On Thursday night, Dean of Students finalist Maria Flores-Mills strolled through the student tailgating lots prior to the Cyclone win over Toledo, meeting and greeting among the beer pong and grilling. Friday afternoon – in a more formal setting – she again met members of the ISU community at a forum at the Memorial Union introducing her to faculty, staff and students.

The 1993 ISU graduate and current assistant dean of undergraduate students at Princeton University cited alcohol and the rising cost of higher education as two of the most prominent issues facing students during the one-hour forum before approximately 50 staff and students in the Oak Room of the Memorial Union.

Flores-Mills is one of two remaining candidates for the dean of students position vacated by Pete Englin, current director of the Department of Residence. She said the Dean of Students Office’s responsibility is to show students the options they have, both in drinking and shouldering the burden of escalating tuition and costs.

Helping students meet these challenges, as well as returning to the ISU campus, would both be relished opportunities, Flores-Mills said. She also said she was excited to work at an institution that stresses the importance of the Dean of Students Office making direct contact with students.

“Working directly with students is the lifeblood of what I do,” she said. “ISU is unique in putting an emphasis on that aspect of it.”

In her cover letter to Iowa State, Flores-Mills admitted she is lacking in supervisory experience. But when asked about what prepared her for the dean of students position, she was quick to point out her time working with “some really great mentors and supervisors,” at both DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and Princeton.

“[Working under various deans] allows you to take some mental notes,” she said. “You have time to see how things play out and to say ‘OK, that worked well,’ or ‘Maybe I won’t try that one.'”

After listening for nearly an hour, Kimberly Williamson, sophomore in industrial engineering, said she thought Flores-Mills had some promising things to say, but wasn’t yet sure she was the best candidate.

Williamson, a current Carver scholar, did like Flores-Mills’ professed dedication to letting students know she’s there to help them succeed.

“[The dean of students is there] to let people know there’s always something out there,” she said. “Even if it’s just about helping a student through a really tough time or helping a student organization that’s about to fall.”

The ISU search committee’s second finalist, Dione Somerville, will participate in her own forum at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The committee will meet Sept. 13 to review both candidates, and Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill will have the final say on whom will be hired as the new dean.