Inside Iowa State
August 23, 1996
The days of summer
by Linda Charles
If you were away from campus all or part of the summer, here
are some of the things you missed.
McDonald's in Hub on hold
Plans to place a McDonald's in the Hub were put on hold in
July to give the campus community more time to review and
comment on the proposal. University officials had received
complaints about the plan, which was part of a new vending
contract between Iowa State and the Memorial Union. The rest
of the contract has been put into effect and the Union spent
much of the summer installing campus vending machines, many
of which will accept the new ISUCard.
Airport gets A+
Travelers arriving at the
Des Moines airport now can find out a lot about Iowa State
before leaving the airport. An AccessPlus terminal was
installed in July in the baggage area. The terminal, through
a computerized information system, provides instant access to
Iowa State, including maps on how to get here and a
connection to the World Wide Web, with a variety of
information about ISU.
Under contract
President Martin Jischke signed a five-year contract with the
State Board of Regents in July. The contract, which
recognizes Jischke's five years of "outstanding service" to
Iowa State, stipulates Jischke will receive an annual salary
of at least $198,000, with annual increases at the board's
discretion.
New benefits program
A new benefits program for faculty, professional and
scientific staff, and supervisory staff is under development.
The program will allow faculty and staff to select from a
variety of health, dental, life and long-term disability
insurance plans. Faculty and staff will enroll in their new
plans later this year.
Retirement plans extended
The employee early retirement and phased retirement programs
were continued through the fiscal year 2002 by the State
Board of Regents in June. Both voluntary programs require
administrative approval, but offer employees and departments
flexibility in scheduling retirements and the university
potential cost savings.
Reservations on line
Faculty and staff can obtain airline fares and schedules and
even book their own business flights through Travel and
Transport's online reservation system. The new system is
available through the World Wide Web (click "faculty and
staff information" on ISU's homepage).
New learning center
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in July for the
Educational and Rural Development Center at the Armstrong
Research Farm near Lewis in southwest Iowa. The learning
center will contain continuing education classrooms and be
linked to the Iowa Communications Network, the state's fiber-
optic system. It also will house offices for the area
extension and the Armstrong Farm staffs. As part of an
agricultural business incubator program, office space will be
provided for new agricultural businesses developing value-
added products.
Too familiar
Sandbags and water were an unhappy reminder of the flood of
'93 that caused widespread damage on campus. However, while
the rains on June 17 brought out the sandbags, damage was to
limited to a machine shed and Veenker Golf Course.
Field of grass
This fall, for the first time since the stadium opened in
1975, Iowa State will play home football games on grass
rather than artificial turf. The new sod was installed in
late May.
Fountain removed
"Fountain of the Four Seasons," the Christian Petersen
sculpture in front of the Memorial Union, was removed in May
for repairs and conservation work. Linda Merk-Gould, an art
conservator from Westport, Conn., has taken the sculptures to
her Connecticut studios, where she will remove built-up salt,
minerals and bacterial growth, and repair cracks and other
damage. She also will repair the fountain's pool. The project
will take about a year.
Mind games
Nearly 7,000 participants gathered on campus in late May for
the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. This was the third time
the international competition, which stresses creative
solutions to problem-solving, was held at Iowa State.
Summer games
Iowa State fans and volunteers were on hand for the 1996 Iowa
Special Olympics, held on campus again in May.
$7 million gift
The single largest cash donation to Iowa State, excluding
estate gifts, was part of a $7 million gift from Stanley M.
and Helen Howe, Muscatine. The gift, announced in June,
includes $6 million in cash, supplemented by $1 million in
furniture from HON Industries, the Muscatine company Stanley
Howe guided for almost five decades. The donations will go to
the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex.
More gifts
In June, Iowa State alumni Enlow Ose and Melena Adams Ose,
Sacramento, Calif., contributed $1 million toward the
President's Scholarship Campaign.
Leadership program planned
Leadership ISU, a new one-semester program, will involve more
than 100 freshmen during the 1996-97 school year. Students
will work weekly with faculty and staff advisers and
upperclass and graduate students, on leadership concepts that
will culminate in community service projects. The program
grew out of increasing demand in business, industry and the
public sector for graduates who have had leadership
experiences and can work on complex issues.
Curb-side service
A ribbon-cutting was held in late May at the university's new
visitor information booth, located on Elwood Drive southeast
of Hilton Coliseum. The booth, designed to provide a
friendlier and more efficient way for visitors to obtain
information about Iowa State, features a drive-up window as
well as a walk-in entrance.
Comings and goings
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Revised 8/22/96