Iowa State president Leath will teach, but doesn't want automatic tenure

Incoming Iowa State University President Steven Leath will start on campus Jan. 16 -- a few weeks earlier than expected -- but he will not join the university with automatic tenure, as ISU presidents have in the past.

Leath's employment contract approved by the state Board of Regents Thursday during a meeting in Cedar Falls does not include an automatic tenure appointment to the faculty, as Leath's predecessor and the other regent university presidents have. Leath's contract does not make mention of any academic appointment.

A tenure appointment was left out of the employment contract at Leath's request, board President Craig Lang said.

"The tenure part wasn't important to him, but being able to teach was important," Lang said. "In his opinion, he said tenure ought to be earned."

Leath is coming from the University of North Carolina, where he is vice president for research and sponsored programs.

Leath will teach in ISU's department of plant pathology and microbiology, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, under an appointment that was approved by the faculty and ISU Provost Betsy Hoffman. The faculty letter of intent, which Leath still must sign, says "this letter of intent confers academic rank in the plant pathology and microbiology department to Dr. Leath; rank appointment contingent upon service as president of Iowa State University."

This differs from the other regent university presidents, in that their academic appointments were written into their employment contracts.

Outgoing ISU President Gregory Geoffroy's contract states he was "appointed president of Iowa State University and professor with tenure in the department of chemistry." University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen has the same contract wording, except he was appointed as a full professor with tenure in the department of management.

University of Iowa President Sally Mason's contract says with her appointment as president, she "will be eligible for tenure as a professor in the department of biology. Thereafter, at all times, your faculty tenure and status will be subject to the same university rules and protection as available to other tenured faculty at the university."

Mason was tenured at the University of Kansas and Purdue University before joining the UI, and she was recognized as a tenured UI faculty member upon her arrival, which is standard practice among major research universities, UI Spokesman Tom Moore said.

Leath's faculty letter of intent approved by faculty and Provost Hoffman is not a special agreement just for him, as it's allowed under ISU rules, Regents Executive Director Bob Donley said. That type of arrangement is allowed when the appointment is for a specified amount of time for someone without a tenure appointment.