Three finalists have been named as candidates in the search for Iowa State’s new provost.

David Manderscheid currently serves as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Carlo Montemagno is the Founding Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati. Jonathan Wickert is the dean of the College of Engineering here at Iowa State.

“We’re pleased to have this set of accomplished finalists for this important leadership position at Iowa State,” said Wendy Wintersteen in a statement detailing the announcement. Wintersteen serves as the chairwoman of the search committee and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Students and faculty will get the chance to meet each candidate at a series of open forums.

Wickert’s forum is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday in the Pioneer Room of Memorial Union. Wickert said he hopes to stay connected to students if selected for the job.

“I’m happy to be here and help with education,” Wickert said. “This position would be an exciting way to be involved. There’s so much exciting growth going on in buildings and programs, and I’d like to take time early on to get to know the campus, faculty and students.”

Wickert has been on faculty at Iowa State since 2007 and has served as dean of the College of Engineering since 2009. He cites these experiences as what he will draw upon in this new position.

“A provost is overall responsible for academic programs and a university is a complex organization like the College of Engineering,” Wickert said. “The college has 7,000 students, which is larger than some towns in Iowa. I would like to see the university grow over several years in relations with companies and alumni.”

Manderscheid’s forum will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Pioneer Room of Memorial Union. Manderscheid said, in his experiences as dean and department chairman, he has been able to learn the factors involved in running a university. He also cites his many years as a faculty member as how he understands higher education.

“I am honored to be selected as a candidate,” Manderscheid said. “Iowa State is a great institution for undergraduate work and has a high reputation for faculty research. My parents are ISU grads from the 1950s.”

Manderscheid has served as dean and professor in mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since 2007. Before that he spent six years as professor and chairman of the department of mathematics at the University of Iowa.

Manderscheid said that if he gets the position, he hopes to learn the institution by talking with people to get their concerns and thoughts.

“I hope to maintain the quality and move research forward,” he said.

Montemagno’s forum is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. April 27 in the Gallery Room of Memorial Union. He was unable to be reached for comment.

Wintersteen and ISU President Steven Leath were also unavailable for comment.

The candidates will take over for current Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman. She announced in February she intended to resign from the position this coming December.