The exterior of the new $84 million Student Innovation Center at Iowa State. The facility’s grand opening was originally set for April 17, but was postponed to the fall. CREDIT ISU
By Adam Moore
adam@corridorbusiness.com
One of Wendy Wintersteen’s favorite quotes comes from Winston Churchill, and is apt for the current COVID-19 crisis: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Speaking virtually to Cedar Rapids’ Downtown Rotary on May 4, the president of Iowa State University noted that leaders at her institution have since adapted that famous phrase to sum up their current mindset: “If you’re going through hell, keep innovating.”
“We are in the process of thinking creatively about how we can do things differently,” Ms. Wintersteen said, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has already spurred the transition of more than 6,000 classes to virtual formats, delayed the opening of the university’s $84 million Student Innovation Center, and led to major changes in the university’s plans for the summer – and potentially the fall.
Ms. Wintersteen said the projected financial impact on Iowa State from the start of March to the end of August is estimated to be more than $88 million, taking into account both the amount of money spent to address the crisis and losses from the university’s research enterprises. While the university received $22 million in assistance from the federal government, roughly half of that was reserved for students needing financial assistance.
The university has already begun implementing a 5% budget reduction across campus, Ms. Wintersteen said, and is expecting even more cuts as the Iowa Legislature reconvenes and addresses the state budget, which is facing a sharp drop in tax receipts, the Business Record reports.
In the meantime, Iowa State’s “faculty and staff have brought the weight of their research expertise to the table” to help fight COVID-19. Ms. Wintersteen highlighted the efforts of the university’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL), which collaborated with the State Hygienic Lab in Coralville to double the volume of COVID-19 testing in the state, and promising research underway, including work on metal oxide nanomaterials that could offer expanded antibacterial and virus protection in coming years.
“That’s big research that will make a difference in the future,” Ms. Wintersteen said.
She said the VDL is preparing to begin antibody testing as the next step to helping Iowa recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Antibody tests can show who has been exposed to, and recovered from, the disease, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are expected to help identify who is safe to return to work, as well as potential donors of “convalescent plasma,” an approach in which blood plasma containing antibodies from a recovered individual serves as a therapy for an infected patient.
“Antibodies are the next step, and we’re learning more about that,” Ms. Wintersteen said. “But we have great resources at universities across the state, and we’re going to be a great partner. When people ask us to help, we stand up.”
Most of Iowa State’s summer programming has been postponed to next year, but the fall semester was the big question for the nearly 100 Rotarians in attendance. Ms. Wintersteen acknowledged the uncertainty, noting that Board of Regents President Mike Richards has stated his intent to reopen campuses in August, but that “that decision will only be made if supported by guidance from the CDC, Iowa Department of Public Health and others.”
In the meantime, Iowa State has created a fall planning committee to explore the process of bringing students back to campus, likely along a “hybrid model, with some live instruction and some online courses,” and virtual tours of the campus are being conducted for prospective students. Social distancing will be a constant; a decision on football remains off in the distance.
“We’ll have a plan in place that will reflect our priority to create a safe environment where we can protect students, faculty and staff,” Ms. Wintersteen said. “We’re going to find our path forward, and I’m optimistic about the future and the opportunities that lie in front of us.” CBJ
