A new building is on the way for the Honors Program, and it will bear former ISU President Martin Jischke’s name. Donors and the ISU Foundation have requested the building be named for Jischke because of his initiatives for and dedication to the Honors Program, said Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance. “Martin was very committed to the Honors Program and the students,” Madden said. Although a university policy says former employees must be gone five years before naming buildings after them, Madden said there have been exceptions. For example, he said, Parks Library and Lagomarcino Hall both were named while their namesakes were still serving as administrators. Howard Shapiro, chair of the Honors Building Review Committee, said a new building is necessary because Osborn Cottage has become too small for the Honors Program. “It’s really outgrown its usefulness,” Shapiro said. “We thought it was an opportunity to get better facilities that would fit the needs of the program in the future.” Madden said donor interest was another reason for building and naming the structure sooner rather than later. The Osborn Cottage location has been labeled a potential building site for other programs, which created interest in relocating the Honors Program. Honors Program Coordinator Liz Beck said the program has been based in Osborn since 1977, when about 40 students used the building each week. Now about 1,000 students use it in a week. The new building will go up west of the Farm House Museum and north of Curtiss Hall on central campus. While a committee of faculty, students and architects helped to decide the location of the new building, Shapiro said Jischke’s Capital Projects Council made the final decision on the building site. Beck said she thought naming the building after Jischke was appropriate. “He wasn’t just focused on Honors students,” Beck said. “He was focused on all students.” She said Jischke’s initiatives included learning communities and the President’s Leadership Class. He focused on programs such as the Carver Scholars and Hixon Opportunity Scholars. “He didn’t target one specific group,” Beck said. “He targeted many different groups.” She said when Jischke came to visit the Honors Program three years ago, he heard how important the building was to the students. “It was his generosity that said this building serves an important function for students on campus, and we need to continue that function,” Beck said. “So he did listen to the students.” The new building will provide many benefits for the students and staff, Shapiro said, such as more space for small-group activities including Honors seminars. “I think it’s going to be a better place to congregate in terms of more room,” Shapiro said. “It’s going to have a very nice feel about it.” Beck said the new building will be about twice the size of Osborn Cottage and will also have dedicated classrooms. “Two of the classrooms [in Osborn Cottage] are so small we can’t put furniture in them,” she said. “The students sit on pillows on the floor.” Beck said Osborn Cottage also can’t be modified for wheelchair access. “The new building will solve a lot of those problems,” she said. Shapiro said he is very happy the Honors Program will have a new building. “I think that this opportunity really illustrates that this is something important to the university, and I’m glad to be part of it,” he said.