President Martin Jischke recently proposed building a center for plant research at Iowa State.

Jischke discussed the idea for the new building during a speech he gave Thursday in Des Moines to the Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

Colin Scanes, executive associate dean of the College of Agriculture, said the aim of this initiative is “to move the fundamentals of the plant sciences of Iowa State to a new level of excellence.”

John McCarroll, director of University Relations, emphasized that the center is only a proposal at this point, but he said the administration is carefully considering it.

“It is a priority,” he said.

Jischke said during the speech that he will be seeking funds over the course of the next two years to pay for the center.

“The university would like to see $10 million coming from the taxpayers of Iowa,” Scanes said.

Jischke said ISU already has received an allocation of $200,000 to begin the first part of the center.

He said additional funds are necessary for renovating current facilities and building new facilities, purchasing new equipment, hiring top scientists and performing research.

Scanes said the research will include crop utilization, the new design of crops and developing plants’ resistant to disease.

“Quite a number of people will benefit,” he said.

He said the money will bring top graduate students to the university and will attract new faculty to an already strong department.

If the proposed center is approved, a completion date still needs to be set, Scanes said.

“I would hope that we’ll be well on our way in a year and completed in five [years],” he said.

He added that the center possibly could be finished within three years.