Iowa State’s new second-in-command is settled into her office, ready to take the lead in guiding changes large and small at the university, even when that means sticking to her guns.

Elizabeth Hoffman, a doctor of economics whose resume includes a previous tenure at Iowa State as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was announced in November as President Geoffroy’s final choice for ISU executive vice president and provost.

Hoffman has also served as provost at the University of Illinois and president of the University of Colorado system.

The post makes Hoffman Iowa State’s second-highest ranking university executive and primary academic administrator, a position she was chosen for despite outspoken criticism of her candidacy from certain faculty members and alumni.

Much of this criticism stems from Hoffman’s presidency at Colorado, where she resigned amid a series of scandals, most sensationally a football recruiting controversy where players and coaches were accused of sexual harassment. During that time, Hoffman received pointed criticism for statements she made as well as her decision not to fire outspoken CU professor Ward Churchill.

Hoffman said she is dedicated to being an administrator who is inclusive while maintaining confidence in her own decisions. She said the importance of making principled decisions was one of the main insights she gained from her presidential tenure at Colorado.

“Sometimes you have to say, ‘I am going to make this decision. It is the right decision to make, and if it has a negative impact on my career, so be it,'” she said.

Geoffroy, who had the final decision in the provost selection, said making confident decisions in the face of criticism is a general challenge confronting leaders.

“It’s very important not to be defensive and be ready for new input,” Geoffroy said. “I am confident in [Hoffman’s] leadership skills, and that she has that balance.”

At Iowa State, Hoffman said she intends to lead by emphasizing communication with faculty as much as possible. She said face-to-face meetings to gather and address concerns of faculty and students will be an important part of leading through the transitions and goals being pursued by ISU administration.

“I will be spending less time on e-mail and more time talking with people because I know that is the best way to get people on the same page,” Hoffman said.

One of the first opportunities for Hoffman to apply her philosophy will be making updates to how Iowa State handles its finances.

The university has planned 2007 and 2008 as a budgetary transition period. The changes could include implementing the entirely reorganized budget model reviewed by the Faculty Senate, which is currently awaiting a go-ahead decision from Geoffroy.

Hoffman acknowledged she has concerns about specific aspects of the proposed model, but stressed that maintaining the dialogue from the current review phase will be important to calming and addressing faculty concerns.

“That is really an important part of my role, to be out communicating and if people have questions to answer their questions honestly and fairly,” she said.

Improving students’ own finances is another agenda item Hoffman said the university hopes to address. Tuition at Iowa State has risen more than 90 percent in the last decade, while graduating seniors carry the highest average debt load in the university’s peer-comparison group.

Hoffman said despite these numbers, education at Iowa State continues to be worth the growing cost. To control rising tuition and student debt, she said the university will have to look beyond state appropriations to attract new sources of revenue.

“We are now entering a world where public means public-private partnership,” Hoffman said. “That means taking advantage of the opportunities afforded without putting more responsibility on the backs of the students.”

Working with the private sector, Hoffman said, will mean attracting more grant and scholarship money for ISU students as well as ensuring the availability of financial aid.

One emphasis will be to attract funding for more undergraduate and graduate students to earn money by participating in on-campus research.

“It’s not just flipping burgers, it’s working in a laboratory,” Hoffman said. “You get tremendous educational advantage of working in a laboratory, which is going to greatly enhance your chance of getting into graduate school or getting a better job.”

As Iowa State begins to expand its role as a research university, administrators are focusing on projects involved in value-added agriculture and especially bioenergy to lead the way.

Hoffman said she anticipates taking an active role in helping Iowa State expand and become a leader of the emerging biofuels industry.

She said her training as an economist makes her especially excited to oversee what could be a major shift in global influence.

“We are going to be at the forefront of one of the most important economic transitions that is going to take place in the world, and it is going to have enormous geopolitical implications,” Hoffman said.

Though the challenges of her new role are numerous, Hoffman said she is at home in the position and recognizes the provost’s importance in turning abstract plans into reality through a series of concrete steps.

Geoffroy said Hoffman’s extensive leadership experience gives him confidence that she will be able to lead Iowa State to its objectives.

“She is a person with strong leadership experience and exactly the right kind of academic background,” Geoffroy said.

On returning to the ISU community, Hoffman said she has yet to encounter any problems of cooperation and hopes to translate that atmosphere into progress for Iowa State.

“Ten years from now we want to look back and say we are better now than we were 10 years ago,” Hoffman said. “That kind of defines my role.”