University of Iowa to use stimulus money for jobs, revenue

University of Iowa officials expect to parlay $14 million in federal stimulus money into creation of 110 campus jobs and almost $3 million in revenue next year, they said Friday.

The UI received $35.5 million in stimulus money for fiscal year 2010, with $20 million of it going to backfill the general fund after state budget cuts to help minimize immediate layoffs and cuts to student programs.

But $15.5 million of the stimulus was set aside, and UI officials urged faculty and staff to submit proposals to generate revenue or promote the university's strategic plan.

UI officials on Friday announced the 18 winning proposals to share in $14 million of that money, projects chosen from more than 200 submissions. The remaining $1.5 million will be awarded later this year.

A faculty and staff committee reviewed the proposals and made recommendations to Provost Wallace Loh and Doug True, senior vice president for finance and operations. Loh and True passed on their preferences to President Sally Mason, who made the final decision.

“The number and quality of the proposals make a powerful statement about the talent and creativity of the faculty and staff,” Mason said.

Some of the plans create efficiencies and help aggregate budgets, cutting $2.6 million in recurring costs, True said. The proposals also could generate $2.7 million in net revenue beginning in fiscal year 2011, he said.

He gave as an example the active learning centers that officials expect will help retains students and increase tuition revenue. That initiative will create six to 10 classrooms for independent learning in skills and small group learning in problem solving.

“The one thing that governed this more than anything was it is one-time spending to get a lasting impact” on students, revenue and expenses, True said.

The proposals fall under five categories:

• Transforming undergraduate education with the active learning centers that offer innovative, collaborative and cost-effective learning in high-tech classrooms.
• Sustainability, specifically energy conservation and water quality.
• UI educational opportunities for Iowans in their home communities.
• Strengthening research capabilities and advanced education.
• Recruiting diverse domestic and international students.

Four of the proposals include infrastructure costs of $500,000 or more, which requires state Board of Regents approval in September.

Project details

1. Active Learning Centers ($3 million) Most campus classrooms are designed for lectures. This initiative by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will create six to 10 classrooms of varying sizes for self-paced, independent learning in skills courses and small group learning in problem-solving courses. The ultimate goal is increased student retention. Every 1 percent increase in first-year student retention translates to $2 million in tuition revenue over four years. The college projects $600,000 in annual savings.

2. Sustainability on campus: Energy conservation and water quality. ($3 million) Energy savings: The “Energy Hawks” initiative will identify energy efficiency opportunities in campus buildings and implement conservation measures. A new Energy Control Center will manage energy use to reduce consumption within controlled buildings. The projected annual utility savings is $1 million. ($500,000) Clean water: The UI Water Plant purifies raw water from the Iowa River and provides clean drinking water for the campus. The College of Engineering maintains student learning and research labs in this facility. The project will provide needed renovations and additions for student and faculty research experiences on water quality and sustainability. ($450,000) Standardization for cost-savings: Standardization of “virtual servers” (one large server to do the work of 30 smaller servers), standard printers, and common storage service will result in immediate and recurrent savings in equipment purchases and energy costs.

3. Educational opportunities for Iowans in their home communities ($645,000) Business education: There are significant numbers of adults in Iowa who, because of work and family obligations, cannot relocate to Iowa City for graduate or baccalaureate education. The Tippie College of Business will expand its MBA for Professionals and Managers program by consolidating and renovating facilities in downtown Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. The result will be increased capacity to meet student demand in these communities. In addition, a partnership between the UI and five community colleges will offer online and on-site degree courses in entrepreneurship. ($300,000) Public health education: The College of Public Health will expand its current capabilities to support distance-based curriculum development and education for public health work force development in rural Iowa communities and throughout the world. This will include the capacity for live web-conferencing. This effort will generate new educational opportunities for students and stimulate tuition revenue growth.

4. Strengthening research capabilities and advanced education ($3 million) Academic computing: To preserve its competitive position in research and teaching, the University must continue to develop its capabilities in cyber-infrastructure: (1) Data center facilities for high-performance computing in the sciences, engineering, and humanities (e.g., Walt Whitman Archive) to process and analyze voluminous amounts of data; (2) electronic systems to store the data; and (3) faculty and student network access that will increase high speed connectivity tenfold (to 1000Mb/s from the current campus standard of 100Mb/s). This will increase student learning and research opportunities and also will bolster the ability to attract external grants. ($1 million) Med Labs Faculty Startup: 3,500SF will be renovated to aid in the recruitment of a director for the new Diabetes Center and accompanying commitments for diabetes research that follow on the recent $25 million gift commitment from the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Moreover, UI will hire faculty and staff in anticipation of the opening of the Iowa Institute for Biomedical Discovery. Stimulus funding for these efforts will create 30 new positions that will occupy the created research space - three faculty and 27 accompanying staff. Instrumentation for research and graduate and undergraduate education ($500,000) • The University will develop an interdisciplinary and laboratory-based curriculum on nano-scale devices in engineering, which is expected to generate $200,000/year in external resources, in addition to providing undergraduate instruction in nanotechnology. It is projected that this field will need highly skilled professionals now and well into the future. ($900,000) • The University plans to acquire: DNA sequencing robots to increase automated sequencing, thereby reducing costs for personnel and outsourcing; a genome sequencer for personalized medicine; an unlimited campuswide license for DNA analysis software in lieu of more expensive, multiple licenses obtained by different campus units; and computer-based microscopy slides for histology courses, saving personnel costs and the space required for traditional glass slides.

5. Beyond traditional markets: Recruiting of diverse domestic and international students ($720,000) The trend in Iowa and other Midwestern states is declining numbers of high school graduates. Competition among universities is increasing in these markets. There are pockets of opportunity, however: Latino immigrants, who are increasing the diversity of Iowa; states beyond those contiguous to Iowa; and emerging economies of the world. UI needs to recruit strategically in both traditional and new markets in order to achieve enrollment goals and contribute to the future Iowa work force. Various offices on campus will develop and implement an integrated enrollment management plan to expand access, recruitment, diversity, and academic success of domestic and international students.