University of Colorado president Elizabeth Hoffman stressed qualities women need to take on to be successful in leadership positions in universities across the nation during a speech Saturday.

Hoffman, former dean of Iowa State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, spoke about key attributes — including flexibility, taking chances and having patience — women need to develop while pursuing leadership positions.

Hoffman also spoke about the need to take chances and not be afraid of failure.

“Failure is more difficult now because if I fail, I fail in public. I don’t like to be this cautious,” Hoffman said. “I’m in a highly charged political environment where I have to be careful what I say.”

She said her position at the University of Colorado, Boulder gives her a lot of political power, almost as much as the governor.

Hoffman’s qualities as university president were put into question in 2004 after a scandal involving the football team’s recruitment efforts made national headlines. Hoffman’s handling of allegations of rape by football players was heavily criticized by many Colorado officials as trivializing the matter.

“The governor used the football scandal to question my leadership. I wouldn’t say that in Colorado because it would be in the paper the next morning,” Hoffman said. “But whatever you do, lots of people are going to hate you with a passion. Few people appreciate that there’s a middle ground. Nothing else I have ever experienced generates passion like football.”

Ann Thompson, chairwoman of Iowa State’s University Committee on Women, said Hoffman is a good role model because she was the first female dean of a large college at Iowa State.

“Iowa State’s numbers haven’t changed a whole lot, with 11 percent of women department chairs,” Thompson said. “We need to make sure that our numbers reflect the larger national numbers.”

Hoffman said you have to be ready to change goals if the chance arrives. If you follow a path that’s not for you, you won’t become a leader or be happy, she said.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans,” she said. “I wanted to be a high school music teacher until I got a D in music theory. I ended up changing majors, because that path wasn’t right for me.”

Women need to be patient in order to be effective leaders, Hoffman said.

“If you want to make a difference in this wild and crazy environment, you have to be willing to step back and let the processes take place,” she said. “Patience is a weapon because it allows you to make things happen.”

Judy Vance, mechanical engineering chairwoman and professor, also talked briefly about the situation of female ISU leaders.

“We need more women faculty to make the move to administration,” Vance said. “We’re still doing a lot of firsts, and that makes me mad. We’re not doing enough.”