Iowa is in a fiscal crisis. Governor Chet Culver has announced an unprecedented drop in state revenues, and an equally unprecedented across-the-board cut in state spending. Yet, the University of Iowa and the Board of Regents insist on pursuing a needless project which will cost Iowa taxpayers more than $100 million and have a negative effect on UI students.

By now, most Iowans know that a number of University buildings, including the Hancher Auditorium and Art Building complexes, suffered significant damage in the floods of 2008. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved funding for the repair of the existing facilities, and their protection from future floods. Based on early estimates of $30-40 million to restore the existing Hancher facility, and the state’s responsibility to provide ten percent of that to match the FEMA grant, restoring that facility would cost the state in the range of $3-5 million.

Yet inexplicably, the University has pursued what FEMA refers to as an “alternative project”—a FEMA grant to demolish and replace Hancher with a new building, with additional facilities not existing in the current building.  Replacing the building with a new one is far more expensive, and with the enhancements proposed for the new structure, the University’s share would be somewhere around $100 million.

At the same time, the UI is predicting huge layoffs of teaching staff and closing down academic programs. What gives? Why is the University proposing a hugely expensive and unnecessary project at the same time it proposes to eliminate hundreds of jobs? And that proposal was before the Governor’s latest announcement.

It’s important to note that contrary to a recent story in the Register, the Hancher complex is not irreparably damaged. By granting funds to repair the existing building and mitigate future hazards, FEMA has effectively stated that the existing building can be repaired. UI President Sally Mason has acknowledged that the building can be repaired. In a Des Moines television interview this spring, Mason stated that the UI and the Regents needed to decide whether to repair or replace the existing facility, stating that the existing facility was damaged, but never used the word “destroyed”.

Replacing Hancher was never a decision made in the best interest of the UI student body. In a best-case scenario, a new facility would not open for at least four years, dooming current students to learning in substandard temporary facilities, while the existing structures could be renovated and reopened within 18 months. This action is not in the best interests of either the students or the long-term health of the music program. It is clear that this decision was made to suit the affluent patrons and donors to Hancher and the University, who would undoubtedly love to see a brand-new building, largely at Federal expense.

It is also clear that Mason and the Regents are anxious to secure a huge chunk of free Federal money, without regard to its impact on the community or state. In doing so, Mason and the Regents are failing miserably in their two highest priorities: To serve the students of the University of Iowa, and to do so in a way that is fiscally responsible to the people of Iowa. It is also appalling that the University is willing to accept hundreds of millions of FEMA dollars, while flood victims in Cedar Rapids and elsewhere may have to wait several more years to receive grants to offset their losses.

We need to get past the “Chicken Little” outlook as well. It seems that the University is panicked about future damage to Hancher and the Art Building. They’re ignoring the simple fact that the 2008 floods were the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of the Upper Midwest. In the century and one-half of the University’s existence, there has only been one other event to compare with 2008—the floods of 1993. In that instance, damages to the UI campus were far less than in 2008. There is no need to panic about something which is not likely to recur in the lifetime of anyone reading this.

There are many reasons why relocating the Hancher and Art Building complexes would be a serious mistake, but those reasons are moot in view of the state budget crisis. Repair and renovation of the existing Hancher and Art Building facilities is the only fiscally responsible action, and the action which best serves the needs of University students. Building a “New Hancher” is simply a luxury which the state cannot afford now, or in the next several years. Governor Culver should order a freeze on the use of any state funds for the construction of these new facilities, and direct that the University use the funds to protect the jobs of the UI’s employees and the integrity of its academic programs. If the authority to do so is not there, the Governor should request that the Legislature provide that authority in its January session.