Now that everybody has been able to toss in his or her 2 cents about Iowa State under the Jischke era, it’s about time to turn our attention to the post-Jischke era. Regarding our immediate future, a good question to ask is “Who should be the interim president?”

With the new full-time president likely to come from outside Iowa State, this is the time to speculate on who within Iowa State will get the promotion on an interim basis. That’s of course assuming that the regents won’t do something foolish like bring in a person from the University of Northern Iowa or the University of Iowa to “lead” for eight months.

Whoever it is, the interim president won’t be someone who is going to have a lot of power. Their primary role will be to carry out the “Chief of State” responsibilities of the presidency, as well as serve as a spokesperson for Iowa State.

Each of the vice presidents and other administrative leaders will most likely be given a little more freedom to do their position to compensate for not having a full-time president. Regardless, it’s still fun to guess who it’s going to be, so here are my recommendations.

First, let’s turn our attention to some of the bridesmaids.

Tom Hill, vice president for Student Affairs: My favorite administrator in Beardshear, he probably won’t get the nod because he is Student Affairs. Except in rare circumstances, the president should be someone who comes from an academic background. Couple that with the fact that he has only been at Iowa State for three years and he’s likely to stay up on the third floor.

Rollin Richmond, provost: This is usually the most logical choice. The provost serves the role of chief academic administrator and is usually a position that leads to a presidency at some universities. However, since Richmond has only been at Iowa State since September it is probably not the best idea that he gets this promotion, even on an interim basis.

Now on to the people who I feel should get a serious look at the position.

Richard Seagrave, Chemical Engineering Department: I still have yet to hear one bad thing about the guy, from either a student or an ISU employee.

That’s saying something since the guy has been here since the late ’50s. Mention his name to a group of Chem E students and without hesitation they’ll talk about how great of a professor he is.

Coming from the College of Engineering, he fits the profile of an ISU president with his science and technology background. He has experience working with the administration and the regents because he served as interim provost in 1999. Couple all that with the fact that he is just a cool person, and he’d make a great president even on a full-time basis.

Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance. While he hasn’t been here quite as long as Seagrave, he has been here for 34 or so years. He started here to get his B.S. and since returning a few years later, has served on nearly every board and committee the Ames/ISU area has to offer.

There is no one on the campus that is more ready to step into the President’s role, and his closeness with the regents won’t hurt either.

He is one of the few administrative leaders to have held their position over the course of three ISU presidents, which should say volumes about his ability to get along with different types of people.

Go into his office for a meeting and you’ll soon feel as if you’re in a coffee shop instead of Beardshear.

Even though he is not in Student Affairs, he still does a great job working with students and helping meet their needs on this campus. The question about Madden is the same as Hill’s: Should someone not from an academic background be chosen as leader of an academic institution?

The fact that he is from the business and finance department won’t do anything to help the stereotype about Iowa State’s priorities, either.

After 16 years as a vice president, Madden has more than enough experience, as well as stories, to be able to step into the president’s position.

Either Seagrave or Madden would be great for Iowa State.

Both of them are easy to get along with, not only as colleagues, but also as people. They have a good idea of what Iowa State needs and will hold the boat steady until a full-time president is chosen.

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Matt Craft is a senior in secondary education from La Porte City. Wish him happy birthday and give him a spanking if you see him today.