Interim President Richard Seagrave may be moving to Beardshear Hall, but his roots are still with the students. For most of his 34 years at Iowa State, Seagrave was a professor in chemical engineering. The Board of Regents chose Seagrave this summer to be interim president after former President Martin Jischke left Iowa State for Purdue University. Seagrave officially began his new position Aug. 14, but he is still adviser to several chemical engineering students. “I was pretty close to my students because [chemical engineering] was very interactive,” he said. The transition from professor to interim president is not always smooth, but Seagrave said his position can remain productive since he knew what to expect coming in. “The hard part is moving on from collecting data to gaining perspective, like what is important and who does what,” he said. Seagrave already had experience in a temporary position when he served as interim provost from December 1998 until September 1999. One objective for Seagrave is staying in contact with students, which he said is often difficult to remember. He was reminded of his purpose at Iowa State one day when he saw crowds of people in front of Beardshear Hall. “I thought, `Why are all these students here? Why are they in my way?’ But students clogging up the sidewalks is the reason we’re here,” he said. Seagrave will not be considered for the permanent position, which was a condition in his agreement to act as interim president. He said past interim presidents who have not gotten the position have left the university. “When the next person comes in, there’s tension and a loss of face,” he said. The biggest difference between Seagrave’s duties and Jischke’s duties is how Seagrave will share information with other workers. “Everything I know needs to be in someone else’s head by the time I leave. . I want at least two people to know what I know,” he said. Making the transition as easy as possible for the next president is one of Seagrave’s goals for the year, he said. “I want to try to do everything I can and not leave anything behind for the next person. It takes a while just to meet everyone and figure out the system,” he said. Seagrave also served as the interim director of the ISU Computation Center in 1991 and 1992. His involvement as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering for seven years and several other committees exposed him to the administration and eventually led to his current position. Being a professor and being in contact with both students and administrators has given Seagrave insight on research and teaching, two issues that have been controversial during Jischke’s tenure. Seagrave said that this year he will try to dispel some myths people may hold about research and teaching. “They are very related. I truly believe that it’s a very synergistic relationship,” he said. Seagrave’s departure has left a void in the department of chemical engineering. The classes he was scheduled to teach this fall have been redistributed among other professors. After his stint as interim president, Seagrave plans to return to teaching, he said.