College Of Human Sciences
College of Agriculture
Plant Sciences Institute
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January 2006 - Newsletter
In Memoriam:
It is with great sadness we report
the death of our friend, colleague, and CDFIN Director,
Dr. Paul Flakoll, on Saturday,
December 17, 2005. (More)
He will be sorely missed. Memorials may be sent to:
His dedication to wellness was most recently illustrated in his receiving $700,000 from the Biosciences Alliance of Iowa (BAI) to establish the Human Nutrition Wellness Research Center. The center will evaluate the safety and efficacy of new foods, food ingredients or dietary supplements developed by Iowa-based companies. Funding will be used to purchase equipment and complete minor renovations to a building in the ISU Research Park.
A Note from the Dean Cheryl Achterberg: In Memory of Paul Flakoll I read a recent article entitled, "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by Peter Georgescu about the changes in leadership needed in our new 21st century world of excess capacity (vs. the 20th century world of excess demand). Upon reflection, I couldn't help but think of Paul Flakoll. Paul embodied many of the attributes that Georgescu celebrates in his provocative paper and, though it was written with a business perspective in mind, much of what it offers can be applied in education and research domains as well. I'd like to take this opportunity to share some of the insights with you.
Georgescu points out that most markets now are driven by an emphasis on price--whoever can offer a commodity at the lowest price wins. Creativity is the only means by which an organization can counter an emphasis on price point or commodization. Therefore, an enlightened leader in this new paradigm cares about creativity and tries to create an environment that fosters it. The 21st century leader also focuses on competency because nothing can substitute for that kind of knowledge or ability. Another key is the power of alignment, meaning that projects should no longer focus on departments working independently of each other, but that the entire organization should focus inside and out on the same objectives. Finally, basic human values matter more than ever, namely honesty, respect for others and respect for self. Paul Flakoll embodied all of these characteristics.
Paul had a dream. He wanted to create a research environment where scientists from a variety of disciplines could work side by side and together to improve health and well being. Departmental affiliations wouldn't matter. Disciplinary origins wouldn't matter. Whether scientists came from inside academe, industry, or the health care sector wouldn't matter. What would matter is curiosity, creativity, sound scientific methods and the absolute commitment to enhancing human life to diminish the risk and suffering caused by preventable diseases. The College of Human Sciences shall continue to champion Paul's dream. We are committed to starting up a wellness center that embraces faculty from across our college and the whole of Iowa State, a center that will reach out to industry, hospitals, state government agencies, policy makers, and the communities of Iowa. It will carry the torch for Paul. I also hope that we can all grow as leaders who like Paul, are creative, competent, in alignment with their partners, and principled with enduring values.
An Invitation: Open discussion on the proposed Nutrition and Wellness Research Center on January 23 and 30, 2006. This is your opportunity to become involved in the vision, planning and organization of this new opportunity for research, teaching, and outreach. 4-5 p.m., Cardinal Room, Memorial Union. More.
An Announcement: We are pleased to announce that Diane Birt, Distinguished Professor of Food Science and Nutrition, has agreed to serve as Interim Director of the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition. Dr. Birt served as director of CDFIN from 1997 until 2002. As interim director, she will work with 100 affiliate faculty in 30 departments who conduct interdisciplinary research to improve human nutrition and health through new and traditional foods. The appointment is effective immediately. For more information see
http://www.iastate.edu/
CDFIN Summer Scholars Program Returns! CDFIN is accepting applications from undergraduate students in the areas of Food Science, Human Nutrition, Animal Science, Plant Sciences, Health and Human Performance, Biochemistry, Social Sciences related to food and nutrition, or Community Nutrition to work with a CDFIN Affiliate Faculty Research Team in the summer of 2006. Click on the following links to learn more: Program Information and Application Process Faculty Interest Form (to offer a slot to potential applicants)
CDFIN Offers EB Travel Awards: CDFIN is pleased to announce the availability of funds for graduate students to attend the nutritional science meetings associated with The 2006 Experimental Biology (EB) Conference, April 1-5, in San Francisco, CA. CDFIN will pay $300 to students associated with CDFIN towards expenses of your travel at EB. As we get closer to EB and have a better idea of how many students will be awarded CDFIN EB Travel Awards, there may be as much as a total of $500 available for each student. CDFIN EB Travel Awards will only partially fund our students’ travel to EB, So, there will have to be an additional source of funding in each case. Please complete and return the EB Travel Application to Stacy Ewing-Blount at seblount@iastate.edu by Friday, February 17th.
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Center For Designing Foods To Improve Nutrition, 515-284-8489.
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