In This Issue
- From CFANS Dean Allen Levine: Giving thanks
- Alumni Society takes UMAA top honors
- Bonding proposal includes CFANS projects
- "Speaking of Science" with Peter Reich
- New BSL3 containment facility opens
- Temporary appointments fill associate dean positions
- E3 conference focuses on innovation
- Classes Without Quizzes suggestions wanted
- Tree-ology at the Arboretum
- Events
From Dean Allen Levine: Giving thanks 
This is a transcript of Allen Levine’s remarks to the Thanksgiving for Scholarships dinner on Nov. 15, 2007. The dinner is held each year to honor donors and scholarship recipients.
Welcome, on behalf of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. In my one-year-old position as Dean, I provide oversight of this great new college. I am intimately familiar with the challenges students face as well as the rewards that await them.
Let me first address the students. You are the stock in which we invest. Faculty and staff invest their time, experience and expertise into your education. Our faculty are stimulated and rewarded by your success.
Donors invest their personal savings into your future. They want to ensure that you are prepared to take their places as leaders in industry, government, nonprofit organizations, and in society.
As students, you represent the present and the future, but you also reflect the past. Many of you are here because of the past generosity of our donors and other service contributions from alumni, friends, and faculty.
Read more
To donors, I say that your legacy of scholarships plays a starring role in the current excellence of our college and the students here tonight. Many of you developed a feeling of “thanksgiving” for education while looking back on your own educational experiences at the University of Minnesota, and perhaps this college. Some of you, like those students with us tonight, received a scholarship along the way.
The cost of tuition and fees for Minnesota residents is now about $10,000 per year. For nonresidents, tuition and fees are double that amount. These costs do not include room, board, books, or health insurance. Tuition has risen dramatically in recent years. This rise is partly due to declining real dollars from state and federal governments that traditionally funded a significant share of University costs for faculty and infrastructure. Thankfully, private funds from friends like you help us bridge the gap.
The realities of these costs leave students with the impossible decision of going deeply into debt, or compromising their studies, by working many hours each week, or interrupting their education for paying jobs.
Scholarships are immensely important to the academic success of our students. They are better prepared for their careers and their own contributions to society when they can focus on courses and graduate in a timely manner. This year, over $1 million in scholarships were awarded to our CFANS students!
Scholarships can range from $500 to full tuition. Amounts vary due to the annual pool of funds in each scholarship category, the generosity of our donors, and the criteria that students must meet for eligibility.
Scholarships take many forms.
Some, like the Augustus Searle Scholarship, have been around since the 1920s. In contrast, the family and friends of Russell Stansfield recently established a new scholarship in memory of Russ, who sadly passed away this past October. Russ was a dearly loved member of the CFANS family and a graduate of our college from the Class of 1949. I am pleased to acknowledge that his name and legacy will live on as students benefit from his new scholarship.
Some scholarships honor beloved faculty members, like the Dr. Willis Peterson Undergraduate Scholarship in Applied Economics and the Louise Mullan Scholarship in Nutrition. Others recognize great academic friendships like the AgStar Foundation and Minnesota FFA Scholarships.
Some scholarships are dedicated to certain areas of study like the DONAN Scholarship for students interested in majoring in Bio Based Products, the Dave and Pat Johnson Scholarship for students studying soil or environmental science and the Holmberg Scholarship for students majoring in agronomy and horticulture.
Some scholarships seek to attract top performing students from a certain geographical area. For instance, the Lofgren Undergraduate Honor Award and the Charles Lofgren Scholarship were set up to help students from Northeast Minnesota.
Other scholarships help to promote a diverse student body like the Joseph Alexander Scholarship focusing on advancing the education of a diverse student body interested in hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.
And, there are even those scholarships that are created through the efforts and generosity of many — like the over 500 alumni who established the Natural Resources Alumni Scholarship. No matter what form they take and the motivation of our wonderful donors, these scholarships help our students to excel.
For the last four years the University has been involved in the largest scholarship drive in Minnesota’s history, and our college has done well, keeping pace with the broader University goal. In fact, 35 new scholarships in our college benefited from a Presidential Match, to double their annual yield of available funds.
Thank you for sharing in the bounty of scholarships. This is truly a time to give “Thanksgiving for Scholarships.”
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Alumni Society takes UMAA top honors
 The CFANS Alumni Society, led by director Mary Buschette, left, was recognized Oct. 30 as the University of Minnesota Alumni Association's "Outstanding Alumni Society of the Year." Past president Dan Kennedy was named the UMAA's national outstanding volunteer of the year and Mark Seeley, a professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate was honored as UMAA's faculty/staff volunteer of the year.
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Bonding proposal includes CFANS projects
The University of Minnesota's capital request for 2008 includes several projects involving CFANS units, including $24 million for a new Bell Museum on the St. Paul campus and $3.3 million for improvements at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center in Crookston and at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris. The request will be submitted to the Minnesota Legislature when it convenes in February.
See a video about the Bell Museum plans
See a video about the Research and Outreach Center improvements
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A new "Speaking of Science" interview
 The latest installment of "Speaking of Science" is now online. This series of interviews between CFANS dean Allen Levine and key faculty and staff showcases the research and outreach work happening throughout the college. The latest interviewee is Peter Reich, a professor in the Department of Forest Resources who was named a Regents Professor earlier this year .
Read the Q and A with Peter Reich
Listen to raw MP3 audio of the interview:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
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BSL3 facility holds grand opening
The new $6 million Plant Pathology Research Facility on the St. Paul campus officially opened on Nov. 7. It will be operated by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. When licensed by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the high-security facility will be approved as a bio-safety three (BL3) facility and eligible to study a variety of plant diseases. Currently, only three BL3 facilities in the United States are allowed to work with and conduct research on exotic plant pathogens.
See a video about the new BSL3 facility
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Temporary appointments fill open positions
 Carl Rosen, left, a professor in the departments of Soil, Water and Climate and Horticultural Science, will be interim associate dean of CFANS while a search for a permanent associate dean is conducted. He'll lead the agriculture, food and environment capacity areas. Mel Baughman, a professor in the Department of Forest Resources, and Renee Pardello, an area program leader for University of Minnesota Extension, will lead the natural resources and environment capacity areas of Extension and CFANS on an interim basis.
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E3 conference focuses on innovation
E3 2007, the annual conference led by the Institute on the Environment and the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE), will focus on the intersection between innovative technologies, visionary policies, environmental benefits, and emerging market opportunities as they relate to developments in the renewable energy sector. Several CFANS faculty will be featured as speakers. The conference is from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 27 at
Coffman Memorial Union on the University of Minnesota's East Bank campus.
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Classes Without Quizzes suggestions wanted
CFANS' seventh annual Classes Without Quizzes event, hosted by the CFANS Alumni Society, is set for Saturday, April 5 on the St. Paul campus. Suggestions for presenters and topics are needed! Presentations must be 50 minutes long, highlight research in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and be relevant to Minnesotans.
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Get ready for Tree-ology at the Arboretum
"Tree-ology” will be the theme of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's 2008 summer exhibition, which opens May 24. The exhibit will feature a juried outdoor exhibit of dynamic, interactive public art along a tree-lined walk. Artists interested in entering an artwork for the exhibition are asked to attend a mandatory pre-proposal meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. on Nov. 29 in the Oswald Visitor Center’s MacMillan Auditorium. Please RSVP by Nov. 28 with Thom Dreeze, 952-443-1425 or dreez001@umn.edu. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 3. Twenty winning designs will be selected on Jan. 17. Each winner will receive a $2,500 stipend toward construction and installation costs.
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Events
Here are a few of the upcoming events of interest to the College of
Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences community. Visit www.cfans.umn.edu to
see more events.
Best Practices for Defense Against Terrorism: What Consumers Expect and Food Companies Do
Monday, November 19, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
Room 105, Cargill Building, St. Paul campus
Food manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers have approached their preparation to deal with a potential terrorist attack on food and facilities with various degrees of intensity. A benchmarking survey and subsequent diagnostic tool discovers the strengths and weaknesses in potential resilience to such an attack. Professor Jean Kinsey of the Department of Applied Economics will be a keynote speaker.
Cafe Scientifique: Computational Biology
Tuesday, November 20, 7 p.m.
Bryant-Lake Bowl, Uptown Minneapolis
Marc Riedel, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota, will discuss his research, which uses computational models and methods inspired by biological systems. Cost is $5. Cafe Scientifique, sponsored by the Bell Museum, is a forum for science and culture in a casual setting.
Sustainable Cities: A Conversation on Sustainability
Thursday, November 29, 12:45 - 1:45 p.m.
Mississippi Room, Coffman Union, East Bank campus, U of M
May 2007 marked an important shift for sustainability thinkers worldwide; for the first time in human history, the majority of the global population now live in urban areas. What does this mean for our environment? How does the ever-changing face of urban living affect (and how will it be affected by) sustainable practices? This event is a seminar in the series Conversations on Sustainability, sponsored by the University of Minnesota - TC' Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Initiative. Please email sustainu@umn.edu with your lunch choice.
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Steve Polasky, a professor in the 
Water Resources Science graduate student Adam Sealock has been selected for the University of Minnesota
L. David Mech, a professor in the 
Donald Liu, a professor in the
Associate Dean Jay Bell has been named a Fellow of the 
Carroll Vance, a professor in the 
James Anderson, a professor in the