Need to Know: New administrators

Iowa State’s Logo.

Devyn Leeson

The Iowa State administration will have a new set of faces going into next semester. A long list of retirements has opened up space for some key positions.

Here are some of the filled positions:

Mark Simpson

University Registrar

The Office of the Registrar is a section of student affairs tasked with keeping, holding and preserving student records.

Simpson has a background with more than 20 years of experience at the University of Utah doing registrar, enrollment and student affairs duties. He has experience improving degree, advising and class scheduling systems.

Simpson’s main skills include academic records and registration, enrollment management, recruitment and admissions, financial management, student success, retention and completion, student development and enterprise software solutions.

Sandra Looft

Director Margaret Sloss Women’s Center

The objective of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center at Iowa State University is to promote gender equity and social justice on campus.

Looft was an advising coordinator and lecturer in the department of World Languages and Cultures in addition to a faculty affiliate in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.

Looft will look over the strategic vision of the Women’s Center, promote the program, supervise staff and direct building operations in the Sloss House.

Amanda Knief

Director of the Lectures Program

The Lectures Program organizes lectures, political debates, academic forums and cultural events.

Knief was a graduate of Iowa State from the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and later a graduate of the Drake Law School.  Knief currently serves as a legislative analyst in the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service.

She previously held positions in government relations, policy and event planning positions with the American Atheists, Secular Coalition of America and Iowa Legislative Services Agency.

Sara Marcketti

Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

CELT provides resources for faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdocs interested in teaching.

Marcketti has been a professor of apparel, events and hospitality management and served as CELT associate director since 2013 and interim director since July 2017.

Marcketti will serve a five-year appointment and continue her work on multiple campus initiatives that aim to improve teaching effectiveness.

Jose Rosa

Fellow to the vice president for diversity and inclusion

According to their website, the aim of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion “is to promote critical thinking, the responsible management of people, professional skills development, innovation in research, teaching and learning and the constructive expression of divergent viewpoints.”

Jose Rosa is a tenured and well-respected professor in marketing at Iowa State. He organized a fall 2016 summit in Des Moines and discussed opportunities to provide a better business education to Iowa’s growing Hispanic population.

His fellowship will focus on training of Iowa State faculty in diversity and inclusion.