The small business school Everett O. Fenton established in the Victoria Hotel, the place once known for its downtown typing classes, home of the Eagles, soon may sport the tiger hawk of the University of Iowa, ending an era.

U of I President Sally Mason envisions a full slate of business offerings if U of I takes over the south Des Moines campus of AIB College of Business, as proposed. U of I might add bachelor’s and master’s degrees in other subjects, she added at a Monday press conference.  The Iowa City-based public university plans to keep its downtown presence at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center.

Mason said U of I courses could be offered as early as this fall at AIB. The full conversion should be done by June 2016. The Board of Regents has to approve the donation of AIB to U of I.

The conversion of AIB to a branch of the University of Iowa would spell the end of a family operation that has been a Des Moines institution for nearly a century. But Des Moines leaders – some of whom filled a row at the AIB press conference announcing the proposal Monday – said the change should be good for economic development in Des Moines. They discounted any thought that it would hurt other schools in the area, including Drake University, Simpson College, Grand View University and U of I’s sister public school less than 40 miles to the north, Iowa State University.

“My mother, father, and uncle are all AIB grads,” said Bill Knapp II, chairman of Knapp Properties. “I have a very soft spot in my heart for AIB.”

Knapp said he doesn’t see a downside to donation of AIB to the University of Iowa, which must be approved by the Board of Regents.

“There is a complementary climate in higher education,” Knapp said. “I don’t think Drake and AIB and U of I have been competing with each other for students.”

Monday’s press conference audience included one power row that was hard to miss. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie sat near City Councilwoman Christine Hensley, Knapp Properties CEO Gerry Neugent, Knapp, and Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.  Up front was Chris Costa, another Knapp representative, who happens to serve as AIB’s board chairman.

Costa sees this as a win for Des Moines business. “Our board is predominantly comprised by business people,” Costa said. “We feel strongly that maintaining healthy colleges and universities in the Des Moines metropolitan area enhances our workforce and improves the quality of life for all of Central Iowa. And expanding access to a nationally recognized university like Iowa is good for the whole state.”

Some wondered what Iowa State University’s administration thinks of this move. ISU has worked to solidify connections in Des Moines, too, and has offered classes in the area for years. President Steven Leath is a key player in the Cultivation Corridor initiative, one of the biggest business projects in the area, which is an effort to come up with Central Iowa’s answer to California’s Silicon Valley, focusing on biosciences and related industries.

ISU President Steven Leath on Monday said he had just learned of the deal and didn’t have enough information yet to comment in detail. “As I only learned of this today, it will be helpful to learn more about the expected curriculum and programs to be offered through this transaction and how they fit with existing educational opportunities,” Leath said in a statement. 

 

Des Moines Area Community College President Rob Denson, who like many others was surprised by the announcement, said the proposal raises questions. One of the biggest: will Iowa let DMACC teach the first two years of the programs, then have the students finish at the Iowa campus in Des Moines? Or will Iowa run four-year programs in Des Moines? DMACC has a history of joint programs with U of I.

 

Drake University officials, who are embarking on a $65 million effort to build a STEM campus and to add specialized degree programs to build on its business offerings, didn’t have an immediate comment. 

 

At the press conference, a reporter asked about the fate of the AIB sports program, which includes a women’s basketball team that produced 23 All-Americans. The presidents of the schools said they aren’t sure yet. For more than 20 years, the women’s basketball team, which produced 23 All-Americans and toured the United States, Canada and Mexico, was a powerhouse in national competition.

The idea for the U of I takeover came when Williams, who has two sons attending the school, stopped in to see Mason last summer. She noted AIB has little debt — $1.5 million – and an endowment of $7 million. She mentioned that there wouldn’t be a sale of the campus to Iowa, but rather a donation.

If the donation is approved, Williams will have found a way to turn over AIB’s operations to a large public university that has been actively looking for ways to raise its profile in Des Moines. And she will have ended the AIB family reign that goes back to her grandfather.

Everett Fenton ran AIB, founded in 1921, until he retired in 1957. The school had shifted from the hotel to 10th and Grand for a long stint downtown before landing at the current campus at Fleur and Bell.

Fenton’s son, Keith, was on the job from 1957 to 1998. Keith’s daughter, Nancy Williams, has run the school since 1999.

In 2009, Williams told Des Moines Register reporter Jane Schorer Meisner that she was already thinking of early retirement as she approached 30 years on the AIB campus in one role or another. Coincidentally, Schorer Meisner now works for Williams in public relations at the school.

A recording of the press conference is available here: http://now.uiowa.edu