Wendy Wintersteen, the former dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Science, started as president of Iowa State today. 

Wintersteen started at Iowa State 38 years ago after earning a bachelor of science in crop protection from Kansas State University and moved up through CALS until becoming dean. 

At her open forum as a finalist for president, Wintersteen said Iowa State doesn’t have time to wait for an outside candidate. Now, less than a month after she was the first woman appointed to the position, Wintersteen is ready to start. 

“In the end, as I considered the opportunity, it really was my love for the university, how I care about Iowa State,” Wintersteen said. “I thought that I brought a special set of ability at this time. I understand Iowa State University. I think I know the culture of the university. I understand Iowa.”

Wintersteen sat down with the Daily to talk about her plans as president. Here are some of the things she touched on. 

Transitioning from dean to president

Wintersteeen has served as dean of CALS for the last 15 years. 

Now as she moves from overseeing a single college to the entire university, Wintersteen said the partnerships she has made across the different colleges and the senior vice presidents will help her through the transition saying, “We have a strong foundation.”

“So it’s really an increase in magnitude and complexity,” Wintersteen said. “But the work that I’ve done in a very complex college — that has many facilities across Iowa, that has many external stakeholders with many different issues, strong undergraduate program — is really a matter of scaling that up and going across the many different disciplines.”

Once interim-President Benjamin Allen heads back to retirement, Wintersteen said the first thing she will do as president is “go out and listen.”

“I think it’s just so important to begin a process of working with the various official groups on campus and hear what they have to say, what would they like to say about their challenges and what they see as the opportunities,” Wintersteen said. 

Improving the campus climate

During Wintersteen’s open forum and acceptance address, she emphasized creating a welcoming and inclusive campus climate.

After posters depicting white supremacist values were found on campus last fall, a debate emerged over free speech versus hate speech. 

Wintersteen commended interim-President Allen’s response when similar stickers were found both on campus and around the city of Ames in September. 

She said she wants to follow on the foundation he had laid that “free speech is just part of the university, that is the free exchange of ideas, the opportunity to discuss issues” 

“But, what we can’t allow is situations where an environment exists where a student may be harmed because of how that situation is developing,” Wintersteen said. “I think that’s where interim-president Ben Allen drew the line.”

Another issue Iowa State, as well as institutions across the country, faces is sexual assault. Wintersteen said she was pleased with the launch of the Green Dot program this fall. 

“I think that is helpful on very many different levels. So, we’ll be able to see if that is successful, if it can make a difference,” Wintersteen said. “At the same time, we have to all be talking about how that simply is something that can’t be allowed.”

As dean, Wintersteen said she sat down with a student who had been sexually assaulted and listened to her story. She listened to the process the student had to go through following the assault. 

She said all faculty must be prepared to help students who have been sexually assaulted. 

“So again, it’s about being transparent in what’s happening, it’s about having training, it’s about having standards for all students that should be upheld,” Wintersteen said. 

Following the past presidents

With 15 presidents before her, Wintersteen spoke to which issues she will follow her predecessors on and which ones she will have her own to take on. 

Now-Auburn President Steven Leath, who left Iowa State in May, received criticism on lacking transparency after it was revealed he had a hard landing and ended up damaging a university plane, and failed to disclose it to the public. 

It was also later revealed he mixed business and personal travel when using the plane. A recent audit report questioned the purchase of the university plane which was largely used by Leath to obtain his pilot license. 

Wintersteen said transparency will be a priority when she takes office. 

“And I think very strong communications early, about everything that we’re involved in, that really builds trust and it creates transparency,” Wintersteen said. “If you’re not involved in an excellent effort to communicate, then I don’t think you can have transparency and trust.”

Leath was also known as the president to end Veishea, a spring tradition which many alumni returned to Iowa State for, ended when the 2015 celebration turned into a weekend of riots. 

When asked if she had plans for a new spring celebration, Wintersteen brought up the traditions that have already formed or made a comeback since Veishea ended, including the homecoming parade on Main Street. 

“You know, when I think about the loss of Veishea, I think about what the leaders of the university have done to set up a whole new set of new traditions already,” Wintersteen said. “Jeff Johnson in our alumni association, has done a great job of that.” 

Wintersteen has no current plans for a Veishea replacement, but said it needs to come from a community conversation to figure out what was lost when they stopped having Veishea.

Past Iowa State presidents traditionally let many decisions be made by the college deans, creating a decentralized campus.

As a current college dean, Wintersteen said she plans to continue this tradition calling it a great system.

“So it’s out of the colleges that are teaching research and extension programs are developed, and then we have a great set of senior vice presidents that oversee the work that supports those core missions that are just squarely, squarely in the colleges,” Wintersteen said. “So I’m going to believe in that decentralized model and support it, and again I think it’s made Iowa State strong because we stay close to the people that really know what needs to be done, and that’s just how we should continue.” 

Wintersteen also plans to continue the work of Leath when it comes to fundraising for the Forever True, For Iowa State campaign. 

“When I see the wonderful gift that came to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, I think it came in around $145 million, this is going to change the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” Wintersteen said. “And as I listen to Dean Beate Schmittmann talk about that gift, she talks about the importance of scholarships that will be able to be provided as a result of that gift.”