Elizabeth Hoffman was named vice president and provost effective Jan. 1, 2007.

She is responsible for the university’s academic mission and leads efforts in the pursuit of academic excellence.

The provost has authority for strategic planning; capital planning; budgetary and information technology initiatives and goals of the university; and for the recruitment and retention of faculty and students.

The provost reports to the president, and is in charge of the formulation and implementation of institutional policies and operations; consulting with the vice presidents; associate provosts and associate vice president; deans; chief information officer; and university governance.

The mission of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is to lead the university’s effort in the creation, sharing and application of knowledge that will make Iowa and the world a better place.

The plan is to support the educational mission of Iowa State by offering a challenging environment for teaching and learning; nurturing a culture that recruits, advances and retains an outstanding and diverse faculty, staff and student body; guiding the institutional budgeting and planning process to effectively leverage resources; and supporting excellence in research, outreach, extension, education, academic support services and information technology resources that enhance the impact of Iowa State.

The provost’s office is involved in the Iowa Alliance for Graduate Education and Professoriate. It is a collaborative initiative funded by the National Science Foundation and the three Iowa regent universities.

The goal of the program is to increase the number of doctoral degrees awarded to underrepresented U.S. minority students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.