IU implements new text messaging alert service
About 2,600 students registered for the IU text messaging component of the IU-Notify emergency notification service, which became available in early December.\nMark S. Bruhn, associate vice president for information and infrastructure assurance, said cell phones are the fastest way for IU to notify students in an emergency. \nStudents who sign up for the service will be able to receive any critical notifications from IU through text messages.\n“It is important students understand where the message is coming from and do not ignore it,” Bruhn said.\nStudents register for the service by providing a cell phone number to the University, Bruhn said. Students can still register for the service by updating their contact information on OneStart. Once students log onto OneStart they can click on the notifications tab and then the click on the add student contact info link to the left of their screen, Bruhn said. \n“It’s important students add this information because that is going to be the best way to reach them in the event of an emergency,” Bruhn said.
Dorms will be renovated as early as spring 2008
The IU board of trustees approved a five-year plan to upgrade housing for 2,000 students at an estimated cost of $113.5 million.\n“It’s time to create some new housing and the kind of housing we think students will want,” said Larry MacIntyre, director of media relations. \nThe plan, which is a result of IU President Michael McRobbie’s desire to upgrade student housing, will be implemented in two phases, according to a Dec. 7 press release. The first phase will be the construction of a new facility at the former Ashton Complex site at 10th and Union streets. Construction could begin in early spring and must be completed within a year and a half to be able to start the second phase of the project, MacIntyre said. \nThe second phase will call for the transition of the current dorm rooms in Briscoe and Forest to suite-style housing. The number of beds in those facilities will be reduced from 2,080 to 1,200 when the dorm rooms are converted to suites. The new beds in Ashton will compensate for the reduced number of beds in Briscoe and Forest, according to the press release. \nIU decided to change the current dorm rooms to suite style rooms as a result of student demand, said Patrick Connor, executive director of Residential Projects and Services. \n“The plan is to come back to the next trustees meeting with the next step,” Connor said. \nIU will sell bonds to banks to pay the estimated $113.5 million cost of the five-year plan, MacIntyre said. He said he doesn’t think the upgrade will result in a significant increase in residential fees. \n“I suspect fees will slowly increase, but there’s not going to be a big jump,” MacIntyre said.
University receives gift from Lilly Endowment
The IU School of Law and the Jacobs School of Music received a $69 million gift from the Lilly Endowment to help secure world-class faculty and facilities.\nThe gift provides $44 million to the Jacobs School to build a North Studio Building and $25 million to the law school to attract some of the nation’s top legal experts. Both gifts are the largest in the history for the respective schools.\nMcRobbie credited the Lilly Endowment not only for their latest gift, but their long history of helping the University. He said during recent decades, Lilly has given the University about $400 million. \n“One of the great strengths of American education is the remarkable role played by philanthropy,” McRobbie said. \nGwyn Richards, Jacobs School of Music dean, said as technology is changing the way music is consumed and produced, the gift is essential in preparing the University for those adjustments. \nThe North Studio Building is expected to be built and ready for use near 2010 and will provide more studio and practice space. It will also have advanced temperature and humidity controls, which are essential to preserving millions of dollars worth of musical instruments, according to an IU media release.\nRichards said the endowment is important because it allows the school to maintain its status as a nationally acclaimed institution, while allowing the school to look toward the future. \n“It is a stirring moment to have the opportunity to consider what is just off the horizon,” Richards said. “What once seemed so far in the future is now in reach thanks to the endowment.”
