A bill being discussed by the Inter-Residence Hall Association to change the name of the Martin Jischke Honors Building has sparked interest among members of the Faculty Senate.

It will discuss a similar bill next week.

IRHA representatives said Jischke, former ISU president, does not deserve to have the honors building named after him. And some faculty leaders agree.

The bill was submitted to the Faculty Senate by John Robyt, professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology; Rick Hall, professor of forestry; and Carl Mize, associate professor of forestry. It will be discussed at the Feb. 12 Faculty Senate meeting and voted on at the March 5 meeting.

“Once a building is named, it is damn near impossible to change the name,” Mize said. “We have proposed the university just name it the `Honors Building,’ so if in the future someone is worthy of having the honors building named for them, they can name it appropriately. And if in three more years they would still like to name the building the Martin Jischke Honors Building, then they can do so without clearly violating the rules.”

University guidelines state a building cannot be named after a faculty member within two years of death or resignation from Iowa State. The guideline was changed from a five-year rule by the Board of Regents in October 2001.

“We feel that the Board of Regents acted too hastily,” Robyt said. “They didn’t ask for the opinion of the Faculty Senate, the faculty or students. He was a controversial president and wasn’t always particularly honest. He had relatively nothing to do with the establishment of the honors program, so we don’t think it’s justifiable to name the building after Martin Jischke.”

The announcement of the naming was made at a farewell party before Jischke left for Purdue University in the summer of 2000.

“Jischke had relatively little to do with the honors program, and it was clearly not one of his pet projects,” Mize said. “The original naming of the building came out of a very small representation of people.”

Liz Beck, director of the honors program, said Jischke was a part of building the new building, which replaces Osborn Cottage, the home of the program for several years. Jischke met with several honors students to discuss the advantages of Osborn Cottage, Beck said.

“Dr. Jischke made an official visit to the University Honors Program,” she said. “The primary way he learned about the honors program was from students who talked to him about what we do in areas of teaching and research.”

Students who met with Jischke spoke about the communities they were able to form in Osborn Cottage, Beck said.

“The students all talked about what Osborn Cottage had done for them,” she said. “I believe that because [Jischke] understood how important it was to have that stand-alone building, we were able to get this new building. It would have been pretty easy for him to put us somewhere in the library and not have given these students an identifiable place for them to build a community.”

Robyt said he does not feel it’s appropriate to name the honors building, “let alone anything, after Martin Jischke.”

“In the 10 years he was president, 325 tenured and tenure-tracked faculty left the university,” Robyt said. “The university is now suffering because of his actions and the fact that he did not do anything to replace them.”

Faculty members have heard support from other faculty, staff and students throughout campus, Mize said.

“What makes a great university is great faculty,” Mize said. “Under Jischke’s presidency, faculty morale suffered and students felt abandoned. Jischke left relatively few friends at Iowa State, and in the past few weeks, I have heard a relatively large amount of support for the resolution around campus.”

Union Drive Association President Jeff Greiner, who co-sponsored the IRHA legislation with UDA at-large Rep. Jessica Raim, said he supports the Faculty Senate bill.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing that the faculty are concerned with the same issue we are,” said Greiner, senior in history.

“Having the faculty support similar issues that we are makes me realize that this is a real issue and not one brought on by student perception.”