Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen spoke with about three dozen people at the ISU Greene County Extension office July 24. She introduced Jason Henderson, ISU vice president for Extension and Outreach, and Andrea Welchans, ISU assistant vice president for Extension and Outreach.
The visit was hosted by the Greene County Extension staff, headed by director Lori Mannel.
Wintersteen reported the enrollment at Iowa State for the coming year is 13 percent more than last year, and that the May graduating class was the seventh largest in the history of the school.
Faculty and staff broke a record last year, bringing in more than $300,000 in grants and contracts for research, including federal funding, partnerships with business and industry, and the state. “That’s a lot of money. We’re proud of the work they do, because it’s often very much associated with work that helps Iowans. As we’re a university of science and technology, we’re focused on opportunities and addressing challenges,” she said.
Iowa State was recently recognized as the Entrepreneurial University of the Year for the Americas, which includes 33 countries, Wintersteen said.
She also talked about the university’s effort to let undergraduates use their creativity in the same ways as graduate students and faculty members with the Student Innovation Center.
Jason Henderson is a native of northeast Iowa who left Purdue University for ISU in April. His career work includes years with the Federal Reserve.
He said the job of Extension is “to work with people in all of our communities to help them take the great technologies that come out of our universities and figure out which of those are worthy of adoption on their farm, or in their families, or in their business, and determine what’s a good fit.”
He said the university is investing in Iowa, in the physical, financial and mental health of Iowans and their communities.
Also at the event were Extension human sciences specialist Anthony Santiago; family and personal finance specialist Ryan Stuart; and farm management specialist Alexis Stevens.
Mannel introduced members of the Greene County 4-H Council in attendance: Scott Weber, Tracy Deal, Jeff Lamoureux and Pam Olerich. They and other community members at the invitation-only gathering commented on the benefits and services the local Extension staff provides.
Many people praised the work of Greene County youth and 4-H coordinator Samantha Hardaway for expanding programming and partnering with the Greene County CSD in developing monthly career exploration camps at the Career Academy for students in grades 1-8.
