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NEWS RELEASE

09-26-01

Contacts:
Labh Hira, Business, (515) 294-2422
Kevin Brown, News Service. (515) 294-8986

GERDIN BUSINESS BUILDING GROUNDBREAKING TO BE SEPT. 29

AMES, Iowa -- Groundbreaking for the new Iowa State University College of Business building will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, at the corner of Union Drive and Knoll Road.

The new $25.1 million building will be named for Russell and Ann Gerdin of North Liberty who provided the lead gift of $10 million toward a $35.5 million initiative to enhance the college. The gift is the largest ever made to the College of Business and was part of the ISU Foundation's Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best.

Gerdin is the president, chairman and chief executive officer for Heartland Express, Inc., a trucking firm he founded in Coralville in 1978.

"It has been our desire to be fortunate enough to give toward the advancement of higher education, particularly in Iowa," said Gerdin. "We made the gift to Iowa State because we feel it is heading in the right direction. And, for the College of Business to grow, its number one priority is a dedicated, prominent facility."

The 111,000-square-foot Gerdin Business Building is expected to be completed by October 2003. The building will be the first campus structure to have wireless computer technology available to all students, staff and faculty.

"The consolidation of our programs and the use of state-of-the-art technology and design will inspire and challenge our students, faculty and staff," said Labh Hira, interim dean of the College of Business. "It will enrich the exceptional combination of theory and real-world practice that already prepares our students for success."

The College of Business is the third largest college at Iowa State with a fall 2001 enrollment of more than 4,000 students.

The $35.5 million initiative involved public and private funding, with $11 million coming from the State of Iowa and the remainder from private sources.

The College of Business, created in 1984, offers programs in accounting, finance, international business, management, management information systems, marketing, production operations management, and transportation and logistics. The college also offers full-time and part-time MBA programs and graduate degrees in accounting and information systems. It operates outreach centers including the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship and the Small Business Development Center.

For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.bus.iastate.edu/GBB/.

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