Iowa State President Martin Jischke is hitting the streets with Iowa State’s Report to Iowans — a version of ISU’s strategic plan for 1995-2000.

At the state Board of Regents meeting Thursday in the Memorial Union Sun Room, Jischke presented a progress report for ISU’s new strategic plan. Jischke and other ISU administrators will share the plan with Iowans by speaking to clubs and organizations across the state.

“It’s been very well received,” Jischke said. “This report is the work of a lot of people, but only a few of us get to talk about it.” A printed version of the report is being distributed to ISU contributors and alumni and other Iowa residents.

The 1995-2000 strategic plan includes six overall goals for making Iowa State the “best land grant university in the country,” Jischke said.

The plan, with each goal, is outlined as follows:

* Strengthen undergraduate programs. The new strategic plan seeks to reaffirm ISU’s commitment to undergraduate education by making ISU more convenient for non-traditional students, providing new services like the ISUCard and Access-Plus terminals and bringing more senior faculty into undergraduate classrooms.

According to the report, more than 80 percent of senior faculty at ISU teaches at least one undergraduate course and more than 60 percent of introductory classes are taught by senior faculty. “Senior faculty” is defined as tenured and tenure-track professors and associate professors.

* Strengthen graduate, professional and research programs. Realizing that strong graduate and professional programs contribute to ISU’s reputation as a premier research institution, ISU is placing an emphasis on these programs.

At the September regents meeting, the ISU Graduate Student Senate asked the regents to consider full scholarships for graduate students at ISU. Since then, the university has decided to use nine four-year Miller Graduate Fellowships to help recruit exceptional graduate students.

* Strengthen outreach and extension efforts. Jischke said new Vice Provost for Extension Stanley Johnson will improve the quality of ISU’s Extension program.

“We have given him our public and private support. We are very fortunate to have him as vice provost,” Jischke said.

Johnson said because of competition in the “extensions game,” he would like to improve ISU Extension through increased focus on practical applications for research.

* Sustain and enhance intellectual stimulation and university support. By bringing events like Odyssey of the Mind 1996 World Finals and Grant Wood’s famous murals to ISU, the university officials say they want to enrich the lives of students and community members.

In order to create a welcoming climate for students, faculty and staff, the university opened Reiman Gardens, the campus “front door,” in September of 1995.

* Establish leadership in technology and computer services. As the state’s university of science and technology, Iowa State seeks to position itself as an international leader in the effective use, integration and understanding of technology.

“Ninety-six percent of ISU students use a computer once a day,” Jischke said. ISU’s World Wide Web continues to be active with 300,000 “hits” of ISU’s home page in September of 1996 alone.

ISU’s Brenton Center for Agricultural Instruction and Technology Transfer is considered the most modern agricultural facility of its kind in the nation.

* Strengthen initiatives to stimulate economic development. Iowa State’s 1995-2000 Strategic Plan seeks to build on strengths to address Iowa’s economic, environmental and social needs.

One example is in the ISU Research Park with Engineering Animation Inc., a computer animation firm started by ISU professors and graduate students. The firm has created videos that have been instrumental in analyzing cases like the Oklahoma City bombing and the Jesse James shooting.

In other business

Officials at the three state universities told the Iowa Board of Regents on Thursday that they’re working to improve graduation rates for black students, which lag behind rates for other students.

University presidents at Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa also said they are trying to do more to attract and retain black students.

A report by the regents’ staff says the latest six-year graduation rates for blacks — those who entered school in 1990 — lagged behind the rates for other students.

At Iowa, about 43 percent of blacks who came to school in 1990 actually earned their degree. The rates at Iowa State and Northern Iowa were about 40 percent.

The rates were below those of other ethnic groups, the report said.

Six-year graduation rates for Hispanic students at Iowa were about 55 percent for the entering class of 1990 and about 38 percent at Iowa State.

Asian-Pacific students at Iowa graduated at a nearly 60 percent rate while about 49 percent did so at Iowa State.

Overall, Iowa students had a six-year graduation rate of 62.7 percent, the highest of the three universities. Iowa State’s overall rate was 60 percent while UNI’s was 59.4 percent.

Iowa and Iowa State’s overall rates were below the rates of comparable schools while Northern Iowa was the second-highest in its peer group.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report