Per Iowa State University President Steven Leath’s resignation letter sent to the Cyclone family just yesterday, Auburn University’s 19th president will be himself. This comes two days after The Opeilka-Auburn News reported his being on the university’s “short list” of candidates.

And, despite Auburn’s unceremonious, un-transparent 2007 candidate selection process, their recent appointment of Steven Leath to the office was no more engaging than their last. It seems this is not a goal of their method.

Iowa State University, conversely, held two public forums prior to its hiring of Steven Leath in 2011. While this is by any means a proper and a decent procedure, this Editorial Board would suggest the university’s administration take a new track in its own selection process over these next few months: Stay transparent from the start, and ask for our community’s opinions from the start. They’ll be worth your time.

Especially in light of the soon former administration’s recent, highly publicized transparency transgression—President Steven Leath’s controversial use of university-owned aircraft—there is a particular need for it.

A university’s president is more than just the aggregate of his or her policy decisions; they are a spokesperson, figurehead, representative and ambassador. As such, the candidates for such a position ought to be considered for all their attributes by not just the university’s leadership and administration, but by all their constituents—the students, the faculty and the staff.

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.

More than just the university’s administration doing this vetting, however, it’s important that the greater Iowa State community is engaged. Public forums need to be held before the search for candidates even begins, to solicit our community’s desires, and most importantly need to be continually held as candidates are made known to the public.

In the ideal world, assuming all goes reasonably well, Iowa State will not find itself in the position the University of Iowa so recently did—that being mired in an actual lawsuit over the selection process’ legal (and allegedly illegal) proceedings.

Bearing all this in mind, this Editorial Board would suggest that the university take its time soliciting constituent input, and not select a new hire until the students have returned for next year’s Fall semester. This is a process that ought not be rushed, and a process that requires all our university populations’ consideration.