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July 5, 2002

Regents approve Buchanan plans; question merit staff raises

by Anne Krapfl
Plans for a $9.2 million renovation of Buchanan residence hall on Lincoln Way are moving forward after the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved a design presentation during its June 20 meeting in Ames. Work on the building, which was vacated after spring semester, will begin this summer. The building will be ready for fall 2003 student residents.

In addition to adding a one-story commons area to the north side of the building, "towers" will be wrapped around the west end of the existing nine-story wing to add dens and larger kitchenettes to each floor.

Improvements to the building include new bathroom fixtures, windows (featuring a window bay with seat in each room), heating, AC and sprinkler systems, data communications wiring and lighting. The remodeled rooms will feature singles and doubles, for a net bed gain of 23.

Residence department director Randy Alexander said discussions with Buchanan residents this year convinced residence officials to continue to market the building to students age 21 and older. Exceptions will be considered for international students who are younger but demonstrate diligent study habits. These two populations comprised most of Buchanan's residents before the hall was closed, but Alexander also said occupancy was only around 85 percent.

While room rates in the remodeled Buchanan Hall will go up, Alexander said the building will be a less expensive option than the Frederiksen Court apartments or the new Union Drive suite building.


Merit increases perceived as too high
In other business, the regents nearly failed, on a 5-4 vote, to approve the FY03 pay schedule for merit employees covered by the AFSCME contract. Under the agreement, covered employees receive an average increase of 3 percent on July 1 and 4.5 percent step increases on their anniversary dates. Additional raises are possible as merit positions transfer into a new pay grade system this year from the former step matrix.

Regent David Fisher, one of four who voted against the pay increases, said a 7.5 percent salary increase isn't "even close to what's happening in the real world."

He called the 2.6 percent average increase for Iowa State's P&S staff and faculty "tough, but reasonable."

Regardless of the regents' vote, the state is obligated to honor the terms of the AFSCME contract.

The regents also:
  • Approved naming the Iowa State Center bus stop for former Ames city council and transit board member Ann Campbell. The nomination started as a resolution from the Government of the Student Body.
  • Approved merging two departments, animal ecology and forestry, into natural resource ecology and management, within the College of Agriculture, effective July 1. Curricular changes are under way.
  • Heard preliminary discussion from regents institution presidents on general budget planning and policies for the 2003 fiscal year. Final budgets will be approved at the July 17-18 meeting in Cedar Falls.




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