J. Chris Leach visited the university on April 4, 2013 to speak in an open forum about his candidacy for the dean position in the College of Business.

He talked about his philosophy on running the College of Business, his background and why he would be well-suited for the job.

The purpose for the open forum was to give the “community — both in the sense of the College of Business community, students, faculty and staff, and the larger university community — a chance to come and meet the candidates and hear what their philosophies are,” said Rob Schweers, program director for the senior vice president and provost’s office.

Pamela White, dean for the Human Science Administration, said, “We are thrilled with all of our finalists; they are all very worthy candidates [and] very qualified.”

Once all of the open forums have been completed by each of the three finalists, “We will get campus-wide input. The finalists will be meeting with all kinds of faculty, staff, and students on campus, including our administrators,” White said.

White said that she anticipates a dean to be named by the end of the semester.

The first finalist, Leach, told the audience about his educational experience as well as his “passion for the business of sciences and engineering.”

Throughout his speech, he discussed some of his research and the different things that would benefit, as well as hurt, the College of Business and even the university as a whole.

His speech was filmed and will be posted on the provost website after all three finalists have been to the university.

He told his audience about the direction he wants to take the College of Business in. “I want to move in a direction of something that the university is known for,” Leach said.

He specifically mentioned what he could do for the students of the College of Business if he were to be named dean.

“I would hope to bring to the College of Business, specifically the undergraduate and Master of Business Administration [MBA] level, a sense of identity,” Leach said.

He wants to be able to give the students what they need to succeed in the world. “I want to give them the sense of, ‘I am a part of something bigger,’” Leach said.

If he were to become dean of the College of Business, he would want to “bring an increased sense of accomplishment to the students.” 

Leach said he considered this position because he saw opportunity and an openness at Iowa State.

“I was brought to Colorado to be engaged in a joint venture between the business school and the engineering school in particular,” Leach said.

He went on to say that he saw some of the same opportunities at ISU’s younger business school and said they were better in Iowa than Colorado.

He described Iowa State as having an openness to other technologies on campus.

“I personally am driven by wanting to see business students who can talk to technologists whether they are scientists or engineers,” Leach said.

He said that he looked to the future and saw what could be done at Iowa State.

“There is something to build here and, to be honest, the culture seems wonderful, and the students look happy,” Leach said.