Five Things

Here are five things to put on your Cardinal & Gold radar this week:

1) It’s Leap Day! (You really just wanted February to be over, didn’t you?) In the spirit of leaping, a fun fact: Did you know that the ISU Skydivers are an official registered student organization?

2) Today and tomorrow, Iowa State is hosting its 7th annual Symposium on Sustainability in the Memorial Union. A poster reception tonight will be followed by the keynote address “Climate Change in the Long Emergency,” presented by Oberlin College professor David W. Orr, who in 2000 put forth a bold vision for colleges to strive for carbon neutrality. He will share his insight and vision in an 8 p.m. lecture in the Great Hall that is open to the public. Events on the agenda for Tuesday evening include “Sustainapalooza,” presentations of the 2015 Live Green Awards for Excellence in Sustainability, and a screening of the documentary film “Racing Extinction.” Get your green on and come check it out.

3) President Leath has named his next senior vice president for student affairs, and it’s a face that’s already familiar to many ISU students. Martino Harmon, who has been the university’s associate VP of student affairs since 2013, has been elevated to replace Tom Hill, who is retiring as senior VP after nearly 20 years and moving into a new role as a senior policy adviser to Leath. Learn more about Harmon — and the division of student affairs — by reading the full official press release online.

4) Tomorrow is the first day of March — which means it’s one of the most wonderful sports times of the year. The Big 12 indoor track and field championships were held on campus in the Lied Rec Center over the weekend; the Cyclone wrestling and women’s basketball teams head to their conference tourneys this week; and the men’s hoops team finishes the regular season at KU Saturday before heading to Kansas City for the Big 12 tourney next week. Planning to follow either or both of the basketball teams to the Big 12s? Get all the details about fan events and gathering spots on our website. Go, Cyclones!

5) Corporate social responsibility is a buzzworthy term these days, but how do efforts to be socially responsible truly affect a business? ISU associate professor of supply chain management Sachin Modi takes a closer look in the latest issue of the Journal of Marketing — tackling every topic from the ramifications of those noisy Sun Chips bags to a hypothetical recycled toothbrush.

Have an awesome week!

Five Things

Here are five things to put on your Cardinal & Gold radar this week:

Photo source: ISU News Service/Christopher Gannon

1) Engineers at Iowa State have found a way to combine a genetically engineered strain of yeast and an electrocatalyst to convert sugar into a new type of nylon. The process, says Zengyi Shao and Jean-Philippe Tessonnier, “opens the door to the production of a broad range of compounds not accessible from the petrochemical industry.” Learn more about this exciting ISU innovation online.

Photo source: KCCI TV

2) We are happy to report that the 11 semi trailers full of bottled water donated by Hy-Vee in honor of Flint native Monte Morris made it to Flint, Mich., this weekend, where members of the star point guard’s family were on hand to accept it. The grocery chain recently donated the 11 truckloads (in honor of Morris’ #11 jersey) in response to a recent online call Morris issued to Cyclone supporters to donate to the city, which is suffering a severe water poisoning crisis.

3) This Friday, the ISUAA is offering a free webinar to Iowa State alumni and friends who are struggling with maintaining their professional energy. Check out “Identify and Zap Energy Drains” this Friday at noon CT.

4) The fifth-annual Cardinal & Gold Gala was held Feb. 12 at the Veterans Memorial Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines, where more than $50,000 was raised (though things like the “green and purple game,” as pictured above) to support student and alumni outreach and programming, as well as the Cardinal & Gold Scholarships for first-generation college students. Check out some fun photos from the Mardi Gras-inspired evening on our Flickr page.

5) This week is Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week nationwide, and Iowa State is working to bring awareness to the issue with a variety of events, headlined by a lecture presented by Tom and Doris Smeltzer entitled “Andrea’s Voice: Silenced by Bulimia” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. The talk, in which the Smeltzers speak openly about the death of their 19-year-old daughter following a yearlong struggle with bulimia, is free and open to the public. For more information about this week’s events, visit the university’s website.

Making More Magic

Athletics director Jamie Pollard (L) introduced Steve Prohm as “the best fit” to succeed Fred Hoiberg as Iowa State’s head men’s basketball coach, citing his personality, style of play, sideline demeanor, and recruiting ability. “Find me a winner, and they’ll win again,” Pollard said. “Steve’s a winner.”

Hilton Magic didn’t start with Fred Hoiberg, and it won’t end with him, either.

The Mayor has certainly played an integral role in developing Iowa State’s nationally recognized home atmosphere as both a player (1991-1995) and head coach (2010-2015), but the legacy of the late Johnny Orr has benefited countless players and coaches over the past four decades – and it’s a big part of what attracted ISU’s newest head coach to Ames last summer.

Forty-year-old Steve Prohm, who earned conference championships, broke school records, and even met his wife during a fruitful nine-year coaching stint at Murray State (including four years as head coach), knew he wanted to make a jump to the next level of his profession. But he also knew he wouldn’t go just anywhere; his next stop had to be somewhere special.

“Iowa State University has a lot of the values that I’m all about,” says Prohm, who was introduced as ISU’s 20th head coach June 8. “It’s a small college town and a safe environment where they love college basketball. It parallels a lot of the things I loved about Murray State but on a larger scale.”

And even though Prohm had never set foot in Hilton Coliseum before he took the job, he knew he was taking a great next step.

“It goes back a long time – through Iowa State’s great teams and their average teams and through the amazing job Fred did,” Prohm says. “The fan base never wavers. The fan base has always been passionate, and it’s the toughest place in the league to play. That was the one thing that always resonated, and you can see it even on TV – the passion the fans have and the fun the kids have playing in that arena.”

Prohm says one of his strongest assets as a head coach is his ability to be passionate about where he works, and Iowa State makes that passion easy to develop.

“I’ll always have allegiance to Murray, Ky., and Murray State,” Prohm says. “You can’t be somewhere for 10 years and not get invested. And now I want to get invested here in Ames, get invested in Iowa State, and 10 years from now have that same passion for Iowa State that I’ve had for Murray. I’m looking forward to getting to know the former players, getting them back around, and just getting the opportunity to meet the former players and coaches and people in the community who have built this program – because that’s who you’re doing it all for. You’re not doing it for yourself – you’re doing it for all the people that played here and all the people who support this university.”

Among those individuals is, of course, Hoiberg (L)(’95 finance) – who made the tough decision to leave his alma mater and fulfill his NBA coaching dream with the Chicago Bulls. Prohm says it’s a unique situation to replace a coach who is also an alumnus and something of a legend, but he has embraced it.

“Fred’s been great,” he says. “He’s an icon here, and you have to embrace that. Fred has gone out of his way since day one, and I know he’s always there as a resource and to bounce questions off of or ask for advice. I always want him back and around the program, and I think he knows that.”

Prohm’s ability to build relationships – not just with alumni and fans but especially with his players – was what earned him distinction as one of the nation’s top young coaches during his four years at the helm of the Racer program, where he compiled a 104-29 record. He was twice the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and the 2012 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year, and his most famous pupil at MSU was All-American Isaiah Canaan, who is now playing for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

“It’s a player’s game,” Prohm says. “It’s about the players. Just investing in those kids and seeing them grow is really just what it’s about. The relationship with those guys means more to me than anything.”

As he takes on his new challenge at Iowa State, Prohm says he is focused on getting his players to believe in him and trust one another implicitly. The magic, he believes, will flow from there.

“I’ve talked to our players about how we’re not where we were when the season ended last year,” Prohm says. “We’ve got to start all over again. I understand that, and I embrace that. Put the pressure on me and let me deal with all the expectations that are out there. The pressure should never be on the players; those guys should just go play and have fun.”

Fun: It’s something that plays a major role in Iowa State’s basketball success, and Prohm says experiencing the atmosphere at Hilton Coliseum is something he’s been anticipating all summer and fall.

“I just really can’t wait,” he says, “to get out there and be a part of Cyclone Nation.”

Five Things

Here are five things to put on your Cardinal & Gold radar this week.

Photo by Christopher Gannon

1) It’s CHERRY PIE DAY! Last month, President Steven Leath announced a recommendation from the university’s official “what’s next after VEISHEA” committee that the annual cherry pie sale be brought back. The sale will now be held at its original time — Valentine’s Day/George Washington’s birthday. So today, which is President’s Day and the first weekday after Valentine’s Day, you can get your cherry pies ($2/each) in the MacKay Tea Room (23 MacKay Hall) while supplies last. The sale starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 7 p.m. (as long as pies are still available). All proceeds will support scholarships and student organizations in the Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management.

2) Not into cherry pies? How about cheese? Stephanie Clark, an ISU associate professor in food science and human nutrition who has been active in promoting Iowa cheese, played a major role in last week’s announcement that the American Cheese Society has decided to hold its international conference in Des Moines July 27-30. Cheese in the Heartland is expected to attract more than 1,200 cheese industry professionals to the state this summer.

“That’s a big deal for us to win that bid,” said Clark, who is the conference co-chair. “Cheese lovers will be descending on Des Moines!”

3) Last week a Forbes report using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that found Ames, Iowa has the lowest unemployment rate in the country (2.2 percent), citing the quality and breadth of job opportunities available at the Iowa Department of Transportation, Mary Greeley Medical Center…and a little place called Iowa State University.

4) KCCI-TV in Des Moines recently reported on a game-changing innovation being developed by ISU’s Center for Industrial Research and Service: a metal 3D printer that’s miles ahead of the technological curve. Check out the story online.

5) This week in campus lectures: video game designer and consultant James Portnow will speak tonight in the MU Great Hall about socially positive game design. The creator of Extra Credits, a web series that explores topics in the gaming industry, Portnow is currently CEO of Rainmaker Games. His lecture starts at 8 p.m. tonight and is free and open to the public.

Five Things

Here are five things to put on your Cardinal & Gold radar this week:

1) Last night American sports fans celebrated the 50th year of the Super Bowl, but at Iowa State we’re in the midst of celebrating a sports tradition that dates back doubly far: Cyclone wrestling, which is competing for the 100th season in 2015-2016. The Cyclones, who have won two in a row heading into this weekend’s Valentine’s Day matchup with West Virginia, will celebrate their current seniors, as well as 100 years of tradition, at Sunday’s 2 p.m. meet in Hilton Coliseum. It’s one not to miss.

2) Tomorrow is Iowa State Day at the Capitol. The free event in the Iowa State Capitol Rotunda will give the public, as well as Iowa leaders and legislators, the opportunity to learn more about the impact our land-grand university makes in the state. (Cy will be available for photos, too.) Stop by between 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and celebrate the Cyclone State.

3) Thursday night in the Memorial Union Sun Room, you can attend the rescheduled (from Jan. 25) Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series Keynote address by Wes Moore. Moore is a combat veteran, Rhodes Scholar, White House fellow and the author of two books: “The Other Wes Moore” and “The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters.”

4) On Friday, our ISUAA staff celebrated Super Bowl Weekend with a “Souper Bowl lunch” featuring chili, potato soup, and vegetable soup — with all the fixings, of course. Looking for some new soup recipes to get you from Souper Bowl Sunday to the end of winter-slash-cold-and-flu-season? (After all, there’s another blizzard going on and another virus going around today in Iowa). Check out the ISU Extension & Outreach “Spent Smart. Eat Smart.” website and get, among other soup recipes, the experts’ chicken noodle recommendation.

5) The Iowa State men’s basketball team scored a critical win on Saturday at Oklahoma State — without the services of 6-foot-9 senior forward Jameel McKay, a key cog on the squad who was suspended indefinitely by head coach Steve Prohm going into the contest for undisclosed reasons.

“I didn’t come here just to coach this team this year,” Prohm told reporters after Saturday’s game. “I came here to run a program. I came here to continue to build on what’s been done the last four or five years. There’s things I want done. I want things done the right way. Jameel and I will communicate on Monday, and then we’ll revisit the situation.

“I want things a certain way, and that’s the way it needs to be in every area. It’s not just about this year. I want Georges Niang, Monte Morris, Jameel McKay and Abdel Nader to come back in three years and be damn proud of the Iowa State basketball program. That’s why I have to make the decisions I make.”

For his part, McKay took to Twitter and Instagram Sunday to express what appears to be some contrition:

Today’s the day Prohm and McKay are expected to meet to discuss the situation, and here’s hoping the Cyclones can finish the season on a positive note — with all team members on board. Stay tuned.

A magical dream becomes reality

Cyclone point guard Jadda Buckley has seen Hilton Magic from every angle. The Mason City, Iowa, native has attended ISU men’s games since she was in elementary school and women’s games since high school.

Jadda Buckley was just a little girl when she was first introduced to Hilton Magic. Her best friend’s grandparents had season tickets to Iowa State men’s basketball games, so Buckley would often go along – cheering on the team, eating Clone Cones, watching Cy roam the court, and slowly falling in love with a magical kingdom called Hilton Coliseum.

“It was always loud and exciting and the fans were all great,” she remembers. “Here were these two little girls who probably had no idea what was going on on the court, but the older fans were talking to us and getting us involved in cheers. It was just, overall, so great.”

While Buckley became a Cyclone fan early in life, it took some time before she realized she could someday be the player little girls like her were screaming for.

“My parents never played basketball, and growing up I was more of a men’s fan because I wasn’t familiar yet with women’s basketball,” says Buckley – who today wears No. 11 because she says her first hoops idol was former Cyclone Will Blalock. “Then I met Lyndsey Medders Fennelly; when she was playing in college she would come and help our AAU team and that’s when I started to think [I could someday play in Hilton].”

The 5-foot, 8-inch guard went on to become a prep standout at Mason City (Iowa) High School, garnering top-50 national accolades and recognition as the 2012- 2013 MaxPreps.com Player of the Year. She was courted by college programs such as Kansas, Iowa, Northern Iowa, and Ohio State but ultimately knew where she belonged.

“I just knew I wanted to put on an Iowa State jersey one day,” Buckley says. “That stemmed not just from Hilton and the community but also Coach [Bill] Fennelly. He’s the kind of person you want to surround yourself with – someone who wants you to be the best you can be, who wants to challenge you and who cares about you. He has a 100 percent graduation rate with his players and he’s so good with the fans. He says thank you to every single fan that goes through the line. That’s a simple thing, but it’s pretty remarkable.

“Coach Fennelly started with 300 fans and one win, and now there are ten thousand fans and I don’t want to disappoint him. He’s worked so hard to get where he’s at, the least I can do is bust my butt for three hours in practice.”

Buckley knows she and her teammates owe the home-court advantage they enjoy today not only to the hard work of their head coach, but also to the steadfast support of Cyclone fans and the Ames community.

“We’re ranked in the top five in attendance in college women’s basketball, and after you go and play at another school that has 300 fans, you come back to Hilton and you just want to stand on the court and shout thank you,” Buckley says. “We’re so thankful for the people who come and watch us.”

For Buckley, connecting with those fans who support her isn’t just important from a team standpoint, but a personal one as well. She sees herself in every kid in the Hilton stands.\

“When I see little kids cheering at our games, I want them to have fun,” she says, “but someday it may hit them, like it hit me, that playing for the Cyclones is a dream. I took a fun, babysitting kind of day and turned it into a dream that I’m now making a reality. I want to be a resource to those little kids like Lyndsey was to me; I want to be available for kids like that.”

Buckley, who is now playing in her second sophomore campaign after being sidelined with a foot injury and earning a medical redshirt last season, says that unexpected return to fandom last year was a low point in her career. She’d definitely, she says, prefer to save her cheering role for after graduation.

“It was terrible,” she admits. “At first I felt like I couldn’t help the team out, but I figured out a role encouraging my teammates and really knowing the scouting report. You learn a lot about yourself in the game of basketball; every season has its ups and downs. It took me a while, but I’ve accepted that.”

And, she says, having a year off has made Buckley thirst even more for Hilton Magic.

“I’m so ready to walk out in Hilton and hear the people screaming,” she said before the season began. “Anywhere else, it’s 40 minutes of basketball. There’s a lot more meaning to a game here.”

Five Things

Here are five things to put on your Cardinal & Gold radar this week:

1) Super Bowl 50 is coming up on Sunday, and — continuing in the proud tradition of ISU’s turfgrass management program — one Iowa State student will be on hand to help the event’s grounds team. Georgeanna Heitshusen, a junior in horticulture from North English, Iowa, was selected by lawn care manufacturer the Toro Co. as this year’s winner of the annual Toro Super Bowl Sports Turfgrass Training Program.

“I was surprised and shocked when I first learned that I’d been selected for the program,” she told ISU News Service. “I was instantly excited about the opportunity.  I was bouncing off the walls with excitement.”

Georgeanna isn’t the only Iowa Stater who will be on hand for Sunday’s big game. Former Cyclone AJ Klein is a member of the NFC Champion Carolina Panthers. He becomes the 13th former Cyclone to play in a Super Bowl.

“It’s been a really surreal experience,” Klein told the Des Moines Register. “This season is so long, but it has gone by in a blink of an eye and we’re two weeks away from playing the biggest game in professional sports.”

2) Tonight the state of Iowa’s long, strange relationship with 2016 presidential candidates comes to an end — at least for now — with the 7 p.m. Iowa Caucuses. Tomorrow you can get all the scoop about what happened and what’s next at the Iowa Caucuses MOOC panel discussion with professors Steffen Schmidt and David Andersen, along with Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics director Dianne Bystrom. If you can’t attend the live discussion in the Memorial Union, a video of the panel discussion will be available online afterward.

3) February is Black History Month, and ISU’s office of Multicultural Student Affairs has compiled a list of activities that will be held on campus in celebration. Check it out online.

4) Our ISUAA career services staff is gearing up to host a Feb. 26 Webinar called “Identify and Zap Energy Drains,” presented by alumna Sarah Uchytil. Sign up now to participate and enjoy an energy boost at the end of the month — no Red Bull necessary.

5) And finally, some fun stuff from Facebook. After a surprise field trip to the ISU College of Engineering last week, some Clive, Iowa, fifth graders got inspired. These kids could certainly have some incredible adventures ahead of them: