Gift ideas, straight from campus

December 06

Inside's annual holiday gift guide features items available through campus units, retailers and student organizations. Holiday open houses, gift certificates and memberships offer options for stocking stuffers, holiday exchanges and hard-to-shop-for friends or family members.

Open houses, sales

CODAC Fall Art Sale
Dec. 5-7, Design lobby
The sale includes unique works in ceramics, prints, photos, jewelry and textiles by students in the integrated studio arts program. A portion of the sales help fund club activities, workshops and guest speakers. Prices range from $5 to $150.

Shopping with Cy
Dec. 11, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., ISU Alumni Center
A holiday open house showcasing gift items offered by alumni association businesses and discounted T-Galaxy inventory and in-stock items.

Stocking Stuffer Night
Dec. 13, 5-8 p.m., Reiman Gardens gift shop
Shoppers receive a discount and personalized shopping help from gift shop staff. Refreshments will be served.

Student Groups

• ISU Block and Bridle Club, summer sausage and cheese gift packages, $5.50-$21 (order by Dec. 7)
• ISU Forestry Club, Christmas tree and wreath sales, $15-$45

Gift cards, gift certificates

• Iowa 4-H Center camps, merchandise
• ISU Educational Gift Certificate
• Iowa State Center
• Joan Bice Underwood Tearoom
• University Book Store
• Veenker Memorial Golf Course
• Workspace

Memberships

• Iowa State Center
• ISU Alumni Association
• Jr. Cyclone Club
• Reiman Gardens
• University Museums

Tuition, fees to remain flat for in-state undergraduates

By Anne Krapfl
December 06

Tuition for resident undergraduates and mandatory fees for all Iowa State students will remain unchanged next year. Meeting in Ames Dec. 5, the state Board of Regents approved tuition and student fees for the 2013-14 academic year. Tuition for in-state graduate students will go up $92 (1.2 percent).

Out-of-state students will pay 2.35 percent more in tuition next year – or $440 for undergraduates and $462 for graduates.

Resident undergraduates are paying $6,648 in tuition and $1,078 in mandatory fees this year.

The board reserves the right to adjust tuition rates after state funding for higher education is finalized by the 2013 Legislature in the spring.

The board also approved nonmandatory student fees for 2013-14 – fees charged for a specific service such as applying for admission or requesting a transcript. At the request of board members to simplify the web of nonmandatory fees, board staff worked with the schools to standardize some of the fees across the three regent universities. Each university still has fees specific to its programs and services.

Differential tuition

Differential tuition plans are exempted from the tuition freeze. The board approved Iowa State's differential tuition proposal next year for four student groups: juniors and seniors in agricultural systems technology and industrial technology (both in the ag and biosystems engineering department), and undergraduate and graduate architecture students. Resident AST and ITec upper division students will pay an additional $584 (nonresidents $1,052), the third of a revised four-year incremental increase to lower student-to-faculty ratios and provide excellent instruction and cutting-edge lab experiences. Adding a fourth year will align tuition for these programs with others in the Engineering college.

All resident architecture students will pay $400 in additional tuition next year -- the second of a three-year plan intended to help hire more faculty to address the program's 30 percent enrollment increase since 2007. For out-of-state students, the increase is $850.

Professional development for faculty in FY14

The board approved professional development assignments (PDAs) for 45 Iowa State faculty for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2013. The figure is up from 29 this year and 22 in FY12, but still represents just 2.5 percent of eligible faculty. Iowa State has the least restrictive eligibility rules of the three regent universities: Any faculty member employed at least half-time (regardless of length of service) may apply. The FY14 group is 70 percent white; the gender split is 33 men and 12 women. Forty ISU faculty plan semester-long leaves; the other five have assignments that will last an academic year.

The board approved 65 professional development assignments for University of Iowa faculty (1.2 percent of eligible faculty) and 15 PDAs for University of Northern Iowa faculty (1.9 percent).

Natural gas boilers

The board approved Iowa State's three-year plan to replace three of its five coal-powered boilers with natural gas boilers. The change allows the university to replace boilers that are at or just beyond their expected service life (35-40 years). It also puts Iowa State in compliance with new emissions regulations proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The new boilers are scheduled to go online in early fall 2015 and the remaining two coal-burning boilers will be retrofitted with an air pollution control system. The project will be funded by utility revenue bonds, which are repaid through campus utility rates. Similar bonds sold in the mid-1980s to pay for two coal boilers are about to be retired, so the net impact on utility rates for campus users will be minimal.

In other board activity:

University of Iowa sophomore Hannah Walsh attended her first meeting as the student member of the board. Gov. Terry Branstad named her to the post on Nov. 30; the appointment is subject to confirmation by the Iowa Senate. Walsh is from Spirit Lake and majoring in political science. She has served as a page in the Iowa Senate and serves as co‐chair of the University of Iowa Governmental Relations Committee. Her term runs through April 2015.

Walsh succeeds Greta Johnson, who resigned last month since she no longer is a student at a regent university.

Board members approved a new interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in wind energy science, engineering and policy administered in the College of Engineering. Faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Liberal Arts and Sciences will support the program, and existing facilities will be used. In September 2011, ISU received a $3.15 million, five-year award from the National Science Foundation to support a Ph.D. program in wind energy, and these grant funds, along with reallocated college funds, will cover program costs. Iowa State anticipates that the grant will be renewed for another five years in 2016. Projected enrollment in the program is six students the first year, increasing to 40 student majors by year seven.

The board approved the sale of $16.58 million in ISU residence department bonds to refund bonds sold in 2003 to build Martin Hall. Lower interest rates today will save the residence department more than $200,000 annually (from 2014 to 2029), an estimated total savings of more than $2.6 million.

The board approved the residence department's plans to install a sprinkler system in Wilson Hall and convert one room on each of its 10 floors into a kitchenette for residents. The cost ($2.2 million) will be covered with department improvement funds.

State Gym renovation hits the mark

By Anne Krapfl
December 06

The renovation and west addition to State Gym, completed last winter, has earned Iowa State LEED® Platinum certification, the highest of four award levels. It joins the College of Design's King Pavilion, completed in 2009, as LEED platinum-certified facilities on campus.

The State Gym project is one of just four recreation facilities in the country to achieve LEED's platinum level and one of two in higher education. The University of Arizona, Tucson, has the other.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to measure environmentally sensitive building design, construction, operations and maintenance. First offered in 1998, this voluntary program is now in its fifth iteration, with the standards becoming more stringent as the program evolves.

"Achieving LEED platinum certification on any project is an accomplishment; achieving it on a recreation building – with its very specific demands for space and programming – is a huge accomplishment for Iowa State," said Kerry Dixon-Fox, coordinator for sustainable design and construction in facilities planning and management. "This is an international benchmark that says we're walking the talk."

LEED measures achievements in five categories and awards a point total. The State Gym project scored 53 out of 69 possible points, which included five bonus points in the optional category of design innovation.

Here are some of the achievements that earned the State Gym project its platinum rating.

• Light fixture sensors measure the amount of available daylight and adjust accordingly
• A section of the roof is planted
• 87 percent of the original State Gym structure was reused and some interior components found second uses; for example, the wood gym floor is on the side faces of the north check-in desk and in Johnny's at Hilton Coliseum
• Toilets have low-consumption flush valves
• Captured storm water can be used to flush toilets
• Sinks and showers feature low-flow faucet heads
• 25 percent of building materials come from within 500 miles of Ames
• 84 percent of the regularly occupied spaces in the building can be lit with daylight
• 65 percent of the wood used in construction is certified (grown and harvested according to sustainable forestry standards)
• Landscaping features native plantings so no irrigation system is needed
• More than 1,560 tons of construction waste materials were recycled (86 percent of the total volume)
• Interior paints, adhesives and flooring choices are low-toxicity
• An automated thermostat rolls back building temperature at night and other unoccupied periods

"We're very proud, on numerous levels, of our facility," said recreation services director Mike Giles. "We have well-planned spaces that allow us to offer great programs. But with sustainability taking on greater importance across the country, we're also very proud to show that we're providing a positive impact on that."

State Gym renovation and west addition
The Scorecard: LEED Platinum certification

Category	Received	Possible
Sustainable site	9	14
Water efficiency	5	5
Building energy performance	11	17
Sustainable building materials	10	13
Indoor environmental quality	13	15
Bonus credit: Innovation in design	5	5
Total	53	69

 

Other Iowa State construction projects to receive LEED certification include the College of Design King Pavilion (platinum), Hach Hall (gold), Biorenewables Laboratory (gold) and the Morrill Hall renovation (silver). The university will seek LEED certification for Troxel Hall, the football program's training facility, Vet Med small animal hospital, phase 2 of the biorenewables complex and the Curtiss Hall renovation.

Since 2008, Iowa State has had the goal of achieving at least LEED gold certification on all its building projects.

Parking lot activity . . . lots of it

December 06

Crews are in the process of improving or expanding parking lots in the vicinity of Frederiksen Court in anticipation of six more buildings being added to the student community. Lot 112C, on the south side of Frederiksen Court, is being expanded. Parking lot 119 (pictured), adjacent to Stange Road and south of Administrative Services Building, is being converted from a gravel lot to a fully paved one. Lot 114, north of 13th Street, has been striped and a crosswalk and signs have been installed. Lots 114 and 119 will be temporarily assigned to Frederiksen Court residents during the construction project.

The apartment buildings will be added in phases, with the first two -- along 13th Street -- scheduled to be ready for student movein in August. Photo by Bob Elbert.

David Oliver named interim VP of research, economic development

By Rob Schweers, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost
December 06

David Oliver, professor of genetics, development and cell biology, and associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named interim vice president for research and economic development, effective Jan. 1, 2013.

He will succeed Sharron Quisenberry, who recently announced her retirement.

"David is an excellent scientist and administrator who has served Iowa State well in a number of leadership roles," said Jonathan Wickert, senior vice president and provost. "I appreciate his leadership, and his willingness to step forward during the transition."

Oliver joined the Iowa State faculty in 1996 as chair of the botany department (now part of genetics, development and cell biology). He was appointed associate dean for research in LAS in 2003, and served as interim LAS dean from July 2011 until dean Beate Schmittmann arrived on campus in April of this year.

"It's a privilege to be appointed to this position, and I look forward to working with colleagues across the university to help grow Iowa State's research portfolio," Oliver said.

Wickert will initiate a search for Quisenberry's permanent successor in the coming months.

Martin Spalding, professor of genetics, development and cell biology, and interim associate dean in LAS, will become the college's associate dean for research and graduate studies, also effective Jan. 1.

It's just a dream ... or is it?

December 06

It's a holiday tradition not to be missed. Iowa State Center will present its 32nd annual production of The Nutcracker Ballet Dec. 8 (1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 9 (1:30 p.m.) at Stephens Auditorium.

Ames native Joy Voelker, a professional dancer who now resides in New York City, will perform the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Hanan Misko, a professional dancer from Kansas City, will dance the part of her Cavalier. In addition, more than 200 local performers from area dance studios will help bring this holiday classic to life.

Tickets, $18 and $20 (discounts available for youth, ISU students and seniors), are available at the Iowa State Center ticket office or through Ticketmaster. Contributed photo.