The Iowa State Ambassadors have taken on the challenge of convincing Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds to visit Iowa State and get a look at the university’s needs for future learning facilities.

This admirable goal by the ambassadors is one that all students, faculty and staff should be getting behind. At the same time, Branstad and Reynolds shouldn’t need convincing, they should have a strong desire to see what our Regent universities need in order to keep our secondary education at high standards. Even if the two are not sold on the idea of providing planning funding for a future biosciences building at Iowa State, it’s important for them to make the trip in order to make the most informed decision.

This past summer, Branstad vetoed $7 million in project planning appropriations slated for all three Regent universities. Included in those projects were planning funds for a new pharmacy facility at the University of Iowa, funding to begin the bidding process for renovations for the Schindler Education Center at the University of Northern Iowa and a new biosciences building at Iowa State.

Universities are, naturally, constantly asking for money from the state in order to keep their facilities as up-to-date as possible. This can certainly add up, but it is necessary in order to keep the Regent universities capable of producing the types of graduates that Branstad is looking to come out of an Iowa education. Want to boast about our state’s graduates? Then that means you have to invest in facilities that will keep them ahead. Branstad has also run on the platform of continuing to improve Iowa education. To do this, the state is going to have to make some investments.

A new biosciences facility at Iowa State is greatly needed and will give students within that field the current tools required to excel in that career field. How will Branstad know what students need to succeed if he isn’t willing to come take a look at their work environments and get a sense of what is needed to continue to push our universities to the next level. The governor did, in fact, visit the University of Iowa earlier this year in October. This gave students there the chance to show Branstad what funds from the state could be used for.

Those at Iowa State who would like to see the university continue to stay ahead in necessary buildings should add their voices to that of the Iowa State Ambassadors. Showing Branstad and Reynolds that you care for the future of your university and believe the needed investment will help keep Iowa State equipped with state of the art facilities. These facilities can help bring future students to Iowa, and hopefully even get those highly trained graduates to call Iowa home after they pick up their degree.

It can be easy to say that Iowa State’s buildings and labs are fully functional and a large state investment is not currently needed. However, it is far better to be keeping up with improvements instead of letting facilities fall behind and then have to deal with a much higher bill to bring the university back up to what it once was.

Iowa State Ambassadors are hoping to show Branstad what the university not only offers the diverse groups of students that choose to come here to get an education, but also show him the vast potential of what we could have in the future with continued facility investments. Asking the governor to take some time and see the facilities producing the future leaders of Iowa and the nation is really not asking that much. In fact, it should be among his priorities.