IU needs research facilities

A new report states IU has an immediate need for research space on the Bloomington campus -- otherwise, it might not reach its full potential as a research institute. At IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, needs are also pressing, and more than one million square feet of new space will be needed within 10 years, according to the report.\nThis report, commissioned by Michael McRobbie, IU's vice president of research, challenges the University to consider and reprioritize the needs of free research and creative space in many disciplines at IU. The report was compiled by special task forces of faculty, staff and administrators at the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses.\n"We believe that this represents a very grave situation and represents possibly the biggest single impediment to IU reaching its full potential as a research university," the task force wrote in the report. \nMcRobbie said he believes this report clarifies the need for more space that he has been hearing about from individuals for many years.\n"Everyone always had their own stories of space issues, but until this report, I don't think anyone had any idea of the scope of this," McRobbie said. "This is a bedrock from which to start planning."\nPlanning, based on the needs stated in the report, will begin immediately, as McRobbie has a preliminary planning meeting with University Master Planner John Bell, University Architect Bob Meadows, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Clapacs and others scheduled for today. \nMeadows is quite optimistic about planning for solutions, even betting that within six months the University will create a comprehensive plan of action. \n"We're facilitators. We try to make things happen," Meadows said. "There's more than adequate space here. The challenge is for the University to decide how they'll go about funding it."\nTask force members included possible funding solutions in the report, including looking into "self-funding" research space that can be paid for with University funds or bonds without waiting for the state to approve buildings. The report also suggests giving capital projects a higher priority in fund-raising campaigns.\nHowever the issue is solved, it won't be ignored. IU President Adam Herbert even highlighted the issues involved in IU's research infrastructure in his State of the University speech last Tuesday.\n"We can neither sustain nor build upon our reputation without additional research space that enables us to expand our faculty and research programs in fast-growing fields," Herbert said in his speech. "IU ranks toward the bottom of the Big Ten in terms of non-class laboratory and creative space."\nThe problem can hardly be solved overnight. In fact, McRobbie estimates that planning taking place now will set the stage for IU's expansion during the next 15 to 20 years.\n"This report is a small start -- but it's a start," he said.\n-- Contact health and science editor Kelly Phillips at \nkephilli@indiana.edu.