Iowa State University Foundation moving in ‘another direction’ with president, CEO

AMES - The Iowa State University Foundation has decided 'to move in another direction” with its president and CEO and announced this week that Roger Neuhaus will be leaving the organization.

Neuhaus, an Iowa native, took the helm of the ISU Foundation in 2013 after serving as senior vice president for development and university campaigns at the University of Arizona Foundation.

Foundation spokeswoman Karen Simon told The Gazette the board of directors 'continuously evaluates the effectiveness of its CEO and decided it's time to move in another direction.”

The change, she said, is 'not a reflection of performance of the foundation as a whole.” Simon declined to comment about the board's reasoning to move away from Neuhaus, saying it's a personnel matter.

Neuhaus could not immediately be reached for comment for this story.

The board announced the decision after its regularly scheduled board meeting Monday, Simon said. Larissa Holtmyer Jones, current vice president for development at the ISU Foundation, will take over as president and CEO, she said.

A transition period will occur over the next month to ease Jones into her new role. Jones has been with the foundation for 17 years and held several positions, serving as vice president since August 2008, according to a news release.

Foundation board Chairman Len Rodman said in a statement that Jones is a 'seasoned fundraising professional, and we are excited that she has agreed to step into this leadership role.”

While at the foundation, according to the news release, Jones played a 'critical role in the oversight and implementation of the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the university.” Before joining the foundation in 1997, Jones led the corporate and foundation relations program at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and the annual giving program at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn.

She earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's in business from Iowa State.

'Focusing on the goals of the foundation and its strength in advancing the mission of Iowa State are the most important tasks at hand,” Jones said in a statement. 'We are excited to plan for the future, which includes Iowa State's next comprehensive campaign.”

ISU President Steven Leath also providing a statement about Jones, saying he's worked closely with her over the past three years.

'I am certain she has the perfect set of skills and abilities to lead the foundation's efforts to make ISU our nation's premier land-grant institution,” Leath said.

The foundation president is responsible for all systems that lead to the procurement and management of private support for ISU, its faculty, students, and other constituencies, according to the foundation's website.

Under Neuhaus' leadership, the foundation has seen big jumps in fundraising totals. It brought in $113 million in 2013 and $119 million in 2014. Fundraising totals reached $101 million in 2010, $103 million in 2011, and $102 million in 2012, according to numbers provided by Simon.