A look back at summer headlines

Here's a rundown of some news you may have missed if you were away from campus for at least part of the summer. Follow the link to the full story.

Appointments

• Erin Baldwin, assistant VP for student health and wellness, effective Aug. 8
• Steve Freeman, faculty adviser to the president, renewed July 1
• Dan Grooms, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, effective Oct. 1
• Karen Kedrowski, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, effective Jan. 1, 2019
• Amanda Knief, director of the lectures program, effective Aug. 1
• Sandra Looft, director of the Margaret Sloss Women's Center, effective June 18
• Sara Marcketti, director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, effective June 3
• Ayodeji Oluwalana, first full-time recycling coordinator in facilities planning and management, effective June 11
• Jose Rosa, fellow to the vice president for diversity and inclusion, effective July 1
• Mark Simpson, university registrar, effective May 21
• David Spalding, interim vice president for economic development and business engagement, effective July 1

News

• Budget challenges: With another drop in state support, leaders will rely on internal reallocations to help fund FY19 priorities, including employee salary increases.
• P&S classification and compensation: Implementation of changes to the P&S class/comp structure shifted to September 2019 to align with the revised implementation timeline for the Workday system.
• Tuition rates: The FY19 increases, ranging from 3.8 to 4 percent, will provide about $10.1 million in revenue.
• External funding: ISU's $509.2 million marks the fourth consecutive year of record growth.
• CyRide 2.0: Many bus routes changed when the second phase of service improvements were implemented on Aug. 13.
• WorkCyte progress: AccessPlus was added to the Okta dashboard; WorkCyte pit crews were formed to deliver unit-specific Workday information to colleagues; and the testing phase for the Workday system is well underway.

Rec field makeover

Construction projects

• Advanced Teaching and Research Building: Occupants started moving in to offices and laboratories in the new $57.5 million biosciences facility.
• Stadium plaza: Plans were revised for the green space south of Jack Trice Stadium, saving nearly $1.5 million.
• Recreation fields: The playing surface east of Maple-Willow-Larch residence halls has new lights, scoreboards and irrigation. Crews laid sod on the west half and the east half is scheduled to be seeded this month.
• Road construction: Portions of Union Drive, Bissell Road and Welch Road reopened after being closed since March to upgrade underground utilities and replace road and sidewalk pavement. Work will resume next spring for the final phase of the two-year project.
• Stephens Auditorium: Summer upgrades tripled the seating for theater guests who use wheelchairs, and replaced and expanded guard rails in the upper levels of the building.

RAGBRAI stopover

Other stories

• Memorial Union hours: Previously open 24/7, the MU now closes at midnight during the summer and 1:30 a.m. during the school year.
• Campus climate survey: Consultants shared results of the fall 2017 survey during public presentations on May 9. President Wintersteen announced four implementation teams that will develop and prioritize action items.
• Voter help in AccessPlus: Students can use their smartphones to prove where they live, which in some cases might be required to vote in upcoming elections.
• RAGBRAI stopover: Thousands of cyclists spent a night in Ames on their weeklong trek across the state.
• Facility dedicated in Uganda: The new rural training center will provide more service-learning opportunities for ISU and African students.
• Passion Academy: Faculty and staff of color help Ames middle schoolers discover and pursue their passions.
• Do-it-yourself dining: Replacing franchised venues with in-house alternatives helps ISU Dining meet customer demands with innovative, high-quality products at a lower cost.
• Park smart: Steeper fines and the elimination of free visitor parking should help clear spaces paid for by permit holders.

Food Animal Summer Experience

Student programs

• Food Animal Summer Experience: The College of Veterinary Medicine's new program is designed to provide students of color an opportunity to care for food animals and job shadow veterinarians, a background that's needed for vet school admission but often difficult to acquire.
• Partnership with Iowa Prison Industries: Student teams in an industrial design studio course developed commercial product ideas that use recycled road signs and repurposed wood. Two concepts were chosen for further development and possible production at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.