Back in March, the day after former President Steven Leath sent a letter to the student body which confirmed he was leaving for Auburn, the Iowa State Daily Editorial Board had one suggestion: that the university’s administration take a new track in its own selection process over the next few months, particularly to stay transparent and ask for our community’s opinions from the start. The Editorial Board said it’d be worth the time.

Over the last week, the search committee to find Leath’s replacement has done just that. They held multiple open forums, one just for students even, and explained the search process at each of them. The recordings are available online at presidentsearch.iastate.edu.

But many students aren’t in Ames for the summer. Those student’s voices, opinions and input are still important. The search committee recognized that and offered an email submission to [email protected].

What had our Editorial Board asked for in a new president?

The first is a qualification that we have already discussed at length — transparency. Our next president must be forthcoming with ideas and information. Even the notion of wrongdoing or the appearance of withholding information from the staff and students can taint a presidency and hinder development.

A university’s president is more than just the aggregate of his or her policy decisions; they are a spokesperson, figurehead, representative and ambassador.

Our new president needs to be student-focused. He or she needs to be in touch with our issues, our concerns and our opinions. Of equal importance, he or she needs to be transparent in their conversations, dealings and actions on behalf of—ideally—our concerns and our opinions. This is the position’s duty, and this ought to be each candidate’s most thoroughly vetted characteristic.

The next president must understand the significance of Iowa State’s land-grant history. The state of Iowa was the first in the nation to take advantage of the agreements laid out in the Morrill Act of 1862. Since then, Iowa State University has been a pioneering institution that provides high quality education not only to enrolled students, but to the broader state, nation and world. 

Our next president will also have to deal with issues that are affecting colleges and universities across the nation. They must be able to tackle and effectively reduce the number of sexual assaults that occur on Iowa State’s campus. The next president will also need to improve Iowa State’s diversity and inclusion programs so that all students feel safe and welcomed on our campus. These are difficult issues that require complex solutions. Our advice is that the new president comes in with an open mind and a willingness to listen to staff and students.

Iowa State has seen record enrollment and an ambitious fundraising campaign under President Leath. The next president will need to decide how to move forward regarding both of these aspects.

Ultimately, the Editorial Board in the spring said it’s important that the greater Iowa State community is engaged in the entire process. Your summer Editorial Board says the same. Send the email.