Joseph Jwu-shan Jen, one of the six finalists for the dean of the College of Agriculture, outlined his goals at an open forum Monday.

“One of the things that attracted me to this position is the [administrators] kept saying they want to become the best land-grant university,” Jen said. “My definition of that is to serve the people in the state of Iowa, the nation and the world effectively, in that order.”

Jen has served as dean of the College of Agriculture at Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, Calif., since 1992.

He received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural chemistry at the National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Republic of China in 1964, and then he received his Ph.D. in comparative biochemistry from University of California, Berkeley in 1969.

Jen also has served as the division head of food science and technology at the University of Georgia from 1986-1992 and was group manager and director of research at the Campbell Institute of Research and Technology in New Jersey from 1980-1986. He held various faculty positions from 1975-1980.

“He has the qualifications and the background to do the job and has a vision that encompasses the three areas of the college: research, teaching and extension,” said Joe Colletti, associate professor of forestry. “He likes challenges, and he would come to the job wanting to working with students and faculty.”

Jen also spoke about the importance of recruiting new students and some of the strategies he uses.

“I started the Ag Ambassadors program at Cal Poly, and each year, we train about 30 undergrad students,” Jen said. “We put them through two training exercises, teaching them the facts about the college, and then they have to go through a public speaking course for 12 weeks.”

He also stressed the importance of listening to students’ ideas. Once a month, Jen meets with about 25 students for pizza and asks them for any ideas or suggestions they have.

“This is the one meeting I never cancel, no matter what comes up, because I feel student input into the college is very important,” Jen said.

When asked about specific solutions that could be applied to programs dealing with the falling crop prices, Jen said the real danger is the lack of diversity in Iowa crops.

“Iowa has four main crops: corn, soybeans, cattle and pigs,” Jen said. “One option is to diversify into the higher-value crops and try to find value added in the diversity of crops.”

Jen also will be speaking today at 10 a.m., followed by a diversity forum at 3 p.m. Both events are in Room 8 of Curtiss Hall.