Des Moines Register
06-04-06
New chief wants UNI to be in national spotlight
The president says the school should recruit more out-of-state students.
ERIN JORDAN
REGISTER IOWA CITY BUREAU
Ames, Ia. — Ben Allen says he will work to help the University of Northern Iowa
move out of the shadows of Iowa's larger state universities once he becomes the
school's ninth president on Monday.
"I don't think we want students leaving feeling like they are part of a little sister
institution," said Allen, 59.
Allen knows what it's like to work for one of Iowa's larger state schools. He has
been a professor and administrator at Iowa State University since 1979. But he
has given away his cardinal-and-gold ties and removed his computer desktop
photo of his granddaughter, Avery, 2, with Cy, the Cyclone mascot.
"It's a little strange to be referred to as the president of the University of Northern
Iowa," Allen said during a recent interview in Ames. "But we love public
education and the state of Iowa, so that helps with the transfer."
Allen has big plans for UNI. He wants the university of about 12,500 students to
be known nationally for quality programs and a student-centered approach. This
can be done, Allen said, through better marketing and bringing in more out-ofstate students to spread the word about UNI.
"It really has to be done in the way Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, does it. Its
profile is just like UNI's, but it's not thought of as a little sister to Ohio State," Allen
said. He plans to visit Ohio to learn how Miami has been successful at gaining
national attention.
Allen supports a proposal to charge students at UNI, ISU and the University of
Iowa $200 more next year to make up for less-than-expected state
appropriations, he said. The proposal, to be considered June 20 by the Iowa
Board of Regents, has drawn criticism from Iowa legislators who said the state's
schools should cut their budgets instead.
UNI's budget situation may get worse, Allen said, because one-time state money
is being used for ongoing needs. The school must respond by relocating money
to the most important programs, he said.
Recruiting also plays into the budget picture, Allen said. More than 90 percent of
UNI's students are from Iowa, yet nonresident students pay higher tuition and
bigger out-of-state enrollment affects how a university is viewed nationally, Allen
said.
"We have the capacity there to grow, so it's not like if we went to 13,500 students
we'd be bumping out in-state students," he said.
UNI has in past years fallen short of the regents' goal of 8.5 percent minority
enrollment. Six percent of UNI students and 10 percent of faculty were minorities
last fall. To change that, UNI must do more to attract minority students from Iowa
high schools, Allen said. These students are more likely to stay in Iowa after
graduation than students lured from other states just to meet diversity goals, he
said.
Allen's straight talk, hard work and sense of humor have earned him friends in
and out of academic circles. Ric Jurgens, chief executive officer of Hy-Vee, has
known Allen and his wife, Pat, for years, he said.
"They are elegant, classy, bright, fun, engaging people," Jurgens said. "If you
know them very long, you'll agree."
Jurgens first met Allen when Allen was dean of ISU's College of Business.
Jurgens complained about ISU not recruiting his son and not having business
leaders work with ISU students, Jurgens said.
"Ben, being a young dean, heard what I said. Now I'm more involved than I have
time for," Jurgens said. "Ben is just one of the finest gentlemen we have in the
state of Iowa, in any profession."
Allen will be paid $275,000. He succeeds Robert Koob, who retired last month
after leading UNI for more than 10 years. Ben and Pat Allen plan to make greater
use of the president's house for university gatherings, Allen said. They would
also like to hold a contest to name the 97-year-old building, he said.
"In three years, it will have a special birthday, and it would be nice for it to have a
name," he said.
Ben Allen
PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
AGE: 59
CAREER: Iowa State University faculty since 1979, vice president of
academic affairs and provost since 2002.
FAMILY: Wife of 38 years, Pat; daughter, Jessica; son-in-law, Greg;
granddaughter, Avery, 2.
HOBBIES: Walking, bicycling, golfing, traveling and spending time with his
granddaughter.
RECENT READS: "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century,"
by Thomas L. Friedman, and "Straight Man" by Richard Russo.