An open forum to discuss the direction of Iowa State in the future drew few participants, but a wealth of ideas.

ISU faculty, staff and students were invited to share their opinions at a meeting held by the Strategic Planning Committee on Thursday afternoon.

Committee member John Schuh, distinguished professor and chairman of educational leadership and policy studies, led the discussion. He said about 65 people attended the last forum, held March 26. The forum Thursday had fewer than 15 participants.

Schuh said the forums are a way for ISU affiliates to have their opinions, concerns and ideas for the future recognized. The ideas will be gathered and then presented to the president later this year, he said.

“Our goal is to have something in [ISU President Gregory] Geoffroy’s hands by the first of December,” Schuh said.

He presented the group with four questions and then asked for comments.

The questions were:

* What is your vision for Iowa State in the next five to 10 years?

* What do you perceive are the opportunities facing Iowa State in the next five to 10 years?

* What do you perceive are the challenges facing Iowa State in the next five to 10 years?

* What are likely to be the key issues facing Iowa State over the next five to 10 years?

Most of the responses dealt with Iowa State’s funding issues. Retaining and hiring faculty was another concern brought up by the group, which was made up of predominantly faculty members. The attendees also wanted the planning committee to figure out ways to promote the positives of Iowa State in the community and throughout the state.

Although many responses did not related to the question being posed, Schuh remained positive about the process.

“This [forum] is a time to collect information, not critique ideas,” Schuh said.

Scott Coleman, sophomore in computer engineering, attended the forum and said he thought the event was a good gesture.

“I think it’s a good idea that the university wants input from other people that aren’t part of the planning group. It was interesting for me to see what’s going on in the school,” Coleman said.

Schuh said despite the small number of participants, he thought the forum went well.

“We’ve got pages and pages of notes to funnel into the system. I think we had a nice conversation [between participants and committee members],” Schuh said.

The committee will write drafts of the information it gathered, he said. The drafts will be presented by committee members to the groups they are affiliated with, such as the faculty and graduate student senates, he said.

Schuh said any person still interested in giving the committee input could visit the Web site www.iastate.edu/~newplan/.

“We are interested in everyone’s opinion,” Schuh said.