Making way

January 07

Following weeks of asbestos removal and other prep work, a demolition crew began the task of taking down the 90-year-old Industrial Education II on the north side of campus earlier this week. The site is the future home of a five-story, $50 million biosciences teaching and research facility.

Three finalists named in VP for student affairs search

By Diana Pounds
January 11

Three finalists for Iowa State’s senior vice president for student affairs post will visit campus in late January and early February.

The finalists are:

• Martino Harmon, associate vice president for student affairs, Iowa State University
• Lori Reesor, vice president for student affairs, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
• Al Thompson, vice chancellor for student affairs and chief diversity officer, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.

Public forums

Each finalist will interview on campus over two days and participate in a one-hour public forum in the Memorial Union. At each forum, the candidate will make a brief presentation, then answer questions from the audience. The public forum schedule is:

• Reesor: Monday, Jan. 25, 9 a.m., Pioneer Room
• Thompson: Monday, Feb. 1, 9 a.m., Campanile Room
• Harmon: Wednesday, Feb. 3, 9 a.m., Pioneer Room

Search co-chairs Mike Crum, vice president for economic development and business engagement, and David Harris, senior associate athletics director, noted that a highly qualified group of finalists will come to campus to interview for "this critical position."

They encouraged the university community to take advantage of the opportunity to hear from the candidates, ask questions and provide feedback to the search committee. An online feedback form will be available on the search site site later this month.

About the finalists

Lori Reesor has served as North Dakota's vice president for student affairs since 2011. She also served as associate vice provost for student success at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; associate dean, assistant dean and adjunct instructor in the School of Education at the University of Missouri, Kansas City; and dean of students at Wichita State University, Kansas. In a previous stint at Kansas, she served as associate director of admissions, acting director and assistant director of new student orientation, assistant to the dean of educational services and residence hall director. She also served as a financial aid counselor, academic adviser and women's center program assistant at Iowa State.

Reesor earned a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater; a master's in higher education from Iowa State; and a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from Kansas.

Al Thompson has served as vice chancellor for student affairs at UW-Stevens Point since 2011 and chief diversity officer since 2012. Prior to that, he served as associate vice president for student affairs and dean of student life at Eastern Washington University, Cheney. He was assistant to the chancellor for affirmative action and diversity at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, where he also developed and taught graduate courses in education professional development and organizational theory. At the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, he served as assistant to the chancellor for minority affairs, director of multicultural services and director of the ethnic studies program. He also was coordinator of minority student programs and residence hall director at Luther College, Decorah.

Thompson earned a bachelor's degree in psychology (1981) and master's in counselor education and student development (1985) from the University of Iowa; and a doctor of education (2004) from Saint Mary's University, Minneapolis.

Martino Harmon has served as Iowa State's associate vice president for student affairs since 2013. Previously, he served as executive director of student success and retention at Cincinnati State Community College, Ohio; dean of student development at Rhodes State College, Lima, Ohio; and dean of admission, retention and student life at Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Mich. At the University of Toledo, Ohio, he held several posts -- interim assistant dean of students, director of the African American student enrichment office, director of freshman admission, associate director of admission and multicultural recruitment and coordinator of campus visits and admission counselor.

He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration (1987), master of education (1998) and doctorate in higher education and administration (2013), all from Toledo.

More information on the search site

Candidates' curriculum vitae are available on the senior vice president for student affairs search site. An online form will be available to provide feedback about the finalists.

The senior vice president for student affairs will succeed Tom Hill, who retired after serving as VP since 1997.

Related stories

Search begins for next student affairs leader, Oct. 8, 2015

Progress continues on campus street address project

By Anne Krapfl
January 07

Street addresses for all campus buildings, first shared with the university community in October, went into use on Jan. 1. Implementation of several components of the project -- such as updating building signs and the online directory or reordering stationery -- will continue for several months.

In addition to academic and residence buildings, the project assigned a street address to all parking lots, storage facilities, utility sites and outdoor recreation and athletics areas. Places such as the campanile and Lake LaVerne even have their own addresses.

Online directory

An IT services team is recoding Iowa State's online directory to create space for street addresses and update other interfaces. That work will continue into March, but sometime in February full street addresses will be loaded into the directory, attached to building addresses. So, in the future, employees who change office locations would only need to update their building address via AccessPlus; the correct street address automatically would follow.

In the meantime, full street addresses are available now in two online locations:

• A PDF document on the building addresses project website
• Facilities planning and management's building information website (an alphabetical building list)

Department coordinators who maintain the departmental section of the online directory have responsibility for updating those directory entries with street addresses. Departments and units also are responsible for adding street addresses to contact information in the websites they maintain.

Business cards, letterhead

In late November, the U.S. Postal Service finished assigning ZIP+4 codes for campus buildings that receive mail -- the final piece of a building's street address. (USPS currently is assigning ZIP+4 codes to all residence halls and campus apartment buildings).

Printing services has revised its templates to add a line for a street address. Customer service coordinator Lana Voga said street addresses automatically are added to printed products when orders are placed.

The new business card templates, for example, now feature either seven or eight lines for text, depending on which university nameplate is selected (with or without the "of science and technology" line). Revised templates for letterhead and a business envelope also are available.

"We're encouraging employees to use up their current business cards and letterhead," Voga said, not only because supplies shouldn't be wasted, but because it will help printing services process orders more efficiently.

University marketing director Carole Custer said the goal was to accommodate building street addresses while maintaining the look of existing layouts. Custer offered these reminders as employees reorder printed products in the coming months:

• A business card is not a mini resume. Its size limits the information it can contain. An employee with multiple titles should pick the one title that best represents her or him to the most people. Think through that decision carefully.
• To keep costs down, a one-sided business card is the standard. Two-sided exceptions are made for employees who need a business card in two languages or who have joint appointments in separate units.
• For consistency, printing services should provide all stationery items and business cards. It's actually more economical to have printing services print your letterhead than to create and print your own as correspondence is completed.
• Stationery items (letterhead, envelopes, notecards) should not include personal names, just unit names.

Building signs

The brown panels on outdoor columnar building signs will be removed and refinished in a phased process that begins in the center of campus and proceeds outward, finishing with the Frederiksen Court student apartments. That process has begun and should wrap up by the end of the semester. A refinished sign will include the red and white university nameplate, building name and its street address. Due to space restrictions, unit names will not be included on building signs.

Google Maps

FPM web technologist John Hoffman, who also is a regional lead for Google Maps, has added campus street addresses to the ISU building features on Google Maps. Viewers can search either by building name or address, as well as use Google's "Directions' feature for walking or driving on campus.

Mail from off campus

Individuals and units are responsible for alerting their own vendors, clients and associates to their updated address. For example, when it's time to renew a journal subscription or professional membership, include your building street address in your contact information.

Landscape design services project manager Chris Strawhacker, who's overseeing the project for FPM, said a primary reason for street addresses is to integrate campus with the local emergency response system and shorten response times for emergency personnel. Street addresses also should help visitors with wayfinding and simplify the task for package delivery and ride services.

Related stories

Street address system for campus buildings is nearly ready, May 7, 2015

Campus building addresses are set, Oct. 15, 2015

Clearing the air

By Erin Rosacker
January 07

With a new year comes a new look for an existing policy. As of Jan. 1, electronic smoking devices are included in Iowa State's smoke-free campus policy.

A 2008 revision to the policy put ISU in accord with the state's Smokefree Air Act (Iowa Code 142D). This latest revision adds electronic devices "containing or delivering nicotine" that "simulate smoking through inhalation of vapor or aerosol." That includes devices commonly known as e-cigarettes or vape pens.

The policy applies to anyone on campus -- employees, students and visitors -- and covers all vehicles, buildings, property and grounds that are owned, leased or operated by Iowa State.

Wait for it

Two policies intended to go into effect on Jan. 1 aren't quite ready, including:

• A proposed policy that outlines use of video cameras on ISU property for administrative purposes -- such as security and customer service -- is waiting final administrative approval.
• A proposed amendment to an existing policy that provides requirements for the use of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) on/over ISU property is being tweaked. In response to submitted feedback, policy developers are working to clarify language outlining the permission process and procedures for use of the devices.

Ali named dining director

By Kathleen Harrison, student affairs office
January 07

Mohamed Ali, auxiliaries operations director at Ohio University, Athens, has been named ISU Dining director, effective Jan. 11.

Ali worked 24 years in the food industry. His experience includes senior leadership positions in 17 retail dining locations and four regional dining facilities, as well as catering, vending and surplus operations. He earned a bachelor's degree in business management at Skidmore College (2007).

Ali will oversee operations of Iowa State's campus dining system, which includes four dining centers, 17 retail operations, catering, vending operations, central food stores and technical support systems and services.

"I am pleased that Mohamed will continue to build on this operation's success," said acting senior vice president for student affairs Tom Hill. "I know that the staff and the division are looking forward to his leadership and the tremendous experience of successful dining operations that he brings with him."

Hill emphasized the importance of dining for the university. "ISU Dining is a crucial component to student life -- not only for its diversity and quality of services and programs, but also because we employ over 1,700 students. That's huge when it comes to employment opportunities at Iowa State."

Hill has served as the interim director of ISU Dining since Jan. 2, 2015, when former director Nancy Keller announced her retirement.

Advancing One Community Award recipients honored Jan. 21

By Paula Van Brocklin
January 07

Recipients of the 2016 Advancing One Community Awards will be honored Jan. 21 (3:30 p.m., Memorial Union, Sun Room) during the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Convocation. All are invited to attend.

Since 2006, Iowa State has honored students, groups and faculty or staff members who demonstrate a commitment to King's principles and goals to create an inclusive multicultural community, and to reduce injustice and inequity at Iowa State. Winners receive a $500 stipend and a plaque. This year's recipients are:

• Jazmin Murguia, a senior in journalism and mass communication, serves as the director of student diversity for ISU Student Government. She also is an active member of Latinos United for Change/Students Against Bigotry and has participated in the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) project. She serves other students as both a formal and informal mentor.
• Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, is an advocate for diversity and inclusion, specifically for women in politics. She has worked to build the Catt Center; convened Iowa State's cross-unit planning team on multicultural, diversity and women's activities; and served as part of the Women's Leadership Consortium. Her record of research, publication and service is extensive.
• The Black Student Alliance (BSA), established in 1968, serves as a voice for the issues and concerns of students of African descent through educational, political, community service and social programs. BSA is involved in cross-campus collaboration, community service, innovation and community building. The group organizes campus-wide events and creates opportunities for students to regularly gather for community building, and to discuss critical issues in the black community.

Nominations for next year's Advancing One Community Award recipients will be accepted in the fall. More information about the awards, including eligibility requirements and past winners, is available online. 

Several January events honor Martin Luther King Jr.

January 07

The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will be commemorated nationally on Jan. 18. Iowa State also is honoring King with several events throughout January, which are free and open to the public.

• "Let Freedom Ring" carillon concert, Jan. 13 (11:50 a.m.-12:10 p.m., central campus). Iowa State carilloneur Tin-Shi Tam will perform a variety of selections, including spirituals, "Imagine" by John Lennon, and African-American anthems "Oh Freedom" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The performance also can be heard via live webcast.
• Community birthday celebration, Jan. 18 (5:30 p.m., Ames Middle School, 3915 Mortenson Rd.).  Celebrate King's birthday with songs, stories and birthday cake. A program begins at 6:30 p.m.
• Legacy convocation, Jan. 21 (3:30 p.m., Memorial Union, Sun Room). Learn how King's global vision of equality for all still resonates today. Alisha Gordon, a writer, teacher and scholar-activist, will present the keynote address. Gordon's work explores the intersection of faith and culture. She writes for several digital and print publications, including The Huffington Post and UrbanFaith.com. The Advancing One Community Awards also will be presented. 
• Lecture, "Social Justice, Public Service and the Search for a Life That Matters," Wes Moore, Jan. 25 (6 p.m., MU Great Hall). Youth advocate Wes Moore struggled with academic and behavioral issues when he was young. Despite those trials, he graduated as a commissioned officer from Valley Forge Military College (1998) and earned a bachelor's degree and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University (2001). He then became a Rhodes Scholar and studied international relations at Oxford University. Moore served as a paratrooper and captain with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan. He also was a White House fellow to Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice.