HON 3240C, Lessons on How to Enhance Your Success, T 12:40-2:30, Jischke 1113, 1 Credit, Second Half Semester, Enrollment Limit: 17, International Perspectives (REFERENCE NUMBER 6479005)
About the Course: Everyone wants to be successful. This course is intended to help you understand some of the many principles for achieving success in your life. A college degree can be important to obtaining success, but there are many other factors that you typically don't study in college and, thus, aren't aware of when you graduate and engage in a career. Knowing about these success factors can help you jump start your career and become more successful throughout your career no matter what you do. After taking this class, you should have a better understanding of the keys to success, so you won't have to just rely on luck or circumstance to be successful. The course instructors and a number of class guests from different career areas (e.g. academia, business, sports) will share with you some principles that have helped them achieve success in their careers, principles that you will be able to use in your life and career.
About the Instructor: Darin Wohlgemuth: Dr. Wohlgemuth is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Economics Department at Iowa State University. He earned his Master’s and Ph.D. in Economics at Iowa State University. His research focused on the Demand for Higher Education. His career includes several years in Enrollment Services where he led a research group in Admissions, Financial Aid and the Registrar’s Office developing enrollment forecasts and strategies for recruitment and retention of students. He assisted Iowa State by developing the datasets and first working models of the University wide Responsibility Centered Budget Model that allocates tuition revenue to colleges on the basis of enrollment and student credit hours taught. In 2018 he joined the Department of Economics full-time as a teaching faculty and academic advisor. He teaches Principles of Microeconomics, Applied Economic Optimization, and Managerial Economics (in the MBA program). He is the co-advisor to the Undergraduate Economics Club and the Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Economics Dept.
About the Presenters:
Ron Deiter: Dr. Deiter came to ISU (Economics Department) in 1977 after completing his PhD in Agricultural Economics at the University of Illinois. After a successful 46-year career focusing on undergraduate teaching and advising, he taught his last full class F23. During his ISU career, he taught 16 different courses (3 of which he developed) and over 22,000 students. He has received numerous awards for teaching, advising, and service. With the help of others, he helped to build ISU's Ag Business program and club into the best in the nation. He leaves behind an endowed scholarship, club, and faculty position with each named in his honor.
Mark Smith: Mr. Smith holds a BS Chemical Engineering degree from Iowa State University and an MBA degree from Purdue University. His 36-year career was in crop protection chemicals with ELANCO, DowElanco, and Dow AgroSciences working in manufacturing, research, sales, and field technical support. He was recognized as a ‘Regional MVP’ five times and holds professional licenses for being a Professional Engineer and a Certified Crop Advisor. His last five years at Dow AgroSciences included recruiting, training, coaching/mentoring, and supporting new sales hires (mostly from Iowa State and Purdue). After retiring from Dow Ag, he was an independent consultant for eight independent retailers in Southern Illinois for four years. He moved to Ames in 2021 and began guest lecturing in the ISU engineering college.
Dustin Toberman: Mr. Toberman received a BA degree in Communication and Media Studies from McKendree University in 1997. In 1999, he graduated from the Dale Carnegie Sales Advantage program. He held management positions at Gavilon and Bunge N. America for 19 years before becoming Founder and President of Omni Ag Consulting in 2021, headquartered in Naples, FL.
Jamie Pollard: Mr. Pollard is the 14th and longest-tenured Director of Athletics in Iowa State history and fourth-longest serving active Power Five Director of Athletics. He enters his 19th year leading the Cyclones’ 18-sport intercollegiate athletics program in 2023-24. His vision for ISU student-athlete’s academic and athletic success, coupled with an unbridled passion to creatively execute that plan continues to have a major impact within the campus community, throughout the Big 12 Conference and across the intercollegiate athletics landscape. In 1987, he won the NCAA D-III Outdoor 5,000-meter title at Oshkosh (WI) in a then-school-record time. In 2019 he was recognized as National AD of the Year, in 2019 he was chosen to serve for 5 yrs on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee, in 2021-22 he was elected president of Nat’l Assoc of College Ads, and in 2023 he was named FBS Athletic Director of the Year.
Roger Underwood: Mr. Underwood obtained a B.S. degree in Ag Business at Iowa State University in 1980. His successful career as an entrepreneur began in 1982 when he co-founded Becker Underwood. The company began with a colorant used to mark areas in crop fields that had been sprayed. Over time, the company added new products such as seed colorants, seed coatings, and biological inoculants used in general agriculture, horticulture, forestry, aquatics, and landscaping. In 2012, Becker Underwood was sold to BASF Chemical Company for $1.02 billion. Today, Mr. Underwood is still actively involved in agricultural and philanthropic projects. He currently serves as Chair of Pivot Bio (an ag-bio-tech company), is a board member of Kent Corporation, is a founding limited partner of The Rural American Fund (a private equity company), and is a member of the ISU Foundation Board of Governors where he chaired ISU’s last fundraising campaign. He is a past board member of The Waldinger Corp and the Albaugh Chemical Co. Mr. Underwood has received numerous, prestigious awards including Outstanding ISU Ag Bus Alum (1996), Order of the Knoll Outstanding Young Alumnus (2000), ISU CALS Floyd Andre Award for outstanding contributions to agriculture, and ISU Cardinal and Gold membership (2011).
David Acker: Dr. Acker currently serves as associate dean for global engagement in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at ISU. He has served as an associate dean since 2005, including 15 years as associate dean for academic programs. He joined the college in 1995 as director of the college’s international programs. Prior to his time at ISU, he led USAID projects in Africa for Oregon State University. He is the Raymond and Mary Baker Chair for Global Agriculture in the Ag Education and Studies Department. He has more than 40 years of experience in international agriculture and education where he has administered programs or given lectures in over 20 different international countries. Acker completed a PhD in Vocational Education from Oregon State University in 1989.