Recently named executive vice president and provost Elizabeth Hoffman’s previous experience at Iowa State is being considered by some to be more pertinent than her time as president at the University of Colorado.

Hoffman, 59, dealt with controversies at both positions – from debate surrounding the naming of Iowa State’s Catt Hall to accusations of recruiting sex scandals and rape surrounding Colorado’s football team that led to her resignation as president from Colorado in 2005.

Ann Thompson, a member of the University Committee on Women and professor at the Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching, said the new provost handled the challenges to the best of her ability.

“I think she did a reasonable job,” Thompson said of the scandal at Colorado.

“She was able to handle it. For me the blame is in athletics and the football program, and she did what she could as president.”

Hoffman harbors no regrets from her time at Colorado despite the turmoil that marked the end of her tenure, she said. A $1 billion fund-raising campaign, the successful combination of two of the state’s campuses and the weathering of “unbelievable budget cuts” were successes Hoffman cited during her time in Boulder.

“I really feel I accomplished a great deal at Colorado,” she said. “I’ve grown a lot and I bring a lot of experiences as I come to Iowa State.”

Carolyn Heising, Faculty Senate member and professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, said Hoffman’s resume isn’t sullied by the events surrounding the end of her presidency.

“I think that was an unfortunate set of events, but that could happen to any president,” Heising said.

“I don’t know the details I know that President Geoffroy has known her for many years and I trust her judgment.”

“I don’t think [the controversy at Colorado] diminishes her qualifications at all. I think she is going to be a very effective provost.”

Virginia Allen, retired professor of English, is hopeful Hoffman will take advantage of her position to address faculty concerns that she could not at her previous position. Allen believed that as a dean, Hoffman could not always convince high-ranking administration officials to take action on the side of concerned faculty.

But with her new post, coordination between faculty and administration will be one of Hoffman’s most important roles.

“Now she is high enough in the hierarchy, so we’ll see what she does,” Allen said.

Hoffman will take over the provost’s office Jan. 1, 2007, and will earn an annual salary of $275,000, making her one of Iowa State’s highest-paid officials.