The search for the next vice president for research is under way. Senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert has identified an 18-member search committee to seek a successor to Sharron Quisenberry, who retired in July. The group is led by Beate Schmittmann, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Dave Holger, associate provost for academic programs and dean of the Graduate College.
The committee will start its work immediately, assembling a diverse pool of internal candidates, with the expectation that the successful candidate will move into the role on Jan. 1, 2014. Candidates must be tenured professors at Iowa State.
Nominations for the position may be submitted to Schmittmann or Holger. Applications should be submitted electronically on the Iowa State jobs site by Oct. 25 and include a cover letter, current curriculum vitae and contact information for three references.
"Iowa State is looking for a researcher and administrator who will grow sponsored funding, diversify our research portfolio and pursue large multidisciplinary grants consistent with my presidential research initiative," said President Steven Leath. "The new vice president also will work closely with my office on economic development issues, including the expansion of Iowa State's research park, and encouraging more start-up activity from students and faculty. All qualified, collaborative faculty are encouraged to apply."
Search committee
Additional members of the search committee are:
- Brian Behnken, associate professor of history
- Jim Davis, vice provost and chief information officer
- Jack Harris, president/CEO, Iowa Innovation Corp.
- Kirsten Hofmockel, associate professor, ecology, evolution and organismal biology
- Qing Hu, Union Pacific Professor of Management Information Systems and associate dean for graduate programs, College of Business
- Harrison Inefuku, librarian, University Library
- Vitalij Pecharsky, Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering
- Carla Peterson, associate dean, College of Human Sciences
- Tammy Polaski, director, Office of Sponsored Programs Administration
- Paul Richmond, director, environmental health and safety
- Kevin Schalinske, professor, food science and human nutrition
- Deb Sellers, associate dean, College of Human Sciences, and director, Human Sciences extension and outreach
- Arun Somani, Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering, and associate dean for research, College of Engineering
- Seda Yilmaz, associate professor, industrial design
- Hongwei Xin, professor, agriculture and biosystems engineering
- Qijing Zhang, professor, veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine, and associate dean for research and graduate studies, College of Veterinary Medicine
Penni Bryant and Jaime Watson, administrative specialists in the provost's office, will assist the committee with its work.
"Iowa State has many qualified and outstanding research faculty, and we've already received 11 nominations for the position," Wickert said. "I look forward to hiring a visionary leader who will work collaboratively with faculty and staff to increase both the size and impact of our research programs."
The vice president for research leads Iowa State's entire research enterprise, including pre- and post-award administration and compliance; interdisciplinary research centers and institutes; the ISU Research Foundation; and the offices of intellectual property and technology transfer, sponsored programs administration, responsible research and laboratory animal resources.
David Oliver, professor of genetics, development and cell biology, and associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is filling the role on an interim basis.
