Elizabeth Hoffman, provost and executive vice president of Iowa State, recently finished her first year on the job.

She officially began working at Iowa State on Jan. 1, 2007. Her previous job was as president of the University of Colorado.

“I have been so happy here,” Hoffman said. “This is probably the best job in my entire life.”

She said her friendship with President Gregory Geoffroy and all the “exciting work to be done” at Iowa State contribute to her enthusiasm.

One aspect of this work has been making decisions regarding the new budget model, called the Resource Management Model. In this model, more responsibility is accorded to individual colleges, especially in regard to recruiting students and improving the quality of research, according to student enrollment, .

Hoffman said she has enjoyed working with Ellen Rasmussen, vice president for budget and planning, who she said deserves “huge kudos” for her work on the project, but the final decisions fall on herself as the executive vice president and provost.

“To me, [the model] is a fascinating strategic, political, financial, public relations project,” she said.

Hoffman said it should ultimately help Iowa State be “a great place to learn for students, and significantly increase the research profile.”

She said having an important role in this project has given her the opportunity to give several speeches – often more than one a week – in order to inform people of the details and implications of the Resource Management Model.

“I’m an economist, so to me, this is fascinating,” Hoffman said.

At this point in her life, Hoffman said working is a choice. She does not need to work, but the ability to work hard at a job she loves – and alongside an old friend – makes Iowa State the best place she has ever worked.

Hoffman described Geoffroy as “a wonderful leader” who seeks advice when he needs to, listens well and connects well with people.

She said that, when she first came to Iowa State, it was important to her to work with someone she trusted and who also trusted her.

Hoffman said she and Geoffroy got to know one another well in the early ’90s, when they were assigned to the Space Telescope Institute Council, an oversight board for the Space Telescope Science Institute.

At the time, Hoffman was the dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State and Geoffroy was the dean of Science at Pennsylvania State University.

Every other year, Hoffman said, the STIC would meet in a city in Europe, such as Paris or Liege. During those trips, Hoffman said, she was able to get to know Geoffroy better.

“He and I would take long walks through the city and talk about our families and our jobs,” she said. “It became a close professional relationship.”

Hoffman said that, because she knows and completely trusts Geoffroy, she can be the one who brings him bad news at Iowa State without ever feeling afraid to do so.

Some difficult situations have certainly emerged during Hoffman’s first year, whether she had to be the bearer of bad news or not.

One challenge concerned Guillermo Gonzalez, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, and his being denied tenure. Hoffman said that, as one decision maker in that case, she found it difficult and “painful to be accused of being anti-Christian.”

However, she said, she did believe the right decision was made, and it was Gonzalez’s achievements, rather than his belief in intelligent design, which were judged.

“I think my experience at Colorado helped me to put it into perspective, and help the president put it into perspective,” Hoffman said.

Geoffroy said she has been “a great adviser” to him on a variety of issues, including personnel issues and budget issues.

“She has tremendous insight into all of the kind of issues that come before a provost and, indeed, a president,” Geoffroy said.