Southeast Iowa Union
March 8, 2022
FAIRFIELD — Maharishi International University has acquired a large building 3 miles north of its campus in Fairfield that it is remodeling into residential facilities.
The university announced that MIU supporters Ye Shi (“Linlin”) and Alan Marks donated the 87,000-square-foot building and the 1.1 million square feet of land it sits on. The donation was made on Dec. 26, 2021, and the building is one of the largest buildings of its architectural style in a world, a style known as Maharishi Sthapatya Veda.
The university has renamed the facility the Fairfield IT and Business Park, and plans to remodel it into a dormitory for its expanding computer science master’s program.
In its March 2022 newsletter, the university’s computer science department stated that remodeling of the building had already begun on the north wing, converting office space into “handsome bedrooms and bathrooms” as well as a café, lounge and common areas.
The first residents to move into the building will be computer science graduates who have finished their on-campus classes and have moved on to the practicum internship placement phase of the program. The new residential floors in the north wing are expected to be ready for move-in later this month.
Businesses renting space in the southern half of the building, which include LISCO and Cambridge, will continue renting space.
In addition to acquiring the building, the university also received the 24.76 acres (10 hectares) of pristine grassland that the building sits on, providing opportunities for additional campus expansion in the future.
Marks and Linlin are the owners of Midwest Development and Investment Corporation. From 2010-2022, Marks served as CEO at Maharishi AyurVeda Productions International, which occupied this same building.
Linlin is a certified management accountant, recipient of numerous national management and accounting awards, and is a “highly regarded professor” in the MIU Accounting Department, according to the newsletter.
MIU Director of Marketing and Student Recruiting Craig Shaw called the donation an “extraordinary gift” that is essential to meet the university’s growing demand for housing, with 120-140 new students enrolling in its computer professionals master’s program every three months.
“The 25 acres of land that the building sits upon gives MIU and the Computer Science Department extensive space for future expansion,” Shaw said. “President John Hagelin sees this building as a future IT Hub in Fairfield."
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