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Current Projects

Supporting The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Overall Goal: $65 million

  • Student Support - $13.3 million
    Goal is to create 100 new scholarships during the campaign
  • Faculty Support - $22 million
    Goal is to create 15 new chairs, professorships and fellowships
  • Programmatic Support - $13 million
  • Capital Projects - $16.7 million
    New Chemistry Facility - $15.3 million
    Geology Field Camp - $500,000
    Snedecor Hall - $500,000

Selected Projects

Catt Center for Women and Politics

The Catt Center General Endowment Fund is crucial toward providing a stable source of support for programming of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, including student leadership seminars, training and development; student mentorship; research projects, such as the annual Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics; and outreach initiatives, including educational workshops, guest lectures, and publicity and promotion of civic engagement, political participation, and community involvement.

Department of Chemistry Facility

Chemistry Webcam
Construction Site Webcam

Background. The Chemistry Department at Iowa State University has a long and distinguished tradition of excellence. Indeed, our chemistry program has been consistently ranked among the best in the nation with the highest rating of any department at Iowa State (based on information from the National Research Council) – Our division of Analytical Chemistry is among the five best in the nation. At the same time, the quality of the research and teaching facilities, primarily Gilman Hall, has not lived up to this stellar reputation. By most faculty and student assessments, the facilities have become increasingly inadequate for new trends in research and instruction, and barely meet the minimum standards for proper chemical hygiene and safety.

A new chemistry building designed to meet trends in chemical research at Iowa State University, coupled with a re-direction of the current renovation project in Gilman Hall to create state-of-the-art science teaching facilities, not only would be more cost effective, but would provide a highly recognized and distinguished department with outstanding facilities in which the entire university could take great pride.

Description
A new Chemical Sciences building on the campus of Iowa State University will significantly improve the research and teaching mission of the university and the department by allowing expansion and consolidation of efforts in some of the following scientific areas, many of which receive substantial federal support: (1) polymer and biomolecular chemistry; (2) forensics; (3) chemical analysis; (4) nanotechnology and combinatorial discovery; (5) biorenewables and catalysis; (6) computational chemistry and (7) biotechnology.

A new structure would be situated adjacent to Gilman Hall and connected to it, either by an atrium or by directly building off the existing Gilman Hall structure. The new building would provide adequate infrastructure for research in synthesis, analysis and computation – three important general areas required for all types of chemical research. The structure would allow for research that probes chemical substances at the molecular and atomic level, which represent current trends in atomic microscopy. The structure would include a conference site for hosting workshops and small meetings, as well as a place to showcase current breakthroughs by the research groups. Existing space in Gilman Hall slated for renovation would be converted into new instructional spaces, some of which would combine laboratory with lecture experiences, expansion of computer labs and installation of electronic and web-connected classrooms.

Department of Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science wishes to establish an endowed account to fund scholarships for the newly proposed undergraduate software engineering program in computer science and one-time fund for the software engineering program development & the establishment of the software engineering laboratory. The target will be $500,000 in order to establish 10 undergraduate scholarships in computer science for $2,000 each ($2,000 x 10), which is 5% of $400,000. The one-time fund includes $50,000 for program development and $50,000 for the software engineering laboratory.

Department of World Languages and Cultures International Internship Program Center

Students preparing for careers in the global arena have an essential need for first-hand experience working internationally. While within the discipline of languages and literatures academic internship programs are a rarity, at ISU our faculty have shown vision and leadership in creating meaningful internship opportunities for undergraduates. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures seeks to build upon its established international internship programs in Cáceres, Spain, and Cuernavaca, México, by increasing and diversifying work opportunities for our undergraduate majors in France, Russia, Ukraine, China, and Germany. We have also identified some internationally-focused internship opportunities within the state of Iowa. As our international internship program grows, it is in need of regular administrative support. We envision renovating a sizeable office space (200 Pearson Hall) to allow for increased program support and needed visibility and hiring a half-time program assistant. A one-time gift of $15,000 would provide funding for renovation of the office space and an additional $12,000 annually would fund administrative support. A gift generating $30,000 would allow us to provide scholarship support in the amount of $3,000 per student for participation in international internships by ten students each year.

Biology Program

The recent report from the Batelle Memorial Institute and the proposed 2005-2010 Strategic Plan clearly point to Biological Sciences as important to the economic future of Iowa and central to the strengths and future of ISU. The recent reorganization of the Biological Sciences at ISU has begun the process of upgrading and strengthening this important disciplinary area. This effort has included restructuring of the Biology major both in terms of its administration and its curriculum. Interest in the Biological Sciences should fuel expansion of the Biology Major, especially now that the major will be available in the College of Agriculture as well as in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. We need to improve our competitiveness in attracting the top students in this disciplinary area, especially with regard to competition for Iowa students by the University of Iowa (with its Medical School as an attraction) and the private, liberal arts colleges in the region.

Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences

Facilities maintenance, upgrade, and replacement and other operating costs for existing field station in Shell, Wyoming. For over 40 years, the ISU Geology Field Station in Shell, Wyoming has served as the focal point for the geology undergraduate major. More recently, the station has been utilized by the STAR program of the Education College, which provides a summer experience to high school students interested in science education. The Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences has also been in discussions with other units on campus, including English, Agronomy, and Forestry, about the potential of using the facility for their teaching programs. The site would be outstanding for faculty retreats and alumni functions in any program. The station is located in a spectacular setting along Shell Creek, but the living and working quarters are marginal. They consist of run-down barracks derived from World War II era Japanese internment camps. They lack insulation and heating, and are thus useable only from about mid-May to mid-September. Current toilet facilities consist of outhouses. Funds are sought to modernize and/or replace buildings and to install a septic system.

Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication

A named professorship with graduate student support to inaugurate a program in science and risk communication. Iowa State University has announced that endowed professorships are a priority in this campaign. Whereas the faculty of the Greenlee School intend to pursue a graduate program in science and risk communication—in keeping with strategic planning initiatives associated with science and collaboration across disciplines—we believe a named chair or professorship in this discipline, replete with research support and graduate assistants—will help position the School to serve more fully the interests and priorities of ISU and the state of Iowa. A gift of $1 million-$4 million will help establish curricula as well as personnel and programming.

Study Abroad Scholarships

This endowment is designed to provide worthy students with financial assistance that would assist them in participating in study abroad programs. In order to assist and support ISU-sponsored programs, the highest priority would be given to students going on our programs. A second tier of prioritization would go to assisting students who have put together their own independent plans for direct enrollment in an international university. A third level of support would go to those individuals enrolled in programs sponsored by institutions other than ISU.

Graduate Scholarships for International Research

This endowment would provide graduate students with support for two purposes: first, monies would be allocated to assist students who must travel to and live in international settings in order to collect data related to thesis or dissertation research. A second use of this endowment would be to assist graduate students who wish to attend international conferences to present research papers or poster presentations.

Department of Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics would like to endow one or more graduate fellowships in Mathematics. There is a national need for well trained mathematicians in academics, government and industry. The endowment would be used to attract a highly qualified candidate to study mathematics, applied mathematics, or interdisciplinary Ph.D. program. The money from the endowment would most likely be used in conjunction with another award, such as a teaching assistantship.

Department of Music

The Music Department's vision includes developing areas of strength in collaborative learning in technology and the arts. This will involve offering curricula in that advance methods of critical thinking and communication in the arts using current technologies. Programs expansion could occur in several areas: (1) elective performing arts technology courses for existing interdisciplinary graduate programs such as HCI, (2) a new graduate program in music education with a focus on multi-media technology, and (3) expanded programming leading to an undergraduate minor in performing arts technology applications and/or an interdisciplinary major.

Department of Statistics

The Department of Statistics at Iowa State University is recognized as one of the best in the World. The strong reputation of the Department of Statistics rests not only on history, but also on continuing commitment to excellence in education, research and collaboration. Snedecor Hall houses the Department of Statistics along with the Statistical Laboratory, the statistical component of the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES), the Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology (CSSM) and related USDA researchers. To maintain the outstanding national and international profiles of the program in Statistics, Snedecor Hall must be expanded and renovated.