Inside Iowa State

March 2, 2006

Budget planning duties to be reassigned

by Anne Krapfl

President Gregory Geoffroy has announced a new organizational arrangement for Iowa State's budget planning process. The change was initiated by Mark Chidister's decision to return to a faculty post in the College of Design on July 1. Chidister, an associate professor of landscape architecture, has served as assistant to the president for budget planning and analysis since June 1, 2001.

The changes don't alter the president's role as final decision maker on budget and planning issues.

Geoffroy said he will leave vacant the assistant to the president post and reassign the budget planning and analysis duties to the provost's office. Assistant provost Ellen Rasmussen will assume many of the duties, including preparing budget materials for the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, and other budget planning responsibilities.

Also being transferred to the provost's office from the president's office is responsibility for preparing capital (building/infrastructure construction and renovation) planning documents and staffing the university's Capital Projects Committee. Geoffroy will continue to chair the committee, and he will continue to have final authority on all budget and planning decisions.

"I believe these changes will improve our overall budget and planning flexibility in meeting the academic needs at Iowa State," Geoffroy said. "Strengthening the role of the provost in campus planning and budget matters should help achieve that.

"The changes also should support the new budget model under development," Geoffroy noted.

Since September, Chidister has chaired the planning committee charged with developing a new budget model for Iowa State. He said he will be leaving that team as well this summer.

"Mark has done an outstanding job coordinating our budget planning efforts for the last five years -- a period of time that included, unfortunately, several extremely challenging reductions in state funding for Iowa's public universities," Geoffroy said. "I'm grateful to him for steering a complex budget process through what were some very difficult times for Iowa State."

As assistant to the president, Chidister also served as Iowa State's point person for all submissions and reports to the regents office, and he coordinated President's Council meetings. These duties will remain in the president's office and be reassigned to John Anderson, assistant to the president for communications.

"I believe these changes will improve our overall budget and planning flexibility in meeting the academic needs at Iowa State. Strengthening the role of the provost in campus planning and budget matters should help achieve that."

President Gregory Geoffroy