From The Dean – Fall 2013

Most people know me as the dean of an Iowa State college that has roots going back 155 years.

Some may know less about the other title I hold, linked to an agricultural research program that has served Iowa for 125 years.

I am director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. Sometimes it’s abbreviated to just Experiment Station. It’s 125 years old this year.

In 1888, Iowa approved the terms of the federal Hatch Act, establishing an experi­ment station at Iowa State. The Hatch Act offered federal aid for states to establish agricul­tural research stations linked to land-grant colleges. In every state, the act officiated a marriage of science and agriculture that promoted “scientific investigation and experiments respecting the principles and applications of agricul­tural science” and resulted in a progeny of scientific breakthroughs.

The Experiment Station is deeply woven into every aspect of how our college fulfills Iowa State’s mission. It makes possible vital infrastructure—people, facilities and programs—to meet Iowans’ needs and strengthen its most vital industry. It’s educa­tion and mentorship of students by some of the world’s leading agricultural scientists across many disciplines. It’s science-based information reaching every corner of the state through extension and outreach.

Today, the Experiment Station supports faculty researchers and scientific staff in more than two dozen departments and centers in our college. Also, the Experiment Station supports faculty in the College of Human Sciences who are conducting research on topics such as food safety, childhood obesity and the health and well-being of rural elderly. And campus-wide, the Experiment Station helps faculty through its support for high-tech research instrumentation facilities and biotechnology programs.

In all those ways, the Experiment Station truly embodies “Science With Practice.”

The Experiment Station sounds like a destination you could visit. Maybe that was true, back at the very beginning. The first Experiment Station director, R.P. Speer, led a small band of scientists (three, to be exact). To “visit” the Experiment Station today, you’d need to stop at many places on campus and around the state (including what I believe is the nation’s finest system of research and demonstration farms at 12 locations), plus you’d have to meet many people, teams and partners. To get a true sense of the Experiment Station, think of it as a diverse portfolio of people, places and programs working for the good of Iowa and the betterment of agriculture.

Please check out the Online Extra for links to 125 highlights of past Experiment Station achievements, a video about its legacy of research and a snapshot of current research.

But if there’s only four things you should know about the Experiment Station, or when you see the director title after my name, keep these in mind:

1. The Experiment Station is Iowa’s only public agricultural research program. The Experiment Station is critical to meeting the needs of the incredibly complex, ever-shifting biological system that is agriculture. Currently nearly 750 active research projects are tied to faculty and staff supported by the Experiment Station—research on plants, animals, natural resources, food and nutri­tion, energy, economics and much more. These resources make possible the work of 294 faculty and 380 staff.

2. Public investment in the Experiment Station yields results. Studies by econo­mists at Iowa State and Yale University found that the rate of return to society from publicly funded agricultural research is 50 percent and, in some newer studies, even higher—that’s a 50 percent real rate of return annually. It’s a reason why keeping Experiment Station funding reliable and growing keeps Iowa agriculture strong. That foundation is a springboard our scientists successfully leverage to win grants and contracts.