You ran off the best President Iowa State University ever had.  Steve Leath is going to Auburn.

I've been here since 1993.  Leath was miles ahead of any president we had in my time.  He cleared out a lot of dead wood.  Record enrollment.  Construction on campus.  New faculty.  By any reasonable assessment this is a successful institution and it is due in no small part to Steve Leath.

The Rag ran him off due to their visceral hatred of all things Republican, Branstad, Rastteter, and guns.  Yes, guns.  Leath was one of us.  Hunter, especially a bow hunter, shooter, carry permit holder.  If Leath was a golfer none of this would have made a blip on the radar screen.

So pissed.  Extremely pissed.

I agree... sad day. A total witch hunt.

Now maybe Veisha can come back with him out.

Veisha needed to die twenty years ago.  Leath didn't kill Veisha, it committed suicide.

Amen.

Fuck the register.  I love to troll them on various places.  Pretty sure all the reporters have me blocked or muted by now.  Shitbags.

I was at ISU today for a meeting and invoked the Pommerantz Report.
Terry Branstad had Pommerantz, an Iowa business man,take over the Board of Regents chair and take after the different universities for duplicative programs and assorted waste/fraud/abuse. I worked as P&S staff following that and it really shook some people up. The shake ups help keep the institutions focused on what is important. Leath was the kind of leader who seemed to get the big picture, growing ISU to be biggest school in Iowa. You better believe he was railroaded by some internal leaker about the plane use.

The bigger issue is the persistent mess in Iowa City. That institution just doesn't get it. They were dumbfounded when Branstad's people asked how much they spent trying to attract Iowa students. The answer was zero - not a cent of advertising spent in Iowa to attract Iowa students. At least ISU and UNI were not that tone deaf. Having Ben Allen as the interim ISU president was getting positive reviews for the ISU staff I talked to today, at least be had been ISU provost before becoming UNI president.

Well said.  I'm in a unique position.  I graduated from Iowa but work for ISU.  I always say I'm part of the diversity program.  I have also lived and worked in Iowa City a couple of times.  As much it's pains me to say this, the U just doesn't get it.  They are beyond clueless over there.  They barely acknowledge they are part of Iowa, let alone state employees.  The hypocrisy and condescension of the PRJC is truly breath taking.  The problem we at ISU and UNI suffer from is we get lumped in with Iowa at budget time.  The Republican legislators despise the U of I, as does Branstad (also an alum).  The feeling is mutual.   I'm not sure what the answer is.  Sally Mason was an extremely weak president; as I recall she was the fourth choice.  The current president was an in your face move by the BOR to the faculty senate at the U.  I pity him.  No one with any sense wants that job.  

Ben Allen should be good.  He was well liked as provost; I got to meet him a time or two as I was on the P&S Council.  UNI hates him but he was put in a difficult position.  UNI needed to make serious budget decisions and those are never easy or popular.  He gored a few sacred cows up there, chiefly the Price Lab School.  UNI needed to get shook up.  The school was languishing.