Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

February 13, 2004

Marrying history with modernity

Richard Reynolds with an architect's model of the Memorial Union. Pictured on the south side are planned additions awaiting regents approval. Photo by Bob Elbert.

by Anne Krapfl
You might not expect to find a transplanted Texan smiling about a new job in Iowa on a 5-degree morning, but Richard Reynolds found plenty to be enthusiastic about on such a day last week. Reynolds, the director of the Memorial Union since late August, said Iowa State -- cold temperatures aside -- was a good choice for him.

"The people are friendly, what I expected them to be, and the work ethic is great -- in employees and our students. And I feel as if I've known about this building a long time -- from J. Wayne Stark, my supervisor in the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M, and from knowing (former MU director) Maryjo Mertens through professional associations."

Reynolds wife, Debbie, grew up in northwest Wisconsin. Their paths crossed in Eau Claire, where Reynolds spent six years at the student center at the University of Wisconsin branch campus. Their move back to the Midwest isn't illogical.

And with $16 million dollars of building renovations and new construction to the Union up for Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approval later this spring, it may be an exciting time to be at the helm.

"My father was a Methodist minister and when I was growing up, he built a lot of churches and parsonages," Reynolds said. "I think it's just in me to be drawn to building projects."

Reynolds oversaw the construction of a 40,000-square-foot addition to the student center at UW-Eau Claire and a 98,000-square-foot addition to the student center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He spent 11 years at San Antonio before accepting the Iowa State job.

But Reynolds said he isn't here solely for the big projects.

"From the time I first interviewed here last summer, I have been looking with a critical eye at what can be done to improve the facility, within our operating budget." For example, money has been set aside for standardized signage for the Union's 22 meeting rooms, and to replace decorative wood spindles on the bottom front of the stage in the Great Hall. Interim Union director Terry Mason last summer began the processes of upgrading or replacing staff computers and implementing a new ticketing system for student and entertainment events in the Union.

Formerly a non-profit corporation, the Union became an official university facility last March. Reynolds said there still is lots to do to bring the Union's programs and staff "into the folds of the university." As director, he spent time this fall getting to know people in university offices and learning how Iowa State operates so that the Union can be an integral part of that operation.

Help modernize the Great Hall

The $11 million renovation budget for the Memorial Union doesn't include any plans for the building's Great Hall. But Union director Richard Reynolds and others feel strongly enough that some updates are needed to seek private gifts. Planned improvements include a new sound system; upgraded technology to support events; new stage, window and balcony curtains; refurbished electrical components in the vintage stained glass lighting and new multi-level lighting; renovated woodwork; and recreated architectural elements (now broken or missing) that were part of the original room.

"We really feel like this needs to be done. Given the significance of this room to the Union and the university, we also think people will want to contribute to this project," Reynolds said.

Fund raising will begin in late May during Iowa State's annual Alumni Days event. A goal hasn't been announced yet, but will exceed $500,000.

Renovating the Union
But, there is that big building project awaiting a green light. Once it has regents' approval, Reynolds anticipates a three-year timeline to completion. The work includes $11 million in renovations and new construction, some of which will resolve long-standing noncompliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. It adds or upgrades several elevators in the building, including two that connect the building to all levels of the adjacent parking ramp, and creates new, accessible corridors to the east and west ends of the Sun Room. It renovates the first floor's South Ballroom and Oak Room and all second-floor meeting rooms.

This work will be paid for with student fees. Last semester, students began paying an additional $30 fee for Union renovations.

This part of the project also will add a two-story addition to the south side of the Union, creating a new south entrance. The addition will include several retail spaces for lease. In the future, when additional funds are available, a third level to the addition would create two more large meeting rooms to complement the Gallery and Pioneer Room.

The building plans include a $5 million, 17,500-square-foot addition, also on the south side of the Union, to be paid for and occupied by the University Book Store. It will add retail and inventory storage space to the store.

Puzzle pieces
A lot of the plans for the renovation were completed before Reynolds arrived at Iowa State, but he works regularly now with facilities staff and architects from Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck, Des Moines, to "fit all the pieces into the skin."

He credits long-time employees at the Union with "helping me understand the historical significance of the Memorial Union to this campus." He has heard dozens of stories, from staff and alumni, about "back when" -- and he appreciates every tale.

The architectural team is trying to find uses, in the renovated Union, for some carefully stored pieces from its past: stained glass windows that once hung in doors on the west side of the building, original arch window frames from the pre-Campanile Room era, bronze doors that once hung in Gold Star Hall, to name a few.

"Projects like this are big puzzles. They're a lot of fun and I like the challenge of seeing how all this can fit together," Reynolds said.

Multicultural opportunity
Reynolds also is excited about the prospect of a multicultural center in the Union. Junior Sheena Green, who serves as director of student diversity for the Government of the Student Body, is preparing a proposal for a center, based on research and interviews with people about what Iowa State needs in a multicultural center.

"There aren't funds to remodel a space at this time, but I'm excited about a multicultural center in the Memorial Union," Reynolds said. "Sheena is looking at what it should be, how it could be staffed, how it could serve ISU groups year-round.

"Her work is a place to start."