Three finalists for Iowa State’s senior vice president for student affairs post will visit campus in late January and early February.
The finalists are:
- Martino Harmon, associate vice president for student affairs, Iowa State University
- Lori Reesor, vice president for student affairs, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
- Al Thompson, vice chancellor for student affairs and chief diversity officer, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.
Public forums
Each finalist will interview on campus over two days and participate in a one-hour public forum in the Memorial Union. At each forum, the candidate will make a brief presentation, then answer questions from the audience. The public forum schedule is:
- Reesor: Monday, Jan. 25, 9 a.m., Pioneer Room
- Thompson: Monday, Feb. 1, 9 a.m., Campanile Room
- Harmon: Wednesday, Feb. 3, 9 a.m., Pioneer Room
Search co-chairs Mike Crum, vice president for economic development and business engagement, and David Harris, senior associate athletics director, noted that a highly qualified group of finalists will come to campus to interview for "this critical position."
They encouraged the university community to take advantage of the opportunity to hear from the candidates, ask questions and provide feedback to the search committee. An online feedback form will be available on the search site site later this month.
About the finalists
Lori Reesor has served as North Dakota's vice president for student affairs since 2011. She also served as associate vice provost for student success at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; associate dean, assistant dean and adjunct instructor in the School of Education at the University of Missouri, Kansas City; and dean of students at Wichita State University, Kansas. In a previous stint at Kansas, she served as associate director of admissions, acting director and assistant director of new student orientation, assistant to the dean of educational services and residence hall director. She also served as a financial aid counselor, academic adviser and women's center program assistant at Iowa State.
Reesor earned a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater; a master's in higher education from Iowa State; and a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from Kansas.
Al Thompson has served as vice chancellor for student affairs at UW-Stevens Point since 2011 and chief diversity officer since 2012. Prior to that, he served as associate vice president for student affairs and dean of student life at Eastern Washington University, Cheney. He was assistant to the chancellor for affirmative action and diversity at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, where he also developed and taught graduate courses in education professional development and organizational theory. At the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, he served as assistant to the chancellor for minority affairs, director of multicultural services and director of the ethnic studies program. He also was coordinator of minority student programs and residence hall director at Luther College, Decorah.
Thompson earned a bachelor's degree in psychology (1981) and master's in counselor education and student development (1985) from the University of Iowa; and a doctor of education (2004) from Saint Mary's University, Minneapolis.
Martino Harmon has served as Iowa State's associate vice president for student affairs since 2013. Previously, he served as executive director of student success and retention at Cincinnati State Community College, Ohio; dean of student development at Rhodes State College, Lima, Ohio; and dean of admission, retention and student life at Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Mich. At the University of Toledo, Ohio, he held several posts -- interim assistant dean of students, director of the African American student enrichment office, director of freshman admission, associate director of admission and multicultural recruitment and coordinator of campus visits and admission counselor.
He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration (1987), master of education (1998) and doctorate in higher education and administration (2013), all from Toledo.
More information on the search site
Candidates' curriculum vitae are available on the senior vice president for student affairs search site. An online form will be available to provide feedback about the finalists.
The senior vice president for student affairs will succeed Tom Hill, who retired after serving as VP since 1997.
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Search begins for next student affairs leader, Oct. 8, 2015
