Inside Iowa State

Nov. 2, 2007

Regents give ISU chemistry facility, bioeconomy institute the go-ahead

by Anne Krapfl

Tuition rates for next year, plans for a new chemistry facility, bond sales to support athletics and ISU Dining improvements, and an honorary degree for John Pappajohn were Iowa State items the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, reviewed during its Oct. 31 meeting in Iowa City. Following is a summary of their work:

Proposed tuition for 2008-09

The board reviewed proposed tuition and mandatory fee rates for the 2008-09 year and will approve them at its December meeting. The board's policy is to approve tuition increases that fall within the range of the projected Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), which is 3.2 percent to 4.5 percent for FY08 (median is 3.8 percent).

The board rejected a proposal by Regent Michael Gartner to hold tuition increases to 2 percent. Gartner said his proposal is in response to "a great year [last spring] at the Legislature" and a desire to "do something for students and their parents next year."

Regent Craig Lang called the board office recommendation "the best deal in town."

As proposed, tuition only would increase 3.2 percent for resident students, both undergraduate and graduate. Tuition for non-resident students, undergraduate and graduate, would increase 2.5 percent.

In the third of four proposed years, upper-division undergraduate students in engineering would pay supplemental tuition, rising to $1,550 next year, to reflect the higher costs of educating engineering students. The proposal is to incrementally increase tuition by $500 per year for four years.

When mandatory student fees (computer, health, student activities, etc.) are factored in, the overall increases remain, for the most part, within the desired HEPI range:

• 3.0-3.4 percent for resident undergraduates
• 2.5-2.6 percent for non-resident undergraduates
• 5.2 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively, for non-resident and resident upper-division engineering students
• 2.5-3.3 percent for resident and non-resident graduate students
• 5.3 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively, for non-resident and resident graduate engineering students

As proposed, a resident undergraduate would pay $6,360 in tuition and fees next year and a non-resident would pay $17,350. A resident graduate student would pay $7,236 in tuition and fees, and a non-resident graduate student would pay $18,120.

As proposed, resident veterinary medicine students would pay $15,886 next year in tuition and fees (an increase of 3.2 percent over this year), and non-resident students would pay $37,082 (an increase of 2.5 percent).

Naming facilities

The board approved changes to the "naming" policy in its manual regarding names for facilities, properties or university units. The changes:

• Include University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with the existing "five regent institutions" as units guided by the policy.
• Removes commercial products from the list of possibilities for which facilities or units could be named.
• Require a "due diligence" review of each donor (including corporations and foundations) and the implications for the institution of the proposed naming. This includes any potential impact, at any time, on: the academic or research autonomy of the institution, its tax-exempt bond status, and future donations by the donor or other donors. ISU president Gregory Geoffroy said the process spelled out in the policy is "basically what we do now. It's our current practice."
• Require (not suggest) that universities use a written gift agreement with each donor whose gift might result in naming.

Chemistry building

The regents approved the schematic design and budget ($74.5 million) for Iowa State's new chemistry facility. This gives the university the final green light to proceed with construction plans.

As approved, the "chemistry facilities building" will be constructed north of Davidson Hall, on the current site of the Industrial Education I building and an ag engineering shed. At 82,000 net square feet on four levels (one below ground for research sensitive to light and vibration), the building will house state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and equipment to support research and teaching in the chemistry department.

The building will be paid for with academic building revenue bonds sold by the board ($53.9 million), private gifts and university or LAS college funds totaling $15.6 million, and a $5 million state appropriation from last year to begin planning and hire architects.

Bioeconomy institute

The board approved Iowa State's request to replace its five-year-old Office of Biorenewables Programs with a Bioeconomy Institute. It will be directed by Robert C. Brown, director of biorenewables programs. It will consist of an institute of programs, rather than an institute of centers. Six initial programs will be: corn to biofuels; biorenewable chemicals; thermochemical technologies; harvest, storage and transportation of biomass; feedstock production; and biorenewables education. The center will be housed in Marston until a new biorenewables lab building planned for the west side of campus is completed. Additional costs for the institute are an estimated $1.1 million in the first year and $3 million per year through the seventh year. Support would come from the provost, three colleges (LAS, Ag and Life Sciences, Engineering), the vice provost for research and economic development, and private donors.

Honorary degree

The board approved Iowa State's request to award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Des Moines businessman John Pappajohn at fall commencement in December. Pappajohn will be recognized for his leadership in entrepreneurship and his support of entrepreneurial education in the state.

Friley Hall improvements

The board approved Iowa State's proposal to use $4.36 million in ISU dormitory system improvement funds for fire safety improvements to Friley Hall. In four phases, in order to do as much of the work as possible when students aren't around and to spread out the cost, workers will install heat/smoke alarms, fire alarm and sprinkler systems and the necessary utilities changes to support these. Phase I, primarily in staff office areas, will begin in January. Work is scheduled to wrap up in July 2011.

Director search

Andy Baumert, state relations officer for the board of regents, became interim executive director of the board on Nov. 1. (Gary Steinke resigned to lead the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.) Regent David Miles will chair the search committee for a new executive director. A search firm, not yet selected, will assist.

Bond sales

The board approved two Iowa State bond sales. The first, $8.2 million of athletic facilities revenue bonds (tax-exempt), will partially fund phase I of the renovations at Jack Trice Stadium at the conclusion of this season. In September, the board sold $12.175 million of taxable bonds for the same project. A portion of the bonds had to be taxable due to "business" use of the stadium (such as concessions and rental of the facility for private events). The project also includes $3.5 million in private gifts.

The second bond sale was $13.4 million in dormitory revenue bonds. These funds will partially pay for renovations of the residence dining centers at Maple-Willow-Larch and Oak-Elm halls. Residence department improvement funds ($3 million) also will be used for the projects. The board approved budgets and schematic designs for the two projects at its September meeting. The M-W-L project will begin next June and be completed by July 2009. The Oak-Elm project would begin in August 2009 and wrap up by July 2010.

Data storage

The board approved Iowa State's request (on behalf of IT Services) to purchase the infrastructure for a new Storage Area Network from Dell/EMC. Estimated cost is $1.8 million to $2 million, depending on the final configuration. SAN-based storage gives IT Services more flexibility and storage availability to respond to greatly increasing data storage requests, especially in the areas of course management applications (such as Web CT) and faculty research.

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, covered a lot of ground at its Oct. 31 meeting, including approval of ISU's chemistry facility plans and a review of proposed tuition and fees.