July 3 – new Dean of Student Vernon Hurte

Iowa State’s newest Dean of Students and Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Vernon Hurte said he was looking forward to listening to what students had to say where critical topics on campus. Hurte told the Daily he was ready to be student-centered.

“I want to spend time with students and find out how they feel about the campus,” he said. “I want all students from all backgrounds to feel that sense of belonging.”

The position did not exist before Hurte, and was part of the restructuring done by Martino Harmon. The new structure of Student Affairs is a five person administration, featuring two associate vice presidents and two assistant vice presidents under Harmon. Previously the dean of students position was held by Pamela Anthony, who died in January 2016.

July 6 – Ad released for new president

The official advertisement for Iowa State University’s next president went out to more than 30 groups, websites or news outlets. Among them, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and several diversity and race-based groups. Nominations are invited, but all applications should be received by August 24 – and applications will remain confidential through the finalist stage due to a confidentiality agreement signed by committee members.

July 10 – First Young Women in Business Leadership Camp

The camp was designed for high school females interested in exploring how their skills and interests translate to opportunities in business. The girls are split into groups of five and work with these teams throughout the week to create a project, attend workshops and lectures, including one by new Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

July 10 – new associate vice president for facilities planning and management begins at ISU

Paul Fuligni came from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville to head the facilities planning and management department. When he was a kid, he wanted to be an astronaut.

“People tend to take it all for granted, except when it’s not there or not working. Which is good, because that means generally, we’re all doing our jobs,” Fuligni said.

July 11 – ISU Startup Factory on third round

The first cohort of 10 companies graduated from the Iowa State University Startup Factory, and a third cohort of 11 new start-ups began. The second group started September 2016, and should graduate this September from the 52 week program. A few of the startups focus on drones, one looks at developing a mobile soil nitrate sensor for fields to facilitate precise applications of fertilizer and another is developing a way to use augmented reality to display construction sites in real time.

July 12 – Redo search for assistant VP for business services

Kate Gregory, senior vice president for university services, canceled the search for an assistant vice president for business services, according to an announcement on Inside Iowa State. Three finalists were identified in the search that began in May and two interviewed on campus, but Gregory wants to recruit again.

July 15 – Bernie Sanders returns to Iowa

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement hosted its annual action fund event in downtown Des Moines to bring together progressive activists and community members. The keynote speaker was former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who spoke on the dangers of apathy, the importance of political action and healthcare.

July 15 – Board of Regents executive director resigns

Robert Donley, who served as executive director (or chief executive officer) of the Board of Regents since 2008, had announced his resignation at the Regent meeting in June. The interim director is Keith Saunders, who also serves as an Associate Counsel to the Board of Regents. Applications for the position had to be received by August 7. Candidates are likely to be presented in September, with the goal of the new Executive Director assuming the position in November.

July 17 – new Dean of Graduate College, associate provost

The Division of Academic Affairs split up the previous role held by Dave Holger into two parts: Bill Graves as Iowa State’s next dean of the Graduate College, and Ann Marie VanDerZanden as associate provost for academic programs. Both are professors in horticulture. Graves joined the faculty in 1992 and has served as associate dean for the Graduate College since 2010. VanDerZanden has served as director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) since 2012.

July 18 – Campus lost power

Power was out on campus early in the morning, and even though it returned before 8 a.m., the air conditioning did not until late afternoon. Bonus: That day temperatures went over 100 degrees fahrenheit with the heat index.

July 18 – Iowa Games participation dropping

From 1990 until 2013, the Iowa Games had at least 13,000 reported participants every year, playing dozens of sports. The only exception was 1993, when just under 12,000 athletes participated.

Since 2014, however, numbers have been down. Last year, there were 12,502 athletes in the Iowa Games, a considerable drop from a decade ago when 17-18,000 was the norm.

July 18 – City Council workshops rental occupancy

In a rushed open workshop, City Council asked the community to give feedback on rental occupancy rules and regulations. The community’s main feedback? Go talk to landlords, property owners and neighborhood associations – then enforce existing nuisance laws.

Staff also presented several possibilities in response to a change in the law controlling rental occupancy. A law will go into affect on January 1, 2018 that prohibits limiting by familial relation. There are 14,000 rental units in the city of Ames, staff said.

July 24 – ISU a parter in bioenergy research center

Iowa State University was named a partner institution in a bioenergy research center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy along with 15 other institutions. The purpose of the project is to study the next generation of plant-based, cost-effective, sustainable, biofuels and bioproducts (Iowa State will specifically grow new crops). The university will not be constructing a new building, but there will be fields designated for the team’s research needs.

July 25 – Lincoln Way Corridor study unsurprising

A study on the safety of Lincoln Way and how pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles interact came back with news that surprised the city (and shouldn’t surprise anyone at the university): it was all based on student behavior. And students didn’t care if there was a crosswalk or not, they cared if they were going to get hit by a car.

Moving forward, proposals to make changes at Welch and Stanton Avenue should be expected in the fall, along with some kind of educational program on safety.