Pam White, dean of the College of Human Sciences co-chairwoman of the Business dean search committee, asked people in an open forum Wednesday for “guidance for the committee” in finding the right person to be the new dean of the College of Business.

The forum was held in a seminar room in the Gerdin Business Building.

The purpose of the forum was to hear from the university community about what kind of leadership attributes should be sought after in the next Business dean.

Discussion started out slowly but picked up as time elapsed. The search committee, seated facing the audience, remained attentive to every person’s comments.

One quality brought up multiple times throughout discussion was for the new dean to have “momentum.”

“Each previous dean of the College of Business has brought the college to the ‘next level’ and the new dean should keep this going,” said Danny Johnson, associate dean for undergraduate programs.

The audience, the majority of whom were faculty and staff of the College of Business, agreed with nodding of heads that the new dean should have administrative experience and should come from a college at a similar or higher level than Iowa State.

More than one of the audience members also brought up the importance of the new dean understanding the value of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation and the land grant.

As far as personal characteristics, Johnson said the new dean should possess “honesty, integrity, high value of ethics” and should be a “straight-shooter.”

The search for a new dean is an open search, meaning that anyone inside or outside of Iowa State may apply.

“Each candidate will be treated equally and will be based on qualifications and vision,” said Qing Hu, a search committee member and chair of the department of supply chain and information systems.

“The hardest part is recruitment,” said Dawn Bratsch-Prince, search committee co-chairwoman and associate provost. She asked for the faculty and staff to “help us build up a deep and diverse pool of candidates.”

The College of Business hopes to have a new dean selected by July 1, 2012.