With the drop of the gavel, Government of the Student Body Vice President William Rock brought to order the first GSB senate meeting of the fall semester Wednesday.

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Ben Allen gave a program on the progress of the university strategic plan for 2005-2010, — the fourth such plan the university will follow in hopes of becoming a more prestigious institution.

While saving most of the specifics of the plan until the first draft is released to the public Monday, Allen said it would include an aspiration statement, core values the university should institute, and goals and priorities.

“[ISU President Gregory Geoffroy] told me the plan should be a good road map for the future and should infuse optimism,” Allen said.

Rock said the importance of the strategic plan should not be underestimated. Even though he said many GSB senators may graduate before the plan is implemented, the plan could possibly make ISU students’ degrees more valuable.

“When Stanford [University] was creating their plan in the 1940s and ’50s, they said, ‘We want to be the Harvard of the West,'” Allen said. “When they made that statement over 50 years ago, that wasn’t where they were then.”

Allen said after the first draft is released, three weeks will be taken to collect feedback from students, faculty, staff and alumni. From there, he said necessary changes will be made to the plan, and along with feedback collected from future drafts, the final plan will be completed by the end of the calendar year.

“Look at it on Monday and ask, ‘Is this what I want Iowa State to be?’,” Rock said.

In addition to Allen’s program, the Senate discussed two orders and a bill.

The two orders seated Dorie Spitler, sophomore in veterinary medicine, as a College of Veterinary Medicine senator, and Andrea Smook, junior in chemical engineering and Daily correspondent.

Wednesday’s bill, to give the Iowa State Soccer Club money for four goals from the Special Projects fund, was passed without objection.