After seeing his work in the College of Engineering, several officials are placing their bets on ISU faculty member James Melsa becoming the next president of Iowa State.Max Wortman, chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee for the Faculty Senate, said Melsa, dean of engineering, has done a good job with the college. Melsa has been at Iowa State since 1995, when he was chosen as dean.”He certainly has attempted to have focus in the school, and he has been able to unify the school in terms of its focus,” said Wortman, distinguished professor of management.Provost Rollin Richmond also said Melsa has brought good leadership to the college, and his business background is an administrative advantage.”I think he’s brought a new approach to the administration and leadership of that college,” he said. “Dean Melsa has spent a fair amount of his life in the business world. The business world is, I think, somewhat ahead of the academic world in approach to management.”Melsa agrees with his colleagues on the direction the engineering college is taking, Richmond said, and also provides incentives for people in the college to get projects done.”All [of these things] have made significant differences in engineering,” he said.Melsa’s administrative style includes consulting with people and preparing for the future, while also giving people the opportunity to voice and implement their ideas, Richmond said.”People believe the changes in the College of Engineering have been very well received,” he said.After observing Melsa’s character, Wortman said he believes Melsa has a good rapport with people.”He’s a wonderful, open, friendly [and] accommodating human being,” he said. “He gets along very well with the faculty and staff.”Clint Rabe, president of the ISU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, also said Melsa is very approachable.When Melsa was involved in Leadership Advantage, a program to develop leadership skills for incoming freshmen in engineering, Rabe said he was impressed when Melsa attended the event and was accessible to the students.”To sit down and be able to talk with him was a very great thing,” said Rabe, junior in mechanical engineering. “To spend his time with us — I thought that was very kind of him.”Wortman also said one of Melsa’s great qualities is his adoration of the university.”He loves Iowa State,” he said. “He really loves the institution.”Richmond said he enjoys working with Melsa and believes he has a chance to become ISU’s next president.”He has the best intentions of this institution at heart,” he said. “He is an Iowan and has a deep and substantial feeling for the significance of this institution.”