September 4, 2008
Dean Whiteford delivers annual state of the college address
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will continue efforts to increase the number of tenure-track faculty and to recruit high-achieving students in the coming year, according to Dean Michael Whiteford, who addressed college faculty and staff at the fall convocation Sept. 3.
In his annual "state of the college" address, Whiteford was upbeat as he celebrated the start of the academic year. He noted the college teaches nearly 60 percent of all student credit hours on campus and about three-fourths of all the credit hours taken by Iowa State's first- and second-year students.
"In three words, we are the ‘heart and soul' of the institution," he said. "Arguably, this is the college that really makes this entity a university."
Whiteford listed several goals for the college in 2008-09, and two focused on bringing top people to LAS.
"We will not let up on our aggressive plan to replenish the ranks of our tenure-track faculty," he said. "Our goal is to hire three dozen new faculty for next year."
Next year's new faculty would be in addition to the 36 new tenure-track faculty, plus lecturers, who have joined the college this fall.
The dean also has called for the college to continue recruiting an "excellent and diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students." He said LAS is ready to become "a primary destination" for high school students interested in the liberal arts and sciences.
"This represents a paradigm change from the past," he noted.
Whiteford added that as the liberal arts college in a land grant university, "We must continue to cherish and exploit the important niche that the humanities and social sciences need to occupy in order to make this institution the best it can be."
LAS, the dean said, must also continue to strengthen its best programs. "That is a must." He added that the college has other good departments and centers, and the college is "committed to making sure they are not neglected."
Whiteford also told the audience:
• The college must manage all aspects of the new resource management model, and that the transition will be smooth. "It is something that is good for the college and the university." He added that the new budget model will not diminish the tradition of interdisciplinary faculty collaborations.
• The LAS development team, at the midpoint of the current capital campaign, had done an "outstanding job" raising funds that will "change this institution for years to come." He said work will be focused on raising funds to support endowed professorships and endowed chairs.
• LAS will continue to contribute to the university's efforts in biorenewable fuels and other products along with its ongoing fundamental research mission.
• Top-flight instruction is a must, whether it is face-to-face in a classroom or via distance education. "We need to continue to make sure high-quality instruction is always a priority." He also said more students need to be fluent in another language and participate in a worthwhile
international experience.
• The college will be a leader in the university's commitment to becoming a green campus. "We will embrace the President's Live Green Initiative as if it were our own." He encouraged college faculty and staff to reduce energy consumption and create a sustainable environment.
