1.14.16 by Iowa State Daily

Thielen director settling in at ISU Baldwin working to improve the Health Center By Sarah.Muller @iowastatedaily.com

Loaded discovery Alumnus uncovers piece of ISU history By Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com One bullet, then two, then three, then a handful had one ISU alumnus researching what he had found on Iowa State’s campus. During summer 2015, Benjamin Worrell, then a senior in civil engineering and now an ISU alumnus, discovered a piece of Iowa State history that had been lost for nearly 100 years. While metal detecting on the south side of Lake Laverne, Worrell discovered a bullet, and then another bullet, and then another. “I [then] had a couple handfuls of bullets by the time I was done that day and I thought

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Just a few days into her tenure at Iowa State, Erin Baldwin is already beginning to treat the ailments of the Thielen Student Health Center identified from a report released in summer 2015. Communication has been the focus for the new director of the Health Center. Baldwin’s also working to help the center become more transparent in its practices, and is becoming a liaison between the Health Center and the community. “It’s just making sure the team has the resources they need to best serve the students,” Baldwin said. She has embraced the action plan formed by campus administrators, including Mary Hensley, who served as interim director of the Health Center. The plan was formed based on the 15 recommendations given by the Keeling Associate Health Report in 2015, which found the Health Center to be in poor condition. “My plan is to look at everything that’s been done, everything that’s in progress, and then take it to the next level of what the future looks like for us,” Baldwin said. Martino Harmon, associate vice president of Student Affairs who headed the search for the new director, said he’s most excited about Baldwin’s experience in the health care field. “Even though we are not as large as where [Baldwin] came from, we have a complex organization where we have a variety of services that we provide,” Harmon said. Harmon said the top priority

Courtesy of Iowa State University Erin Baldwin is the new Thielen Student Health Center director at Iowa State.

from the report was addressing a lack of leadership, an element that led to hiring Baldwin. However, Harmon said the university has made progress on each of the 15 recommendations. “What I sense, and what I’m very optimistic about, is that the staff morale will increase because there is a sense of permanency,” Harmon said. “She will set the direction and that will be the direction we go in.” In order to improve access, the Health Center has scouted out more physicians and nurses. As a step forward, the center has signed an agreement with McFarland Clinic to procure additional part-time physicians who will work extra hours if the Health Center’s physicians are unavailable. The Health Center has added medically certified assistants to manage the reception desks. “The level of customer service and the medical knowledge they have is an improvement over the previous scenario, where we had people who didn’t have any training upfront,” Harmon said. On a technological side, the Health Center has begun sending

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Branstad budget increases regents’ funding Governor lays out $8 million of $20 million request By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com Gov. Terry Branstad’s budget released on Tuesday provides an increase of just under $8 million for Iowa regent schools, well below the $20 million requested across the board for the state’s three public universities. Listed on page 672 of his budget, which was released while he delivered his annual Condition of the State, the budget allocates $7,934,042 for “FY 17 Regents Increase.” The Iowa Board of Regents is

the governing body that oversees the state’s three public universities — Iowa State University, The University of Iowa and The University of Northern Iowa. The allocation in Branstad’s budget is well below what was requested during the Sept. 9 meeting of the Regents, where the board unanimously approved a motion asking the state for a $20.3 million increase in general university support. The $7,934,042 does not even total what Iowa State University alone was requesting in general support. Iowa State asked the regents for $8,190,000 to “maintain educational excellence, promote student success, and keep tuition affordable.” The University of Iowa was asking for a $4,500,000 increase, while the University of Northern Iowa asked for a $7,650,000

Iowa State Daily

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad speaks at the 2014 Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014 at Stephens Auditorium. Branstad’s budget that was released Tuesday includes $8 million for Iowa regent school, which is $12 million less than the amount requested.

increase in general university funding. President Steven Leath told

the Daily in an interview Monday that while he understands it will be a tight budget year, the $8 mil-

lion increase was necessary based on enrollment and the need to keep offering a quality education. “The legislature needs to know if they give us money, we will use it wisely,” Leath said. “We won’t waste it. They need to know there is a lot of Iowa kids here so it makes sense for Iowa tax money to come here. And they need to know we care about the state.” The budget allocation comes following a year of tense negotiations back and forth over education funding for both K-12 schools and higher education in the state. The legislature approved onetime funding that was vetoed by Branstad after he called the practice “unsustainable.” Branstad’s Condition of the State address did not include a mention of his funding levels at

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Police have no leads in Lincoln Way hit-and-run By Makayla.Tendall @iowastatedaily.com The Ames Police Department still has no explanation as to why Emmalee Jacobs, freshman in business, died after a hitand-run on Lincoln Way on Dec. 14. Jacobs was found by ISU Police lying in the street at Lincoln Way and Ash Avenue at 7:04 a.m. that foggy Monday. Her injuries were consistent with those sustained from being hit by

a vehicle, said Jason Tuttle, Ames Police investigations commander. Jacobs died in Mary Greeley Medical Center shortly after police found her. She lived at Buchanan Hall, located on the corner of Lincoln Way and Ash Avenue. Jacobs was on her way to her first final at 7:30 a.m., her father, Brad Jacobs said. Tuttle said the department has received more than 60 tips since the incident, but none of the tips

have led to a lead. “A lot of the tips that we received were very generic,” Tuttle said. “We would go look at the vehicle and talk with the owner and find out the damage happened two years ago.” The week of the incident, Tuttle said all of the department’s detectives were working on the case, which is typical whenever there is a case where serious injury or death occurred. Police checked security cameras on buildings sur-

rounding the scene of the incident, but they were not able to see much as it was dark and raining that morning. Detectives checked the auto repair shops in Ames, Boone, Nevada and other nearby cities but have received no leads since. Tuttle said there is no timeline available for when they may find the person responsible for Emmalee Jacobs’ death. During a hitand-run case in 2006, Tuttle said it was several months before police had a suspect. The Jacobs family may

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have to endure a wait, but Brad Jacobs said he is confident the person responsible or someone who knows them will eventually come forward, providing the family with some closure so they know how Emmalee Jacobs’ life ended. Brad Jacobs said the family is getting back to a routine after the holidays spent without one member of their family. “The busy parts of the day go by quicker,” he said. “The parts of the day that are slower, that’s when it’s

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tougher because we have time to reflect and think about Emmalee. It’s hard because you still think Emmalee will be able to walk through the door.” Dalton Jacobs, senior in mechanical engineering and Emalee’s brother, began his last semester. Brad Jacobs said the university has been supportive and made the family aware of support services like Student Counseling Services. The Urbana and Cen-

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