Nearly 19,000 visitors will have stayed in the residence halls this summer for conferences, according to records provided by the Conference Coordination office.

Iowa State plays host to academic, athletic and special interest groups who come for various conferences and camps, Sudipta Roy, conference coordinator, said.

Approximately 9,000 people came for the Odyssey of the Mind conference and Iowa Special Olympics. An additional 5,013 adults and 5,690 children will have stayed in the residence halls by the end of the summer, according to Conference Coordination office records.

Christian groups, 4-H, Get A Grip (a personal protection group) and Iowa custodians are a few examples of the many groups of people on campus this summer. Coordinating residence hall living for all the groups has been hectic, Roy said.

“So many people are coming and going all of the time. It keeps us going in the summer,” she said.

Though Roy said the coordinators have been well-organized, she said there have been some unexpected inconveniences which have arisen. People changing plans and people not showing have provided some minor inconveniences, she said.

“There have been a few last-minute things, but we haven’t had any problems. We’re trained for emergencies,” Roy said.

The services provided in conferences create good publicity for Iowa State, Roy said. “It keeps us on par with other universities doing this.”

The Iowa State Center uses the Scheman Building, Hilton Coliseum, Stephens Auditorium and Fisher Theater for conferences.

“This summer almost 55,000 people will attend one of the 374 conferences or meetings at the Iowa State Center,” said Patti Cotter, media and publicity coordinator for the Iowa State Center.