ISU administrators and the state Board of Regents aren’t wasting any time in their search for a permanent replacement for ISU President Martin Jischke.

Benjamin Allen, dean of the ISU College of Business, was appointed earlier this month by the board to be chairman of the search committee for the new president.

Allen described the timetable for selecting a new president as “do-able but aggressive.”

That tentative schedule may become even more aggressive, said Regent Clarkson Kelly.

The regents have expressed an interest in having the committee present their recommendations before September, which was designated as a deadline.

The Presidential Search and Screen Advisory Committee, charged with the duty of selecting candidates, will consist of up to 23 members.

The people who make up the committee will be nine faculty members, one of whom will be a departmental executive officer, one dean, three staff members, three students, four alumni and up to three representatives selected by the president of the board, Owen Newlin.

“The things that have to be done soon is the forming of a candidate-selection committee, and we have to hire an executive-search firm to help the advisers go over the list of candidates,” Kelly said.

Allen said a Search and Screen Advisory, consisting of ISU faculty and staff, first must be formed.

“Whoever serves on this committee will have to do it very aggressively. It is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility,” he said.

In order for the committee to present its findings before September, the regents may have to schedule a meeting for August, a month they normally don’t meet, said Frank Stork, regents executive director.

Once the board approves the committee’s criteria for the president, it will begin selecting candidates with the aid of a yet-to-be named private executive search firm, Stork said.

Board members hope to have their final four candidates named by November or December.

Stork said there should be a large number of candidates interested in the position.

“We hope to get some very good candidates,” he said. “It should be an attractive job for a lot of people.”

Kelly agreed, adding that the ISU presidency will be highly sought after.

“We shouldn’t have any trouble finding a very good candidate,” he said. “The job of president at Iowa State University is widely considered a good one.”

The final selection may not please everyone, but that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t express their thoughts, Kelly said.

“Those with strong opinions will get involved in the search process, so everyone on campus who wants to voice their opinion can,” he said.

Thomas Hill, vice president for Student Affairs, said although no two people are alike, a leader who is similar to Jischke may be ideal.

“Jischke has provided effective leadership and raised a lot of money for students,” Hill said. “He has really made a difference.”

However, some people believe that wouldn’t be a good choice for the university.

Neal Bowers, distinguished professor of English and one of the authors of the petition against Jischke, said he strongly believes the board will appoint a president with the same fund-raising abilities as Jischke, which he thinks will hurt Iowa State.

“We have lost sight of what the function of a land-grant university is; it’s supposed to be for the undergrads,” he said.

“When you put emphasis on research, you pull your best teachers out of the classrooms and you are left with classrooms being taught by TAs.”

Despite his strong hopes for change, Bowers said he believes his wishes will not become a reality.

“I would be more astonished if the university hired a different type of president than Jischke than if aliens landed on central campus,” he said.