Inside Iowa State

August 27, 2004

Summer at a glance

If you were away from campus this summer or too busy to come up for air (and a bite of news), here are some highlights of summer at ISU:

Leadership changes:

• John Thomas, veterinary medicine dean at Mississippi State University, Starkville, and former ISU faculty member, became dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine Aug. 16
• Mark Kushner, Founder Professor of Engineering at the University of Illinois, will become dean of the College of Engineering Jan. 1, 2005. Charles Glatz, chair of the chemical engineering department, is serving as interim Engineering dean.
• David Holger became associate provost for academic programs and dean of the Graduate College July 1.
• Jerry Thomas, professor and chair of health and human performance, became interim dean of the College of Education Aug. 1
• Jim Davis, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and interim director of Academic Information Technologies, became ISU chief information officer and director of AIT July 1.
• Residence director Randy Alexander resigned July 1. Associate vice president for student affairs Todd Holcomb is serving as interim director during a national search.

How to assess tuition

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, had discussions on differential tuition - assessing different tuition to various student groups at the regent universities - at its May and August meetings. The regents will vote on a school-specific "supplemental tuition" proposal when they meet Sept. 14-15 in Iowa City.

In August, the regents also gave permission for planning to begin on a new building for the ISU Alumni Association south of Stephens auditorium, and a student academic support building, location not yet determined.

New corner on campus

Crews completed the realignment of Union Drive with Knoll Road south of the Gerdin Business Building. The project included a new bridge over College Creek and realigned exit lane from the MU parking ramp.

FY04 external support is a record

The university announced it received more than $274 million in grants, contracts and cooperative agreements during FY04, a record high and an increase of 19 percent over the previous year. Sponsored funding for research alone was more than $163 million, a 10 percent increase over FY03.

EO Building demolished

The English Office Building, formerly situated between Beardshear and Carver halls, came down in July. The building did not meet fire and accessibility codes, and had been vacant since December, when College of Business faculty moved to the Gerdin building.

High-tech lab space - for you

The Plant Sciences Institute in June extended an invitation to the campus community to use new labs devoted to meta-bolomics and proteomics and managed by the institute. The facilities are available on a fee-for-service basis.

Football game day parking changes announced

Lot S-4, immediately south of Jack Trice Stadium, will be open this season to students and the general public. Other game-day changes include the expectation that tailgaters will attend the game and additions to the "no keg beer" policy that now prohibits beer bongs, funnels and items that promote high-risk drinking.

Straight to your car

The seven levels of the MU parking ramp were color-coded this summer to help drivers remember where they parked and find their vehicles quickly. The lowest level, for MU employees, is coded white; after that, the scheme follows the rainbow and works its way skyward.

Free parking

The ISU Book Store now will pay for one hour of parking in the Memorial Union parking ramp with a bookstore purchase of $10 or more. Customers should ask for a parking pass at any cash register at the time of purchase.

Nearly one million pieces of suspected junk mail were turned away from Iowa State mailboxes in the first week after AIT (Academic Information Technologies) began a new spam-squashing tactic. That's about a 40 percent reduction in e-mail that normally would arrive on campus during that time.