On July 1, 2010, a policy change was implemented at Iowa State University that negatively affected retired faculty and staff. Retirees are now required to pay full price for an annual general parking permit. In the past, such a permit was provided to qualified retirees at no charge.

This mean-spirited policy change flunks the fairness test and is not mirrored by parking regulations at other Regent’s institutions. Complimentary parking was one of the very few benefits granted to ISU retirees; that privilege has been arbitrarily withdrawn.

Retired faculty and staff are now charged the same annual fee as their active colleagues while obviously using ISU parking facilities much less. The small number of retirees coupled with limited use is unlikely to reduce pressure on general parking lots.

The revenue generated by this assessment will be very modest. There is a limited number of retired faculty and staff residing in the greater Ames area and even fewer who are willing to shell out $128 per year for the privilege of occasionally parking on campus. As of July 2, only 64 full-year permits had been sold to retirees.

In contrast to the new ISU policy, both the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa continue to offer free parking permits to qualified retirees. Are retired faculty and staff at Iowa State less deserving or just less appreciated?

This penny-wise, pound-foolish policy should be critically reexamined and then scrapped; it is inherently unfair and cannot be justified based on objective, reasonable cost-benefit analysis.

Dean R. Prestemon

Ames