The ISU College of Business elected an ISU alumnus to serve as its Executive-in-Residence for the first time since the program’s initiation in 1995.

“We’ve had outstanding Executive-in-Residence in the past; this year we decided that it was time to have an alumnus come back,” said Mary Harms, director of Marketing and Alumni Relations for the College of Business.

C. Richard Stark Jr., a 1971 ISU graduate, is the current president of Iowa Commodities, Inc. and chairman of First American Bank Group of Fort Dodge.

Stark met with students and faculty during his campus visit March 7-8 and attended a public forum titled “From business student to the Chicago Board of Trade to president of a multibank holding company: The entrepreneurial endeavors of C. Richard Stark.”

Stark, an expert in agricultural commodities, was chosen at a time when the College of Business was in search of an agribusiness professional to profile to its students, said Benjamin Allen, dean of the college.

“[Stark] teaches students that you have to take calculated risks. If you do fail, it’s not the end of the world,” he said.

The Executive-in-Residence program was conceived with the goal to link theory and research with practice.

“This program is excellent,” Harms said.

“It allows students and staff to have an exposure to business executives and allows business executives to have a better understanding of what our college has to offer,” she said.

During their two- or three-day stay on the ISU campus, the executives talk to classes, meet with curriculum committees and hold office hours. They also hold an open forum for the entire campus community.

Past Executives-in-Residence have included R. Brad Martin, chairman and CEO of Retail for Saks Incorporated, and Richard O. Jacobson, founder, president and CEO of Jacobson Warehouse and Jacobson Transportation.

The program brings visibility to the business program and helps students build connections in the business world, Allen said.