The number of students enrolled in the College of Human Sciences isn’t the only part of Iowa State increasing this year.

With an increase of students also comes an increase in faculty. The college brought in 24 new professors and research and professional staff for the 2014-2015 school year.

“Anytime you bring in new faculty to your units, it brings new thoughts, new ideas, new creativity, just a whole new breath of fresh air to how you are working in your profession,” said Pamela White, dean of the College of Human Sciences. “It’s always an exciting time to bring in new faculty members onto your staff.”

The college tried to base new positions off of student need, White said.

“We try to prioritize based on the instructional needs of the students. That’s always first,” White said. “We prioritize not just in getting faculty, but the request list can also include needs for professional and scientific like our student advisers.”

The 24 new hires are spread across the five units in the College of Human Sciences: food science and human nutrition, kinesiology, human development and family studies, education and apparel, events and hospitality management.

“The college has had remarkable growth each year and every unit has had growth,” said Robert Bosselman, professor and chairman of apparel, events and hospitality. “In general, everyone is experiencing the growing pains. Every unit needs more talent. Every unit needs people who are going to achieve the goals they’ve been setting for themselves.”

The process to hiring these 24 new professors started more than a year ago, with each unit coming up with a priority list to determine what types of professors would be needed for the next academic year.

The college not only has to replace retiring faculty members, but also bring in faculty for brand new positions.

“As one of the chairs, we talk to our faculty and basically decide ‘Do we need positions? What positions do we need?’,” Bosselman said. “Then, my role as chair, I go and speak with the dean and present my case for that position.”

During this process, White said the college is also concerned with working in collaboration with what President Steven Leath wants in a new hire, as well as what the state wants. The college must also think of the economic opportunities, such as federal grants.

In order to keep up with these requirements, the college looked to hire new, innovative professors at the top of their fields.

“You’ve got a lot of young faculty, which is obviously very exciting,” Bosselman said. “They come out of school with the latest ideas. Quite frankly, they’re a little more attuned. They’re much more aware of the latest trends, certainly [with] technology, social media, how to communicate with students today.”

One of these new professors in food science and human nutrition is Keith Vorst, whose research area is concentrated on the design and safety of plastics and food packaging.

“Some of these classes are quite large due to enrollment increases, so maybe we can bring those down and kind of spread the workload around,” Vorst said. “Hopefully students can have more interaction with faculty.”

Vorst was brought in because of the little research being done in his field. After visiting Iowa State on a friend’s recommendation, he said he loved the campus and hopes the students here appreciate it as much as he does.

White said she knows students also appreciate the new faculty members and what they are bringing to the College of Human Sciences.

“I also think students really appreciate all these new faculty members,” White said. “It just creates more dynamic environments for everybody. It gives an excitement and newness to what is happening.”

Both White and Bosselman said these new hires could lead to new class offerings. Although, no new classes would be offered soon, having new people in new fields of study could lead to new classes in the future if they fit into the curriculum and there was student interest.

“[New faculty] are the ones who are influencing our future and impacting where we are going to go in the future,” White said. “We look to our youth in creating a dynamic future. In bringing in all of that creativity and alternative thinking, it’s just wonderful to get a fresh view of people coming from all over to [Iowa State].”