New opportunities are in store for ISU students in the College of Business, and a new administrator has been added to help. James McElroy, professor of management, is the new interim associate dean for the College of Business. McElroy has been a faculty member at Iowa State since 1979, and he has been serving as interim associate dean since July 1. The position became necessary after Labh Hira, senior associate dean for the college, began working with architects to plan the new Gerdin Building for the college. The building is scheduled to begin construction next year, McElroy said. He said his appointment is scheduled to last for two years, the estimated time officials expect construction of the new building to take. “I’m taking responsibility for the undergraduate and graduate programs, research and career services,” McElroy said. He said he also has several goals he wants to accomplish as interim associate dean, such as keeping staff involved in important decisions. “One of my goals is to increase the communication between administration and the faculty and staff,” he said. “I want to maintain more of a balance between the graduate and undergraduate programs.” McElroy said the college also has started offering graduate courses in Des Moines in the evenings Monday through Thursday with various professors from the college teaching those courses. McElroy said he will also be helping in the project by teaching classes Monday nights. He said while he is teaching a full semester this fall, he will not have classes during the spring semester, which will give him more time for his new position. About 260 graduate students and more than 3,500 undergraduate students are enrolled in the College of Business, McElroy said. He also said the number has increased by 200 students since fall 1999 and 500 students since 1998. McElroy said the business faculty evaluates the administrative department and determines which areas need to be improved. “The faculty noted that the administrative staff was lean compared to other colleges,” he said. David Smith, professor and chairman of accounting, said faculty members are looking forward to working with McElroy. “People are happy with the choice,” he said.