Experienced ISU staff members looking for an opportunity to aid in research are in luck, as the university has an opening for an associate vice president for research.

Sarah Nusser, vice president for research, hopes to fill the position with an experienced member of the ISU faculty. With Iowa State being among the top research universities in America, she said she wants to be sure only the most qualified individual is put in the position.

“The associate vice president is very important to our office,” Nusser said.

The position helps advance research at Iowa State by creating programs and services to support Iowa State’s research through work to increase campus research capacity and forming relationships with people who would sponsor research at the university.

The aim is to improve the results of Iowa State’s research department while helping it grow, Nusser said.

The work of the position is not limited to any particular field. The position must work with many interdisciplinary research centers and be able to “foster cross-college research space,” Nusser said.

These duties are important to the goals of the Office of the Vice President for Research. A committee was formed to interview and research applicants for the position.

The committee consists of a diverse group of distinguished ISU faculty. The chairman, Qijin Zhang, is the associate dean of veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine. The other committee members include: Kristen Constant, chairwoman for the materials science and engineering department; Donald Beermann, chairman of the animal science department; and Jonathan Wendel, chairman of the ecology, evolution and organismal biology department.

Nusser and the committee are busy searching through applicants, looking for current ISU staff members who are creative, flexible, collaborative, have good interpersonal skills, can work at the individual and group level and possess knowledge of multiple colleges. They must be an accomplished doctor with administration experience and exposure to research integrity.

The requirements may seem steep, but even research students expect this level of skill and experience from the position.

“They should know the analytics of research, have good ethics and be good leaders,” said Chandler Wilkins, junior in community and regional planning who does research with Francis Owusu, chairman of the community and regional planning department. “They should also have a strong network.”