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Announcements for Friday, September 28, 2012

Announcements

  • Reminder on personal mail

    A reminder that all mail leaving the department must be university related business. Please take your personal mail to the local U.S. Postal Office or Memorial Union Postal office to be mailed.

News

  • Jensen and Baker honored with Regents Awards

    Two individuals from the Department of Economics, Helen Jensen, professor of economics, and Dave Baker, Extension program specialist, were recently awarded with a Regents Award by the university. The award is given to outstanding university citizens who have rendered significant service to the university or the state of Iowa. A $1000 award is also granted.


    Jensen is noted for her research on the economics of nutrition, and she has addressed some of the most pressing issues challenging our nation today -- hunger, obesity, food safety, animal health, biological terrorism, food prices and food sufficiency. For the past 22 years, her advice and counsel have been sought out by policy makers, the food industry and consumer groups on the state, national and international levels.


    Baker is noted for his passion for helping young farmers in his role as an Extension specialist for the Beginning Farmer Center. He has facilitated matches for 64 young people with non-related retiring farmers, and he has worked with more than 260 families to help transition their farming operations to the next generation.

  • Streamlined access to data reflects change at ICIP

    Open access to data on the Internet doesn’t always mean that it’s easy to find. That’s why Liesl Eathington, director of the Iowa Community Indicators Program (ICIP), has worked to streamline what she now offers on a revamped website found at www.icip.iastate.edu.

    ICIP, housed in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, provides data resources to the general public as a means for understanding regional economic and demographic change. The center also provides data and analysis services that help inform local decision-making, policy development, and strategic planning processes.

    The new site coincides with an official name change to ICIP, formerly called the Regional Economics & Community Analysis Program (ReCAP). Says Eathington, “Both of these changes reflect an effort to speed up the search process for people seeking community-level indicators for a variety of purposes.”

    ICIP’s new site is easier for users to navigate, makes frequently requested items more prominent, and hones in on a smaller range of offerings. “As more data is available on more sites, there’s less need for us to try to do everything,” she says. “We want to try to help people locate things quickly, and to put things into formats that are easy to understand.”

    Construction of the site is not complete, and the addition of an expanded reference section with help and other resources is yet to come. “It’s challenging to make the site keep up with the demands that people have, and the amounts and types of data that are available,” she says.

    Eathington appreciates feedback on these changes, and is receptive to any direct questions through a phone call or email. “You can waste hours searching for something,” she admits. “With ICIP, there’s a person behind the site who is happy to answer your questions.”

    ICIP is a coordinating agency in the State Data Center of Iowa network, part of a federal-state cooperative program providing census data and expertise to local data users. It is supported by the ISU Department of Economics, ISU Department of Sociology, and ISU Extension Community and Economic Development.

  • Swenson and Eathington comment on the consequences of drought

    “The initial impact of a drought is a sharp reduction in the state’s water supply, which in turn has immediate impacts on agricultural productivity commercial activities that require water, and public goods that are water-based,” said David Swenson and Liesel Eathington, economics, in an article for Drovers Cattle Network. In terms of secondary consequences, the economists report, “The widespread reduction in crop yields in Iowa will reduce harvest times, it will decrease grain hauling and there will be less demand for grain storage. Farther on, reduced yields, especially in the eastern part of Iowa, will decrease the demand for barge transport. In the nearer term, warehousing and shipping might see the greatest impacts from reduced farm quantity production.” More: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/latest/How-will-the-drought-imp...

  • Thursday's Human Resources Workshop, Fanzheng Yang, ISU

    Fanzheng Yang will present a Human Resources Workshop on Thursday, October 4, at 3:40 PM in 360 Heady Hall.

  • Weekly Media Connections for the Department of Economics

    John Beghin spoke with Finlay Lewis, Congressional Quarterly on sugar policy reform and trade agreements and their implications for the US sugar industry.

    Mike Duffy spoke with Ron Nixon, New York Times, regarding land values.

    Dave Swenson spoke with Frank Morris, Harvest Public Media (public radio), on the farm and nonfarm impacts of the drought, and on wind energy manufacturing. He also spoke with Jim Offner, Waterloo Courier, on questions about the federal debt ceiling as well as the "fiscal cliff" looming at the end of the year if Congress does not come up with spending and revenue reforms.

External Seminars and Workshops

Funding Opportunities

Job Opportunities

  • Positions at University of California, Santa Cruz

    The Economics Department at UC Santa Cruz is currently recruiting for two positions at the Assistant Professor level; one position is in Applied Microeconomics and one is in Applied Macroeconomics. The department has strong research groups in applied micro and international finance/macro.

  • Three tenure-track positions open at University of Tennessee
  • Research Associate position at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

    A position is open for Research Associates (RAs) with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Candidates who are in the process of completing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics or related fields are encouraged to apply. Interested students can apply at: https://frb.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=228420

    The Research Associate position is a great opportunity for students who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in economics. Typically, RAs work for two - three years before attending graduate school.

    Contact with questions: Curtis.Haverland@kc.frb.org.

  • Service learning opportunities with ACDI/VOCA

    Two Service Learning Corps assignments are available, scheduled to begin in January 2013. One ais vailable in Ghana for Credit and Financial Training, and another available in Liberia for Developing a Competitive Finance Industry.

    For more information contact: Diana Boni, Recruiter | Volunteer Program

    Tel: +1 202 469-6182 | Fax: +1 202 469-6257; 50 F Street NW, Suite 1075 | Washington, DC 20001 | www.acdivoca.org

  • Drake University adjunct instructors needed

    Drake University needs adjunct instructors for the second semester of the 2012- 2013 school year to teach one section of Principles of Macroeconomics, and two sections of Money and Banking. Adjuncts should have at least a Masters degree in economics and some teaching experience. Interested graduate students are asked to send their CV and any teaching evaluations to: Bill Boal, professor of economics, College of Business and Public Administration, Drake University, Des Moines, IA 50311-4505

    Email questions to: william.boal@drake.edu