The board that governs Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I is asking state legislators for just over two-million dollars to make improvements in security on the campuses in Iowa City, Ames and Cedar Falls. Board of Regents president David Miles says it’s part of the universities’ response to last spring’s shooting at Virginia Tech.
"As we know from circumstances on other campuses, we need to be doing what we can to install security measures," Miles says. "That’s why we put it in the budget. We think it’s important and we’d certainly like to see it funded." Governor Culver did not set aside the $2.2 million for campus security upgrades in the budget plan he submitted to lawmakers in January. Miles, the leader of the Board of Regents, says he understands the governor has to make his own choices.
"We’re very pleased with the governor’s overall effort, but we also reduced our ‘ask’ from last year to this year and we didn’t put anything in there that we didn’t think is very important and security is very important and we need to address it," Miles says. A spokesman for Governor Culver says the governor allotted extra money for the three universities and expects campus administrators to find ways to prioritize so the security upgrades get done.