Every year, new ISU faculty members travel across Iowa to meet with county Extension offices and staff members.

This year, the shoe will be on the other foot as ISU administrators and faculty play host to new Extension office employees.

It is a chance for people who depend on ISU’s resources to help communities from the Missouri to the Mississippi reacquaint themselves with new technological developments, agricultural methods, leadership skills and resources.

“We’ve been doing this since 1992 — taking new staff out to show them Iowa,” said John Anderson, associate director of University Relations.

“In 1997, we decided to turn the tables and bring the new Extension people to campus for a couple of days. That proved to be very successful. We repeated it in spring of ’98, and we’re doing it again this year,” he said.

The tour will show off many new technological features of Iowa State.

“We visit all the colleges and give them an opportunity to show what they are doing,” Anderson said. “We will be visiting Howe Hall, the Virtual Reality Lab, the Livestock Infectious Disease Isolation Facility at Vet Med, the Research Park, the new Palmer Building and the Design College’s Cyber Cafe.”

The group also will tour ISU’s Department of Residence, Student Health Center and Admissions.

Stan Johnson, vice provost for Extension, said Iowa State has an obligation to share advances with the state of Iowa.

“Our Extension staff have the responsibility of bringing the resources of ISU to the people of Iowa,” he said. “They can do that better if they know Iowa State well. It’s a good opportunity for them to make better connections with Iowa State.”

One of the advantages for visiting Extension staff members is that coming to Iowa State gives them firsthand knowledge of the progress in many fields and direct contact with the innovators, Johnson said.

“Most of the time they will be meeting the deans of the colleges and visiting the programs,” Johnson said.

“They will be looking at activities that we are proud of here at ISU, and that helps them do their job. It’s like learning to play baseball — it’s a lot better to have somebody show you how than to read a book about it.”

An added benefit to the tour is an increased sense of unity among the various offices and Iowa State, Johnson said.

“They’ll have a chance to see the faculty and many of the students who are from their home areas,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to meet people who are doing Iowa State University’s business out in the state. It makes us more of a team.”

For county Extension directors who are alumni, it is a chance to visit their alma mater. Stan Geiken, Benton County Education Extension director, said every time he comes back to Ames, he said he notices something new.

“I graduated ISU in 1971, and I want to catch myself up on all the things I just quite frankly haven’t had exposure to,” he said. “When I’m down there, I’m interested in all the new buildings and how things have changed. They are going to give us the opportunity to see a lot of different things.”