AMES, Iowa -- The Hixson-Lied Student Success Center, a new facility designed to help Iowa State students perform better in the classroom, will officially be dedicated during a ceremony Friday, Feb. 23, at 1:30 p.m.
The new center, located on Beach Road, provides services directed to any student in need of academic counseling, tutoring and testing. The 33,500-square-foot building includes tutoring rooms, computer labs, counselor offices, testing centers, classrooms, study lounges and other spaces designed to give students the best resources to do well in school.
'All of our students will benefit'
"The opening of this beautiful facility is another example of Iowa State's ongoing dedication to students and their quest for excellence," said Thomas Hill, Iowa State's vice president for student affairs. "All of our students will benefit and have greater opportunity for academic achievement."
The new center houses three units -- the Christina Hixson Opportunity Awards Program, the Rod and Connie French Athletic Academic Center, and the Academic Success Center.
The Christina Hixson Opportunity Awards have supported up to 400 undergraduates each year since 1995. These scholarships are for Iowa high school students who are academically capable of college, but who have little hope of attending without financial assistance. The Lied Foundation Trust of Las Vegas gave $5 million to support this project. Christina M. Hixson, also from Las Vegas, is the sole trustee of the Lied Foundation Trust and has given generously to support Iowa State students in the past.
Academic support for student-athletes
The Rod and Connie French Athletic Academic Center will serve student-athletes in need of customized academic and personal development programs, study groups, tutoring and other services to help student-athletes complete their degrees. Rod and Connie French of West Des Moines are longtime supporters of Iowa State and gave $1.5 million in support of this project.
"This center will help provide the very best academic support for our student-athletes," said Jamie Pollard, Iowa State's athletics director. "Our student-athletes have a significant challenge in balancing their academic and athletics responsibilities and this facility will greatly assist those efforts. In addition, this great building will serve as a new recruiting tool for our athletics program."
The Academic Success Center is a collection of services and programs designed to help students reach their academic goals. There is individualized or small group help available for general academic work and course-specific assistance. Other services provided by the Academic Success Center, such as the disability resources office, continue to be housed in the Student Services Building.
The dedication ceremony will include remarks by Hixson; Rod and Connie French, Hill and Pollard. Also speaking will be Gregory Geoffroy, ISU president; Dan Saftig, president of the Iowa State University Foundation; Jason Scales, a junior student-athlete majoring in industrial technology from West Des Moines; and Amanda Rubin, a junior Hixson Scholar from Clarinda majoring in psychology.
Private gifts fund project
The $10 million funding for this project was accomplished entirely through private gifts.
"The Hixson-Lied Student Success Center is yet another example of the loyal support that alumni and friends have for Iowa State and its students," said Saftig. "This project is much more than a building. It's a way for us to positively impact student retention and recruitment, graduation rates and the academic success of all our students."