Giving Back to ISU

The construction of Hach Hall, the new chemistry building at Iowa State University, is just one of the funds that current and retired faculty and staff have contributed to during Campaign Iowa State.

The figures are impressive. Over $660 million raised during Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose. More than 100,000 benefactors.

But the figures are just as impressive for the campus portion of Campaign Iowa State. More than $25 million has been contributed by more than 3500 current and retired Iowa State University faculty and staff.

"The support we have received from the campus community has been outstanding," said Melissa Hanna, executive director of annual and special gifts with the ISU Foundation. "We are well on our way to hitting our campaign goal of $28 million."

Contributions by faculty and staff are spread throughout the campaign — from establishing new endowed faculty positions and student scholarships to contributing to new facilities and programmatic support.

One fund that has seen considerable faculty support is Hach Hall, the new chemistry facility. A number of current and retired faculty members from the department of chemistry have contributed to that project.

Those contributors include Bob and Jenna McCarley of Ames. Bob McCarley served on the chemistry faculty from 1957 to 1997, including a four-year stint as department chair between 1973 and 1977.

Because of his deep appreciation for the department, the McCarleys didn’t hesitate to make a contribution to the new Hach Hall.

"I could see a great need for such a facility (while he was department chair)," Bob McCarley said. "I realized it was essential for the recruitment of faculty and graduate students and even the recruitment of undergraduate students."

The ISU Foundation has also established the ISU Budget Reduction Support fund for faculty and staff who wish to help offset the FY09 budget reductions at the university. All contributed funds provided to Iowa State by June 30, 2009, will directly offset budget reductions this fiscal year.

As of March 19, more than 100 faculty and staff are participating in the program with more than $93,000 contributed.

For those faculty and staff who choose this option, these contributions will be generally tax deductible if the individual taxpayer itemizes deductions on their tax returns.

Like all donations to the ISU Foundation, faculty and staff participating in this voluntary program can designate their contributions to a specific college, unit or department. Contributions may be made through payroll deductions (must be fully paid by June 30, 2009), cash or credit card.

Faculty and staff with questions on this program should contact Mike Wahlin at the ISU Foundation at 294-9944 or mwahlin@foundation.iastate.edu.

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