Benjamin Houlton’s vision for Iowa State University is to “unleash this great institution for even greater impact.”
Houlton, first of two finalists to visit campus as part of the search process for Iowa State University’s next president, spoke to students, faculty, staff and community members at an open forum on Wednesday.
“Ben’s career reflects a deep and abiding commitment to the land grant mission of advancing science, education, and public engagement,” said Meghan Gillette, a co-chair of the presidential search committee, while introducing Houlton.
“A midwesterner at heart,” Gillette continued, “Ben grew up in Wisconsin and Minnesota, solidifying his dedication to outdoor recreation at a young age while camping with his family throughout the Midwest…”
Now, Houlton has the chance to come back to the Midwest, but this time in Iowa as a Cyclone.
In his hour-long open forum, Houlton spoke about his experiences in higher education and his visions for Iowa State, and answered questions from forum attendees.
“This is a university that gets it,” Houlton said as he introduced himself. “It’s on the rise, it’s headed in a great direction, and it is clearly built for the modern era of higher education in America.”
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Houlton wants to ‘unleash this great institution for even greater impact’ as president
Houlton credits his dairy heritage — specifically his grandfather — with understanding the land-grant mission as something akin to an “invisible hand that gives rise to many benefits,” he said.
Iowa’s role in pioneering agricultural extension and feeding the mouths of millions will allow it to continue to transform, specifically as artificial intelligence changes the ways of the world.
But land-grants aren’t just about agriculture: it’s about being multidisciplinary, “and ISU is the leading land-grant when it comes to multidisciplinary excellence, aligned toward impact for the people of Iowa and beyond.”
Houlton’s vision for Iowa State is to “speed it onward!” he said. “Speed it onward to unleash the barriers that are getting in the way of greater impacts; of more public-private partnerships; of greater innovation, patents and startups; of extension programming that is meeting the needs of every county and every person of Iowa; and where we get infinite return on investment: our students.”
“That will be my focus as president,” Houlton said at the beginning of his speech. “To unleash this great institution for even greater impact.”
Houlton wants to bring his experiences in higher education and successes in his career through servant leadership to Iowa State in six main ways:
- Recruiting world-leading talent
- Leading in AI, translational research, IP and startups
- Uncommon partnerships for the common good: propelling Iowa on a world stage
- Student enrollment, entrepreneurship, and market readiness
- Excellence in business operations and staff
- Cyclone Pride
“I’m a servant leader who is always thinking about building bridges,” Houlton said. “The more uncommon the partnership, the better. I love building bridges to create win-win situations for society.”
Houlton wants to integrate the opportunities and strengths he sees in Iowa State through collaborative strategic partnerships throughout university and state leadership. He saw this succeed while at Cornell.
“In the end, the strategic plan is only as good as the community that buys into it,” he said. “It’s also only as good as it is practical, so pragmatic strategic planning is essential.”
A historic fundraising campaign is at the top of his list to create, generate and continue support for Iowa State.
“I have quite a bit of experience in fundraising, leading a campaign, or leading parts of a campaign at UC Davis, and then at Cornell, where we have generated historic levels of fundraising success — this is so essential.”
Houlton says Iowa State’s soul is in its commitment to its community and the legacy it leaves, quoting Nate Carr, an internationally recognized wrestler who came from Iowa State: “Legacy is not what you leave for someone, it’s what you leave in someone.”
Who is Benjamin Houlton?
Houlton, born and raised in Wisconsin, said recalls his father saying, “You can take the kid out of the Midwest, but you can’t take the Midwest out of the kid — I feel at home here in Iowa.”
Houlton comes from a long line of dairy farmers and is a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan — his dad even played for the team — which led him into chemistry, engineering and biology, culminating in his current role as the dean of agriculture and life sciences at Cornell University.
He holds a Ph.D in evolutionary biology from Princeton University, an M.S. in environmental engineering science from Syracuse University and a B.S. in water chemistry from the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point.
As a dean, Houlton is the chief academic and administrative officer who oversees 18 academic units with about 360 faculty, 3,600 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students, and 1,300 staff, with an annual operating budget of more than $600 million. He has held this position since 2020.
He is also currently the director of the State University of New York Research Foundation Board and a full professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2020) and the Department of Global Development at Cornell University.
He previously served as the director of the UC Davis Institute of the Environment, University of California–Davis, from 2016 to 2020.
Houlton has numerous awards and honors from his respective institutions for teaching and research. He also has several published research articles and sits on multiple institutional and regional boards and committees.
See Houlton’s complete curriculum vitae here.
Houlton answers questions from audience
Students, faculty, staff and community members had the chance to ask Houlton questions after his presentation.
Karen Kedrowski, the director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, the co-director of the Center for Cyclone Civics, and professor of political science, began the question-and-answer session:
“In your opinion, what is the role of higher education in supporting and strengthening American democracy?”
“I don’t think it’s a surprise that we’re feeling disconnected,” Houlton said in response. “Politics is one of those dividing issues […] I think the role of ISU is to continue to pioneer the land-grant mission.”
The livestream ended and went private on YouTube after the forum officially ended at 5 p.m., cutting off questions after Kendrowski.
