Inside Iowa State
June 9, 2000
Jischke: Almost every day at Iowa State was a good one
In this interview with Inside, President Martin Jischke talks about his years at Iowa State and his decision to become president of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., on Aug. 14.
Why Purdue and why now?
First, Purdue is an extraordinarily fine university. They
shared an accreditation report with me that was as glowing as
any I've ever seen. Second, I was impressed by the
persistence of the board of trustees. I admire people who
show their passion for something by their persistence. They
have a remarkable consensus about their desire for what is
already a very good university to become even better. And
they are prepared to see it change and get better.
And frankly, this is timely for Patty and me. We have been at Iowa State for 9 1/2 years and there's enormous satisfaction for us in what has happened at Iowa State. At the same time, our children are both gone -- we're empty-nesters -- and we think maybe it's time for a new challenge.
You have said Iowa State demonstrably is a better
university, in nearly every respect, today than it was 10
years ago. How have things improved for faculty and
staff?
This is a better university and I think talented people
want to be associated with a place like this. Maybe more
fundamentally, it's a place that wants to get better.
Second, we have worked very hard to keep salaries competitive. That's very important to the faculty and staff.
Third, we have successfully competed for very talented people on the faculty, in the staff, and in our student body. We have tried to emphasize continued development of everyone. Nearly 90 percent of P&S staff in a recent survey said they participated in a professional development activity last year. There have been lots of efforts to enhance the professional development of faculty, too. The Miller Faculty Fellowship program is one example; the Center for Teaching Excellence and Project LE/ARN are others. Through new or improved facilities, lots of our people have better offices, labs and teaching areas. Iowa State has always been a good place to work. But it's gotten better.
Of the things you've accomplished, what are you personally
most proud?
There has been overall progress across the university,
not one isolated thing here or there. I believe the people of
Iowa State -- alumni, friends, faculty and staff -- over-
whelmingly feel this progress, see it and have become
committed to the idea that we can get better. We can get
very, very good. That's what I'm most proud of.
There are lots of specific things that have been satisfying - - the Hixson program, reviving the Carver legacy, renaming the stadium for Jack Trice, all of this fund-raising success, have been fun and satisfying. I've enjoyed the athletic success we've had.
I was brought here by the board of regents to accomplish an agenda, and I'm very proud that we have. It's been a team effort. This is not something that an individual does. I've been lucky to be surrounded by very talented people. I'm even more lucky to be married to an extraordinarily talented person who has played a big role in all of this. I'm leaving Iowa State feeling that we have made a lot of progress and I take a great deal of satisfaction and pride in my contribution to it.
What has caused you the greatest frustration?
People who don't have the strength to aspire to become
better. We can have serious and difficult discussions about
what improvement means and whether a particular change or
adaptation represents real improvement. I find people who
don't want to change to get better very frustrating.
Fortunately, there aren't many of them here at Iowa State.
What do you regret not getting done?
I don't have any regrets in that regard. Great
universities are never finished. In that sense, no matter how
much we accomplish, there always will be more.
What was your best day as an Iowa Stater?
My answer to that is -- almost every day. I didn't have a
lot of bad days.
What was your worst day as an Iowa Stater?
The hardest day was the Sunday that Uri Sellers died.
That and the day I called his father to express my sympathy
were very, very hard. [Sellers died during the 1997 Veishea
celebration.]
Do modern university presidents have to focus more on
external issues than their predecessors?
Adonijah Welch, Iowa State's first president, went around
in a horse and buggy advising farmers about horticulture
issues. So from the very beginning, there has been this
effort by the president to get out and about. I suspect the
amount of that changes with the circumstances of the
university and the personality of the president. It was
unmistakably clear to me (from the board of regents) that
getting out was a major part of my responsibilities. To build
support for the institution, to assure that we were being
responsive to the long-term needs of Iowa, and to develop
resources for the university, I had to spend a significant
amount of my time away from the campus. I spend roughly half
my time off-campus. Now that's half of an 80-hour work week,
so it's not that I'm not spending a lot of time on campus.
About that 80-hour work week -- what do you do to
relax?
The implications of the word "work" and the word "fun"
are that work is not fun and fun is not work. While I think
that is true for some people, for me, the two overlap. I
consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. I
get to do something I enjoy. It's interesting and important.
I derive a lot of satisfaction and energy and motivation from
that. I do things to relax -- enjoy my family, read, play
golf occasionally. It's not that I don't relax. But a
university presidency is a very demanding job and if you have
high standards for yourself and for others, one of the ways
you lead is to work hard. I'm here because I want to be here,
and I do what I do because I think it is important. I think
you can call that fun.
How do you handle public criticism?
First, you have to pay attention -- and I do. You have to
take into account both what people are saying and who's
saying it and make a judgment. If it is criticism that is
well-founded, then you ought to pay attention and do
something about it. But if, in your judgment, it has no basis
in fact or is just the whining of unhappy people, you can't
let that deflect you from what you are trying to accomplish.
With a responsibility as public and significant as this, the
idea that everybody would agree with everything you are doing
is crazy. It just doesn't happen, particularly if you are
trying to improve the institution, because improvement means
change. Not everybody will agree with the change and not
everybody will benefit from it.
Are you always tough and decisive?
Of course not, but I am almost always president. It's the
nature of this responsibility. I'm not president from 8 in
the morning until 5 in the afternoon. I'm president 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. And I take that
responsibility very seriously all the time. I try to think
ahead a lot. There's no question that I focus on an agenda,
that there are certain things we want to get done.
If you were asked to chair the search for a successor to
President Jischke, what qualities would you look for in the
next president?
That's for others to decide. My advice is, try to think
carefully about what it is that the university needs to do in
the future to carry out its work. Then ask what qualities are
required in a president. Then ask how do we attract someone
with those qualities, always keeping in mind that really
talented people probably are in a pretty good situation where
they are. So you've got to recruit them.
Knowing the kind of leader you have been, does Iowa State
need more Martin Jischke or something else?
I don't know how to answer that. From my point of view,
what I have done is exactly what I thought Iowa State needed,
what the board wanted me to do, what the people of Iowa
wanted. Do the board of regents and the people of Iowa want
to stay the course on this? That is a choice for them to make
and beginning the search for a president is an opportunity to
ask that question again.
Would you like to say anything to the faculty and staff at
Iowa State?
First, thank you. There are thousands of talented people
at this institution. Talented students, faculty, staff --
from people doing some of the most exciting research in
understanding our world to people who keep these grounds
beautiful. There are just lots of very able people and it has
been a privilege to work with them. I really do believe the
progress we have made has been a team effort and it's been a
pleasure to be on the team.
Second, thank you for innumerable courtesies, kindnesses from all kinds of people. We have made quite a number of friends, and Patty and I hope we can keep them.
I guess my last comment is, "Don't give up the dream or the vision." Nobody is irreplaceable. This university can continue to grow and get better. You ought to be very optimistic about the kinds of people who will be interested in this position. It's a very good job, lots of opportunity. Don't settle for anything but the best.
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