Regents greenlight faculty P&T requests

Meeting online April 1, the state Board of Regents gave the final green light to promotion requests for 98 Iowa State faculty members, a 40% increase over last spring's faculty promotions. The table breaks down the total by college and promotion type.

2020-21 Faculty promotions and/or tenure

*Includes one tenure-only award (to an associate professor)

Each spring, in concert with faculty promotion requests, the three regent universities submit an update on the makeup of their faculty. The data on Iowa State faculty is shared in the table.

ISU faculty

Vet lab clears final approval

The board approved a budget ($75 million) and schematic design for a new two-story, 72,000-square foot Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, clearing the way to begin construction later this fall. Interim senior vice president for operations and finance Pam Cain told board members the new facility will provide about 50% of the space needed to house all VDL functions, so the design allows for a future addition.

The university removed from the agenda a budget and schematic design for the athletics department's proposal to expand the north and south concourses at Hilton Coliseum.

New P&S pay grades

In the consent agenda, the board approved the compensation structure in Iowa State's new classification/compensation system for the approximately 3,200 professional and scientific employees. Implementation is underway for the new system and currently targeted to wrap up in late May. Its 15 market-based pay grades use a fanned approach to grade widths, with lower grades being narrower and higher grades becoming progressively wider to account for greater market variability in higher-level jobs. It replaces a system developed in 1993 for internal equity.

Parking permit increases

Employee parking permits will go up about 3% on July 1. The increases are $6 for general staff permits, $17 for reserved permits and $30 for 24-hour reserved spots. Employee motorcycle permits will go up $2. The hourly price for parking meters and metered lots will stay the same ($1).

Permits for the Memorial Union ramp, which is not part of the university's parking division, will go up about 2.5%. The MU changes vary from a $5 increase for a summer permit to a $15 increase for an annual permit.

Hourly parking in the MU ramp will go up 25 cents per hour, with the daily maximum rising from $13 to $15. The price of the first hour rises to $2.25, additional hours 2-5 rise to $1.75 per hour, and hours 6-8 rise to $1.50 per hour. Special fees, for example illegal exit or lost ticket charges, will remain at current rates.

July 1: Parking increases

*Includes lots designated for residence department and Ames Lab

Other ISU items

The board also approved Iowa State requests to:

• Set student residence system rates for the next 18 months. Rates in most residence halls and apartments for this summer and the 2020-21 academic year won't change but will go up 2% for summer 2021 (hall increases range from $24 to $35 for the summer; apartment increases from $21 to $39). The exception is Wallace and Wilson halls ("the towers"), where room rates are going down 11.5%-18.2% ($526-$1,010) to encourage students to live in those halls.
• Increase student meal plans and flex meal plans 1% on July 1. The guest price in the dining centers will go up 10 cents for breakfast (to $10.60) and 15 cents for lunch and dinner (to $13.65).
• Offer a new undergraduate degree, B.S. in environmental engineering, in the civil, construction and environmental engineering department, beginning this fall.
• Award an Honorary Doctor of Science degree to ISU alumnus Subra Suresh, president of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, former president of Carnegie Mellon University (2013-17) and former head of the National Science Foundation (2010-13), for outstanding contributions as a distinguished engineer, scientist, entrepreneur and leader in higher education. No date has been set to make this award.
• Award an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to ISU alumna Beth Ford, first female president and CEO of Land O'Lakes Inc., to recognize her contributions as a pioneering leader in business and agriculture and advocate for farmers and rural communities. No date has been set to make this award
• Sell the Fick Observatory, 45.3 wooded acres and three observatory buildings four miles southwest of Boone to adjacent property owner Aaron Gillett for $339,870. The observatory has been inactive since 2008.

Board leadership

The regents unanimously reelected Mike Richards and Patty Cownie to serve as board president and president pro tem, respectively. Their two-year terms begin May 1 and run through April 30, 2022.