The College of Business dean search committee has been formed, applications and nominations are being collected and the reviewing process will begin Jan. 15.

“The search committee is a good cross-section representation,” said Walter Gmelch, business dean search committee chairman.

The committee consists of 17 people from several different areas of business. They include ISU professors, private business executives and students.

“Business is rapidly changing,” said Steve Chapman, search committee member. “Technology has changed business dramatically. We provide that view.”

Chapman, president and CEO of ITA Group in West Des Moines – a performance marketing company – has worked with Iowa State in the past. Most recently, ITA Group and Iowa State have partnered to develop leadership training from scratch, he said.

“In working with Iowa State, I have developed a respect for it,” Chapman said. “Iowa State is committed to being the best they could be, and I wanted to provide any help I could.”

Chapman, whose son is an ISU student, said he “cares greatly about the university.”

Kayla Gleason, senior in accounting, is the undergraduate student representative on the business dean search committee. “We are looking for a dean who is honest, an upstanding business professional and who has outstanding leadership qualities,” Gleason said.

The dean will be responsible for providing a unique and creative interdisciplinary focus for the college that reflects and complements the science and technology strengths of Iowa State, according to the Office of the Provost Web site, www.provost.iastate.edu/positions/busdean. The dean is also expected to lead the college to a position of national and international academic prominence while fully integrating the university’s missions of learning, discovery and engagement.

“The new dean will have a vision for the college, high integrity, credibility with both faculty and students, be able to raise resources and be leader within the College of Business,” said Gmelch, dean of education.

Because the students are the customer base for the university and the constituents are the businesses that interact with the college, communication is important, Chapman said. “We should attract a dean that has spent some time in the private sector and is an outstanding communicator,” he said.

The applications and nominations have already begun to arrive, Gmelch said. Potential candidates can either apply directly or can be nominated and sent a letter asking them to apply, he said. “So far we have about 40 nominations and applications,” Gmelch said.

Of those, he said, 25 are nominations and 15 are applications.

“We will continue to accept applications after Jan. 15,” Gmelch said, “but once the interviews begin, it is too late.”