S. Previously, his research staff had investigated SARS, Zika, and Ebola viruses.
But trying to penetrate the genetic secrets of this new strain of virus – later designated SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and nicknamed “the beast” by frontline healthcare providers – presented a complex challenge. Samples taken from other infected people in the U.S. were compared to those taken in China.
“There are nearly 4,000 different sequence variants of SARS-CoV-2, and each one is about 29,000 base pairs long,” Monroe says. “We’re still studying the virus, so we don’t yet know which of the small changes we see in the virus sequences are significant.” both his intellectual and personal life. life sciences] professor Donald Graves,” he
While CDC scientists investigate COVID-19, says. “I was studying the protein structure the researchers are not developing a vacof sickle cell anemia, and Dr. Graves always cine; CDC labs are public health research took time to work with me. He was very facilities. What the labs discover is shared enthusiastic all the time. That really with other government agencies like the encouraged my interest in science.”
Food and Drug Administration, the National And Iowa State is where he met his wife,
Institutes of Health, the Federal Emergency Martha Cramer (’75 zoology), while working
Management Agency, and the Department together at The Green Pepper, a pizza of Health and Human Services, as well as restaurant near the campus. Though The private companies working on vaccines. Green Pepper no longer exists, Monroe “We advise companies like those that reports that the marriage is still going make influenza vaccines by investigating strong. Monroe earned his PhD in molecular biology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1983, then completed a post-doctoral OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY SHEALAH CRAIGHEAD President Donald J. Trump, joined by Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (center), and Dr. Stephan Monroe, associate director of the CDC (right), tours the Centers for fellowship in virology at the University of Wisconsin. He joined the CDC in 1987 and was later named the deputy director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases before being appointed to his current post. In addition, he has co-authored more than 130 scientific manuscripts and book chapters, and he holds two patents that deal with the genetic sequencing of viruses.
Disease Control and Prevention on March 6, 2020, in Atlanta. In 1998, he received the Pekka strains of influenza around the world,” virology for developing a test for a virus that
Monroe explains. “The flu tends to make causes diarrhea on cruise ships. small changes over time, so we provide Not all of Monroe’s time at the CDC pharmaceutical companies with seed was spent in a lab. In 2015, he traveled to materials so they can create the yearly Liberia to investigate the Ebola outbreak flu shot.” firsthand. Growing up, Monroe was fascinated by Looking back on his 33 years at the science and began his academic career agency, Monroe says he’s most proud of at the University of Rhode Island, with the helping his colleagues fight some of the dream of studying marine biology and becomworld’s deadliest disease outbreaks. ing the next Jacques Cousteau. But the field “Everything we do at the CDC is a team was relatively small at the time, and realizing effort,” he says. “Sure, I’ve made individual the name “Monroe” didn’t open doors like contributions, but I’m most proud of being
“Cousteau” did, he turned his attention part of a team, as well as helping a number to molecular biology and biochemistry. of people I’ve been able to mentor along
He transferred to Iowa State University, the way. Some of them have become very one of the few schools offering a degree capable leaders in the agency. It’s like living in biochemistry. vicariously through your children. I’m very Monroe credits Iowa State for growth in proud of their success.” “What got me really going was working Benjamin Gleisser is a freelance writer living on my undergraduate project with [former in Ontario, Canada Halonen Award in diagnostic
– TIMOTHY C. BECKER, (’94 CONST ENGR)
From China, with hope
In early April, Bill Diesslin (A)(’97 civil & construction engineering) experienced how Cyclones are truly everywhere when he received an email from alumnus Luqiao Yu (’12 fi nance and accounting), forwarded from the ISU Alumni Association. Diesslin is the associate director of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) at Iowa State. He’s been working seven days a week to help campus and surrounding communities combat COVID-19. Along with fellow alumni living in China, Yu was organizing supplies to send to ISU for COVID-19 relief. “After I saw the news about COVID-19 in the USA, I knew that the ISU community was suffering the same way I had just experienced a couple of weeks ago,” Yu says. “So I decided to donate.” Yu lives in Ningbo, a city in east China’s Zhejiang province. Along with
17 friends and Iowa State alumni from different areas of China, he organized a shipment of masks and protective equipment to campus. “There are a lot of people putting in very long hours to respond to COVID-19,” Diesslin says. “We are physically and mentally exhausted. To hear that alumni on the other side of the planet care enough about ISU to ask to help means a lot. Should I ever fi nd myself in China, I will look Luqiao up and thank him in person.” Within four hours of reaching Ames, Diesslin was able to put the entire shipment of supplies to use. Among the organizations to receive protective equipment were: • Thielen Student Health Center at ISU received 800 masks • Mary Greeley Medical Center received 1,500 masks and 200 face shields • Story County Medical Center received 1,500 masks • The Ames Fire Department received 1,000 masks • The ISU Emergency Operations Center received 200 masks The actions of Yu and his friends have started a chain reaction. More alumni from China and other parts of the world are coming forward to offer aid, with Iowa State University EH&S, the Iowa State University Alumni Association, and more offi ces working with those interested in donating. “It was a wonderful experience to study in Ames,” Yu says, on behalf of himself and his friends. “It is always our honor to help the ISU community.”
– Kate Tindall
– BILL DIESSLIN, ON MARCH 26, 2020, IN RESPONSE TO A DONATION OF MASKS AND OTHER PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FROM ISU ALUMNUS LUQIAO LU (’12 FINANCE/ACCT) AND FRIENDS IN CHINA
ISU grad in the ICU Jonathan Knedler (’08 kinesiology) is working as an ICU critical care nurse practitioner in Omaha. “There are Cyclones on the front lines against COVID,” he writes. “I’m ready for another shift in the ICU … I work in ICUs in both Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Iowa, as well as provide ICU tele-health to rural areas in Nebraska. Proud ISU grad ‘08!”
CYCLONES TEAM UP TO CREATE MODULAR TREATMENT FACILITIES
Two men leading the charge in the development of “strategic, temporary, acuity-adaptable treatment modules” (STAAT Mods) – a unique, pre-fabricated, modular intensive care unit facility that can be constructed in a matter of weeks – are both Iowa State grads working in Wisconsin. Ben Bruns (L)(’01 construction engr) is executive vice president and northern operations general manager for The Boldt Company; Kurt Spiering (’84 arch) is vice president of HGA Architects. Bruns said the idea
Ben Bruns
came out of the desire in mid-March to increase the number of hospital beds to help care for COVID-19 patients. The STAAT Mod units come in 16-bed and 24-bed versions.
