Smelling of sawdust, with cords and wires hanging haphazardly from the ceiling and plywood covering the carpet, ISU’s presidential home, The Knoll, doesn’t look like most students would imagine.The Knoll has been home to ISU presidents for 100 years and is undergoing major construction this spring.”Our goal is to make it more functional for the presidents’ families, to deal with life-safety issues and to maintain its historical value,” said Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance.A three-stall garage, an elevator and additional living space are being added to the north side of The Knoll. Also, a 100-year-old boiler system will be replaced with a high-efficiency heating and ventilation system, he said.Madden said the first floor of The Knoll lends itself to public entertaining. To the left of the front door is a coat room, and there is a garden room that leads out onto a terrace where guests can enjoy a garden during the spring. A fireplace, now boarded up to prevent damage during construction, is situated at the back of the room, and there is even a spot near the door where past presidents would set bowls of red and gold M&M’s for guests, said Charles Dobbs, executive assistant to the president.The second and third floors are used as personal living space for the presidents and their families, Madden said, and the public rarely sees them. On these floors, there are six rooms that could be used for bedrooms, studies or living rooms, Dobbs said.The master bedroom, on the second floor, is flanked by a sitting room and a bathroom. The windows in the bedroom face south, which gives the president a view of Lincoln Way during the winter. But during the summer, the space is shrouded by trees which make the view a little more private, Madden said.Former ISU President Martin Jischke said living in the Knoll was an honor and called it a “very important landmark on the Iowa State campus.”However, he also expressed concerns about the inadequacy of the home for entertaining purposes.”We did a lot of entertaining with students, faculty and other guests,” Jischke said. “The home wasn’t designed for the level of entertaining that we did. It needs some changing.”The Jischkes would often entertain different groups of people, up to six or seven evenings each week, Dobbs said.Jischke also said “more adequate living space” and better kitchen facilities would be needed to improve The Knoll.”We are trying to upgrade [the kitchen] to what is considered an institutional-level kitchen to accommodate the large groups that come through,” Madden said.This expansion will also benefit presidents’ families, who in the past have had to scramble for personal cooking and dining space while dodging frequent visitors, Dobbs said.”When President Jischke’s son or daughter wanted to eat, they would order Pizza Hut because there was no place to cook,” Madden said.Since the original $11,000 construction of The Knoll in 1901, the building has undergone many changes, according to “The Iowa State University Campus and its Buildings.”The first residents of The Knoll were President William Beardshear, his wife and his eight children, Dobbs said.Today, minor repairs to The Knoll, such as leaky faucets, are financed through university building money, while the current $1.5 million construction project is being paid for by donated funds from the ISU Foundation, Madden said.Construction is scheduled to be done in early July, when incoming President Gregory Geoffroy is scheduled to move in.”We hope that this renovation work gives The Knoll more life into the next century,” Madden said.

Take a video tour of the Knoll.