Martin C. Jischke Honors Building

Named after our former university president, the Martin C. Jischke Honors Building is a 9,000-square-foot building housing the University Honors Program. The main floor of Jischke is dedicated to student-oriented activities. The building has two versatile classrooms, a project room, a 12-station computer lab, a resource room/kitchenette, and a two-story lounge. The 2,000-square-foot second floor overlooks the lounge area below and provides administrative offices for the program.

Architects Smith Metzger of Des Moines, Iowa, designed the building, situating it near central campus amidst several mature and unique trees, including Japanese lilacs, hackberry, and Chinkapin oak.

Constructed primarily of red brick on a stone base and designed with a prairie style, the building has strong horizontal lines emphasized by a low roof and broad overhangs. The naturally lit interior spaces have high clerestory windows and generous picture windows that embrace southwesterly views of central campus. The two-story lounge serves as a 24-hour-a-day living room for the honors program community. Movable versatile furnishings allow for a variety of uses by large or small groups.

The Public Art

Forest Flora by Priscilla K. Sage is a three-dimensional fabric, acrylic, and wood sculpture stitched by hand and machine. The seven individual objects hang from the two-story ceiling over the open lounge area and move with the air currents created by the activity in the lounge. A companion sculpture, Knoll Garden, also hangs in the building on loan from the University Museums' Art on Campus Collection.

Mary Ann Beecher, honors program graduate and former chair of the College of Design Honors Program, created the Lintel Reception Table and the two Lintel side tables. Ms. Beecher designed the tables in memory of Wendy Sue Bass, former Iowa State University Honors Program secretary, who passed away in 1999. The tables suggest the warmth, friendliness, and integrity embodied in Wendy. The tables are in the reception area as a reminder of Wendy's impact on students and visitors as they entered Osborn Cottage, the former home of the University Honors Program Building.

The Chinkapin Oak Trees

The chinkapin oak tree is a native of southeast Iowa and usually grows to a height of 50 feet, spanning about 50 feet. Both the location and the grand size of our two mature chinkapin oaks make them unique. Six university departments use our surrounding trees in plant identification classes. The Jischke Honors Building's design takes advantage of the views of these noble trees on the edge of central campus. It seems fitting that the oak, the symbol of knowledge, plays such a significant role in the placement of the honors building.

Instructions and Rules

The Jischke Honors Building is a university building. Thus, rules that apply to university buildings apply to the Jischke Honors Building. The Director of the University Honors Program, designated by the Provost’s Offices as the building supervisor for the Jischke Honors Building, is therefore responsible for ensuring that:

1. The safety of the occupants is the utmost consideration.
2. The building policies are followed.

The primary use of the building is to conduct business for the University Honors Program and other related programs, like the National Merit/Achievement Program. This includes serving as a classroom for Honors Seminars (HON 1210 and HON 3210/3220), a meeting place for honors committees and the Honors Student Board. Honors students and the public have the privilege of using the building to study and socialize as long as they do not interfere with the conducting of business or the teaching of classes. Honors students have the privilege of accessing the building outside of regular business hours as long as they do not interfere with the conducting of business or the teaching of classes.

• Individuals or groups wishing to use the honors building must complete a room reservation request form and return it to Suzanne Wirth, 2130 Jischke Honors Building. The contact person will be notified by email regarding approval or denial of the request.
  • Activities and meetings, other than honors members/staff, seminars, or courses, are generally only approved for each organization/program once a semester.
• When the honors office approves your event, we will schedule the building to be unlocked and then locked back up after the scheduled event.
• There is media equipment available in Rooms 1113, 1151, 1155. Available equipment includes a DVD player, overhead projector, projector, screen, computer, and audio system. Groups need to provide their own computer. Instructions on how to use the equipment are in the rooms.
• Food and drink will be permitted only in the kitchen or Room 1113. Serving food in other rooms requires approval from the University Honors Program.
  • If requesting food in rooms other than the kitchen or Room 1113, please attach a written request to the reservation form. The group is responsible for clean up.
• Groups are held responsible for the actions of their guests. If there are any damages to the facilities, the group is held responsible for the expenses for repair or clean up. When using this facility, the group is responsible for the hallways, entrance and exit areas, bathrooms, windows, and doors of the building.
• There is NO smoking in the Jischke Honors Building.
• In the case of an emergency, you should call 911 from any campus phone. If you are using a cell phone, please call 294-4428.