Students will have an opportunity to ask questions during the third of four scheduled open forums held in the pursuit for a new director of the Department of Residence.

Jim Zentmeyer, associate director of residence life at Bowling Green State University, will be the focus of an open forum scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union.

Zentmeyer said he believes in the success of learning communities and the role they can play in improving students’ academic lives. He said he guides learning communities through input from students, residence hall faculty, professors and university administrators.

“I really like to be up front when I am dealing with cross-divisional issues,” Zentmeyer said.

If selected as the new director of the department, Zentmeyer said he would encourage input and dialogue from all individuals in the university community when making key decisions.

“Every concept needs to be put on the table, and a wide range of constituencies needs to comment on those,” he said.

Todd Holcomb, interim director of the Department of Residence and associate vice president for student affairs, said Zentmeyer’s qualifications include the creation of learning communities, and the overall growth of the Bowling Green State residence system make him a strong candidate.

“We are trying to make sure students have a place where they can learn and grow,” Holcomb said.

While examining the Department of Residence’s Master Plan from the past 10 years and plans for the department’s future, Zentmeyer said he noticed few changes in its core philosophy over the past decade.

“No changes in the strategic plan means you are caught in a vision, are sticking with it and taking it to the next level,” he said.

Iowa State has a strong, up-front approach to learning communities in its residence halls, he said. Zentmeyer said he would expand learning communities throughout the residence hall system if he is selected as the next director.

“Students come here for an education and we have to be a part of that,” he said.

Bowling Green State University, located in Bowling Green, Ohio, has an enrollment of 20,950 students, with 7,100 living in the university residence system, Zentmeyer said. Unlike Iowa State, the Bowling Green State residence system requires first- and second-year students to live in residence halls. The residency requirement improves student retention, Zentmeyer said.

He said Bowling Green State has 13 learning communities available in a variety of disciplines. Iowa State boasts 57 communities.

Although most learning communities focus on one discipline, Zentmeyer said one is available at Bowling Green that devotes itself to a broad subject matter of English, psychology, math and art. Some classrooms and instructors’ offices are located in residence halls to correlate with the learning community program, he said.

“Our students are enthused; they are excited and they are committed,” Zentmeyer said.

Students who live in learning communities on campus have grade point averages one-half point higher than students who do not, he said. At Bowling Green State, there is a waiting list for students who want to live on campus.

“We sell learning communities at Bowling Green State as a better buy than living off campus,” Zentmeyer said.