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Smoking stubbed outside UI building entrances, exits
A temporary smoking ban on campus has eliminated smoking within 25 feet of all occupied building entrances and exits, and parking facility stair towers, elevators, lobbies, and doors that are not already covered by the UI Hospitals and Clinics smoke-free policy. With few exceptions, smoking is not allowed inside any UI building.
“We’re making efforts to improve health and to protect people from secondhand smoke, which has been identified by the U.S. surgeon general as a serious health threat,” says interim UI President Gary Fethke.
The UI Smoking Policy Review Committee is working on final recommendations for a permanent policy that will be subject to an approval process.
Regents approve new campus recreation center
Construction of a $69-million recreation and wellness center is set to begin next fall. The 216,000-square-foot facility, slated to open in the fall of 2009, will be located at the southwest corner of Burlington and Madison Streets, directly south of the Main Library.
The project will support student fitness and recreation, aquatics, and wellness. The primary function of the facility will be to provide “drop-in” individual fitness activities in those three areas, which now are primarily provided at the Field House on the west campus. The new building also will include facilities for the Hawkeye swimming and diving program.
The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the project at its September meeting with a reworked financing plan that includes a reduction in annual student fees—from $292 to $219—to help fund the facility.
University sees increases among minority students, faculty
This fall, more minority students than ever before are attending the University, and more minority faculty members began their appointments in UI colleges and departments than in any previous year.
The number of minority students is up from 2,678 students in fall 2005 to 2,741 in fall 2006. The largest increase is in the total number of Latino students. The hiring of 23 new minority faculty members can be attributed, in part, to a new diversity initiative from the Office of the Provost.
