1.10.17

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Tuesday, January 10, 2017 | Volume 212 | Number 77 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.

GEOFFROY HALL Constructing community growth HOW DO YOU SAY IT?

Geoffroy JOE-FREE

Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily

Iowa State President Steven Leath speaks with Leroy Brown, a construction manager with Facilities, Planning and Management, outside of Geoffroy Hall on Nov. 7, 2016. Brown is one of the primary planners of the new residence hall and has worked on other buildings on campus, including several Freddy Court apartments.

By Emily.Schroer and Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com

CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE

T

o Iowa State Student Body President Cole Staudt, the newest addition to Iowa State’s landscape is something that embodies the impact the student voice has on campus. “Gregory L. Geoffroy Hall,” or rather Geoffroy Hall, opened its doors to students on Thursday, nearly two years after being approved by the Iowa Board of Regents. Staudt, who has previously served as the vice president of the Inter-Residence Hall Association, worked closely with administration during the planning of the building, particularly involving the design. Geoffroy Hall will inevitably help ease the growing pains of the university and its enrollment as it has a capacity of 784 students and tops out at seven floors. It is named after Iowa State’s former president Gregory Geoffroy, who retired in 2012. “A lot of people in the Ames community and throughout the country know President Geoffroy and his work at Iowa State,” said Brittney Rutherford, the program coordinator with the Department of Residence and ISU Dining.

December 2014: The Iowa Board of Regents approves the proposal for a new residence hall at Iowa State. May 11, 2015: The Opus Group is given access to the construction site. The residence hall is dubbed “Buchanan 2.”

October 2016: The Iowa Board of Regents approves “Gregory L. Geoffroy Hall” as the official name of the new building.

March 2015: The Opus Group is selected as the company to construct the new residence hall.

July 2015: Construction of the residence hall offically begins.

December 2016: Construction is completed on Geoffroy Hall.

January 2017: Students move into Geoffroy Hall.

GEOFFROY p8

Regent universities’ Phased Retirement Program facing potential expiration By Michael.Heckle @iowastatedaily.com Regent employees who wish to retire using the Phased Retirement Program may want to do so sooner rather than later. Without a Board of Regents’ decision on whether to renew the program, Phased Retirement across all regent schools will sunset June 30. Phased Retirement allows eligible employees to ease into retirement over a period of two to five years by providing them with a shorter work schedule and a percentage of their full-time pay. In general, employees who enroll in the program will work 50 to 65 percent of their full-time hours and receive 50 to 65 percent of their full-time salary during the first four years. In addition, employees receive an additional 10 percent of their salary, as well as benefits and retirement contributions to TIAA/CREF. During the final year of the program, an employee will work 50 percent of their fulltime work schedule with 50 percent of their full-time salary. It is important to note, however, that Phased Retirement is not a guaranteed benefit and more specific agreements will be made on a case-by-case basis. “The pros are really allowing the employee who is close to retirement [and] may not want to work a full-time schedule to basically transition into retirement,” said Ed Holland, benefits director in university human resources at Iowa State. “It’s more of a soft landing as opposed to one day I’m working full time and the next day I’m done.” Faculty, staff and Merit employees at regent universities, special schools or the board officers who are over the age of 57 and have at least 15 years of service with the Board of Regents are eligible for the program. The 15 years do not have to be consecutive. Interested employees should submit an application to their supervisor by March 1 in order to be approved by the program’s potential sunset date in June. The Phased Retirement Program has existed at regent universities since 1982 and has been renewed every five years. Josh Lehman, senior communication manager for the Board of Regents, said the decision on whether to keep the program hasn’t been made. “Essentially, unless the board takes action at a meeting prior to June 30, the program will sunset,” Lehman said. Holland said about 30 to 40 Iowa State University employees chose to enroll in the Phased Retirement Program on a yearly basis. However, as the program comes to a potential close, Holland believes enrollment will increase as more and more employees become aware of it. “I think for those folks who are close to retirement and may have been considering it to begin with, there may be some questions because there is some ambiguity right now,” Holland said. Holland said that while no replacement for the Phased Retirement Program currently exists, there are always options that employers and employees can look into when it comes to retirement. He also said that Iowa State and other regent universities are discussing what to do moving forward.

Pipeline protests continue Professor touts ‘Perennial Power’ By Nik.Heftman @iowastatedaily.com

By Andria.Homewood @iowastatedaily.com

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI), a membership-based grassroots organization, will continue its protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, despite a hold being placed on construction for the winter. Bret Dublinske, attorney for Dakota Access, the company building the pipeline, released a letter Dec. 19 on behalf of Dakota Access stating construction activities will conclude no later than Dec. 24. Construction will resume in spring 2017. “At present, all pipeline construction has been completed in Iowa with the exception of a limited

As years progress, scientists and researchers have found evidence of climate change and global warming. With imminent climate changes happening on our planet, many people are starting to wonder what’s next in an economy that runs on fossil fuels. Emily Heaton, associate professor of agronomy, gave her keynote presentation “Perennial Power!” Monday night to about 20 people as part of the Osborn Club Lecture series. Her presentation explored the steps needed to transition from a fossil-based economy to a plant-based one. The Osborn Club was founded in 1921 as a way for scientists from all areas to

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement will continue to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline despite construction being halted.

amount of post-construction restoration activities on some remaining parcels in Iowa (the “Re-

maining Restoration Activities”),” the letter read.

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exchange knowledge. Each meeting consists of a presentation of research from a faculty member on campus. Heaton’s presentation started with biomass, organic organisms used to create energy. She compared how much biomass the United States uses for energy to how much fossil fuels, natural gas and coal are used. Petroleum is still the king of energy, making up more than 30 quadrillion British thermal units, or just over 31 billion joules. Biomass still remains a small part of the energy Americans use. Heaton hopes to expand biomass as an energy option because of the way plants, specifically perennial grasses, create energy and how quickly they grow. “All plants are solar collectors, and some do it better

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than others,” Heaton said. Plants, through photosynthesis, create oxygen and sugars, which are both beneficial to humans. Plants are extremely important to energy producers, who can use the sugars in plants to create affordable and renewable energy. Heaton presented a table of plants she studied, looking at which plants were better at things like photosynthesis, recycling nutrients to roots, non-invasive, high water use efficiency and pest control. She looked at maize, trees and perennial grasses. Perennial grasses were the winner in these cases and are the best plan of action to create more renewable energy without harming the environment. In fact, this type of energy

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