ISU, UNI express interest in using AIB campus
University of Iowa President Sally Mason on Thursday said she is open to working with Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa to expand offerings at the AIB College of Business in Des Moines when U of I takes control of the property in July 2016.
AIB announced last month that it plans to donate the 20-acre campus, assessed at $21.5 million, to the Iowa City-based university, along with any leftover endowment money. Iowa Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter called it a $30 million donation in comments to regents in Cedar Falls on Thursday, but details still are being reviewed. The regents took no action.
Mason and AIB President Nancy Williams had recently announced the site would be called University of Iowa-Des Moines after the donation, but that abruptly changed. On Thursday, Mason told regents the AIB campus now will morph into a Regional Regents Center. U of I will operate the campus, but it could provide courses and programs from the other two state schools, she said. Generally, regents centers cater both to full-time students and to working professionals.
Rastetter told fellow regents that both ISU and UNI had expressed interest in offering degrees or programs at the Fleur Drive campus. Mason went out of her way to speak of possible cooperation among the schools.
In related news, AIB announced Thursday that it’s previous promise that all current students would be able to finish their degree programs at the campus was off-base. Many students will need to transfer to another school to get a degree, and they’ll have to meet U of I’s usual standards if they want to attend Iowa classes.
No freshman class will be admitted this fall at AIB.
AIB officials also announced that it will end its athletics program after the spring season.
Much of the intrigue about the U of I takeover of AIB has surrounded how the other Regents institutions would react to Iowa making such a big play in the key Des Moines market, where ISU, in particular, has been heavily involved in economic development efforts and recruiting.
Little has been said publicly, but comments by Rastetter and Mason at Thursday’s Regents meeting made it clear that opportunities at the AIB campus have been discussed well beyond the U of I campus.
In addition to taking over the AIB campus, U of I will continue to own and run the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center in downtown Des Moines. That site used to house educational offerings from ISU, UNI and Iowa, and other schools, but that collaboration fizzled. U of I bought the building in 2008, and now operates it. The Iowa City-based school will continue to offer classes there.