VISIONS Summer 2021

THE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS OF THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION |

The culture of innovation fuels curiosity and nurtures creative sparks

Summer 2021

GE T T IN G S TA RTED c gi e se k e @ i a s tat e . e du

PHOTO BY MATT VAN WINKLE

by Carole Gieseke

The last word Dear Readers, This is my last issue of VISIONS magazine.

I feel sad about that. But mostly I feel lucky.

I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have held this wonderful position for more than two decades. I thank my lucky stars that back in 1997, Jim Hopson and Karen Tow, the leaders of the Iowa State University Alumni Association, took a chance on this non-ISU graduate to take the reins of the alumni magazine.

I was lucky to have inherited one of the best alumni magazines in the country from editor Deb Gibson, from whom I’ve learned so much.

I was lucky to have been able to work on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country.

I am so grateful to have worked continuously with photographer Jim Heemstra and designer Scott Thornton, talented visual artists who made every issue so beautiful and who also became two of my closest friends.

And I was blessed over the years with two outstanding writers, Karol Crosbie and Kate Bruns, whose words made the pages of VISIONS sing.

I’m lucky to have had a husband and two daughters who understood that sometimes the magazine was the most important thing to me at any given moment, but that I’d be there for them just as soon as the deadline was over.

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With this issue, I’ve published 97 magazines (so close to 100 that it breaks my heart) and worked at the ISU Alumni Association for 24 years. I am lucky to have had Association leadership who trusted my editorial judgment and let me create a magazine that seems to have resonated with (most) readers … to have traveled to all 50 states and several countries to tell the stories of Cyclones everywhere … and to have had the opportunity to meet so many of you. You welcomed me into your homes and businesses and told me about your lives and your love for Iowa State University.

This special place will forever be in my heart.

I leave here with an incredible sense of pride for being allowed to tell hundreds of Iowa State stories. And I leave a team – photographer Matt Van Winkle and designer Jenny Witte – who will continue to love and nurture this magazine.

I’m off on a new adventure. I will miss you all very much. 

VISIONS editor

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COVER STORY

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

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2 Getting Started 4 Letters to the Editor 6 Around Campus 34 Cyclones Everywhere

Featuring Cyclone stories, newsmakers, and more 44 Sports 46 Calendar

A college on the move

Iowa State’s Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business is having a moment

Innovate at Iowa State

The culture of innovation is a mindset that fuels curiosity and nurtures creative sparks

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2021 Iowa STATEment Makers Stroke(s) of genius

On the Cover: Iowa State University is a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education. The new five-level, 140,000-squarefoot Student Innovation Center is the hub of campus innovation.

Photo by Matt Van Winkle

Jacob Gasper, a senior in architecture, works in the Architectural Robotics Lab in the Iowa State University Student Innovation Center. Photo by Matt Van Winkle.

SUMMER 2021 / VOLUME 34 / NO. 2 EDITOR: Carole Gieseke PHOTOGRAPHY: Matt Van Winkle DESIGN: Jenny Witte LOCAL PHONE 515-294-6525 TOLL-FREE 1-877-ISU-ALUM (478-2586) WEBSITE isualum.org

VISIONS (ISSN 1071-5886) is published quarterly for members of the Iowa State University Alumni Association by the ISU Alumni Association, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 5001 1-1403, (515) 294-6525, FAX (515) 294-9402. Periodicals postage paid at Ames, Iowa, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VISIONS, ISU Alumni Center, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 50011-1403.

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Copyright 2021 by the ISU Alumni Association, Jeffery W. Johnson, Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed President and CEO and publisher.

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

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.

A DV E R T I S I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S : SH A N N O N F OO T E , sfoote@iastate.edu 3

2021-2022 ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Timothy R. Quick**# Chair ’01 Marketing, Intl. Business Clive, Iowa Marc S. Mores**# Chair-elect ’95 Exercise & Sport Science Johnston, Iowa Kathy A. (Sullivan) Peterson**^# Immediate Past Chair ’95 Speech Comm.

Aurelia, Iowa Gregory Smith**# Vice Chair of Finance ’91 Occ. Safety, MPA ’10 Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cathy Schmidt**# Vice Chair of Records ’88 Marketing Plymouth, Minn.

Bonnie Whalen ISUAA Board Treasurer ’92 Finance, MPA ’12 Ex-officio/voting Pilot Mound, Iowa Jeffery W. Johnson**# Lora and Russ Talbot ISUAA Endowed President & CEO PhD ’14 Education Ex-officio/non-voting Ames, Iowa ELECTED DIRECTORS Scott Bauer** ’85 Business Mgmt.

Ames, Iowa Dan Bumblauskas** ’03 Indust. Engr./Econ., MS ’06, PhD ’10 Cedar Falls, Iowa Kelli Ann Cameron**# ’02 Ag. Education Janesville, Wis. Taylor Davis** ’17 Supply Chain Mgmt.

Las Vegas, Nev. Marvin DeJear** ’00 Business Mgmt., MBA ’03, PhD ’16 Ed. Leadership Des Moines, Iowa Allison Flinn* ’10 Animal Science, ’14 Vet. Med. Cheverly, Md. Chad Harris** ‘01 Political Science Kansas City, Mo. Trey Hemmingsen** ’11 Advertising Denver, Colo.

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Anthony Jones* ’98 Exercise & Sport Science, PhD ’10 Ed. Leadership Ames, Iowa

Letters 

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.

Amanda Matchett* ’08 Marketing / Intl. Bus. Blaine, Minn.

Larry Pithan** ’73 Mech. Engr.

Andalusia, Ill. Darius Potts* ’89 Telecommunication Arts Ankeny, Iowa Dawn Refsell** ’01 Agronomy, MS ’03 Crop Production & Physiology Runnells, Iowa Melissa Schnurr* ’04 Psychology, MS ’06 Human Dev. & Family Studies, PhD ’09 Ankeny, Iowa Martha Smith**# ’04 Ag. Business St. Louis, Mo. Amy Burrough Tetmeyer**# ’91 Accounting Johnston, Iowa Eric Wittrock**# ’92 Mech. Engr.

Urbandale, Iowa APPOINTED DIRECTORS Sophia Magill** ISU President’s Designee ’05 Pol. Sci. Ames, Iowa Michele Appelgate* College Representative ’88 Journ. & Mass Comm.

Ames, Iowa DESIGNATED DIRECTORS Brad Lewis** Non-alumni Representative Bondurant, Iowa Hunter Crawford*** Senior, Ag. Business Student Alumni Leadership Council Representative Clarinda, Iowa *Annual member **Life member ***Student member ^Business member # 2020 Sustaining Donor To apply for the Board of Directors, go to isualum.org/ board. The deadline is Sept. 15.

Meet the Board: isualum.org/about_board

THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES I was personally saddened, and, yes, angered, at some of the letters that responded to VISIONS' Fall 2020 focus on racial issues.

And, yes, I did note that some of those came from alums of the '50s and '60s; I also noted that one came from the suburban Chicago area where I have lived for nearly 65 years.

I would like to assure your readers, such as Nathan Kaehler (Letters to the Editor, spring 2021), that it is unfair to paint all of us alums from that era – or, for that matter, all of the residents of the Chicago area – with that brush. I can't deny that I may still have, and may have had, biases, but I was not consciously racist when I attended on campus (1953-56), nor am I now; I think I can say that, along with many of my classmates, I would have risen to oppose racist incidents had those been brought to our attention. Regrettably, our student body at that time was not very diverse, and I do not recall public incidents in that period specifically invoking racism.

I do, however, remember a civil rights issue – raised on campus when a school board of some description (as I recall, in Indiana, although that recollection may not be correct) banned copies of The Adventures of Robin Hood from school libraries on the grounds that it glorified resistance to authority. That provoked a strong campus reaction: An issues group was formed, under the name “Veritas;” meetings were held, and we supporters wore green feathers as a sign of our stance... We may not have had 2020 sensibilities for civil rights, but we were certainly not without understanding that such issues called for our involvement.

James R. Fancher * ’56 electrical engineering Naperville, Ill.

Appalled that our school’s leadership lacks the courage to at least discourage if not condemn the extremists who joined the attack on our nation’s foundations on Jan. 6. (“College Republicans: ‘Arm up’ and ‘destroy,’” Around Campus, spring 2021). These idiots need to wear the brown shirts of Nazi youth, not the proud colors of ISU. Viruses come in many forms. Extremism like theirs is a virus that needs recognition for what it is.

Jeff White * ’60 industrial admin Radnor, Pa. It is with great interest that I have followed the conversation in VISIONS magazine about systemic racism and ways to work towards racial justice. I am glad to see it, particularly those letters requesting that the conversation continue. I am sure most of you are well aware about the national conversations about apologies and reparations.

I was similarly interested, in fact delighted, to read the discussion in the ISU Daily about the March 2021 conference on Violence Against Women and Women’s Health convened for Women’s Week. Particularly, what stood out for me were the statements by Margo Foreman, assistant vice president for equal opportunity, that “there is not enough of an expectation for men to contribute to the issue of violence against women” and “the trend that bothers me … is how men’s responsibility and their [lack of] energy toward fixing the problem is still not being called out as much as it probably should be.”

This rings true to my experience at Iowa State (as well as elsewhere) and triggered the thought that perhaps sexual violence against THE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS OF THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION |

Winter 2021

THE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS OF THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION |

Spring 2021

A year in the life of a pandemic IOWA STATE RESPONDS TO THE UNPARALLELED HEALTH AND ECONOMIC CRISIS CAUSED BY COVID-19

DEEPROOTS

Read VISIONS online

How the 2020 derecho altered Iowa State’s campus landscape

We hope you enjoy receiving VISIONS magazine as a benefit of your ISU Alumni Association membership.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your membership!

Do you prefer to read your magazine on a smartphone or tablet? Want to cut down on paper waste and have a copy of VISIONS magazine that’s Throughout this magazine: * indicates life member of the ISU Alumni Association

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Iowa State University Alumni Association (ISUAA) welcomes letters to the editor addressing stories in VISIONS or topics of interest to Iowa Staters. All submissions must be signed and clearly marked “Letter to the Editor.” They must include the writer’s address and daytime phone number. The editor makes all final decisions on selecting letters to publish, and reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. The editor may follow up with a letter writer to request any clarification. Letters selected to be published

will appear either in a subsequent issue of the magazine or online on the ISUAA website. The views and opinions expressed in letters are solely those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect those of ISUAA and Iowa State University.

Letters containing potentially libelous statements or personal attacks will not be published. Send letters to VISIONS editor, ISU Alumni Center, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 50011-1403 or email Letter_to_the_Editor-Visions@iastate.edu.

women is also a situation where we should consider apologies for our institutional failure to handle sexual violence against women appropriately.

Specifically, I sat on the All-University Judiciary Committee at ISU from 1975-1977 as the sole student representative. For at least

It is with great interest that I have followed the conversation in VISIONS magazine about systemic racism and ways to work towards racial justice. I am glad to see it, particularly those letters requesting that the conversation continue. part of that time, as I recall, I was also the sole female representative. A case of rape came to the committee, for which a football player was found guilty. I was astonished when I was the sole dissenting vote that his “punishment” consist only of being required to sit out one football game. The male members of the committee were concerned that if he was expulsed from the team (my suggestion), he would miss the rest of his senior season.

Apparently, that was unacceptable despite his egregious criminal behavior. Clearly the men on the committee were sympathizing more with the perpetrator than with the victim.

Although it is now over 40 years later, I would plea to the university that they locate the victim if possible and apologize to her, the greater university community, and the general public for their irresponsible handling of her case. Reparations are not fathomable to me in this instance, but perhaps I lack imagination.

This case has bothered me for the past 40 years, so I can only begin to imagine her experience then – and more recently – as similar cases have received more public awareness in recent years.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts as an institution and as a community.

Caroline J. Chantry ** ’78 biochemistry & biology Davis, Calif.

CONNECTING THROUGH VISIONS I read VISIONS and the letters to the editor each time with anticipation, awe, and pride in the ISU community. Every edition makes me learn, think, act, and wonder. Keep doing what you do: touching lives.

Kelly Michael O’Neill * ’80 sociology, MS ’82 industrial relations Chaska, Minn.

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Kwizera Imani

The spring 2020 VISIONS article about Kwizera Imani (“Sky’s the limit,” Around Campus) hooked me from the first sentence: “The words ‘aerospace engineering’ don’t exist in Kwizera Imani’s native language.” Like I often do after reading about first-generation graduates that overcame long odds, I reached out to him on LinkedIn. Again, per my typical script, I told him that, as a fellow first-generation college (and high school) graduate, his story inspired me as his hurdles were much higher than those I encountered.

Unlike the others I contacted in the past who may have responded with a “Thanks” or “Go Cyclones!”, Imani wanted to know if we could get together the next time he was in Central Iowa. We decided a physical meeting wasn’t the best idea due to the pandemic, so we met via Zoom for the first time shortly after the George Floyd murder.

Imani was wearing his ISU cap and I was wearing an ISU sweatshirt.

Since then, we’ve been meeting monthly, and a strong friendship has developed. We tend to have these quirky similarities that make the relationship

Since then, we’ve been meeting monthly, and a strong friendship has developed. Imani refers to it as “mentoring,” but I’m honestly not sure which of us is learning more. seem like more than a random occurrence. For example, his father is a meatpacker, as was mine.

He struggled with time management, a topic that I’ve taught for years.

We share questions for the other prior to our virtual meetings and then have an honest discussion.

The topics range from professional to politics. Imani refers to it as “mentoring,” but I’m honestly not sure which of us is learning more.

Rick Brimeyer * ’82 mechanical engr Ames, Iowa

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Fire damages Ross Hall CHRISTOPHER GANNON

An early morning fire on Feb. 22 caused soot and smoke damage in Ross Hall. The first-floor corridor sustained considerable heat and smoke damage. Spring and summer classes were moved to other locations while cleaning and repairs were completed. The goal is to have the building fully functional in August for the start of the fall semester. The fire started in a first-floor custodial closet. No one was injured in the blaze.

Program supports fostered and homeless students

Around Campus

A university-wide program launching this fall will focus on supporting students who have aged out of foster care, are homeless, or whose families are unable to provide emotional support.

Students on the Rise in Education (STORIES) will tap into existing student support services on campus and provide a community structure for its undergraduate and graduate members.

“The chance of a high school student in foster care going to college is so slim,” said Laura Kilbride ('09 health & human perf), student services specialist in the College of Human Sciences. “Nationally, three percent

of foster youth get a four-year degree. They move frequently and lose high school credits. Navigating college applications, paying the fees, filling out the [financial aid forms]? It’s next to impossible for them.”

Kilbride spent a few years researching university programs for students who had been in foster care and found some strong ones – but none in Iowa. So, she advocated for one in her college.

“We’re the land-grant,” she said of Iowa State. “We’re about open access.”

Talking turkey The facility will provide a living classroom for students to experience hands-on learning in modern production practices, and flexible space and state-of-the-art equipment for research that addresses current challenges facing the turkey industry.

PAUL GATES

The ISU Department of Animal Science has received commitments of more than $2 million in private donations for a new Turkey Teaching and Research Facility. A groundbreaking was held April 8 for the facility, which will be constructed north of the Robert T. Hamilton Poultry Teaching and Research Farm, located south of the Iowa State campus.

Pictured (from left to right): Larissa Holtmyer Jones, president & CEO, ISU Foundation; Katelyn Boeding, ISU student; Gretta Irwin, executive director, Iowa Turkey Federation; Wendy Wintersteen, president, Iowa State University; Daniel J. Robison, endowed dean’s chair, ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Dan Thomson, chair, ISU Department of Animal Science; and Julie Kenney, Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

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ISU students die in boating accident Two Iowa State students died in a boating accident on Little Wall Lake on Sunday, March 28. The students, who were part of ISU’s Crew Club, were practicing with their team on the lake, which is located in Hamilton County north of Ames. Five students were onboard when their boat capsized; three of the students were rescued and treated at an area hospital.

The students who died were Yaakov Ben-David, 20-year-old sophomore accounting major from Washington, D.C., and Derek Nanni, 19-yearold freshman chemistry major from Normal, Ill. Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen (PhD '88 entomology**) released a statement following the accident: “The Iowa State community is heartbroken to learn of this tragic accident at Little Wall Lake. At this time, we are focused on providing support to club members, their families, and friends. We ask that everyone keep them in their thoughts during this very difficult time.”

Reports described the conditions as “cold and blustery” when the

students’ crew scull capsized. The accident set off a two-day recovery mission in the lake’s rough waters from multiple state and local law enforcement agencies. Officials recovered the body of one student Sunday evening; the second was recovered Monday morning.

Crew Club members told officials that Little Wall Lake appeared smooth and that winds were forecast to be low that day. Officials said the winds were 20-25 mph at the time of the accident; team members said the winds “picked up out of nowhere.” According to the club’s constitution, members should not row in wind greater than 14 mph.

There has been an investigation of the accident as well as a review of safety policies and procedures for Iowa State’s sport clubs.

Hit me with your best shot

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After months of planning, Iowa State University this spring offered a mass vaccination clinic to protect against COVID-19.

The clinic was held in State Gym, and all ISU students, faculty, and staff were encouraged to get the vaccine. The clinic was run as an incident command operation by ISU’s Emergency Management and Thielen Student Health Center teams, with the help of hundreds of clinical and non-clinical volunteers.

As of May 12, Iowa State had administered 10,400 doses of vaccine. A group of four undergraduate industrial engineering students helped plan the logistics of the mass vaccination clinic. This spring was not the first time State Gym served the university during a pandemic. The lone court in a 5-year-old State Gymnasium was converted to a hospital for soldiers during the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 in the closing months of World War I.

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FIVE COOL THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW AND SHARE ABOUT ISU

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OPERA HALL OF FAME: Simon Estes ('07 honorary), Iowa State’s F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, was named to the inaugural class of OPERA America’s Opera Hall of Fame.

ABE GRAD PROGRAM: Iowa State’s graduate program in agricultural and biosystems engineering has been ranked second in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

GOLDWATER SCHOLARS: Two ISU students have been named 2021 Goldwater Scholars. Benjamin Litterer is a junior in data science, and Paiton McDonald is a junior in agricultural biochemistry. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering in the U.S.

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TOP 4 PERCENT: For the eighth year in a row, Iowa State’s agricultural programs have been named to the top 4 percent worldwide among other agriculture and forestry institutions.

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS: Iowa State is among the U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most Fulbright U.S. Scholars for 2020-2021. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Six Iowa State students were offered Fulbright Awards for 2020-2021.

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Moving forward to fall Committee has been established to help coordinate plans for the upcoming year. The committee will work closely with all existing working groups, including those focused on academics, research, student housing and dining, and public health. The committee will be led by John Lawrence ('84 animal sci, MS '86 economics**), vice president for Extension and Outreach.

“This plan is part of a progression of steps to return to the vibrant experience on the Iowa State campus,” Wintersteen said.

Fall semester will begin Monday, Aug. 23 and end Friday, Dec. 17.

Spring semester runs from Jan. 18 to May 13, 2022. An optional winter session will be offered Dec. 20 through Jan. 14.

MATT VAN WINKLE

Around Campus

Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen (PhD'88 entomology**) announced on March 12 her goal to return to a “new normal” for the 2021-2022 academic year.

“We are planning to return in-person classes, labs, studios, residence, dining, student activities, and campus events to pre-pandemic levels,” she wrote in an email to the university community. “As we move forward, the foundation of our ‘new normal’ will be based on appropriate health practices, an assumption that vaccinations will be widely available, and our deep commitment to academic quality and supporting an excellent student experience.”

To prepare for the fall semester, a Moving Forward Coordinating

Graduation innovation A series of commencement exercises were held on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8, giving graduates and their families an opportunity to experience graduation in person this spring.

In order to ensure adequate physical distancing, the ceremonies were divided into smaller groups and scheduled in different locations.

On Friday, a ceremony for master’s degrees was held at 11 a.m. in Jack Trice Stadium, the Veterinary Medicine commencement was held at 3 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum, and the Ph.D. ceremony took place at 7 p.m. in Hilton. This was the first year that the master’s and Ph.D. ceremonies had been conducted separately.

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More than 5,000 Cyclones received diplomas this semester.

The next day, undergraduates were honored in six college-based, daylong commencement ceremonies on two stages on opposite sides of Jack Trice Stadium.

In May, Jonathan Wickert, senior vice president and provost, announced that students who graduated in 2020 and missed out on in-person ceremonies in May and December will be welcomed back to campus in October 2021 for a special in-person ceremony to honor them.

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INNOVATIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Campus initiatives and research projects go green Paper towel composting A pilot project that launched in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center during the spring semester could lead to used paper towels feeding campus plants instead of filling up landfill space.

Nine restrooms in the medical center had two disposal bins – one for paper towels, one for other garbage. Custodians worked to keep bags from the bins separate, taking the paper towels to a dumpster that campus services delivered weekly to the university’s compost facility adjacent to the ISU dairy farm south of Ames.

“By all reports, the project is going great,” Merry Rankin ('87 business, MS animal ecology**), ISU director of sustainability, said.

“Building occupants are very supportive and excited about the project.

There have been some initial discussions with the Vet Med campus that indicates they are interested in expanding the project to additional spaces.”

If the pilot project is deemed a success, designated receptacles for paper towels could be available in other campus restrooms as soon as this fall – a potentially significant way to help the university progress in its goal to keep 85% of the waste produced on campus from becoming landfill trash by 2025.

Breaking down polystyrene Polystyrene waste is everywhere, and it’s not biodegradable. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory on the ISU campus, along with partners from Clemson University, have discovered a green, low-energy process to break down polystyrene, a type of plastic that is widely used in foam packaging materials, disposable food containers, cutlery, and many other applications.

JIM HEEMSTRA

Hilary Seo named dean of library services Hilary Seo has been named the permanent dean of library services. Seo, the library’s associate dean of curation services, has served as interim dean since July 2019.

“It’s a great honor to be selected as dean of library services,” Seo said.

“I look forward to working with our talented team to support Iowa State’s land-grant mission of teaching, research, and extension; working with students, faculty, and staff on campus to make their work accessible around the globe, as well as serving the information needs of Iowans.”

“Hilary has done an impressive job leading the Library through the challenges of the past year, while also advancing critical areas such as open access, digital scholarship, open educational resources, and diversity and inclusion,” President Wendy Wintersteen said. “Working with our outstanding library faculty and staff and partners across campus, I am confident she will continue to develop innovative initiatives that serve the needs of our scholarly community.”

“The goal of this process is not to erase history. Rather, it’s to include a fuller representation of stakeholders in deliberations about the significance of sites with shared – and sometimes conflicting – cultural significance.”

– Sarah Dees, ISU assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, in an article in The Conversation titled “U.S. landmarks bearing racist and Colonial references are renamed to reflect Indigenous values.”

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The culture of innovation is a mindset that fuels curiosity and nurtures creative sparks When you consider the world’s greatest challenges, they’re not just engineering or business problems. They are multidimensional issues. Think climate change, hunger, poverty.

These issues require solutions conceived in collaboration by people from multiple disciplines. And it’s these issues that Iowa State University students are tackling through Innovate at Iowa State.

ISU President Wendy Wintersteen (PhD ’88 entomology**) has made it a goal to position Iowa State University as a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.

“No other university is doing student entrepreneurship and innovation on the scale occurring at Iowa State,” Wintersteen said.

“Our students are not only learning about entrepreneurship and innovation in our brandnew Student Innovation Center and in every college, they’re seeing our faculty and staff model it every day through our teaching, research, and extension programs that address complex challenges, create economic opportunities, and benefit all Iowans.” 

Photos by Matt Van Winkle unless otherwise noted

Students collaborate in the Student Innovation Center.

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DAN MCCLANAHAN FOR ZLR

Ayman Karmi, a materials engineering major, is working on an idea to recycle discarded plastics into 3D printing filament that can be used to print musical instruments or vital parts like drumheads or mouthpieces for saxophones.

A view beyond the traditional boundaries of education Ayman Karmi is a drummer. He loves playing jazz on his kit with other musicians. He’s also a materials engineering major. And right now, the Iowa State junior is merging his two interests to innovate for a better world. Karmi, along with more than a dozen other students and faculty collaborators, is working on an idea to recycle discarded plastics into 3D printing filament that can be used to print musical instruments or vital parts like drumheads or mouthpieces for saxophones.

“What really excites me about this project is how we can have an impact on my community in so many ways,” Karmi said. “We can get people involved in recycling. We can teach people about the possibili-

ties of 3D printing. We can get students involved in innovating.”

The REFORM Project (Recyclables Evolved From Offscouring Remade to Music) is just one of many progressive innovations being nurtured at Iowa State.

Innovate at Iowa State is an interdisciplinary approach to developing big ideas, facilitating conversations, and promoting execution.

Even more than that, Innovate at Iowa State is a mindset and a worldview for students and faculty who want to think – and act – beyond the traditional boundaries of education.

“At Iowa State, we’re in the business of building the pipeline of inventors and innovators. We’ve been a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship for a long time, and we’ve worked to open up the world of innovation to all students. Our Innovate at Iowa State initiative aims to create a vibrant ecosystem that infuses concepts of creativity and innovation into the curriculum and invites everyone to join.”

– Wendy Wintersteen, ISU president 12

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Leading the nation The latest rankings from The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine reflect Iowa State’s growing efforts to lead the country in entrepreneurship in higher education. Iowa State is ranked 11th in The Princeton Review’s 15th annual survey of undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies. That’s up from 26th in the 2020 rankings.

“This one-year jump in the national ranking to 11th shows that entrepreneurship and innovation are a key differentiator for Iowa State University,” Wintersteen said.

Innovate at Iowa State will expand the campus culture centered on providing students with the skills, mindset, and opportunities to change the world. The initiative builds off a longstanding culture of innovation and integrates existing programs such as those offered through ISU’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.

Students in all majors also have the opportunity to collaborate, design, build, and test their ideas in the new Student Innovation

Ranked #11 in the nation by The Princeton Review’s annual survey of undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies

Center. Open in 2020, this state-of-the-art facility is a hands-on hub for everything from lunar mining and solar-powered vehicles to a student-run café and a media production suite. The center has developed a broad, diverse set of programs aimed at students who wish to gain insights and lessons learned from national entrepreneurial leaders.

In addition to the Princeton ranking, Iowa State was recognized with the 2021 Model Program Award from the U.S. Association for Small Business Entrepreneurship, the highest of the organization’s prestigious annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Awards.

“This is a really big deal,” Judi Eyles (’93 marketing**), director of the Pappajohn Center for Entreneurship, said. “The reason we won was because we really have this integrated model of academic experience and business support. That’s very hard to do on a large campus.”

First public university in Iowa to offer entrepreneurship major

2021 Model Program Award from the U.S. Association for Small Business Entrepreneurship

2020 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Innovation award from the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities 8th university in the U.S. to offer PhD in entrepreneurship

Named a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps site to enable researchers to explore the commercial potential of their emerging technologies

Academic degrees • • • •

Minor in entrepreneurship Undergraduate major in entrepreneurship Graduate certificate in entrepreneurship and innovation PhD in entrepreneurship

#IowaStateInnovates

Empowering students At Iowa State, “innovation” is much more than a buzzword. Innovation is embedded into the DNA of the university. As a land-grant institution, innovation has long been part of the mission and culture of Iowa State, with staff and students who are problem-solvers, hard workers, and creative leaders.

Today, Iowa State faculty, staff, and students are truly innovating for a better world. Iowa State faculty are not just teaching innovation; they’re innovating how they teach, think, and communicate to nurture change-makers. Students are empowered to make big moves and extraordinary strides TODAY, not just after they graduate.

Iowa State students are empowered to reach across majors and colleges to find collaborators. ISU colleges have launched a network of V I S I O N S W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG S U M M E R 2 0 2 1

entrepreneurship programs. Faculty are updating curricula to feature project-based learning, where failure is embraced as much as success.

It’s treated as an opportunity to more fully understand how innovation works.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship are very much about problem-solving,” Eyles said. “It’s all about thinking about things differently, thinking about being creative. At Iowa State, everybody is on board.

It’s really, really cool. It’s a great time to be doing innovation and entrepreneurship at Iowa State.”

- Some content for these innovation stories was provided by ISU Strategic Relations and Communications staff.

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The five-level, 140,000-square-foot, $84 million Student Innovation Center was designed to foster innovation and facilitate collaboration among students in all academic disciplines.

A HUB OF

“It’s not just a building. It’s a bold experiment to change the face of education. This is mostly shared space for students from any college or major – and that never happens in higher education.”

- Jim Oliver, Student Innovation Center director

INNOVATION Iowa State’s multidisciplinary new Student Innovation Center connects students to unlimited collaborative adventures

J

im Oliver’s enthusiasm for Iowa State University’s new Student Innovation Center knows no bounds.

walls to find collaborative workspaces, hands-on materials labs, innovative classrooms, and – most importantly – each other.

In tour after tour, media interview after interview, Oliver, the Center’s director, seemingly never tires of showcasing the highlights of the unique, multi-faceted building. And visitors are impressed.

Judi Eyles, director of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, knows her stuff when it comes to innovation. She’s been involved in the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Iowa State for 25 years.

“The general reaction is that everybody loves it,” Oliver said. “It’s just spectacular. Everybody who tours the building is blown away. It’s really gratifying to see the reaction on people’s face.”

“The most significant value of the Student Innovation Center, in my opinion, is that it’s interdisciplinary,” she said. “Before, when we had a business student with an app idea, we had to ask, ‘How do we connect this student with someone who can program it? Who can build them a model in industrial design?’ So, we were always trying to put that together based on who we knew, which is a lot of work. The Student Innovation Center makes it happen naturally.”

Oliver is a university professor and Larry and Pam Pithan Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He was named director of the then-still-under-construction Student Innovation Center back in January 2019.

Located on the west side of campus, the five-level, 140,000-squarefoot, $84 million Student Innovation Center (half funded privately and half by the state of Iowa) is a physical home for the ambitious work of innovation. It was specifically designed to foster innovation and facilitate collaboration by erasing artificial barriers among disciplines. In other words, students from all across campus can enter the Center’s high-tech 14

Oliver led a wide-eyed group of alumni through the building last February. “I want to have stuff going on here all the time,” he told them.

“Music! Ballroom dancing! Juggling club! Marriage proposals! You’ll meet so many new people here.

“It’s not an issue of finding things to do, but what to do first.”

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Clockwise from top: Industrial design students collaborate as they finalize their senior projects. / Students learn to temper chocolate in an Innovations with Chocolate class in the Culinary Creations lab. / The HNI Entrepreneurship Hub is used for student gatherings and entrepreneurship classes. / The Launch Pad provides a space for collaboration, study, meetings, and events.

Its fourth-floor location with floor-to-ceiling windows offer spectacular views of the campus.

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A HUB OF INNOVATION

Top row, left to right: Colorful threads await textile fabrications in a Student Innovation Center makerspace. / The Larry and Pam Pithan Collaborative Learning Classroom serves as an engineering capstone space. / The student-run Innovate 1858 shop features planners by student entrepreneur Linda Tong. Second row: A sketchnoting detail from a student project created in the Design Lab: Inspire. / Chocolate is slowly melted during a class in the Culinary Creations lab. / Inside the student organization assembly bay, students prepare the ISU solar car for an upcoming race. Third row: Junior Alainna McAuliff prepares a latte in Sparks Café. The café gives students the experience of operating a business as well as providing food and drink for students and faculty working in the Student Innovation Center. / Keith Kutz (’83 geology, MS ’87**) instructs Kyle Vanderpool, a senior in industrial design, in the Gaffers Guild glass-blowing studio. The room features all new equipment and bleacher seating for demonstrations. / The GoFly ISU student team gathers in the large, U-shaped makerspace with 3-D printers and other equipment. The students are holding a drone made with pieces that were printed in the space.

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Below: This classroom-in-the-round is designed for discussion-oriented classes such as this Survey of Agriculture Communications taught by Virginia Hanson. Right: Architecture students Cyle King and Jacob Gasper work in the Architectural Robotics Lab, printing clay as a formwork for concrete.

“This facility is going to change what happens at Iowa State.”

- Wendy Wintersteen, Iowa State University president What’s inside the Student Innovation Center?

There’s something for everyone in the Student Innovation Center.

Every college has space in the Center – but only 40 percent of the building is allocated to colleges. The other 60 percent is shared, collaborative space.

• Gaffers Guild (glassblowing studio) • Learning-in-the-round classroom

• Innovate 1858 (student-operated retail store)

• Culinary Creations kitchen

• Sparks (student-run café)

• Step-a-torium (presentation space)

• Student organization spaces and offices

• Industrial design studio • Makerspaces (fabrication shops) • Architectural robotics lab • Large auditorium • Entrepreneurship Hub • Team-based-learning classroom • The Launch Pad conference room • Engineering capstone project suites

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• Fabrication labs • Co-working suites • Open-collaboration seating • Media production suite • Outdoor maker space • Exhibit space • Supply store

Jim Oliver

• Printing Services center

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INNOVATION

HAPPENS HERE

Innovation programs focus on real-world experiences

In a year headlined by a pandemic, hybrid learning,

and reduced campus capacity,

you wouldn’t think that 2020-21

would be a banner year for inno vation programming.

But it was.

“I can’t believe what we’ve pulled off this year,” said Karen Piconi-Kerns (MA '92 English), ISU entrepreneur in residence and director of innovation programming. “We’ve had 10,000 touches in innovation programming – 10,000 reasons we cannot be defined by Covid.”

Flagship Fridays. Alumni Innovators in Residence. Student Innovation Fellows Corps.

Innovation Dash. New programs have been popping up like spring flowers.

“Through the programs we offer, our audacious goal is to see a shift of mindset about what innovation is,” Piconi-Kerns said. “We serve as guides to help students expand an idea, insight, or concept, helping them bring it to maturity. It could lead to a marketable product, a new service, or a solution to a community issue.”

K ar

en P

i c o ni -

Ker ns

Taking on big challenges

In April, an eight-day Ignite Innovation Showcase highlighted Iowa State’s innovation programing, with performances, competitions, projects, and discussions.

The event attracted 18,286 registrations and viewers.

• Student-powered inventors building the next generation of theme park rides • Performance-driven arts • Symposium on undergraduate research and creative expression • The intersection of art and innovation • Start Something entrepreneurship competition • The Fashion Show • Fund Challenge award winners • Community change-making

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Brenner Stickney, a junior in aerospace engineering, is a regular at Iowa State innovation programs such as the weekly Flagship Friday forums. He’s noticed a running theme in the presentations.

“The person who did something great never expected that they would do something great,” he said. “They didn’t know what they were going to do. They just went with it and pushed it, and it ended up being great.”

It’s an attitude Stickney is hoping to emulate.

He’s among more than 60 students in the Student Innovation Fellows Corps, which builds on the array of opportunities in innovation and entrepreneurship at Iowa State – adding guidance from a mostly volunteer group of faculty, staff, and business leaders – to encourage students to take on a big challenge of their own creation.

The fellows program launched last fall along with the forums, workshops, and competitions offered as part of Iowa State’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiative. The experience-based program features more than 50 industry influencers and ties together a wide variety of ISU innovation programs, encouraging students to develop

their own self-designed path.

“Students were doing a lot of these things in the past, but they saw those experiences as a bunch of transactions,” Piconi-Kerns said. “They didn’t see them as a pattern of behavior, a way of thinking about the world. We are teaching them to own and make a product of their education.

They’re better using their college experiences, and they’re better using university resources.”

A world of innovation When the state-of-the-art Student Innovation Center opened its doors in August, it kicked off a series of events, lectures, and one-of-a-kind professional training offering students access to a world of innovation.

Through Iowa State’s innovation programming, students are able to participate in the Flagship Fridays: What IF – Innovators Forum series, which offers moderated, online conversations from industry leaders about their personal stories and their perspectives on innovation Flagship Friday discussions are often led by ISU Innovators in Residence – alumni in business and industry who generously share their expertise with Iowa State students. ISU alumni can also get involved as competition judges, mentors, and speakers.

Here’s a quick look at other innovation programming: • Innovation Short Circuits help students gain expertise in innovation mindset, skills and practices through conversations with industry experts and influencers.

• The one-day Innovation Dash brings interdisciplinary teams together to create and propose solutions to specific problems.

• Through the Student Innovation Fund Challenge, motivated teams are offered the chance to earn seed money and transform their innovative ideas into prototypes or pilot projects.

• An expansive campus-wide Ignite Innovation Showcase capped off the spring semester.

“Students were hungry this year to go beyond listening to lectures online,” Jim Oliver, director of the Student Innovation Center, said. “I’m excited about the potential to change the culture at Iowa State and give students a long leash to experiment – more interdisciplinary, experiential learning.

Iowa State will prepare our students and make them much more competitive right out of the starting gate.”

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WHAT’S THE BUZZ? Supply Hive, Zakariyah Hill’s innovative not-for-profit, comes straight from the heart

W

hen we met Zakariyah Hill in February 2020, she was prepping for an entrepreneurial pitch competition sponsored by Iowa State’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.

She didn’t know that the virtual-reality travel software she envisioned would have come in handy in the months of lockdown that came next. And she didn’t know that her life was right on the cusp of changing completely as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe.

But everything did change in March 2020. Hill’s classes went online; travel was suspended; and George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis turned the country upside down.

Hill was in Des Moines last summer, and on the fifth day of marches and protests, she had an idea.

“I was tired of showing up with a cardboard sign and saying the same chants,” she said. “I wanted to do more. I wanted to take on more of a leadership role. I started thinking about what was needed.”

She and a friend collected donations and showed up to the next several rallies with sandwiches, water, and first aid. By June 25, they had filed articles of incorporation to become a nonprofit, despite having no training in the nonprofit world.

Their organization was called Supply Hive.

“Bees have two jobs: They work to collect honey, and they protect the queen bee,” Hill explained. “Our honey is social justice.”

Hill said that all the “bees” in her organization have the same stripes, working toward the common goal of social justice. At the core of Supply Hive are black women, protecting black women. “Bees also dance around to keep the queen warm,” she said. “We like to dance around and spread joy.”

Since those summer marches, Supply Hive has grown.

The group has provided winter kits for the homeless; paid

Zakariyah Hill collected donations and distributed them at civil rights rallies.

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for therapy sessions; donated three truckloads of supplies for families, children, and pregnant women; aided the people of Cedar Rapids after the derecho; and started a community garden.

The group has partnered with other Iowa not-for-profits to expand their reach; they recently partnered to donate socks and underwear to an Iowa homeless youth shelter.

“It seems so simple,” Hill said. “And it really is simple.

Mutual aid is a kind of innovative concept. We just make a point to bring light and joy into dark times.”

Hill was recently named one of the Des Moines Register’s People to Watch in 2021. For her part, Hill was watching the calendar this spring, counting down the days until she would graduate from Iowa State with a degree in management information systems.

Zakariyah Hill is the president and executive director of Supply Hive.

“My parents are proud of me, but I’ve always been kind of an actor of positivity, looking out for my neighbors,” she said. “It’s fate that I ended up in this spot.”

- Carole Gieseke

Supply Hive has donated truckloads of supplies to Iowans in need.

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THE PITCH

Pitch-off competitions are just one way the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship encourages student innovation and promotes start-up businesses

The art of the pitch has become a big deal on the Iowa State University campus.

ISU’s Pappajohn Center for Judi Eyles Entrepreneurship sponsors a fall start-up pitch competition and a spring college-by-college “pitch off” in which students are encouraged to deliver a 90-second pitch about an idea or existing business to a panel of judges for cash prizes.

The top two winners chosen in each category in each college (28 total) advance to a pitchoff finale – the Innovation Pitch Competition – where top prizes earn contestants up to $5,000.

Located in the ISU Research Park, the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship offers a variety of services and programs,

functioning as a bridge among the university’s entrepreneurship courses, experiential learning opportunities, and business start-up resources. Key programs are:

• ISU Startup Factory is a 52-week intensive “incubator” program for entrepreneurs to receive formal training, resources, and access to a network of business mentors, advisors, counselors, and investors.

“What Pappajohn Center really does is go beyond the classroom and offer experi-

ential opportunities,” explained Judi Eyles ('93 marketing**), director of the Pappajohn Center. “There are those students who come to Iowa State knowing that they want to pursue entrepreneurship, because they’ve come from a family business or they’re working on an idea, but the vast majority of students here just kind of find [entrepreneurship].

They work on a class project, or maybe they go to an Innovation Center program, or they enter a pitch competition. Entrepreneurship is more than starting a business. It’s really problem-solving and thinking about how to articulate your message. It’s a really cool opportunity at Iowa State.”

The Pappajohn Center hosts free pitch workshops for students who want to hone their skills before the competition.

When Eyles welcomed the judges and audience to the 2020 Innovation Pitch Competition, she told them, “These students have all earned their way here. You’re getting the best of the best.”

•

Unique, personalized day planners

•

Conversation-starter cards that create community among women

•

Stackable aquaculture tanks to teach kids about science

•

Toys made from recycled crayons

•

Button- and zipper-free clothing line for older adults

•

Instant tent for emergencies and natural disasters

•

Farm-to-table meat boxes featuring farmer stories

•

Gym bag system designed to attach to a backpack

•

Reusable anti-microbial bamboo straws

•

Diagnostic device for infants in developing countries

• CyBIZ Lab provides the opportunity for cross-functional teams of undergraduate and graduate students to work on business and organizational projects. Students gain handson experience working to solve real business problems, and companies and organizations receive potential solutions to business issues from a perspective outside the company.

• CYstarters is an 11-week summer accelerator for Iowa State students or recent graduates to focus on their startup or business idea.

Idea factory

From out-of-the-box ideas to fully formed products to wildly successful start-up companies, these are just a few of the innovative concepts that have been conceived by Iowa State University students and presented at recent pitch competitions: •

Fidget blanket for Alzheimers patients

•

Longer-lasting fishing lures

•

Telemedicine for rural veterinarians

•

Long-distance ride-share app

•

Cricket farming

•

Not-for-profit mentoring organization

In 2019, a pitch competition took center stage with The Great Iowa State Pitch Off: STANDING InnOVATION” at the Iowa State Fair. More than 150 Iowa State University student entrepreneurs and young alumni pitched their ideas to visitors at the fair in ISU’s exhibit at the Varied Industries Building.

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CASE STUDY: YABBLE

PHOTOS BY JIM HEEMSTRA

Cameron Stocker presents his pitch to judges during the Feb. 27, 2020 Innovation Pitch Competition at the Memorial Union M-Shop.

I

n early 2020, Cameron Stocker was riding high. The senior statistics major had just launched his social media app, Yabble; he was one of the winners of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences pitchoff; and his app had just been featured in local and campus newspapers.

We met up with Stocker in Parks Library as he was honing his pitch in anticipation of the Feb. 27 Innovation Pitch Competition.

He’d already pitched his idea publicly four times – twice in college competitions and twice in large-scale pitch-offs during his sophomore and junior years – but he knew he needed to improve his all-important “elevator speech” if he wanted to break through the competition.

“The first time, I was all over the place,” he said. “People didn’t know what I was doing. Now, I get to the point: There are these three issues and three solutions. Here are the bullet points, and here are the visuals.”

Stocker’s motivation for launching the app was his frustration with the toxic culture of social media. He enlisted the help of two friends to create Yabble, a social media channel designed to encourage thoughtful and civilized conversation.

To improve his pitch, he took advantage V I S I O N S W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG S U M M E R 2 0 2 1

of the free pitch workshop hosted by the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.

“I can talk about this all day,” Stocker said, “so it’s a lot to cover in 90 seconds. I’ve had to learn to be more confident. I’m working on smiling more, making eye contact, being upbeat.”

A few days after we met, Stocker made his pitch to the Innovation Pitch Competition judges in the Memorial Union’s Maintenance Shop. His pitch was on target, and the judges’ feedback seemed positive.

In the end, however, Stocker was not one of the winners. But he still had his product up and running and already had about 750 users signed up.

And then COVID-19 struck.

The app’s growth was steady for about six weeks and then leveled off. Stocker and his team were hard pressed to market the product in the face of a global pandemic. They struggled to acquire new users.

After about four months, Stocker decided to put the app to rest. By that time, he’d graduated from Iowa State and had taken a job as a predictive mod-

eling analyst at Nationwide.

Today, he says he doesn’t regret anything about his business start-up experience.

“I’d do it differently, yes, but I would still choose to do it 10 out of 10 times,” he said.

“I learned a lot from my mistakes. It was invaluable experience, and you can’t put a price on that.”

- Carole Gieseke Cameron Stocker practices the pitch for his product, Yabble, at Parks Library.

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INNOVATIVE CYCLONES Iowa State alumni strut their entrepreneurial stuff, from tractors to ice cream

FUTURE FARMING Team of Cyclones creates an entirely new kind of tractor Tom Boe** wanted to build a new kind of tractor from the ground up.

Oh, he’d had plenty of experience designing tractors. Since graduating from Iowa State in 1991 with a degree in mechanical engineering, he’s been involved in farm equipment development for John Deere, Caterpillar, CASE IH, and other commercial ag equipment producers. He started his own product development firm, One3 Design, in 1998 in Cedar Falls.

Boe and his team – nearly all Iowa State grads – recently started thinking about creating an electric tractor. That’s not unusual, he said; “everybody’s attempting it.” But most other companies were using a base platform of an existing vehicle, and that, he said, wasn’t the best way to develop a new product.

“It was important to keep the entire tractor compact but still have the capability to run continuously for 24 hours,” Boe said. “This meant it had to have the ability to autonomously charge its own batteries. The only way to do that was to design and build the tractor from the ground up.”

Last fall, after thousands of hours into design and fabricating, the tractor was operational.

Dubbed AMOS (Autonomous Modular Omni Scalable), the farm machine is 100 percent free of fossil fuel and operates from a laptop.

YOUR STYLE, YOUR TIME Beauty and grooming services, all from the comfort of your own home An app connecting beauty professionals to new clients, Updo solves two problems at the same time: Busy schedules that don’t allow time to go to the salon, and beauty professionals whose income won’t make ends meet.

Max Mussell (’17 marketing / Spanish*) created Updo, an app for at-home beauty services, from hair and eyebrows to makeup and pet grooming.

“We saw the opportunity to help people diversify their income,” Mussell explained. “We can empower a single mom or dad who works during the day to make an extra $200-300 a week on Updo.”

Mussell and his all-Iowa State team were in the process of launching Updo this spring in Madison, Wis. “As I think about Updo’s mission and what drives the team, it’s really around empowerment - on both sides of the Updo experience,” Mussell said. “Every client is empowered by Updo, bringing beauty services to them on their time and their calendar, all while controlling their environment. Ultimately, our mission is to build a community around empowering clients and beauty professionals to have more flexibility in how beauty services are delivered.”

THE SKI PACK Simplify your walk to the chair lift one pack at a time Any parent who’s ever taken their kids skiing knows that the trek between the parking lot and the chair lift is the most stressful part of the day. Kids fall down, drop their skis, beg to be carried – and, all the while, parents are dealing with their own equipment, too.

Julie Kiefer Gacnik (’02 exercise & sport science, MBA ’06*) and her 11-year-old daughter, Maddie, decided there had to be an easier way. They invented the Ski Pack, a tear-resistant, lightweight bag designed specifically to allow kids to carry their skis on their back.

The straps are adjustable – because everyone knows that one size does NOT fit all – and the packs have been so popular that there’s even an adult version. The best part? Once you’ve removed the skis, the bag folds small enough to fit into a jacket pocket.

“It's amazing there has not been a product specifically geared towards youth in the ski industry to support the carrying of equipment,” Gacnik said. “The focus on simplifying the walk with a hands-free, pocket-size ski carrier specifically for youth has been our target focus. It allows families to focus on the fun!”

Gacnik lives with her family in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Her company is called Pure Mountain Fun, located in Littleton, Colo., and bags are manufactured in the U.S.

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EVERYWHERE INNOVATING IN HOLLYWOOD Unreal Engine creates virtual backdrops for safer filmmaking Los Angeles is a town known for making dreams into reality, and for Sinan Al-Rubaye ('19 management), that’s especially true.

Al-Rubaye is the head of growth for ICVR, a production studio that specializes in utilizing game engines to create cutting-edge solutions. It is exactly what Al-Rubaye has always wanted to do: innovate.

“When I was a kid, I was always interested in technology,” Al-Rubaye says. “I grew up watching people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. All of those people created these platforms and technologies that changed the world. I decided that, one day, I wanted to be in a position to change the world, too.”

The pandemic has called for a whole new level of innovation. ICVR recently partnered with Hollywood’s major film studios and the University of Southern California to determine a way to film movies safely and remotely with crews spread nationwide. Their response was to utilize a tool called Unreal Engine that virtually creates backdrops and film settings.

Al-Rubaye is a liaison between software developers and the film studios’ top executives.

His journey has taken him around the world, from his childhood home in Iraq to his studies at Iowa State to the City of Angels. His driving forces have always been confidence and aspiration.

“Don’t let your fears limit your vision,” Al-Rubaye says. “The only thing that matters is what you’re going to make of yourself. My story is so simple. I never heard of Iowa before I came to the U.S. Now, I’m in L.A., one of the biggest cities in the world, and nothing is going to limit me, except my imagination.”

– By Lydia Wede, ISUAA Talbot intern

IDEAS UNLIMITED From socks to ice cream, her entrepreneurial mindset knows no bounds

Photo by Matt Van Winkle. Other photos courtesy of the subjects.

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Rebecca Lyons Runyon (’18 ag studies) knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship.

During her junior year at Iowa State, Runyon founded Lunchsox, an environmentally conscious business that sold socks and donated proceeds to fight childhood hunger.

Last year, Runyon, a Clinton, Iowa native who grew up on a dairy farm, launched Bessie’s Parlor, an ice cream brand, with the goal of opening a brick-and-mortar storefront. The global pandemic interrupted those plans, but Runyon was able to make and distribute ice cream by collaborating with another Iowa State student who was making ice cream in her own hometown.

“It was a wild year,” she recently told the Ames Tribune. “I sold Lunchsox in February; in March COVID hit, I got engaged, and I was planning to open Bessie’s Parlor as a storefront in Ames in the summer.”

In January 2021, Runyon accepted the position of director of Iowa State’s Innovation + Entrepreneurship Academy, a two-year program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences designed to help students through the idea process, from concept to creation. Her office is located in the new Student Innovation Center.

If that weren’t enough, Runyon also published a children’s book about Bessie’s Parlor titled The Best Ice Cream Ever Licked.

“I decided to write a children’s book that educated little kids about ag entrepreneurship,” Runyon said. “It’s very autobiographical in nature. It’s very close to my own personal story.”

Runyon’s innovation has earned her the 2021 Think Big Award from Iowa Small Business Development Center.

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A college on the move With a sparkling new building addition, expanded academic programs, top national rankings, and a focus on entrepreneurship, Iowa State University’s Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business is having a moment.

Photos by Matt Van Winkle

25

T

Construction of a $28 million, four-story, 45,000-square-foot addition to the Gerdin Business Building has added 40 percent more space to the Ivy College of Business facility.

he Ivy College of Business is the youngest college at Iowa State – just 37 years old. And it became ISU’s first named college after alumnus Jerry Ivy (’53 indust admin**) and his wife, Debbie (’19 honorary**), generously donated $50 million in 2017.

“Our name is new. Our impact is not,” said David Spalding**, the college’s Raisbeck Endowed Dean. “To best serve our students for their bright futures, we have added more programs, such as entrepreneurship, actuarial science, business analytics, and a professional sales certificate. Our new programs are driving growth in the college.”

Student enrollment grew 34 percent from fall 2012 to fall 2019. Innovative new programs such as the executive MBA focused on agriculture, food, and biosystems, and a master of real estate development in partnership with the College of Design have helped to differentiate the college from its peers.

One new program – the undergraduate professional sales certificate – has recently grabbed headlines.

“Sales is at the heart of most business enterprises,” Spalding said. “Creating a new sales program for students is an example that shows how we are setting our students up for success. Ours will be the strongest program of its kind in Iowa and in the Midwest.”

The new sales program is housed in the Houston Professional Sales Suite in the newly expanded Gerdin Business Building. Named for Ivy alumnus Dan Houston (’84 marketing**) and his wife, Joanie (’83 physical education**), the suite allows space for sales education and real-life practice.

Students from any major at Iowa State are able to earn the professional sales certificate, which helps them in their job search after graduation.

Ivy College of Business by the numbers TOP 13% #1 degree in Iowa Highest national ranking for undergraduate programs in college history – 2021 U.S. News & World Report

#11

for ISU undergraduate entrepreneurship programs – Princeton Review

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for marketing and management

RECORD ENROLLMENT

in full-time MBA program, fall 2020

BEST MBA PROGRAM

MBA #1 full-time program in Iowa

in Des Moines three years in a row

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A leader in entrepreneurship education The Ivy College of Business helps students explore the world of business both inside and outside of the classroom, including internships, classroom projects, and company site visits.

Students have the opportunity to meet and learn from top leaders in business.

The college’s undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship – the first at a public university in Iowa – and PhD in entrepreneurship – only the eighth in the nation – support Iowa State’s commitment to providing entrepreneurial opportunities for its students.

In the latest rankings from The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine, Iowa State is ranked No. 11 in the nation for undergraduate entrepreneurship studies, up from No. 26 in the 2020 rankings.

In addition, Iowa State was recognized with the 2021 Model Program Award from the U.S. Association for Small Business Entrepreneurship, the highest of the organization’s prestigious annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Awards.

“Entrepreneurship has been a theme at Iowa State for more than 20 years, with much of it revolving around programs offered through the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, which is part of the Ivy College of Business,” Spalding said.

The Pappajohn Center offers innovative programs such as CYstarters, CyBIZ Lab, and the Startup Factory to connect students, community entrepreneurs, business professionals, and alumni.

Expansion of the Gerdin Business Building added five classrooms, including this state-of-the-art room that the college was able to use this spring for small, physically distanced classes.

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Home: grown C Gerdin Business Building expansion adds 40 percent more space

onstruction of a $28 million, four-story, 45,000-square-foot addition that began in February 2019 was completed late last fall.

The expansion, constructed on the east side of the existing Gerdin Business Building on central campus, adds 40 percent more space and includes seven team rooms, a central common area, a state-of-the-art sales suite, 35 faculty office spaces, and five classrooms.

The glass-front team rooms are dedicated for student work and contain movable furniture as well as a suite of technology.

The Houston Professional Sales Suite is a dedicated space for the college’s new sales program. And the Kingland Hub, a central area for students to gather, features a soaring ceiling, glass panels, and natural light.

The expansion was made possible thanks to $19 million in private gifts, including a $7 million commitment from the Gerdin Charitable Foundation.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IVY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

Left: The Houston Professional Sales Suite is a dedicated space for the college’s new sales program, allowing for sales education and real-life practice. Right: A student studies on a bench in the Gerdin Business Building

A mural by Rose Frantzen titled Fields of Endeavor was installed this spring in the expanded Gerdin Business Building. Two additional panels will be installed later in the year in the building’s Lynn A. and Diane Engh Anderson Family Gallery. The artwork was commissioned by the Ivy College of Business and University Museums.

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Donors make a difference Private giving has been critically important to the success of the Ivy College of Business and to the construction of the Gerdin Business Building RUSS AND ANN GERDIN

About the Gerdins: Ann Gerdin, her late husband Russ Gerdin, and their family are long-time leaders, friends, and donors to the Ivy College of Business.

About their support: The Gerdins provided the foundational gift for the college’s home – the Gerdin Business Building – in 1998. In 2017, as part of Iowa State’s $1.5 billion Forever True, For Iowa State campaign, the family made the lead gift through its charitable foundation to enable the university to expand the facility.

Business connections: Russ and Ann Gerdin established Heartland Express, a nationwide trucking company specializing in logistics and transportation, with headquarters in North Liberty, Iowa.

Russ Gerdin was known for saying he liked to give “when it feels right.” His daughter, Julie Durr, said, “We know how proud our dad was of the building – all of us are, but especially him – so there was no question about supporting the expansion.”

DEBBIE AND JERRY IVY

About the Ivys: A successful entrepreneur, Jerry Ivy earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial administration from Iowa State in 1953. He and Debbie, a 2019 Honorary Alumni recipient, are partners in both business and life.

About their support: In 2017, the Ivys made a transformational investment in the college during the Forever True, For Iowa State campaign, leading to the naming of the Ivy College of Business. The gift creates an ongoing resource that enables the college to strategically invest in current priorities and future aspirations.

Business connections: Jerry Ivy is president and chief executive officer of Auto-Chlor System, a commercial dishwasher business in Mountain View, Calif. Debbie Ivy is an active member of the company’s executive team.

“It doesn’t matter what I’ve done in my lifetime, because the future is right over there: It’s all about the students,” Jerry Ivy said at the Ivy gift announcement in September 2017. Raisbeck Endowed Dean David Spalding added, “You can’t underestimate the power of a gift to name a college – it enables a dean to advance every aspect of a strategic plan now and in the future.”

The Kingland Hub is a central common area for student study space and college events.

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STATEMENT MAKERS 2021 Meet the 2021 class of Iowa STATEment Makers: Nine young alumni who are spearheading change in technology and health and working toward social good. The STATEment Makers award, sponsored by the ISU Alumni Association, recognizes the early personal and professional achievements of alumni age 32 years and under.

“Iowa State is a place that gave me opportunities and challenges; it gave me sorrow and happiness. Iowa State means struggle but, at the same time, it means strength and resilience on a personal and professional level.”

– M A R I A A L C I VA R Z U Ñ I G A

Brody Dingel

’18 world languages & cultures / linguistics, MA ’20 applied linguistics / teaching English as a second language, Ames, Iowa Brody Dingel is busy. He is the president of Linguatorium Research Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to carrying out scientific research in the fields of theoretical, experimental, and applied linguistics. He is developing a tool to help teach Spanish conjugation to beginning Spanish students. And he works as a software engineer for Hy-Vee.

Fatima Enam

PhD ’19 chemical engr, Menlo Park, California Fatima Enam has a goal: to combine her passion for medical research with her passion for mentoring the next generation of engineers and biologists. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, working in a lab dedicated to revealing mechanisms underlying gut microbiota-diet dynamics. She was recently selected as a delegate to the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany.

Blake Hanson

‘12 political science, Des Moines, Iowa A lawyer with a boutique litigation firm in Des Moines, Blake Hanson was part of the legal team that brought civil litigation following the largest lottery rigging in U.S. history. One of the cases resulted in a nationwide multi-million-dollar class-action settlement, and the other resulted in a seven-figure recovery on behalf of a former lottery winner.

“I arrived in Ames in the fall of 2015, only to find out my admission and housing had been cancelled while I was mid-air, due to a ‘technical glitch’ (my baggage had also not arrived with me!). I was a helpless international student for only a moment before offers of help from at-the-time complete strangers poured in.”

– FAT IM A EN A M

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S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

“My words to live by are: ‘Don’t shrink yourself into places you’ve outgrown.’”

READ MORE Read more about this year’s STATEment Makers at www.isualum.org/statementmakers.

NOMINATE Nominate young alumni for the 2022 awards at www.isualum.org/statementmakers.

Nomination deadline is Dec. 1.

– K A RL A WA L SH

Kaitlin Heinen

Mallory Vance

Madison Tuttle *

Brianne Niedermyer

Maria Alcivar Zuñiga

Karla Walsh

‘14 political science and chemistry, Bellevue, Washington Kaitlin Heinen is an eviction defense attorney for King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project in her hometown of Seattle, Wash. In this role, Heinen protects those who are being evicted from their homes and residences, a job that became even more important during the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

’09 marketing, Logan, Iowa Growing up in her family-owned funeral home in Woodbine, Iowa, Brianne Niedermyer knew that she wanted to work in the funeral profession. She’s currently a senior account executive with Homesteaders Life Company, where she earned the 2020 Account Executive of the Year Award.

’11 economics, Orlando, Florida Mallory Vance’s creative powers have taken her from her Iowa State residence hall room, where she co-produced a Harry Potter musical, to opening her own business, Phoenix Tears Productions, which produces interactive murder mysteries, fandom-inspired productions, and “Ten Minute Tuesdays” theatre productions.

’11 women’s studies / intl studies, MS ’17 fam & cons sci, PhD ’20 human dev & family stds, Des Moines, Iowa Maria Alcivar Zuñiga serves her community as the executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence. As a research assistant at Iowa State, she recruited participants, facilitated focus groups, compiled data, introduced new procedures, and translated when there were language barriers. Her passion to pursue a career that allows her to serve immigrant populations was driven by her own journey to citizenship.

“[My favorite place at Iowa State is] central campus in the early morning, as the sun is rising over Curtiss Hall.”

– BRODY DINGEL

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’18 public relations, Titusville, Florida Madison Tuttle, a public affairs specialist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is helping tell NASA’s return to the moon story as part of the Artemis Program public affairs team. Her team received an Emmy for its interactive March 2019 coverage of the SpaceX Demo 1 launch.

’10 journalism and kinesiology, Des Moines, Iowa After graduation from Iowa State, Karla Walsh landed her dream job as a writer for Meredith Corporation’s Fitness magazine in New York City. Upon her return to Iowa, she continued to work for Meredith. Today she’s a freelance writer, contributing thousands of articles to a wide variety of national magazines. She also leads wine tasting and virtual dinner parties.

“As a student, I was always intrigued to learn about the lives of those who had sat in the same lecture hall seats years before me. It was inspiring to hear about the positive change they were making in the world.”

– BRIANNE NIEDERMYER

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STROKE(S) OF GENIUS

By Lindsey Giardino

M

acklin “Mac” Derscheid decided to study organ music on a whim.

In spring 2017, Derscheid, then an electrical engineering major at Iowa State, attended the medallion ceremony for Miriam Zach, the inaugural holder of the Charles and Mary Sukup Endowed Artist in Organ – a unique position established by longtime Iowa State donors Charles (’76 agricultural engineering, MS ’82**) and Mary (’75 home economics education**) Sukup to allow students to study under a world-class organist and build a lifelong connection to music.

“That was the first time I’d really heard a live concert of organ music,” Derscheid said.

And he was hooked.

After that, Derscheid switched his major to music and started taking organ lessons with Zach in fall 2017.

“When I first started, I assumed it wouldn’t be much different than the piano,” he said, adding that he played the piano growing up.

“I was wrong. The technique is quite a bit different.”

Playing the organ requires coordination of the hands and feet. While the fingers glide over the keys, the feet must move almost as quickly, pressing multiple pedals. A complicated skill, for sure, Derscheid says, but Zach did a great job of introducing him to it.

“She’s been wonderful,” he said. “She’s patient and understanding, yet at the same time very effective at teaching.”

“Once I get more experience and more comfortable with churchstyle organ music, I intend to start playing organ for whatever church needs it.”

In spring 2020, Derscheid put what he’d learned to the test during his continuation exam, which is required of music students at the end of their sophomore year. The exam is essentially a prepared concert of a few songs, 32

as well as a sight-reading piece, typically performed in person for a few faculty members on campus. Because of COVID-19, this wasn’t possible.

It was time for Derscheid to put his resourcefulness to work.

Fortunately, he had acquired an organ two years ago from a church in Minnesota. It only partially worked, so it sat in his living room until last spring when he needed it to perform his continuation exam virtually. Derscheid wasn’t able to upgrade the organ’s computer system before his concert, so he had to use it “as is,” thankfully getting through the exam without any issues.

He passed.

“I’m very proud of Mac for using his ingenuity to assemble an electronic house organ to virtually pass his organ continuation exam in May 2020,” said Zach. “He wonderfully applied [his skills.]”

The day after his exam, Derscheid opened up the organ and “tore it apart.” Drawing on

his electrical engineering studies, he designed and built new circuit boards and electronics for the organ. It’s now to the point where it’s functional, and Derscheid enjoys having an organ to practice on in the comfort of his own home.

Derscheid is in the process of learning hymns, and he’s also taking an organ pedagogy course taught by Zach, who’s able to attract and work with students like Derscheid through support from the Charles and Mary Sukup Endowed Artist in Organ.

After he graduates in fall 2021, Derscheid plans to pursue a master’s degree in library science with the goal of working for Iowa State’s Parks Library. He also hopes to someday give organ lessons himself and spread his love for music wherever he goes.

– Lindsey Giardino (’17 journ/mass comm & English is a writer for donor relations and communications at the Iowa State University Foundation.

S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

BECAUSE THE WORLD NEEDS MORE CYCLONE SPIRIT.

To make a gift to Iowa State, visit foundation.iastate.edu.

 FROM THE PRESIDENT

Making some adjustments

Dear members: You’ve heard it from other businesses, and your Association has made – and will continue to make – adjustments to reposition aspects of this organization following this yearlong-plus, unfamiliar landscape.

To date, COVID-19 has caused us to lay off five employees, shut down the ISU Alumni Center to the public, and place a moratorium on in-person Alumni Club gatherings.

Our very successful Traveling Cyclones program was grounded…literally. Student programming, especially in-person Homecoming events, along with Cyclone Central tailgates and awards programs, were either held virtually or not offered at all. OLLI classes went totally virtual, and new virtual programming options were launched.

The ISUAA staff showed creativity, innovation, and resilience through all of these changes while balancing working remotely and seeing their homes become their offices.

A number of these employees also have had to balance newborns and school-aged kids learning from home.

You, our alumni and friends, remained our 34

steadfast partners. Together, and with your encouragement, we found ways to support each other and to help advance the university.

We are grateful to you for all you did to partner with us as we faced the challenges of the past year.

As things are starting to turn around, we will need to make a few additional adjustments to aid us in our ability to come back in the right way. One key change with be with this publication, VISIONS. For the time being,

Rather than quarterly, VISIONS will begin publishing three times during the year – summer (July), fall/winter (October), and spring (March) – beginning in fall 2021.

VISIONS will publish three times during the year rather than four. So, rather than receiving it quarterly (January, April, July, September), you will now receive a summer (July), fall/ winter (October), and spring (March) issue beginning in fall 2021.

Our aspiration remains to inspire and inform you about your great university, its students, faculty, staff, and friends; opportunities for engagement through the Association and other campus-related and off-campus offerings; how you can support the university or the Association; and how we can better serve you and meet your needs.

Again, this change is budget-related. Let me hear your thoughts. Also, if you prefer to read VISIONS online only, be sure to follow the instructions on page 4 of this issue. Those going this route are helping us save printing and postage costs.

Thanks for all you do to help the Association and Iowa State make communities, Iowa, and the world a better place.

Yours for Iowa State,

Jeff Johnson Lora and Russ Talbot ISUAA Endowed President and CEO PhD ’14 education S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives Endowment

 I S U A A C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T I E S

Goal: $1 million

ISU launched its $1.1 billion campaign, Forever True, For Iowa State, in fall 2016. For the ISU Alumni Association, the campaign will help position the Association to better serve and showcase Iowa State and Cyclones Everywhere.

The Association has identified 10 campaign priorities: student leadership, VISIONS magazine, awards, staff development, LegaCY programs, young alumni, clubs, technology, diversity and inclusion, and a CEO endowment.

Priority focus: Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives Endowment The Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Endowment is among the top priorities of the ISU Alumni Association. In order to facilitate a lifetime connection, the ISUAA will strengthen its efforts to be as diverse and inclusive as possible to ensure the full opportunity for participation by all alumni, students, and friends. Furthermore, the ISUAA supports Iowa State University’s efforts to enhance and cultivate the ISU experience where faculty, staff, students, and visitors are safe and feel welcomed, supported, included, and valued by the university and each other.

Tahira and Labh Hira** have a distinct passion for Iowa State University and the ISU Alumni Association. Tahira’s past leadership of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, combined with the couple’s active service with numerous units on the ISU campus, has facilitated a passion for expanding diversity and inclusion efforts with the Iowa State community and inspired the creation of this fund. Through the Tahira and Labh Hira ISU Alumni Association Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Endowment, the Hiras seek to support innovative initiatives and programming within the Alumni Association that increases the development of leadership, inclusion, engagement, awareness, and participation of all alumni and students of color, genders, faiths, and abilities.

“We love the United States of America, Iowa State University, and Ames. Our journey started as students at Mizzou, followed by more than three decades of working in various positions at Iowa State University. We have been lucky to have had mostly positive experiences throughout these years.

We felt welcomed, safe, loved, supported, and respected. As American citizens, we want all engaged with Iowa State to feel welcomed, safe, respected, and supported no matter what position they are in – students, staff, faculty, alumni, or institutional friends. We believe this Alumni Association initiative aligns with our values and the aspirations of Iowa State. Furthermore, this initiative embodies the single most important ideal of our land-grant DNA: access to all.”

– Labh and Tahira Hira

IMPACT OF PRIVATE GIFTS ON DIVERSITY & INCLUSION INITIATIVES • Fund overall Alumni Association diversity and inclusion programming, specifically in the areas of awards, VISIONS, and alumni engagement.

• Grow pool of candidates of color and international origin for awards, Board positions, and VISIONS stories.

• Provide extended opportunities for staff to be innovative and creative in engaging alumni in diverse communities while also ensuring a focus on inclusive activities.

• Encourage diverse, inclusive alumni activities in club areas.

• Expand efforts to serve constituents through diverse and targeted engagement programs such as reunions, special interest societies, and career-related programs.

• Enhance staff training in areas of diversity, inclusion, and equity.

• Increase visibility, inclusion, engagement, awareness, and participation of all alumni and students.

TO MAKE A GIFT:

To learn how you can support Iowa State University or the Alumni Association, contact Jamie Stowe, ISU Foundation director of development for the ISU Alumni Association, 877-ISU-ALUM (toll-free), 515-294-7441 (locally), or jstowe@foundation.iastate.edu Learn more about the ISUAA’s Forever True, For Iowa State campaign priorities at isualum.org/giving

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 NEWSMAKERS & CY STORIES

ALUMNI HONORS Environmental justice icon Robert Bullard (PhD ’76 sociology*) has been selected to serve on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The council was formed with the goals of confronting longstanding environmental injustices and ensuring that historically marginalized and polluted, overburdened communities have greater input on federal policies and decisions.

Mike Buck (’78 indust admin/accounting**) of Plymouth, Minn., has received the 2020 CEO Award of Excellence from the Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. He served as the chief financial officer for LifeTrack, a St. Paul-based nonprofit.

Katherine Polak (’10 DVM) has been named Veterinarian of the Year by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians.

She was also named 2020’s American Hero Veterinarian. Dr. Polak works for FOUR PAWS, an international charity

active in 15 countries where she manages a variety of stray animal care programs throughout Southeast Asia.

Ron Timmermans (’72 architecture) has been recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation industry leaders as the 2021 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year. Timmermans teaches aspiring pilots as a ground and flight instructor for Beechcraft pilots in Florida, Texas, and throughout the U.S. Jami Simon (’81 speech comm / phys ed) recently co-starred in the short film “Marcy Learns Something New.” This film received Best of the Year award at the Vimeo Festival, as well a special mention at Aspen Shortsfest and a nomination at the Palm Springs International Shorts Festival.

Tara Seifert (’98 exercise & sport science*) recently achieved her 250th victory as head coach for the Chaska High School girls’ varsity basketball team. After the landmark win, Seifert took her team to the 4A state tournament, where the team won its first state title.

Seifert previously played on the ISU women’s

basketball team under Coach Bill Fennelly.

Jen Sorenson (’01 animal science / journ & mass comm**) has recently been chosen to serve as the president of the National Pork Producers Council.

Chris Sievers (’12 animal science, MS ’16 veterinary preventative medicine, DVM ’16) was chosen to be the 2021 Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.

TOP JOBS Austin McBeth (’12 psychology) has been selected for the position of head men’s basketball coach for the Friends University Falcons. Since his time at Hilton Coliseum as a Cyclone point guard, McBeth has been the assistant coach for the University of Illinois Springfield and the Truman State University men’s basketball teams.

ABRAHAM BILYEU BYRON CENTER, MICH.

BEING MINDFUL OF MENTAL HEALTH Over the past several years, mental health has become a part of everyday conversation, in many ways due to shifting societal views and the global pandemic. Abraham Bilyeu (’08 psychology) can offer a unique perspective on the importance of this subject.

Bilyeu is a licensed psychologist with Grand Rapids Therapy Group in Michigan. As a mental health professional, Bilyeu is well aware that stigma can limit an individual’s beliefs about seeking help and exacerbate symptoms. Speaking to a psychologist can be beneficial to many, but lots of people avoid this due to misconceptions.

“We’ve made great advances with normalizing the difficulties people often face at one point or another in life,” Bilyeu says. “Even so, there are still stigmas attached to talking with a therapist that cause psychological concerns to remain under-addressed and misunderstood. Once people realize we all could benefit from seeking an outside professional opinion, our understanding of mental health and ways we address it may increase.”

Mental health affects every aspect of a person’s life, from their professional responsibilities to their personal life. Those battling with

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anxiety or depression might struggle to maintain relationships, become emotionally distant, or cope with their distress in unhealthy ways.

“Social isolation, uncertainty about the future, and divisive political beliefs are currently causing a great deal of distress for many people,” Bilyeu says.

“Human beings are social animals, and when we have to alter our social lives, we experience pain.”

– Lydia Wede, Lora and Russ Talbot ISUAA Communications and Public Relations Intern, is a junior majoring in public relations and international studies

S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

WORK In Ames we don’t just work. We...

1,600+

job and internship opportunities listed right now. Find your dream career today!

CREATE

INSPIRE & COLLABORATE Many companies offer indoor and outdoor amenities for their employees to utilize throughout the day.

Live, work and play everyday in the home of the Cyclones! Go State!

 NEWSMAKERS & CY STORIES

ALUMNI BOOKSHELF

TOP JOBS Dewayne Goldmon (PhD ’91 agronomy) has been appointed to the position of senior advisor for racial equity to the secretary of agriculture within the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mark Lashier (’85 chemical engineering, PhD ’89) has accepted the positions of president and chief operating officer of Phillips 66.

Lashier will be supervising all operational executions for Phillips 66, such as refining, marketing, and environmental efforts.

Sharon Matt Atkins (’96 art and design) has recently accepted a promotion to deputy director of art with the Brooklyn Museum. Atkins’ new role includes conservation, art handling, exhibition design, and editorial interpretation.

Justin Moore (’93 dietetics**) has been with the American Physical Therapy Association for 22 years. He was on hand for the opening of the association’s new headquarters in Alexandria, Va., in January.

Trent Preszler (’98 interdisc studies**) has written a memoir, Little and Often, that openly confronts the topics of grief, loss, and the healing power of creativity. When Preszler’s long-estranged father died of cancer, he left his son a toolbox. Preszler, CEO of Bedell Cellars winery on New York’s Long Island, used his dad’s tools to build a canoe – by himself and by hand – leading to a new perspective on his life.

Norman Cheville (DVM ’59**) has finished his latest book, Pioneer Science and the Great Plagues: How Microbes, War and Public Health Shaped Animal Health. In this book, Cheville discusses how scientific research by veterinarians has led the fight against diseases and plagues.

John Faaborg (’71 fisheries & wildlife biology**) has written Book of Birds: An Introduction to Ornithology, an engaging and accessible look at the study of

birds. This illustrated book focuses on ecology, emphasizing birds’ relationships with the environment and other species.

Lisa Engler (’12 graphic design) designed the artwork for two new children’s books celebrating U.S. service members. The Mini Military series focuses on introducing young readers to the various branches of the U.S. military.

Linda and Kerry Killinger** have published a book, Nothing Is Too Big to Fail: How the Last Financial Crisis Informs Today. The book takes readers behind the scenes of the 2008 financial crisis to learn what actions led to one of the worst recessions in history and how, without focused action from the U.S. government and leading organizations, we may be on track to repeat those mistakes. Linda is a 1970 interior design graduate.

John Chase (’77 zoology*), a recently retired orthopaedic surgeon, has published a book titled You What? The book contains humorous stories, cautionary tales, and unexpected insights about his career in medicine.

SCOTT P. MURPHY SUMMIT, N.J.

REACHING A VERDICT “I wanted to know what happens next.”

Those are the first words out of Scott P. Murphy’s mouth when he describes his initial reading of “Your Honor,” the gritty crime limited series currently streaming on Showtime.

Murphy (‘88 arch) is the production designer for the drama starring Bryan Cranston (of “Breaking Bad” fame). “Your Honor” details the story of a judge determined to protect his son after a hit-and-run results in the death of an heir to a crime legacy.

Set against the fantastically raw and visually captivating backdrop of New Orleans, Murphy had the difficult task of placing the plot of the show seamlessly into the streets and sites of the Big Easy. The visual look of the show falls to the production designer, which can make work days sometimes feel like “controlled chaos.”

“Any time you are shooting an episode, you are also working full force on the next show,” Murphy says. “You are making an episode every two weeks, so there is never enough time or money to get everything done that you want to get done.”

The shooting of “Your Honor” was delayed for six months as the

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world found ways to create in an environment permeated by the threat of COVID. Throughout the experience, Murphy understood one thing: “If you are passionate about something, stand up for it,” he says. “Showtime really believed in the show and met us halfway by adding more shoot days. For me, personally? I loved the scripts, I love Bryan Cranston’s acting, I love New Orleans. I knew I wanted to work on this show.”

The entertainment industry turns on a feast or famine cycle. You never know what is going to trip the audience’s trigger.

“There is no formula,” Murphy says. “You work on the stinkers, you work on the jewels. You never know which it will be. When the critics and the fans like it, though, you can’t ask for more than that.”

– Kate Tindall

S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

SARA KAISER ITHACA, N.Y.

RARE BIRD The call of a bird is music to Sara Kaiser.

“I am fascinated by the evolution of elaborate songs, plumage, courtship displays, and the remarkable diversity of mating systems and breeding strategies that have been uncovered in birds,” she says.

Kaiser (‘01 zoology) is a research ecologist and the director of the Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N. Y. She’s traveled from the California Channel Islands with the Institute for Wildlife Studies to the forests of New Zealand to teach field courses and the Smithsonian Center for Conservation Genomics in Washington, D.C., all in the effort to learn and educate others about our feathery, flighty friends.

The summer following her sophomore year at Iowa State, Kaiser found herself surrounded by the CCC-constructed cabins and research facilities of Iowa Lakeside Lab. “It was there that I had my first immersive, field-based experience learning about birds on the Iowa prairies and wetlands that served as our outdoor classroom,” Kaiser says. “This was a formative summer for an Iowa girl − I discovered a new way of learning and teaching that truly fit me, and the experience changed the course of my studies and set the stage for my later career choices.”

Her Iowa State adventure included scores of faculty mentors who shaped Kaiser’s experience, fostered her curiosity, and prepared her for the challenges of being a professional woman in a STEM field.

“ISU prepared me to be a global citizen, to think critically and for myself, and to work toward solutions to biodiversity and conservation issues,” she says.

When she isn’t researching wild bird populations, she’s teaching undergraduates and providing educational outreach to folks of all ages.

“I love creating that spark moment for my students, when they hold a bird in their hand for the first time and then watch it fly away as they slowly release it,” she says. “It is a moment they will never forget, and I feel lucky to provide that experience and training to them.”

READ MORE CYCLONE STORIES AT ISUALUM.ORG/CYCLONESEVERYWHERE

– Kate Tindall

 A S S O C I AT I O N N E W S A N D E V E N T S

Young Cyclones join Cy’s Adventure Squad Cyclones everywhere enrolled their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews in the ISU Alumni Association’s LegaCY Club through a special Cy’s Adventure Squad promotion in March.

More than 280 children were enrolled in the club, and one lucky little Cyclone became Cy’s Adventure Captain. Ten-year-old Andrew M. was chosen to win a canvas print from the book Cy’s Surprise, gifts from all seven colleges on campus, and a custom “behind the scenes at Iowa State” video created especially for him.

All members of the LegaCY Club receive regular, age-appropriate gifts from birth to age 16, birthday cards from Cy, and a complimentary LegaCY cord to wear at ISU commencement.

Members may sign up their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews at www.isualum. org/legacy.

TION | ASSOCIA ALUMNI IVERSITY TATE UN E IOWA S RS OF TH R MEMBE AZINE FO THE MAG

| TION OCIA I ASS LUMN ITY A IVERS E UN STAT IOWA F THE RS O EMBE OR M INE F AGAZ M E H T

ter Win T

Traditions Tees: A new tradition for members only

Cyclone Central Tailgates are coming back!

This spring, the ISU Alumni Association started a new tradition for forever-true members. The ISUAA partnered with Raygun of Des Moines to produce an exclusive, members-only T-shirt as part of April Membership APPreciation month.

The gold shirts with red line art of iconic campus buildings surrounded by the shape of the state of Iowa were designed by ISUAA graphic designer Jenny Witte (’02 management**). More than 470 members ordered the first-annual Traditions Tee, and more than 600 Cyclones downloaded the ISUAA app. The limited-edition shirts are now locked away in the Traditions Vault; watch for a new design next spring.

The ISU Alumni Association is happy to announce the return of Cyclone Central Tailgates for Iowa State alumni and friends this fall. The Alumni Center will once again be the venue for this family-friendly event, providing a temperature-controlled environment where Cyclones everywhere can celebrate Cyclone football and enjoy giveaways, kids’ games, shopping, food and drink, and entertainment for all ages.

This fall, the ISUAA will follow Cyclones Care protocols for large events, which may mean that our building capacity may be limited and face coverings will likely be required. Cyclone Central Tailgates are an important part of connecting with our ISU alumni and friends, and we are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for Cyclones everywhere.

2021 Cyclone Central Tailgate schedule Sept. 4: Cyclones vs. UNI Sept. 11: Cyclones vs. Iowa Oct. 2: Cyclones vs. Kansas Oct. 23: Cyclones vs. Oklahoma State (Homecoming) Nov. 6: Cyclones vs. Texas Nov. 27: Cyclones vs. TCU Please continue to watch our Facebook page and visit our website at www.isualum.org/ cyclonecentral for updates about the details of 2021 Cyclone Central Tailgates. Go, Cyclones!

VISIONS publication cycle adjusted

Spring 2021

2021

HE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBE RS OF THE IOWA STATE U NIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSO CIATION |

ED HEALT H THE UNPAR ALLEL RESPO NDS TO IOWA STATE D BY COVID -19 CRISIS CAUSE AND ECONO MIC

ho 2020 derec us How the a State’s camp altered Iow The culture of innovation fuels curiosity and landscape nurtures creative

A notice to our ISU Alumni Association members

Beginning in fall 2021, VISIONS magazine will be published three times during the year. Instead of receiving the magazine quarterly (January, April, July, September) as you have in the past, you will now receive a spring (March), summer (July), and fall/winter (October) issue.

li fe A year in th e of a pa nd em ic

DEEP ROOTS

Summer 2021

Thank you for your continued partnership as a member of the ISU Alumni Association. sparks

For additional information about the decision to adjust VISIONS’ publication cycle, read a message from Jeff Johnson, Talbot ISUAA endowed president and CEO, on page 34.

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S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

LOYAL SONS FOREVER TRUE Good for You. Good for Iowa State.

More than 8,500 Iowa State alumni and friends are current Bank of America cardholders. By using their card over the past 25 years, the ISU Alumni Association has earned more than $8 million to support initiatives dedicated to student scholarships, leadership development, institutional advocacy, volunteer engagement, alumni clubs, and diversity and inclusion. But 8,500 cardholders are just a start! Imagine what we could do if there were even more alumni and friends using their Bank of America® credit card!

Apply today. bofa.com/IowaState For information about the rates, fees, other costs and benefits associated with the use of this card or to apply, please visit bofa.com/IowaState. Residents of the US and its territories only. See full disclosure for details. This credit card program is issued and administered by Bank of America, N.A. Visa and Visa Signature are registered trademarks of Visa International Service Association, and are used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. The Contactless Symbol and Contactless Indicator are trademarks owned by and used with permission of EMVCo, LLC. ©2021 Bank of America Corporation.

 A S S O C I AT I O N N E W S A N D E V E N T S

Homecoming 2021: Cy of the Storm

A

fter more than a year of canceled and virtual events, the ISU Alumni Association and students on the Homecoming Central Committee are cautiously optimistic in their planning for in-person Homecoming activities in 2021. You can expect some form of the following events (perhaps modified for capacity limits and physical distancing) in person this fall:

• Homecoming Parade: Downtown Ames, Sunday, Oct. 17 • Honors & Awards Ceremony: Friday, Oct. 22 • Homecoming pep rally: Friday, Oct. 22 at the ISU Alumni Center • ExCYtement in the Streets, Mass Campaniling & fireworks: Friday, Oct. 22 • Homecoming Cyclone Central Tailgate: Saturday, Oct. 23 • Cyclone Football vs. Oklahoma State: Saturday, Oct. 23

CY OFTHE STORM ™

Presented by the Iowa State University™ Alumni Association

Stay up to date on event plans and ways to connect virtually at www.isualum.org/homecoming

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING 2021 ™

CYCLONE

Sweethearts TM

CALLING ALL

Did you and your significant other meet at Iowa State? Share your story and be honored as the 2021 ISU Homecoming Cyclone Sweethearts! Winners will receive a gift package including two tickets to the ISU Homecoming football game, a weekend stay in Ames at the Gateway Hotel, and more. Additionally, the 2021 Cyclone Sweethearts will lead Cyclones everywhere in Mass Campaniling during Homecoming, Friday night, Oct. 22.

Apply by Sept. 1 to be considered for 2021 Cyclone Sweethearts competition. Apply online by taking a photo of the code at right with your iPhone, or to go https://forms.gle/TVfcd2AV8R54tSJa8. You can also mail in your application.

Simply include your names, graduation years, phone number or email, and your story to Cyclone Sweethearts, ISU Alumni Center, 429 Alumni Lane, Ames, IA 50011-1403.

OLLI expansion

Lifelong learning goes remote, expands The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Iowa State University (OLLI at ISU) is a program of lifelong learning for anyone aged 50 or above. A wide variety of classes are offered during the fall, winter, and spring. With the use of Zoom technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, OLLI at ISU membership has expanded throughout the state of Iowa and is now drawing members from 17 additional states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. For more information or to sign up for classes, visit www.isualum.org/olliatisu or call Jerilyn Logue at (515) 294-3192.

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Bob Crom, the last living ISUAA executive director, has died Robert L. Crom, the Iowa State University Alumni Association executive director from 1968 to 1971, died on April 27. He was 95. Crom, who was born Feb. 15, 1926 in Hampton, Iowa, was a 1950 ISU graduate with a degree in agriculture. He was a farm broadcaster, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., and spent 40 years in faculty and administrative roles at North Dakota State University, Michigan State University, and Iowa State University. At Iowa State, he was dean of extension and director of the Iowa Cooperative Extension Service following his years of service at the Alumni Association. In 1988, he returned to Washington, D.C, where he served as director of extension and outreach for the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

Wherever life takes you, find community using the ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ONLINE DIRECTORY As a member and valued partner of the ISUAA, connect with more than 273,134 Iowa State alumni living in all 50 states and more than 150 countries. Network professionally and for fun. Settle into a new home while you get acquainted with Iowa State neighbors. Take your directory on the go using your ISUAA app.

This exclusive member benefit is your custom connection to Cyclones everywhere.

Explore the directory today www.isualum.org/directory

THE WORLD IS WAITING Sign up now for 2022 Traveling Cyclones adventures!

Or download the ISUAA app. Visit our website to get started. www.isualum.org/app

www.isualum.org/travel

SHOW YOUR CYCLONE SPIRIT – SUPPORT THESE CYCLONE-FRIENDLY ISUAA BUSINESS MEMBERS Central Iowa Symphony

Gateway Expresse, Inc.

Insomnia Cookies

Christiani's VIP Catering Service Ltd.

Gateway Hotel & Conference Center

Iowa Corn Growers Association

Clarity Asset Management

Gateway Market

Iowa State Center

Great Western BankAmes

Iowa State Daily

CMBA

SAY “I DO” AT THE

ALUMNI CENTER

www.isualum.org/weddings V I S I O N S W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG S U M M E R 2 0 2 1

Coe's Floral & Gifts Cornbred

Greater Iowa Credit Union

Country Inn & Suites

Green Hills Retirement Community

Cyclone Liquors

Haverkamp Properties

Dell Inc. Employee Political Action Committee

Hertz Farm Management, Inc. Hickory Park, Inc.

Diversified Management Services

Hunziker & Associates

Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping

Hy-Vee Food Store of Ames

First National BankAmes

Hy-Vee Inc.

For more information on these businesses or to become a business member, go to www.isualum.org/ business 43

FACILITIES UPDATE

SPORTS PERFORMANCE CENTER OPENS

NEW FAN SPACES WILL ENHANCE GAMEDAY ATMOSPHERE UPDATE

T

he four-level, multi-million-dollar Sports Performance Center connected to the Bergstrom Football Complex north of Jack Trice Stadium will open this summer. The project that began in 2019 will provide “one-stop shopping” for all student-athletes according to Chris Jorgensen, senior associate athletics director. Key features of the building will provide a new student-athlete academic center, dining hall, and a life skills center that will focus on interview preparation, career placement, and volunteer outreach. The facility will also feature a new locker room, players’ lounge, nutrition center, sports medicine center, and staff offices for the football program.

In addition to the Sports Performance Center, a new North Endzone Plaza will be created outside of Jack Trice Stadium, and an elevated concourse will connect to the east, west, and south sides of the stadium on one continuous level. These additions are scheduled to be completed prior to the 2021 football season. The total facilities project is estimated to cost $90 million.

To make room for the North Endzone Plaza, the February demolition of the Olsen Building (right) brought an end to the physical tribute to the late Ralph A. Olsen (1923 animal science), of Ellsworth, Iowa. A farmer and founding member of the Cyclone Club, Olsen was a loyal Cyclone booster who gave his time and financial support to Iowa State athletics. The building was named in his honor in 1976.

CHRISTOPHER GANNON

Another project will break ground later this year. A $10 million pedestrian Gateway Bridge will span the road east of Jack Trice Stadium. The project will provide a safer and easier way for fans parking on the east side of University Boulevard to get to the stadium. A 300-vehicle-capacity RV lot will also be built on the east side of the road, with electrical hookups provided. The Gateway Bridge project is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2022 football season.

Architectural illustration of Sports Performance Center and stadium enhancements.

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S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

SPORTS BRIEFS

OTZELBERGER RETURNS TO IOWA STATE AS HEAD COACH

T.J. Otzelberger, who has crisscrossed the nation recruiting all-star talent and building champi-

onship-level programs, is returning “home” to Iowa State as the head men's basketball coach.

Otzelberger replaces Steve Prohm, head coach for six seasons (97-99 overall, 2-22 in 2020-21).

This will be Otzelberger's third stint in Ames, but his first as head coach. Previously, he was lead recruiter and bench coach for head coaches Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg, and Prohm.

The last three Cyclone teams Otzelberger worked with registered a 69-35 overall record, with NCAA Tournament appearances every season. He left ISU in 2016 to begin building his own head coaching resume. He spent three years at South Dakota State, where his teams amassed 70 victories, won two regular season and conference tournament championships, and earned three post-season appearances. He most recently completed two years as the head coach at UNLV. PHOTOS BY ISU ATHLETICS

DAVID CARR WINS NATIONAL TITLE Sophomore wrestler David Carr won this year’s NCAA national wrestling title at 157 pounds. He is also the 2021 Big 12 champion at 157 pounds and was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year. His record this year was a perfect 20-0, making him the only undefeated wrestler in the Big 12. Carr is Iowa State’s 50th individual national champion; his father, Nate Carr (’85 sociology), won three consecutive national titles from 1981 to 1983.

SAMI WILLIAMS SHATTERS SOFTBALL RECORDS Senior shortstop Sami Williams entered the 2021 season as one of the most accomplished softball players in Iowa State history. She was already the program’s all-time leader in home runs (48) and doubles (66), while ranking second in career batting average (.380), hits (257), and runs scored (153). In March, she was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week, the first player in ISU history to be given that recognition. She is a four-time Big 12 Player of the Week, two-time All Big 12 First Team, 2019 Big 12 Softball Student-Athlete of the Year, and three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. In May, she became the Big 12 Conference's all-time career leader in hits with 329.

ASHLEY JOENS RECEIVES MILLER AWARD ISU women’s basketball junior guard Ashley Joens is the 2021 winner of the Cheryl Miller Award. The award is given to the best small forward in NCAA Div. I. During the 2020-21 season, Joens set an Iowa State women’s basketball record scoring 24.2 points per game. She led the Big 12 in scoring and ranked fifth in the nation.

V I S I O N S W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG S U M M E R 2 0 2 1

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Calendar  Cyclones Everywhere

 Cyclone Athletics

Please note that the ISUAA is in the process of planning additional events; check www.isualum. org/events for updates.

Sept. 4: Football vs UNI Sept. 11: Football vs Iowa Sept. 18: Football at UNLV Sept. 25: Football at Baylor Oct. 2: Football vs Kansas Oct. 16: Football at Kansas State Oct. 23: Football vs Oklahoma State Oct. 30: Football at West Virginia

Center

For all Cyclone sports schedules, go to www.cyclones.com

July 9: Celebrating ISU’s Public Art July 13: Central Standard Time, Goldfinch Room July 27: Eli Gardiner, Goldfinch Aug. 1: Flicker & Flame, Farm House Museum (through Oct. 21) Aug. 24: Marques Morel, Goldfinch Aug. 24: Arte Cubano, Brunnier (through Nov. 2) Aug. 24: Ginnever: Folded Forms opens, Petersen Sept. 7: Society of Broken Souls, Goldfinch Sept. 21: David G. Smith & Robert Deitch, Goldfinch Oct. 21: Ron White, Stephens Oct. 30: Straight No Chaser, Stephens

The Alumni Center will open to the public Aug. 2 and is available to rent for private events

 Traveling Cyclones

 Awards

Aug. 20: ISUAA Board of Directors annual retreat Aug. 21: ISUAA Board of Directors summer meeting Sept. 4: Cyclone Central Tailgate Sept. 11: Cyclone Central Tailgate Oct. 2: Cyclone Central Tailgate Oct. 21: ISUAA Board of Directors fall meeting Oct. 22: Homecoming pep rally Oct. 23: Homecoming Cyclone Central Tailgate

July 10-16: Cape Cod & the Islands July 11-18: Rhine Highlights July 16-23: Discover Southeast Alaska Aug. 16-26: Classic Europe Graduation Aug. 18-29: Northern Gateways Aug. 23-29: Alaskan Wonder Sept. 2-10: Enchanting Bavaria Sept. 4-11: Flavors of Ireland Sept. 5-18: Ancient Greece Sept 12-24: Imperial Journey Sept. 15-23: Cruise Provence & Burgundy Sept. 18-26: France: Normandy Sept. 21-Oct. 6: Cruise the Heart of Europe Sept. 24 – Oct. 1: Destination Dubai Sept. 27 – Oct. 10: Journey through Britain Sept. 28 – Oct. 8: Journey through Israel Oct. 1-11: Fall Colors of Canada & New England Oct. 6-14: Charm of the Amalfi Coast Oct. 8-13: Albuquerque Balloon Festival Oct. 15-26: Mediterranean Palette Oct. 17-28: Byzantine Sojourn Oct. 21-24: Operation Home Front Oct. 22 – Nov. 2: European Trilogy

Aug. 1: Nomination deadline for Distinguished Alumni Award and Honorary Alumni Award* Oct. 21: LAS Honors & Awards Ceremony Oct. 22: ISUAA Homecoming Honors & Awards Ceremony

Aug. 6: ISU alumni at I-Cubs game Weekly: LIVE from Cy’s Lounge, live-streamed weekly on our social media channels

 At the ISU Alumni

 On campus &

around Ames

Aug. 1: OrigamiintheGarden² sculpture exhibit, Reiman Gardens (through Nov. 14) Aug. 6: Summer term ends Aug. 6: Reiman Gardens Picnic Aug. 23: Fall semester coursework begins Sept. 8: Ivy Women in Business Awards Ceremony Sept. 17-19: Cyclone Family Weekend Sept. 17-19: Reiman Gardens Quilt Show Sept. 23: MU birthday celebration Sept. 30: Fall Startup Pitch Oct. 4: Hard Won. Not Done. (19th Amendment Centennial closing event) Oct. 9: Smart Start Oct. 14: Voorhees Supply Chain Conference Oct. 16-17: Spirits in the Gardens, Reiman Gardens Oct. 19-20: Conference on Civility & Deliberative Democracy Oct. 17-23: HOMECOMING WEEK Oct. 17: Homecoming Parade Oct. 22: ExCytement in the Streets, fireworks/ mass campaniling Oct. 28: Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science 46

NOTE: All events are subject to postponement, cancellation, or format changes.

It’s time to start dreaming of new adventures with the Traveling Cyclones! For information on remaining 2021 trips and 2022 trips, go to www. isualum.org/travel. All tours are subject to change.

 Arts & Entertainment Through July: Rose Frantzen exhibition, Petersen Art Museum Through July 23: Compelling Ground: Landscapes, Peoples, and Environments of Iowa, Brunnier Art Museum Through summer: From Time Immemorial: Art as Commemoration, Petersen

*For criteria and to submit a nomination for ISUAA awards: www.isualum.org/awards

 Lifelong learning All OLLI at ISU classes and events will be held virtually this fall Aug. 12: Learning About Fall 2021 OLLI Classes Sept. 13: First day of Fall 2021 OLLI Classes Sept. 23: ISU Retirees program Oct. 28: ISU Retirees program

 Careers Sept. 22: Business, Industry & Technology Career Fair Oct. 12: CALS Fall Career Day

 Find more events online Campus Calendar: http://event.iastate.edu/ ISU Alumni Association: www.isualum.org/events Homecoming: www.isualum.org/homecoming Cyclone Athletics: www.cyclones.com Reiman Gardens: www.reimangardens.com Iowa State Center: www.center.iastate.edu University Museums: www.museums.iastate.edu Lectures: www.lectures.iastate.edu/ Around Ames: https://web.ameschamber.com/ events S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S

Iowa State University Alumni Center 429 Alumni Lane Ames, Iowa 50011-1403

VISIONS magazine is published four times a year by the Iowa State University Alumni Association, which serves more than 268,000 living alumni as well as ISU students and friends. VISIONS reaches nearly 46,000 Alumni Association members and is just one benefit of membership; details can be found at isualum.org/join.