Iowa State President Martin Jischke has a couple of wishes for the university this year: to continue working on “To Become the Best” and to work on ISU’s minority retention rate and the university’s strategic plan.

To increase the retention rate of underrepresented students at ISU, Jischke said there are several steps that need to be taken.

“It’s not just an Iowa State problem or a University of Iowa problem. It’s a national problem,” he said.

Jischke said it is a university’s responsibility to create “an environment that allows all of our students to feel a part of the community.”

However, Jischke said he does not know if there will be a multicultural center in the near future. He said the administration had been working with the Government of the Student Body on the issue, and if the students want the center, it probably will happen.

Jischke said although communication with the students is important to the administration, he cannot always tell how effective it is.

“I know we work hard at it, but whether or not the administration does a good job [of communicating], that’s up to the students to decide,” he said.

So far, Jischke said he felt the first semester of the academic year was successful.

“We had a great first semester. Enrollment was up; we had a number of successes in our capital campaign; we beat Iowa in football,” he said.

Jischke said he thought the tuition debate last semester — which resulted in a 5.2 percent increase for next year’s school year — was important.

“There was widespread agreement between the administration, the students and the regents to improve the quality of the university,” he said. “We needed resources beyond the inflationary adjustments.”

Jischke acknowledged that the 5.2 percent figure was not universally agreed upon but said “that’s to be expected.”

He said he also wants to work on achieving his goals for Campaign Destiny — ISU’s quest to become the “No. 1 land-grant university in the nation.”

Jischke said some of the specific goals include improving distance-education programs, learning communities, the facilities on campus and recruiting students and staff.

Jischke said another priority for second semester is to make sure that the Department of Residence Master Plan is well underway.

“Maple Hall has to be ready [at the end of the semester],” he said. “There’s quite a bit of construction going on on campus.”

Jischke also said planning needs to be done for the facilities on campus, including Howe Hall, Reiman Gardens and practice fields for the Athletic Department.

There is no real criteria to determine the best land-grant university in the nation, Jischke said, but he still feels that ISU is prepared for the 21st century.

“We are not just prepared, we’re redefining what a land-grant university is,” he said.