As a female in a male-dominated industry, Sarah Rajala promised to promote diversification and growth in the College of Engineering.

As the third and final candidate in the search for the new dean of the College of Engineering spoke about the importance of diversifying during her forum Monday.

Rajala, currently dean of the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State, demonstrated how she has broken new ground all throughout her professional career:

“When I took the dean position at Mississippi State University, there had never been a female dean.”

Before this, she had also become the first female to acquire several new levels of tenure during her time at North Carolina State.

This attitude of seeking out new heights, she said, can aid Iowa State’s College of Engineering in its own visions of increased success. Citing statistics regarding items such as the number of faculty, overall research expenditures and expenditures per faculty, Rajala indicates room for growth in comparison to other similar land-grant institutions.

“We need to figure out how to diversify our portfolio and be able to continue to support the work we imply that we can achieve,” Rajala said about research.

To fund this diversification, Rajala said she envisions naming both the college as a whole as well as some, or all, of the different departments within the college after specific donors.

“To me, that gives the college an additional set of flexible resources,” of which she said would be of great use to strengthen research capabilities at Iowa State.

The topic of research was not the only point of emphasis for Rajala’s vision, as she also said the significance of engineering students attaining a more global perspective is highly important.

“We need to celebrate the cultures that are brought to campus and to engage our whole community in those celebrations of culture and diversity.”

Her global vision also urges College of Engineering students to study abroad, a type of program not as often utilized by engineering students.

At Mississippi State, she said: “Every single [student was] ready to get on a plane and head out for another opportunity” upon completing various international programs.

She said she will provide financial support for this by providing scholarships and seeking out partnerships with companies.

“We don’t want [financial issues] to be a showstopper for these students,” she said.

Above all else, however, she said that the success of the college relies upon bringing in the right students and staff.

In doing this, it is important “to make sure we’re looking at the person as a whole,” Rajala said. “You want to look at how much promise and potential there is [within that person]. Not only do we have to identify these individuals, but we have to provide them with the support they need to be successful.”