He traded the East Coast for the Midwest, a suburb of a major city for a town that has an urban status only three-quarters of the year, and docile deer, red foxes and a variety of songbirds for crows and rabbits.

Yet as President Gregory Geoffroy approaches the end of his first year at Iowa State, he can see nothing but positives.

Well, except for maybe one.

Geoffroy said he has enjoyed living close enough that he can often walk to his office, the Memorial Union or to events on campus, but like all students living on the east side of campus, he walks fast when the crows are settling in the trees for the night during the winter months. He speed-walks “particularly when you hear the droppings hitting the leaves. It’s like it’s raining,” he said.

Besides the birds, Geoffroy said the Knoll is a nice place to live.

“It’s quiet,” he said. “We’re not disturbed by student noise.”

The Knoll is a bit more crowded now than when he first moved in. His family just completed the move from Maryland a few weeks ago, he said. His son, Michael, was in his senior year of high school, and President Geoffroy didn’t want to make him leave for his final year. Because of the distance, Geoffroy saw his family about every three weeks for three or four days, he said.

“It’s not the best way to do it, but it worked,” Geoffroy said.

While Geoffroy said his first year was enjoyable, he also said it was a year of challenges.

“Budget challenges occupied a great deal of time,” Geoffroy said. With financial cuts that kept coming, money was a constant problem.

He came to Iowa State with a goal of instituting new academic initiatives, which he feels greatly impact the excellence of a university. Six initiatives were identified, and then put on hold because there wasn’t a sufficient amount of money to begin them, he said.

“Budget challenges held us back on a lot of things like that,” Geoffroy said.

However, Geoffroy said he was pleased with how the community has responded to the challenges, he said.

Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance, said Geoffroy has adapted to his position very well and responded to the budget issues in a positive manner.

“The budget challenges have been addressed pretty methodical and organized,” Madden said. Geoffroy listened to and many times used the advice of the committee designated to deal with the budget cuts, he said.

It has been a trying year, but Geoffroy has a positive attitude, Madden said.

What Geoffroy enjoyed most was getting acquainted with the people of Iowa State and the Ames community.

“The people here at Iowa State are just terrific,” Geoffroy said. “The people experience has been very satisfying for me.”

Though he has a busy schedule, he enjoys taking time to meet the students.

Geoffroy said he tries to attend different student groups’ and clubs’ events when time allows.

“I’ve really enjoyed our students,” he said. “The students have a deep loyalty. I see it all the time among alumni.”

Not only has Geoffroy enjoyed the time he has spent with students, but he has also enjoyed working with his colleagues.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have very good people to work with,” Geoffroy said.

And the feeling is mutual.

“Personally, I’ve found [Geoffroy] is an excellent president to work with,” Madden said. “His style has fit in well on campus.”

When interacting with Regents, alumni and the Ames community, Madden has primarily heard positive comments.

“My sense is Geoffroy is perceived and received very positive,” he said.

The connection between Iowa State and the Ames community is unusually strong, Geoffroy said. In his past experience, at both Penn State and the University of Maryland, he has not seen the connection that exists between Iowa State and Ames.

“In many ways, it’s a unique relationship,” he said.

Another adjustment over the year was getting used to the media attention that comes with the position, he said.

“It takes a little bit getting used to the constant media attention,” Geoffroy said. “There’s very little privacy.”