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Double duty
Mack Shelley is the professor who can't say no to any project.
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The word "no" probably isn't in Mack Shelley's vocabulary.
At least that's what Dean Isaacson, professor and head of the Department
of Statistics, says about his colleague.
"He (Shelley) says 'yes' to more requests than one should and somehow
manages to do quality work on all parts of his job," Isaacson writes.
"Dr. Shelley says 'yes' too often because he enjoys helping people
and he realizes in most cases he is the best person for the job."
Shelley says he has always been an individual to take on new challenges.
While an undergraduate student at American University, he was involved
in a variety of student government committees. He was also one of two
undergraduates who served on the promotion and tenure committee for American
University’s School of International Studies.
He was even a double major as an undergraduate with degrees in international
studies and economics.
"If you say 'no’' on a project, then chances are you'll kick yourself
when you miss out on something really cool that happens," Shelley
said.
The professor of statistics hasn't changed much since he first came to
Iowa State in 1979. For the next 20 years, he was a faculty member in
both the Department of Statistics and the Department of Political Science.
"I guess it's in my makeup to do more than one thing at a time,"
he said.
In August 1999 Shelley moved part of his appointment from political science
to the College of Education, where he is a professor in the Department
of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He also serves as the coordinator
of research for the Research Institute for Studies in Education (RISE),
while he still maintains a courtesy appointment in political science.
In fact at one point Shelley had three offices on campus.
"I joke that I spend a lot of time running wind sprints across campus,"
he said.
All joking aside, Shelley is always looking for a new project, while continuing
to work on what he already has going.
He estimates he has served on over 500 POS committees while at Iowa State,
including 103 current assignments. He has chaired or co-chaired about
50 of those committees.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities and duties with RISE, he
has collaborated on research with virtually every college at Iowa State.
He has become involved in work for the Iowa Department of Education and
the state Departments of Public Health (consequences of well contamination
and cecessation of teenage tobacco use) and Economic Development (homelessness
in Iowa).
He is the co-author of the American Government and Politics Today
textbook along with Steffen Schmidt, University Professor of political
science, and Barbara Bardes of the University of Cincinnati.
A majority of his research revolves around public policy outcomes, while
most projects come his way due to his association with the Department
of Statistics.
Even with all the on-going activities he has, Shelley still is looking
for more projects. This semester, he's scheduled to teach an ICN class
in the Vet Med complex, one of the few areas on campus he hasn’t worked
with.
"I’m hopeful that I can make some connections while I'm teaching
there," he said.
Even for a guy that can't say "no" there are times when Shelley
feels he has become overextended.
"An important part of being a faculty member for me is to combine
teaching, research and service," he said. "Most of the times
those will all blur together.
The variety stimulates his interest. He is driven by a "mortal fear
of being bored" and worries that he may just have a short attention
span.
At the rate Mack Shelley is going, here's a guess that he'll never find
that one out.
Around LAS
February 4-10, 2002
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