UNI Northern Iowan, IA
08-25-06
8/25/2006
President Allen new to campus same as many students
Tim McCue
NI News Writer
Summer is supposed to be a time of rest and relaxation. Someone forgot to tell
that to new University of Northern Iowa President Benjamin Allen.
Allen, formerly the provost at Iowa State University, assumed his duties as
UNI’s 10th president on June 5th and he hasn’t stopped running since. “Pat
(Allen’s wife) and I have really had fun meeting people, it has been a rewarding
experience.” Allen said. “We really like the Cedar Valley community.”
Students shouldn’t plan on seeing major overhauls in philosophy under Allen’s
watch. “There is a culture of student-centered learning here at UNI,” he said. “I
need to be careful not to negatively impact the passion people have for helping
students be successful.”
Allen has spent considerable time in the months since he began at UNI making it
out to campus events. The Allen’s were particularly active during freshman
orientation where they met with a number of new students and parents. They
have made time to take advantage of a number of activities on campus. “It’s
important that people see us as engaged members of our community,” the
president said. “We are really pleased to be here.”
An economist by trade, it hasn’t been the nuts and bolts of budgets and other
major policy issues that have created the steepest curve for Allen. “One of my
biggest challenges is just finding out who is responsible for the administration of
different areas and programs here at UNI.” Allen said members of the university
community have been eager and willing to help smooth out his transition. In
particular he credited the staff within his office for making the adjustment easier.
On May 10, 2006 Allen met with former UNI president Rober Koob. He said Koob
offered very little advice and instead spent time helping to make sure Allen
understood many of the issues facing UNI.
During the transition the president has worked closely with his cabinet. Tom
Schellhardt, UNI Vice president for Administration and Finance, is impressed at
the way Allen approaches challenges.
“President Allen is a tireless leader who wants to continually learn everything he
can about the university,” Schellhardt said. The vice president said it’s clear Allen
values education. “President Allen has made it a priority that financial resources
be committed to retaining high quality faculty, who are committed to helping
students succeed,” Schellhardt said.
Allen has transitioned smoothly into his dealings with the Board of Regents. Allen
believes his preexisting relationships with members of the Board and an
understanding of policies and procedures utilized by the Regents has been
helpful. The issue of the energy surcharge is one Allen and student Body
President Grant Erwin have worked closely together on. Erwin said he and Allen
have kept in close contact throughout the summer.
Allen was pleased with Erwin’s presentation to the Regents regarding the energy
issue. “It was important to Grant and his colleagues that the increases this year
were used as a one time fix to the budget shortfalls while better long term
solutions are considered and I think they presented that idea effectively,” Allen
said.
In any situation information is power and Allen has been working to gather as
much information about a variety of issues facing UNI. He has met with all
members of his cabinet as well as Dean’s of each of UNI’s six colleges. He said
the primary purpose of these meetings was to ascertain the priorities of
administrators and others on campus. “The ability for me to really listen and
understand the issues facing students, faculty and other staff and accurately
understand their challenges is vital to our success as a university,” Allen said.