Iowa State can become an 'exceptional' university, says finalist for president's job

Kathy A. Bolten and Mackenzie Ryan
kbolten@dmreg.com

AMES, Ia. — Iowa State University is an "excellent university" that can become an "exceptional" institution, said one finalist for the top job at the school during a public forum on Tuesday attended by about 230 people.

Iowa State University Presidential candidate Pamela Whitten takes questions in the Memorial union Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.

“The first thing is to recognize is that Iowa State is already a very, very good public institution,” said Pamela Whitten, 54, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia in Athens. “If I didn’t know that before, I certainly know that after last night and today.”

But, she said, if the university is to move to the next level it must improve student retention rates as well as four- and six-year graduation rates. It also most lower student-to-faculty ratios and improve the university’s standing in the Association of American Universities.

“It is at a pivotal point of time ... to climb to new heights at the university,” she said.

Whitten is one of four people under consideration to become ISU’s 16th president.

Sonny Ramaswamy, the director of a federal agricultural agency, visited the ISU campus on Monday. Dale Whittaker, provost and executive vice president at the University of Central Florida will be in Ames on Wednesday.

The name of the fourth finalist will be released Wednesday.

Steven Leath, the university's former president, resigned earlier this year to take the helm at Alabama’s Auburn University.

Iowa State University Presidential candidate Pamela Whitten chats before taking questions in the Memorial union Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.

All of the finalists are taking part in public forums. Whitten, whose expertise is in the field of telemedicine, mingled with the audience before the forum began. “This has been a great day,” she said. “Everyone has just been lovely.”

Whitten chose not to use the podium, instead moving through the middle aisle with some in the audience turning in their seats to view her.

But as she started her speech, Whitten stumbled — forgetting for a moment what state she was in.

“I will say though, it may not be the most beautiful day outside in Ames, Georgia,” said Whitten, whose husband, Jason, accompanied her on the trip. “Really the warmth of the welcome that we’ve had more than makes up for it. So please accept my thank you for that.”

But a few minutes later, Whitten responded to questions with ease, drawing on her personal experience as a resident assistant in the dorms and working with local governments to clear fallen trees after a recent tropical storm.

She explained a new program at the University of Georgia that allows students to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years or less — the Double Dawgs Program that began in August. Initially, university officials thought 50 degree programs would be involved in Double Dawgs; more than 100 are, she said.   

“If you look at national trends, you see why this is most important,” Whitten said. Federal data shows that “by 2022, 18 percent more jobs will require master’s degrees than now. More of our students will need this degree.”

The Georgia university, in an effort to help students get the degrees in a timely manner, also increased the number of classes available in the summer, she said.

Iowa State University Presidential candidate Pamela Whitten takes questions in the Memorial union Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.

The first question Whitten fielded at the forum was from a student asking how Iowa State could better respond to acts of discrimination, and create a more welcoming and inclusive environment. 

“I feel that something that is missing from the discussion today is diversity and inclusion,” said Hannah Scott, a senior studying political science and history education. “We’ve seen an increase in discriminatory acts” on campus, she said, ranging from verbal harassment to comments on social media.

“Iowa State was one of the pioneers of diversity,” Whitten said in response, making a historical reference to George Washington Carver, who was born into slavery but became a leading African-American scientist; he was the first black student to attend Iowa State.   

“Every impression that I have is that commitment continues at this university,” Whitten said. “But the commitment, of course — and the climate and culture you create — has to also be accompanied by direct administrative actions to ensure that everyone understands that you’re working in a place, and you’re living in a place, that sincerely values different perspectives.

“That you want to be in a place where people look differently and think differently and have different ideas, and people are respectful to each other about those different ideas,” she continued.

Among the topics discussed was funding from the state of Iowa and student tuition. Officials from the University of Iowa and Iowa State University have asked for a roughly 7 percent increase in resident undergraduate tuition next year, followed by similar increases the following four years.

“If anyone is going to be president of Iowa State, that’s going to be the main push. Trying to get the Legislature to find some way to help address that: Keeping it affordable while maintaining the quality of the university as a whole,” said John Monroe, an associate professor of history at ISU.

Whitten “struck me as someone who would be very good at getting people on her side,” he said.

Answers to questions

Pamela Whitten was asked a dozen questions during Tuesday's public forum. Here are her answers to two of the questions:

ENROLLMENT GROWTH: "I asked lots of people, how is that growth managed? And I will say, overall, the response is certainly enthusiasm for the opportunity for the increased enrollment and the students that are involved, but there’s also been a bit of, ‘We’ve got to catch our breath.’ We have to look at it and understand the impact ... (and) determine what adjustments need to be made to make sure there’s no compromise in a quality education."

STUDENT FINANCES: "You have to think (about) those students that are so challenged that we risk losing them for small financial reasons, and we’ve discovered that’s more common than people are willing to admit.

"So we have, for example, an emergency fund through our financial aid office (at the University of Georgia) because we found that we had students dropping out of school because they were short $370. Literally that amount of money. There’s no excuse or reason for students to drop out based on that. ...

"We’ve found out, much to our horror and heartbreak, that we had students who were able to stay enrolled in school but they weren’t able, literally, weren’t able to eat. We created a program ...to put them on a meal plan."

 

 

Pamela S. Whitten

Age: 54

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, Tulane University (1985); master’s degree in organizational communication, University of Kentucky (1986); and doctorate from the University of Kansas’ communications studies department (1996).

Recent administration experience: Senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia, a post she’s held since 2014; dean and associate dean of Michigan State University’s college of communication arts and sciences (2007-14); and director of information technology services and research at the University of Kansas Medical Center (1995-98).

Academic experience: Professor and associate professor at the University of Kansas, Purdue University and Michigan State University.

Family: Husband, Jason.