Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 | Volume 211 | Number 60 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Science goes global ISU professors aid international physics projects By Alex.Cory @iowastatedaily.com
Sarah Muller/Iowa State Daily
Mary Hensley, the Health Center’s interim director, speaks to an audience.
Center reflects on goals
Lecturing, grading papers and planning keeps ISU professors busy with the wide range of tasks their job demands, but one professor’s job is quite different. Jim Cochran, professor of physics and astronomy, not only has the responsibilities of a professor but also helps oversee the Large Hadron Collider and the U.S. ATLAS experiment, two of the largest science experiments of all time in terms of scale. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, and the largest single machine in the world. The ATLAS experiment is one of the particle detectors in the collider that measures the particle collisions created by the experiment. Since 2013, Cochran has been the deputy manager of the ATLAS Operations Program, helping oversee the United States’ contribution to ATLAS at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. As deputy manager, Cochran helps manage contributions from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, which respectively give $25.6 million and $9 million dollars to ATLAS annually. “It’s a lot of bureaucracy, working with the different agencies,” Cochran said. Cochran’s work involves making sure the money flows, participating in general management and acting as a liaison between the European Organization for Nuclear Research management and the funding agencies. “It’s a lot of traveling, more than I actually care for,” said Cochran, who travels to Europe frequently for his job. In 2013, ATLAS and the Large Hadron Collider helped shed light on the mysterious Higgs boson particle, which gives mass
COLLIDER p4
By Sarah.Muller @iowastatedaily.com
By ISD Staff Students who gathered in Beardshear Hall on Monday afternoon to state their support for the students of color at the University of Missouri used the opportunity to restate demands of the university to address racism on campus. A Sept. 30 open forum held in the Great Hall was called after a student protester’s poster was ripped at the CyHawk tailgate earlier that month. The forum kickstarted student demands of the university. The following is the list of events and steps taken after the protest provided to the Daily by University Relations. “In the time since the Sept. 30 forum, senior administration and President Steven Leath have taken a number of steps to begin to address diversity issues. This is in addition to further steps and action items that will begin with the Dec. 1 arrival of the new
ment, university infrastructure and university environment. Each subcommittee is made up of staff, faculty and students. Freeman said ISU President Steven Leath extended the current plan for one year in order to align the current process with the Board of Regents’ process. Four open forums will allow students, staff and faculty to provide input throughout the process of working on the strategic plan. The two forums in the fall will give the subcommittees information that will assist them in creating the first draft. The spring forums will then allow students, staff and faculty to critique the draft. “This is the opportunity for broad community input,” Freeman said. Freeman said the committees think they have a good idea of what the issues are but that can’t be guaranteed until the open forums take place. “We want [the forum] to be an open dialogue,” Freeman said. Freeman said he expects the growing pains from the higher enrollment to be students’ main concerns.
STRATEGIC FORUM p4
THIELEN p4
Max Goldberg/Iowa State Daily
Jim Cochran, professor of physics and astronomy, sits next to the computer in the Zaffarano Physics Addition. The computer is directly connected to the main computer at CERN, and it is used to help analyze data directly from the Large Hadron Collider.
University works with students Administration moves forward with diversity initiatives
The Student Health Advisory Committee hosted an outreach program Tuesday in the Union Drive Community to explain the steps being taken at the Thielen Student Health Center, including policies and construction. “We want to do things that are sustainable. We want to do things that are critical,” said Martino Harmon, associate vice president for Student Affairs. Harmon started by acknowledging to the 16 people in attendance the negative stigma that follows student health centers but continued by explaining the purpose of the outreach is to inform the public and change the future of the health center. He pointed out the increase in enrollment challenged a lot of areas in the university, including the health center. He addressed the two-to-three-day visit that the Keeling Associates used to analyze and produce the 59-page report on the center’s services. “We accepted the document — may not [have] agreed with every point — but we accepted it, and we used it as a playbook to move forward,” Harmon said. He introduced Mary Hensley, the health center’s interim director, who began with the philosophy based off of her son’s crosscountry concept that she uses when considering the center: Plan your race, race your plan. Hensley was brought to the Health Center in mid July, along with Bridget Konz, quality improvement officer. However, a search for a quality improvement permanent director, or a leader who focuses on the improvement of the health center for the long term, was launched in early July. Sara Parris joined the health center in late September as the assistant director for administrative services. Dr. Cosette Scallon joined as associate director for clinical services. Scallon’s position allows her to be a physician with management authority while the center’s administration looks for a permanent director. Addressing quality management, Konz has been leading preparations for accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. The association would review and update policies and procedures that are currently in progress. The health center has eliminated use of paper charts, as well. Training for the staff, including training involving Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as HIPAA, which is a medical confidentiality act set in place in 1996, started in September. There’s been recognition of services that the health center provides including Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act inspection, which was completed Aug. 27 with “flying colors,” Hensley said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Iowa Department of Public Health recognized the health center for its
vice president for diversity and inclusion. This position was created after seeking feedback from campus stakeholders in the diversity audit. Immediately following the “Discussion on Racism, Diversity and Inclusion,” President Leath charged senior staff with compiling recommendations from the university community. Oct. 6 — Latinos United for Change provided a list of needs and recommended solutions to improve the campus environment, particularly for Latinos and Latinas. Oct. 15 — Reginald Stewart was introduced as the new vice president for diversity and inclusion. Oct. 22— the Strategic Plan Steering Committee was announced. Oct. 22-30 — The Strategic Plan Steering Committee established six subcommittees, including one specifically focused on building initiatives into the strategic plan to ensure a welcoming, safe and inclusive campus environment. Oct. 30-Nov. 11 — The sub-
TIME LINE p8
Plan lays out ISU’s future Committees ask for student input at public forums By Shannon.McCarty @iowastatedaily.com The six strategic planning subcommittees are going to polish Iowa State’s strategic plan, and they want student and faculty input. The strategic plan is an outline of how the university is going to accomplish its missions and goals. Steve Freeman, university professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the chairman of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee that built the planning subcommittees. The first open forum will take place at noon Wednesday in the Oak Room of the Memorial Union. The other forum will take place at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 1 in the Oak Room. Each subcommittee will focus on a separate aspect of Iowa State: student experience, university research, economic develop-
TRIVIA
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