(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents facilities committee has given approval for the renovation of the Commons building on the University of Northern Iowa campus. U-N-I vice president Michael Hager says they’ve received federal funds for a center that will be part of the building. “To fund a three-year, one-point-two-two million American history and civics education seminars. And out of that, they have created a Iowa Civic Educators Institute,” Hager says.
He says the institute will have three different audiences, starting with in-service seminars. “Which is a 60-hour program for high school social study teachers. The institute also has a pre-service teacher seminars, which is an intensive four-week session for U-N-I social science and history teaching majors. And the third is elementary educators seminars, which provides day long for pre-service and in-service elementary teachers,” he says. Another tenant of the building will be the Senator Chuck Grassley Center. Grassley graduated from the school.
“Forty years ago he gifted his Iowa legislature and U-S House papers to the University of Northern Iowa. And then a couple of years ago, we signed an agreement with him that he is also going to provide us his U-S Senate papers,” Hager says. The U-N-I Foundation will also be in the building and it will also continue to be a campus dinning center. The Commons building was originally constructed in 1932, with the last major addition and renovation completed in 1965.
The total cost is expected to be around 22 million dollars, in a combination of state funding and private fundraising. The full Board of Regents will vote on approval on Tuesday.
