Ben Allen to start Iowa State work next month

Before he takes over as interim Iowa State University president on May 9, former ISU provost Ben Allen - who also spent seven years as University of Northern Iowa president - will make his return to the Ames campus April 17 as a 'special policy adviser.”

Allen, 70, is to begin earning his interim president salary of $525,000 at that time. The Board of Regents approved his early arrival during a meeting Monday 'to facilitate a seamless transition” upon outgoing ISU President Steven Leath's departure May 8, board President Bruce Rastetter said.

After retiring from UNI in 2013, Allen and his wife moved to St. Louis, meaning Allen must relocate to Ames, although he won't live at the ISU presidential residence known as the Knoll, according to an ISU news release.

'The appointment as special policy adviser will allow for Dr. Allen to work with President Leath during his final three weeks as president to allow for a seamless transition when President Leath's term as president ends on May 8,” Board of Regents spokesman Josh Lehman said in a statement.

The board unanimously agreed to appoint Allen interim ISU president Monday after first accepting Leath's resignation. The Auburn University Board of Trustees last week named Leath the school's 19th president.

Allen's interim agreement has him serving until a new president takes over.

Leath, in a statement, called Allen 'a great choice to lead Iowa State through this time of transition.”

'He has deep ties to the university and is a beloved member of the Cyclone family,” Leath said. 'I look forward to working with him on a smooth transition that ensures Iowa State's momentum and progress continue.”

Allen, after earning bachelor and advanced degrees from Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, joined the Iowa State faculty in 1979. He became chairman of the department of transportation and logistics in 1984 and later served as interim dean and then dean of ISU's College of Business between 1994 and 2001. He served as interim vice president for external affairs from 2001 to 2002 and then vice president for academic affairs and provost from 2002 to 2006.

'The appreciation that Pat and I have for Iowa State has not waned with time,” Allen said in a statement. 'In fact, it has only grown. We spent most of our professional lives in Ames and developed many lifelong friendships. We look forward to developing even more friendships with members of the Cyclone family as we engage with Iowa State University and the Ames community once again.”

Allen's appointment has drawn some criticism - especially from those connected with UNI, which Allen left in 2013 under a cloud of controversy after cutting academic programs, including the Malcom Price Laboratory School. Those moves prompted a faculty vote of no-confidence, and UNI professor and president of the school's faculty union Joe Gorton called Allen's selection as ISU interim president 'unbelievable.”

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, also raised red flags - including potential fallout for the university in his district.

'The Gov. Branstad, Regent Rastetter and President Allen trifecta has a track record of slash-n-burn budget decisions,” Danielson said. 'I would fully expect further drastic cuts at UNI and other universities from this trio.”

Noting Gov. Terry Branstad's appointment as U.S. ambassador to China and Rastetter's departure from the board in April, Danielson said, 'All are now lame duck decision-makers in Iowa as they move on to new ventures in life.

'This situation cries out for greater transparency and accountability than ever before.”

Rastetter, whose term as a regent expires April 30, committed to as much Monday when the board authorized Executive Director Robert Donley to choose a consulting firm to facilitate the ISU search, form a committee, develop a process and timetable, and update the board at its April meeting.

Rastetter said the board intends to model the Iowa State search after the one that landed Leath in 2012 and the one that recently wrapped at UNI bringing former Montana State University Billings Chancellor Mark Nook to campus in February.

The board has been roundly criticized for its University of Iowa presidential search in 2015 that landed former IBM businessman Bruce Harreld, despite widespread disapproval of his candidacy.

'The (Iowa State) process will follow similar successful processes at UNI and also the Iowa State search, where the committee would be a broad-based committee,” Rastetter said.

The first part of the search will be confidential - when committee members recruit applicants and gather applications. But, Rastetter said, finalists will come to campus for public town hall meetings.

'At the end of that, the board would select from those four finalists - or five,” he said.

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