Your June 3 editorial about the construction freeze was ill informed.

Most of the new buildings you see on campus were either built by funds from the federal government or by private funds. Neal Smith and Tom Harkin were the prime architects of the government money given directly to Iowa State.

Neal Smith wrote an editorial in the Register (which you should read) about how this does not work unless the state picks up the operating money. Well, it hasn’t.

So now, as an example, look at Howe Hall. It was built with private funds and was opened two years ago. That summer, the Regents asked for a special grant from the state to operate Howe Hall. It was denied.

The same edition which carried this story also carried a story that said 55 positions were going to be left open.

Do you suppose they are related? You see, every time the ISU Foundation builds a building, they are impacting the curriculum of the university, its expenses and how much it costs to attend.

Reiman Gardens is a good example of building a castle that you can’t afford to run. We never learn.

Is the opening of the sister to Howe Hall going to cost another 55 positions?

In the Iowa State math department, at the beginning of the Jischke era, we had 67 positions. The long range plan called for a minimum of five more in order to compete with other public universities.

Jischke cancelled the long range plan.

In the meantime, we have begun to teach many more students, and this last year we had less than 40 positions on faculty. This is probably the same in other departments.

Educational quality and the costs of education are both adversely affected by overbuilding. What we have on this campus is just that.

Arlington Fink

Professor

Mathematics