The search for a new vice president of research has begun.

The vice president for research is involved in the entire research enterprise, interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, and the ISU Research Foundation. The position also works with the offices of intellectual property and technology transfer, sponsored programs administration, responsible research and laboratory animal resources.

“We are looking for a full professor who should have some experience in working with external funding and funding agencies,” said Beate Schmittmann, leader of the search committee and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“They should also have administration and leadership history,” she said. “He or she will be responsible for a staff and needs to be able to work with a wide range of audiences both internal and external.”

Jonathan Wickert, senior vice president and provost, has selected an 18-faculty member committee to assist in the selection of the new vice president of research.

The committee consists of nominated faculty members who are being guided by Schmittmann and Dave Holger, associate provost for academic programs and dean of the Graduate College.

“The vice president of research would be responsible for all research activities on campus,” Schmittmann said. “He or she will be responsible for many of the big centers on campus.”

The vice president will also manage the pre-award and post-award services, including grant submission and administration, Schmittmann said.

“The search committee will screen the applicants and come up with a short list to interview the candidates and than make a recommendation to the provost [Wickert],” Schmittmann said.

Holger said he believes the position needs to be filled with the appropriate candidate.

“Although not directly associated with undergraduate education, it is important because there are a lot of opportunities for undergraduates to do research and those opportunities mostly depend on there being a vibrant research committee on campus,” Holger said.

Holger also said Iowa State has done a good job in a wide spectrum of research that has ranged from very basic research to applied research and technology transfer.

The search for the vice president is being  organized as an internal search among ISU faculty. The nominees must be a full-time professor. Applications may be submitted online with a cover letter, current curriculum and three references’ contact information.

Deadline for applications is Oct. 25, and the position will begin Jan. 1, 2014. 

Nominations for the position are to be submitted to Schmittmann and Holger.

The position has been open since the previous vice president for research, Sharron Quisenberry, retired in July.