News Releases: Iowa State University

QUICK LINKS
Today's News
News releases
ISU homepage

NEWS RELEASE

01-10-01

Contacts:
Benjamin Allen, College of Business, (515) 294-2422
John McCarroll, University Relations, (515) 294-6137

FIVE FINALISTS FOR IOWA STATE PRESIDENCY ANNOUNCED

AMES, Iowa – Five finalists for the presidency of Iowa State University have been announced by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, Presidential Search and Screen Advisory Committee.

The finalists are Sharon Stephens Brehm, provost and professor of psychology at Ohio University, Athens; Michael M. Crow, executive vice provost and professor of science policy and technology at Columbia University, New York; Gregory L. Geoffroy, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Maryland, College Park; Cora Bagley Marrett, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and James L. Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, Iowa State University. The finalists will be on campus over the next two weeks. During the campus visits, the finalists will meet with a variety of university administrative, faculty, staff and student groups. Each will respond to questions during a diversity forum from 3 to 3:45 p.m. and an open forum from 4 to 5:15 p.m. on the first day of the visit. All forums will be in the Memorial Union (rooms listed below). The campus visit schedule follows:

Jan. 16-17, Sharon Stephens Brehm, Gallery
Jan. 17-18, Cora Bagley Marrett, Pioneer Room
Jan. 18-19, James L. Melsa, Gallery
Jan. 19-20, Gregory L. Geoffroy, Pioneer Room
Jan. 22-23, Michael M. Crow, Gallery

The Presidential Search and Screen Advisory Committee will provide reports on each of the finalists to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, following the campus visits. The Board of Regents also will interview each finalist.

"Choosing the next president of Iowa State University is an awesome task and each member of the Presidential Search and Screen Advisory Committee has approached it with enthusiasm and care," said Benjamin Allen, committee chairperson and dean of Iowa State’s College of Business. "The members deserve our deepest appreciation for their dedication and hard work."

Sharon Stephens Brehm
Brehm has been provost of Ohio University since 1996. Prior to this, she was dean of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York, Binghamton, from 1990 to 1996; and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, from 1987 to 1990. She has held a variety of faculty positions in psychology at Ohio University, State University of New York and the University of Kansas. She received a B.A in psychology (1967) from Duke University; a M.A. in clinical psychology (1968) from Harvard University; and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology (1973) from Duke University. Her research interests include male-female relationships and women in higher education.

Brehm is the principal author of the textbook "Social Psychology" and has written many articles on social and clinical psychology. She has held various positions with the American Psychological Association.

Michael M. Crow
Crow has been executive vice provost of Columbia University since 1998 and a professor of science policy and technology since 1992. He has held positions at Columbia since 1991, including vice provost (1993 to 1998); vice provost for research (1992 to 1993); and associate vice provost for science and engineering (1991 to 1992). Previously, he spent six years at Iowa State, including as director of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology (1988 to 1991); director of the Office of Science Policy and Research (1985 to 1991) and associate professor of management and political science (1985 to 1990). He has written several books and articles on science and technology policy. He designed and implemented the Columbia Earth Institute and the Columbia Public Policy Consortium.

Crow received a B.A. in political science and environmental studies from Iowa State and a Ph.D. in public administration (science and technology policy) from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, New York.

Gregory L. Geoffroy
Geoffroy has been senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at University of Maryland, College Park, since 1997. He also served as interim president of the university in 1998. Prior to this, he served in several positions at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, from 1974 to 1989, including dean of the Eberley College of Science and professor and chair of chemistry. He has an extensive publication record in chemistry journals and is a member of the board of directors of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.

He received a B.S. in chemistry (1968) from the University of Louisville, Kentucky; and a Ph.D. in chemistry (1974) from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. He research interests include organometallic chemistry. He was named a Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1991.

Cora Bagley Marrett
Marrett has served as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, since 1997. Previously, she spent 23 years at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she held faculty appointments in sociology and Afro-American studies. At Madison she took leave to work for four years as an assistant director at the National Science Foundation. At NSF, she was the first person to lead the Directorate for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. Marrett also has been on the sociology faculties at Western Michigan University and the University of North Carolina.

She was a member of the President’s Commission on the Accident at Three-Mile Island (Pennsylvania) in 1979. Her research interests include gender issues in classrooms, and women in science and medicine. All of Marrett’s degrees are in sociology; a B.A. (1963) from Virginia Union University, Richmond; and master’s (1965) and Ph.D. (1968) degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

James L. Melsa
Melsa has served as dean of the College of Engineering since 1995. Previously, he spent 11 years at Tellabs Inc., Lisle, Ill., including appointments as vice president of strategic planning and advanced technology, vice president of research and development, and vice president of strategic quality and process management. Melsa also was on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame for 11 years, serving as professor and chair of the electrical engineering department. He also has worked on the faculties at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and the University of Arizona, Tucson, and served as consultant to more than a dozen American companies.

He was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in 1978 and received that group’s Third Millennium Medal last year. Melsa’s research interests include digital signal processing, quality, communications and high velocity performance. Melsa received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State (1960) and his M.S. (1962) and Ph.D. (1965) degrees from the University of Arizona, Tucson.

The next president, the university’s 14th, succeeds Martin Jischke, who became president of Purdue University in August 2000. Distinguished professor of chemical engineering Richard Seagrave is serving as interim president of Iowa State.

-30-