Early taste of spring

February 23

Slack lining and hammocking were some of the activities of choice among central campus students in the last week. Several days of record-setting warmth brought out the smiles, the footballs and the bare feet. Officially, spring is still more than three weeks away.

Leath makes formal appeal to legislators

By Anne Krapfl
February 23

President Steven Leath and his peers from the universities of Iowa and Northern Iowa presented their fiscal year 2018 budget priorities to the Legislature's education appropriations subcommittee Feb. 22 at the state Capitol.

Iowa State has asked for a 2 percent increase in state operational support for the budget year that begins July 1. This would apply to both the general university and direct appropriations (Extension and outreach, economic development programs, Agriculture Experiment Station and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory). The $8 million mid-year reduction Iowa State received earlier this month represents about 3.3 percent of state operating support this year and is a permanent cut.

Leath said "the very modest increase" in operational support would help to:

• Lower the student-to-faculty ratio by recruiting and retaining additional faculty for high-impact and high-enrollment programs
• Invest in initiatives that promote student academic success as well as their health, wellness and safety
• Invest in additional student financial literacy strategies to reduce debt at graduation. He said the percent of undergraduates who take out loans has declined about 7 percent since 2008.
• Enhance online technology infrastructure and upgrade classroom and laboratory spaces

"While we are sensitive to the state’s economic conditions, we really need to do something," Leath said. "A 2 percent increase is still far from what we need to even maintain the status quo with respect to quality.

"The financial burden has shifted to the students and their families, and we're really concerned," he added.

Leath noted that, even with approved tuition increases next year of 2 percent for resident undergraduates and 3 percent for all other students, Iowa State will remain the most affordable university among its 11-member peer group.

"In fact, we could raise tuition as much as 8 percent for resident undergraduates and as much as 10 percent for nonresident undergraduates, and still be the most affordable university in the group," he told legislators.

Facility request

Leath also reiterated Iowa State's request for $100 million in state support, spread over five years, to replace the state Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the Veterinary Medicine campus with a state-of-the-art, stand-alone facility. While it processes more than 1.5 million diagnostic tests annually in support of the state's animal agriculture industry, the current building is crowded and deficient in the areas of biocontainment and biosafety, he said.

Other messages

During his presentation, Leath also made several points about Iowa State's sound management of state funds. They included:

Fewer state dollars per student. During Iowa State's eight consecutive years of record growth (2008-16), the general university appropriation per resident student has plunged by 29 percent, from $12,705 per student in 2008 to $9,012 this year, factoring in the $8 million mid-year reduction. That's almost $3,700 less for every resident student than when the enrollment growth began.

Administrative efficiency. "There's a big misconception that much of our budget is spent on administrative costs and that our administrative spending is bloated or excessive," Leath said, but Iowa State takes pride in operating as efficiently as possible. In 2009, Iowa State spent just over $1,600 per student on administrative costs. Last year (2015), the university spent $1,833 per student. The average among Iowa State's 11-member peer group last year was $3,373 per student in administrative spending. The average per-student spending among all land-grant universities was $5,369.

Leath also cited a 2012 Wall Street Journal article that reviewed administrative spending at more than 70 public universities and ranked Iowa State as the seventh most efficient.

Success markers. In spite of declining state support at a time of climbing enrollment, Iowa State is successfully educating students.

• The one-year student retention rate (for fall 2015 entering freshmen) has risen to 88.1 percent, the highest noted in data going back to the early 1980s
• The six-year graduation rate for the most recent class (entering fall 2010) is at 74.3 percent, also a record in this 35+-year history
• Twenty-four faculty resigned during fiscal year 2016, the second-lowest number of resignations in the past decade, behind 23 resignations in FY13.
• For the third straight year, the student placement rate upon graduation is 95 percent.

CyRide route changes afoot

By Diana Pounds
February 23

Two new CyRide route scenarios have emerged from a lengthy study of the popular bus service that delivers some 7 million rides annually.

Transit system officials hope that CyRide passengers and other members of the public will check out the scenarios over the next couple of weeks and share their thoughts about the proposed routes.

"The scenarios aren't an all-or-nothing proposition," CyRide transit director Sheri Kyras said. "Additional scenarios could be developed as we learn what people like about the current proposals."

Public meetings

Individuals can find out more about the scenarios and offer comments at these public meetings.

Wednesday, March 1 

• Pop-up meeting (open house format) -- Sukup atrium in the Biorenewables Complex, 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
• Public meeting (formal presentation) -- 3512 Memorial Union, 3-5 p.m.
• Pop-up meeting (open house format) -- North Grand Mall, in front of Younkers store, 6-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 2 

• Public meeting (formal presentation) -- Ames City Hall, Council Chambers, 515 Clark Ave., 6-8 p.m.

Online survey

Individuals also may comment on the scenarios through an online survey, available Feb. 22 through March 15.

Scenarios

The best way to compare the scenarios is to view the online maps. A table below each map describes differences between the proposed and current CyRide routes.

Scenario 1 features 11 routes, is most similar to the current setup and includes:

• A new name (Cherry) for the former Red 1A route (additional west Ames service only on ISU class days)

Scenario 2 features 13 routes and includes:

• A new name (Cherry) for the former Red 1A route (additional west Ames service only on ISU class days)
• A new Peach route that connects the Research Park and Applied Sciences, via  Veterinary Medicine and central campus
• A new Lilac express service (during peak hours only) from Dickenson Avenue in southwest Ames to the ISU campus
• A new Gold route serving Schilletter Village, University Village, central campus and the Towers
• A new type of transit service for eastern Ames (from the Skunk River to I-35). Instead of a fixed bus route, this low-ridership area would be served by door-to-door transportation, such as taxi or Uber services, with CyRide paying a portion of costs.
• Removal of the Gray route (weekdays), that connects central campus with eastern Ames via University Boulevard and South 16th Street

Removed routes

These current routes were removed from both scenarios.

• Aqua: A summer-only route from downtown Ames to Furman Aquatic Center
• Pink: Limited weekday service along East Lincoln Way to Dayton Avenue and north to 13th Street
• Silver: Sunday night shuttle service (when ISU classes meet on Monday) from stadium lots to three ISU residence hall neighborhoods

About the study

CyRide, a four-decade institution, has grown dramatically over the past decade with little changes in route structures and schedules. Last July, the transit system began a year-long study to determine the most efficient way to run the bus system. Assisting in the study is national transportation consultants Nelson\Nygaard. 

Land-grant day at the Capitol

February 23

Vice president for Extension and Outreach Cathann Kress (center) shares with Gov. Terry Branstad a map of the university's Land-Grant Legacy properties during ISU Day at the Capitol, Feb. 20. Dozens of staff, faculty and administrators shared with state legislators examples of Iowa State's positive impact on education, the environment, economic development and quality of life in the state. 

More construction planned for west campus

By Anne Krapfl
February 23

Work on the four-story, $84 million Student Innovation Center begins this spring and will continue for about three years. During that time, several other west campus projects will be completed, and facilities planning and management staff have held campus forums in recent weeks to share preliminary plans and invite questions and feedback.

One project will expand chilled water service (used to cool building air and equipment) on a built-up west side of campus. The underground space available to do this is beneath Bissell Road, so that west artery will be removed and replaced. The northern-most block of Bissell (west of the Armory) is the only section not impacted by this project, which will be phased over two summers, 2018 and 2019.

After thirty years of resurfacing and patching efforts, Welch Road/Union Drive also will be removed and replaced from Lincoln Way through the Bissell Road intersection during summer 2018. In addition to serving as a south entry to campus, that stretch of road currently features nine crosswalks, noted campus planner Cathy Brown during a Feb. 15 forum in Elings Hall.

Both projects will be summer projects, but will require more than a three-month summer window. Brown said work will begin in March or April each spring so the work is complete by mid-August when larger numbers of first-time students come to campus.

Access gates are a possible addition on both road projects, Brown said. Permit holders for parking lots inside any gate and CyRide buses would have access, but the intent would be to reduce the volume of through traffic and improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, she said.

Both road projects are in the early design phase. Designs should be finalized by November, with the projects bid by January 2018 and the work beginning that spring.

The facts

Student Innovation Center

• Price: $84 million
• Phase I: March-Fall 2017, demolition of Nuclear Engineering Laboratory and Old Sweeney, utility preparation at the site
• Phase 2: Fall 2017-January 2020, building construction
• Notes: Pedestrian walkways will be maintained around the project site (and may change). During construction, Sweeney Hall loading dock temporarily will move to the north side of the building.

Welch Road/Union Drive reconstruction between Lincoln Way and Bissell Road

• Price: $2.5-$3 million
• April-August 2018 (work could be phased to accommodate summer visitors, if necessary)

Bissell Road reconstruction and underground utility expansion (chilled water system)

• Price: $7.5-$8.5 million
• Phase I: March-August 2018, from Osborn Drive to midpoint of Student Innovation Center construction site
• Phase 2: March-August 2019, from midpoint of building construction site to Union Drive

 

Related stories

Spring demolitions will clear Student Innovation Center site, Feb. 9, 2017
New building will be a student-centered collaboration zone, Jan. 12, 2017

'Earnest' comedy opens at Fisher Theater

By Erin Rosacker
February 23

ISU Theatre opens its spring season Friday with a two-weekend run of "The Importance of Being Earnest."

The three-act Oscar Wilde comedy entangles the audience in the consequences of an alter ego created by Jack Worthington (junior Tyler Hupp), a proper English gentleman. Jack's double life begins to unravel when he falls in love with Gwendolen (sophomore Erin Stein), who knows him only as Ernest. Further complications arise when Ernest's best friend, Algernon (senior Michael Clinkscales), discovers the ruse, assumes Ernest's identity and falls in love with Cecily (junior Erica Walling), who is Jack's legal ward.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 24-25 and March 3-4, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays (Feb. 26 and March 5). Tickets, on sale at the Stephens ticket office or through Ticketmaster, are $18 ($16 for seniors and $11 for students).