Construction of Union Drive Association Suite Building 2 and the University Family Housing Community Center were given the go-ahead by the Board of Regents Wednesday.

Suite Building 2 will have many of the same features as Suite Building 1, said a representative from OPN Architects, the firm working on the UDA project.

In addition the building will utilize fifth-floor attic space by lofting the fourth-floor suites. This will allow residents of fourth-floor to have an upstairs living area overlooking campus.

Randy Alexander, director of the Department of Residence, said Suite Building 1 has had high occupancy rates.

“On [Suite] Building 1, we had excess demand,” he said. “We could have actually filled two buildings and had students left over.”

The finished UDA will include three suite buildings and Friley Hall. A community center, currently under construction, will also serve the area.

Helser Hall will be torn down and replaced with a large courtyard intended to give the area a community feeling.

Suite Building 2 is scheduled to be opened in the fall of 2004.

Also approved at the board meeting were architectural plans for the University Family Housing Community Center.

Architect Kevin Monson of Neumann Monson Architects, whose firm is in charge of the project, said the finished building will be located between Schilletter and University villages in order to serve both communities, which are made up of older students, families and a large number of international students.

The building will include meeting and classroom space, an outdoor patio, administrative offices, a fitness room and a grocery store, he said.

Alexander said the new center will serve 800—900 students at a projected project cost of $1.8 million.

Also during the meeting, the presidents from all three state universities outlined advances and general concerns as part of the review of each school’s strategic plan.

All three expressed satisfaction at making gains and meeting goals in areas such as external funding, diversity among students and technology.

However, they were all concerned about a loss of faculty and how the current budget cuts could aggravate the problem.

“We now educate a record number of students on campus,” said ISU President Gregory Geoffroy. “We have fewer faculty to serve these students.”

In order to reach Iowa State’s goal of 17 students per faculty member, Geoffroy said 192 faculty members would need to be hired.

He also said he was concerned about the loss of competitiveness in ISU faculty salaries.

“I believe addressing this issue should be a very high priority for the board and the university,” he said.

University of Iowa Interim President Willard “Sandy” Boyd talked about the rising class sizes at his university.

“We do worry about our future,” he said.

University of Northern Iowa President Robert Koob said his school has seen a decline in the number of classes taught by tenure and tenure-track faculty.

“We are not going in the correct direction,” he said, referring to the loss of faculty.

The Board of Regents will meet again Thursday at 9 a.m. in rooms 230 and 240 of the Scheman Building.