Iowa State names new provost: Jason Keith, Mississippi State dean

After a national search that last month brought to campus a parade of finalists, Iowa State University this week announced Mississippi State University College of Engineering Dean Jason Keith will serve as its new provost.

Keith has served in the Mississippi State dean post for the past decade, and before that directed that university’s School of Chemical Engineering and its Energy Institute.

In a statement, ISU President Wendy Wintersteen touted Keith’s experience and record “of academic leadership at a land-grant university."

“He will be an excellent fit to work with our faculty and university leaders in innovating the future of our academic programs and advancing our teaching, research and extension missions,” Wintersteen said.

In succeeding longtime ISU Provost Jonathan Wickert, Keith will begin Aug. 1 — overseeing seven colleges, ISU’s graduate college, the library, enrollment management and the offices of the Vice President for Research and for Extension and Outreach.

The director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory also will report to Keith, who was chosen after a national search led by an 18-member panel.

"We had a strong pool of candidates and are thrilled to welcome Dr. Keith to Iowa State University," search committee chair and Ivy College of Business Dean David Spalding said in a statement. "He is an accomplished academic leader who brings a wealth of experience, and his expertise will be invaluable in working collaboratively with our talented team of deans."

Other finalists invited to ISU in April included Elizabeth Wentz, vice provost and dean of the Arizona State University Graduate College; Eric Barker, dean of pharmacy and acting associate provost for graduate programs at Purdue University; and Jason Wrobel, University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences dean.

Barker withdrew, and was promoted May 6 to vice president for health affairs at Purdue.

Keith comes to ISU as a tenured professor in chemical engineering, having earned his bachelor’s from the University of Akron and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2000.

“His research uses mathematical modeling to improve air quality and energy efficiency through the applied fields of reactor design and alternative energy,” according to the ISU Office of the President.

In a statement, Keith said, "President Wintersteen's vision for Iowa State University resonates perfectly with my belief in what a public land-grant university should be all about. I am thrilled to join her leadership team and have this opportunity to lead academic affairs to new heights in teaching, research, extension and service."

Wickert submitted his resignation Nov. 10 after serving a record-breaking 12 years as provost at ISU. Once Keith starts, Wickert will join the ISU faculty as a mechanical engineering professor earning $300,314 a year. His current salary as senior vice president and provost is $480,556.

ISU did not immediately provide Keith’s starting salary.

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Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com