College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Striking out on new "Frontiers"

LAS freshmen got a jump start on their academic careers during "Frontiers of the Discipline" held the week before classes started.
While other Iowa State freshmen were arranging their residence hall rooms or meeting their roommates, 75 LAS freshmen were getting a jump-start on their academic careers.

The students participated in "Frontiers of the Discipline," a new LAS program that allowed the students to participate in an academic seminar prior to the start of fall semester classes.

The one-credit course was held Aug. 16-18. Seminar groups were established around the LAS academic areas of the life sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and communications.

"We developed this seminar to give students immediate access to a stimulating academic experience," said Zora Zimmerman, LAS associate dean. "They got behind the scenes of headline research in their particular disciplines and discussed cutting-edge issues in small groups with faculty scholars."

Sarah Moen, freshman open option student, participated in the life sciences seminar taught by ecology, evolution and organismal biology faculty members Jim Colbert and Rob Wallace.

"I really liked biology in high school and thought this would be a good opportunity for me to find out what type of research is conducted here," Moen said.

The instructors determined the course structure for each seminar section. The life sciences section collected mosses and lichens outside Lagomarcino Hall and took tours of the biological facilities in Bessey Hall. The mathematical and physical sciences students heard presentations from top Iowa State researchers in the field and had an opportunity to take a tour of the C6 virtual reality complex in Howe Hall.

Instructors Steffen Schmidt and Dan Krier arranged a panel discussion about Islam for the social sciences section. A group of communications students observed how individuals communicated on campus.

Other instructors included Steve Kawaler and Alicia Carriquiry, mathematical and physical sciences; Dawn Bratsch-Prince and Deb Marquart, humanities; and Michael Bugeja and Jean Goodwin, communications.

"Since this was the first time we had ever done a seminar like this, we had no clue how it would go," Wallace said. "But our students were talking a lot about biology in just a short period of time."

Richard Webster, freshman chemistry major, said "Frontiers of the Discipline" gave him a good introduction to what his life at Iowa State will become.

"I got into the swing of things," he said. "We had some really awesome presentations by faculty whose research is related to what I'm interested in. I think I know what to expect when I attend class lectures."

"Frontiers of the Discipline" isn't over yet. The sections will meet once a month in September, October and November as the discussions that began in August continue with readings, lectures, special events and the students' experiences transitioning to college.

"I hope our goals were met, that we've given you a taste of what University life is like," Zimmerman told the freshmen at the seminar's concluding event. "Our faculty have given you a smorgasbord of presentations and exercises that have allowed you to explore different fields in your interest areas."