During his years at Iowa State, former President Martin Jischke was known for his fund-raising abilities. Since his resignation Aug. 14 to become president at Purdue University, ISU officials remain optimistic about continuing the flow of donation money into the university. ISU Foundation President Tom Mitchell said one of Jischke’s main fund-raising projects, Campaign Destiny, raised $458 million, which was far beyond the original goal of $300 million. Mitchell said the highly successful program, which was coordinated by the ISU Foundation and ended June 30, was one of Jischke’s most important contributions to the university. “If you look, you see the number of donors has increased dramatically during Jischke’s tenure here,” Mitchell said. “Not only were there dramatic changes in the number of donors, but assets and endowments significantly increased.” Mitchell said the ISU Foundation’s assets were about $160 million when Jischke became president. Now they are an estimated $500 million. The endowment fund had $84 million and has increased to an estimated $365 million. The ISU Foundation has continued its fund-raising plans, Mitchell said, identifying expenses and setting a working goal of $105 million for the upcoming fiscal year. “We are seeking support for faculty positions, endowments for chairs, professorships, fellowships and scholarships,” he said. Some of the many projects aided by ISU’s fund raising during Jischke’s tenure were the Palmer building, the Design Auditorium, Reiman Gardens and the future honors and business buildings. College of Engineering Dean James Melsa, who worked with Jischke in soliciting donations, said Jischke was “very helpful to us in raising money for Howe Hall.” He said Jischke’s influence extended to academics also. “He started the Hixon Scholars program, and [the College of Engineering] gets 50 or so National Merit students each year with funding made possible by President Jischke,” Melsa said. He said Jischke will be missed, and fund-raising ability will be an important factor in the search for a new president. “I feel very positive about the future. We have a lot of momentum,” Melsa said. “No one will replace [Jischke], but we have to find a president equally as good or better. Fund raising is going to be a key feature of any president if we want strong programs. [Jischke] will be a tough act to follow, and that’s our challenge.”