New research facility a good investment

I would like to remind the IDS staff that the primary purpose of a University is to educate its students. The conditions in the existing science buildings hinder the pursuit of education in the sciences. I cannot understand why the IDS criticizes IU President Myles Brand for making it a priority to build a building that would rectify this pressing and most distressing problem. \nAs Lisa Pratt, associate dean for research with the College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the MSB steering committee said in the Oct. 13 article "Science building proposal under review," the proposal for the new building is based on faculty members' need for proper research space. In that article, Pratt is quoted as saying, "We don't have very many places on campus where instruments perform as well as they are designed to work." The article cites numerous conditions in the existing buildings that make accurate research with these instruments difficult, if not impossible. How selfish to claim that your dorm needs to be renovated and dining hours expanded before research and education are conducted properly.\nThese conditions are unacceptable at a research university like IU. They are a threat to the pursuit of research and education at IU and must be rectified. Let's not confuse Brand with a Roman emperor or an Egyptian pharaoh, building to leave a permanent mark on campus and to perpetuate his own glory. This isn't building for building or vanity's sake. IU needs this building, and by making its building a priority, Brand is improving the quality of education and life at IU. \nMoreover, the more collaborative research the building would facilitate would only serve to enhance IU's already stellar reputation in science education, which would in turn bring more research money to the University. I would like to remind the IDS staff that this crucial funding figures prominently in the U.S. News and World Report rankings and that the vast majority of research money available to schools is for scientific research, which gives schools like Cal Tech an advantage in rankings and IU a disadvantage. Further, the new building and the research that would take place there would attract even more outstanding students and faculty members to IU, further enhancing the University's reputation and standing in national rankings.\nBill Mathers\nIU alumnus