Iowa
State University Alumni Association| online edition | fall 2009
FALL 2009
Home
Cover
Story:
Your Way
Feature Story:
Just another Saturday in October
Departments:
Getting Started
Letters
Around Campus
>>Association News
Isn't it amazing?
ISU Alumni Center donor spotlight
Isn't it amazing? (Return to top)
Dear Iowa Staters,
Little did my wife, Peggy, our
children, and I know what we had in store for us when I accepted a job offer to come to Iowa State 10 years ago. Yes,
we knew about the rigorous academics, the awesome loyalty of students and alumni, the athletics history, and even how highly regarded this Alumni Association was – thanks to Jim Hopson, his predecessors,
and staffs.
But as we have learned during our time here, Iowans – especially Iowa Staters – don’t brag or boast. They just take the attitude of the Nike slogan: “Just do it.” But they add the words, “And don’t tell anybody.” Remember, to do so would be bragging.
So what else have we found out about Iowa State? This campus is absolutely beautiful! For 10 years, Peggy and I have done our best to see and enjoy as much of it as we can.
In June, Roy and Bobbi Reiman were on campus to kick off their first Our Iowa tour across Iowa. (Our Iowa
is a new, awesome magazine that Roy started with business partner Jerry Wiebel.) After the group had loaded and pulled away from Reiman Gardens, I decided to spend some time taking in the new plantings and the special dinosaur exhibition. I was in a world to myself. I had a blast! I kept telling myself how special this place – and the ISU campus – really is.
We have so many treasures scattered around the campus, but, for most of us, we tend to stay with our normal routine and on our same travel paths. I encourage you to stop what you are doing and make a list of your 10 favorite places on campus and plan on visiting them. See if there have been any changes – or just make sure you have seen them lately. Whether you live in Ames, in Iowa, or somewhere else, just put on your walking shoes and come see the place! I promise you won’t regret it.
Next, surprise yourself and go to 10 places on campus that you know nothing about. I think you’ll be like Peggy and me – simply amazed! There are works of art, interesting people, building renovations, new facilities, and historic gems awaiting you. Have you been to the University Archives in Parks Library? Have you been through the new Anderson Sculpture Garden? How about the beautifully renovated Morrill Hall or The Hub? Have you seen the renovations to Snedecor and the auditorium in Curtiss Hall? These two renovations are going to take your breath away!
OK, I have to ask: Have you been in the new ISU Alumni Center? I admit I am biased, but this is a must-see new campus treasure! Then, there are all the changes to Vet Med, the new Gerdin Business Building, the MU renovations, the new dining options and residence halls, additions to the College of Design, and the many changes to Hilton and Jack Trice Stadium. Have you been to the Joan Bice Underwood Tea Room recently or to the Ensminger Room in Kildee Hall? The Iowa State campus offers a treasure trove of places to visit, things to do, and people to visit. There’s no way to list them
all here.
If you are a student reading this, I especially want to encourage you to take in the full campus while you are here. Experience an art walk with the University Museums staff. Attend a play or concert. Sit on Central Campus and listen to the carillon. See the Grant Wood murals in Parks Library. Take your photo by the bronze Cy, or check out the nighttime light show of the Cyclone Tower at the ISU Alumni Center. At times, Peggy and I just pinch ourselves! It is hard to believe that we get to be a part of this very special place – Iowa State University!
We hope to run into you at one of the amazing places on this campus sometime soon. Until then, I remain…yours for Iowa State!
Jeff Johnson
President, ISU Alumni Association
P.S. Go to www.fpm.iastate.edu/maps/ to map out your next visit to Iowa State!
ISU Alumni Center donor spotlight (Return to top)
About the Goerings’ Alumni
Center gift:
The Communications Production Room and Gallery of VISIONS Covers
VISIONS asked Don and Doris Goering about their decision to make a gift to the ISU Alumni Center.
“When we came to talk to Jeff Johnson, we were thinking about donating for something else. Then he showed us the Communications Production Room, and we went home and talked about how communication is really part of our lives,” said Don.
“Don has been very active in Extension and 4-H communications,” Doris said. “I’ve been very active in 4-H communications as a volunteer leader. Our children both have communications as part of their academic studies. Our two granddaughters are very involved in 4-H communications. So considering all of that, that’s why we did it.”
“The Alumni Center gives all of us alums and friends a home,” said Don. “It provides an alumni gathering area. And there are lots of memories here with the various things that have been built into the building: the staircase, the windows, the Memorial Union doors. It brings lots of memories back of your time here on campus. It’s pretty unique in that respect.”
Donald and Doris (Cassens) Goering
Ames, Iowa
Don:
• ’58 farm op and ag education; MS ’70 adult ed, PhD ’78
• 39-plus years in Extension and 4-H, as county Extension youth assistant,
county Extension director, Extension personnel officer, and state 4-H youth development specialist
• Involved in Rotary International
• Retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve
Doris:
• University of Northern Iowa graduate (’62 elementary ed, MA ’72)
• Special education certification, ISU
• Second-grade, third-grade, and
special education teacher in Iowa school districts
• Involved as a 4-H communications leader and in PEO
Both:
• Members of the ISU Parents Association Board when their children were at ISU
• ISU 4-H alumni
• Sponsor Goering 4-H Communications Scholarship
• Sponsor UNI Elementary Education Scholarship
• Support ISU Athletics and ISU Cyclone Football “Varsity” Marching Band
Children:
Deborah Goering Sinclair:
’83 home economics journalism
Dennis H. Goering:
’86 speech communication
Grandchildren:
Heather and Hannah Sinclair
Rees Goering
Making a gift to the Alumni Center
Gifts to this project can be made in cash or stock or
paid in full over a three- to five-year period. Naming gifts must be cash or stock. Deferred gifts to the operating endowment are also welcome. Current donors interested in making an additional gift or alumni and friends interested in making an outright gift and/or naming
one of the remaining spaces, please contact:
Jeff Johnson, president, ISU Alumni Association, 877-ISU-ALUM, jjohnson@alumni.iastate.edu; or Dan Saftig, president, ISU Foundation, 515-294-6511, dsaftig@iastate.edu. Gifts to this project are tax-deductible, count toward one’s total lifetime giving to the university and in the university’s current campaign, Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, and qualify or support one’s membership in the Order of
the Knoll.
Remaining Giving and Naming Opportunities
Interior Spaces
Third Floor
Hall of Alumni Association Leadership $125,000
Office Coordinator's Office $15,000
Assistant Director’s Office $15,000
First Floor
General Production Room $75,000
Exterior Spaces
East Plaza $200,000
Landscaping Spaces
Board Room Gardens $150,000
Traditions Gardens $200,000
East Terrace Gardens $75,000
West Alumni Lawn and Gardens $150,000
Special Gifts
Seven tripod easels $100 each or a single gift of $700
Four pedestal sign frames $150 each or a single gift of $600
Two storage cabinets $300 each or a single gift of $600
Framing and matting materials $5,000
for historical photos
Window shades for staff offices $12,000
“Beat Iowa” banners $2,000
Books written about Iowa State or Iowa Staters
Books written by ISU alumni, faculty, staff or students
To view a complete list of ISU Alumni Center named spaces and donors, go to: www.isualum.org/alumnicenter/donors