Von Stange joined
the UI staff last January as the new director of
residence
services. He succeeds Maggie
Van Oel, who retired after a 32-year career in the
department. Before moving to Iowa City, Stange spent
15 years at the University of South Dakota. Ten of
those years he was director of university housing,
which has a residence hall population about three
times smaller than Iowa’s. A USD graduate and
native South Dakotan, he lived all but five years
of his life in South Dakota before moving to Iowa.
fyi recently asked Stange about
his move to Iowa, the current state of UI residence
halls,
and what
he sees for the future of campus housing.
You’ve
been here almost a year now. How is life here so far?
The University and department have been wonderful.
I’m working with outstanding people. They know
what they’re doing and brought me in and made
me feel very welcome from the first day I got here.
On a personal level, I spent five months living in
Mayflower during the spring semester, so having my
family here and living in a house again is a wonderful
thing.
What was your time like living in
Mayflower and what did you learn about students in
the halls?
Midwestern students remain Midwestern students,
whether they’re from South Dakota or Iowa,
which means there’s a lot of diversity in the
sense that there are small-town kids up to urban
Chicago kids, and each of them is unique and they
all have their different tastes and talents. I enjoyed
being around the students. For me, it was interesting
to see the tempo of the residence halls and see how
students socialize throughout the course of the week
and the weekend. It gave me good insights into student
life here at the University.
What’s
the status of Burge renovations?
Our hope is to have a grand opening of the dining
area and lobby in mid-January [2005]. Students have
been very good about tolerating a lot of noise. We’ve
had a couple of complaints, but in a 900-student
building to only have a couple complaints is really
outstanding. I think our staff has done a great job
of informing students about what’s going on
and responding to any concerns students may have.
We’re looking forward to having contractors
out of the building and having the space back to
ourselves.
Are plans for a new residence hall on hold?
We’re considering the necessity of a new residence
hall, but we’re looking at the long-term scenario.
We have currently been at excess of 100 percent capacity
at opening each fall for about the last decade. We’re
discussing how much we would need to build to maintain
our current level of occupancy without having open
beds. Also, University Apartments—Hawkeye Court
and Hawkeye Drive—needs attention. And we have
a number of projects like redoing bathrooms and replacing
furniture. We spend more than $5 million a year on
renovations and upgrades to our current residence
hall structures. We know that Slater Hall is one
of the buildings we really need to focus on in the
future. The building’s systems need to be replaced.
It’s a delicate balance we’re trying
to tread right now. We’re trying to prioritize.
Do you see the residence halls as being in competition
with The Lodge, the new dorm-style apartment complex
in south Iowa City?
They are similar to campus residence halls, probably
more so than an apartment off campus. But no, I don’t
consider them competition. Our mission is first to
house the first-year class, then returning students.
We do a pretty good job of capturing the market.
About 90 percent of the University’s incoming
first-year students live in the residence halls.
I’d guess that The Lodge’s market is
probably more for those sophomores, juniors, and
seniors who are looking for a living environment
that’s more upscale. So yes, it’s possible
we may lose some returning students to The Lodge.
But many students will find that there are advantages
in the residence halls that they won’t find
at The Lodge—primarily location and convenience.
What
do you see as the residence halls’ strengths
here at The University of Iowa?
I think that our biggest strength is the opportunity
for people to meet and grow together as they make
that transition to living away from home for the
very first time. We have a lot of support staff in
place for students. I also think our residence hall
rates are reasonable and our location can’t
be beat. Students can crawl out of bed and make it
to class in five minutes. And they pay their bill
all at once for the semester so they’re guaranteed
to have a place to live and food to eat throughout
the course of the entire semester.
What do
you see as the residence halls’ biggest
challenges now and in the future?
When residence halls were built 30 or 40 years ago,
they were built for a group of students who didn’t
have a lot of belongings. Now students are bringing
everything under the sun into their residence hall
rooms. We have to make sure we have enough power,
safety, and security; we need to be responsive to
students’ needs. They are customers, and they’re
paying more for their experience than students were
a decade ago. Bottom line is, they can choose to
live in the residence halls or not. We need to make
sure we are providing a welcoming environment for
our students.
What appealed to you about coming to The University
of Iowa?
Probably the thing that’s most appealing to
me is the larger residence hall system. I wanted
more responsibility and a challenge. But I also wanted
to go where I could make a difference and where students
are similar to those I was used to working with in
South Dakota. I like Midwestern values.
Any surprises?
I’ve talked to so many people who, when I’ve
asked why they came to Iowa, say “I always
wanted to be a Hawkeye.” It just surprised
me because that’s not what I’m used to
in previous jobs. I’m impressed by the especially
high regard students have for Iowa, whether it’s
for athletics or the quality of education or people
that they know who have graduated here. It’s
really exciting to see the high esteem that they
hold for this institution.
by Amy Schoon
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