The newly-appointed interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences acknowledged he will face difficulties concerning budgetary issues during his first semester at Iowa State.

Michael Whiteford, associate dean for administrative affairs in Iowa State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named interim dean of the college, effective Sept. 1.

Whiteford brings 31 years of experience at Iowa State to the university’s largest specialty college. A professor of anthropology, he currently directs budget and personnel matters for the college. Whiteford has also served as department chair for 10 years.

Whiteford completed his undergraduate work at Beloit College in Wisconsin and then went on to earn his master’s degree and doctorate at the University of California (Berkeley).

Whiteford will lead the College of LAS, comprised of more than 8,000 students and 550 faculty, during the search process to replace former dean Peter Rabideau, who announced his departure from Iowa State July 17, 2003.

Rabideau served as the dean of the College of LAS from July 1999 until he accepted the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Mississippi State.

Ben Allen, ISU provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the process of selecting the new interim dean was a group effort.

“[We had] a cabinet comprised of administrators and leaders of the college, and we sought their input on who they thought would be the best person to serve as interim dean,” he said.

“We also sent out e-mail messages to all the faculty and staff seeking their input and recommendation, and based upon my review of potential leaders of the college, I made the decision to ask Dr. Whiteford to serve,” Allen said.

Allen praised Whiteford’s past leadership and said the College of LAS was “very fortunate” to have him accept the position.

“Dr. Whiteford is a well-respected scholar and really a master teacher,” Allen said. “He has also been active in outreach, and you want someone in these leadership positions who are very engaged.”

Whiteford said he has an “open-door policy” and “hopes to listen and learn” during his time as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“I think it’s very important to have vision in the sense that all units need to have direction,” he said. “There are some absolute great faculty members with very good ideas.”

Whiteford said some of the biggest challenges he will face as dean of the College of LAS will be those dealing with budget cuts.

“Budgetary concerns are and have been on the forefront of how we do more with less,” he said. “The central administration and the college have worked very well together to try to reduce the negative impacts of the budget cuts as much as possible.”

Whiteford said he also hopes to continue to offer courses where there is student demand and to keep good programs going.

Allen said the process of selecting a permanent dean will “take more time and be more structured” than the process of selecting the interim dean.

“We must establish a search committee, announce the position, seek nominations and applications, have a review of those applications by the committee and then have campus visits by the candidates, so the university and community can interact with them,” Allen said.

He added they will know in two to three weeks who of the 20 members will make up the search committee for the permanent dean.

“The committee [will be] comprised of more faculty from the [LAS] college more than anyone else,” Allen said. “There will also be some students, some faculty and staff from outside the [LAS] college, but from the university, and then someone from outside the university.”

Allen said Whiteford is eligible to compete for the permanent dean position.

“I think it’s a tiny bit early, but I wouldn’t have taken this job if I wasn’t interested in being dean,” Whiteford said. “This is a good college and I’m not at all worried about the future of LAS.”