The University of Iowa held open forums with two new candidates for the open position of vice president of research.
The UI is a nationally ranked as a top research institution. Every day, life-changing research is taking place between the walls of the campus. Now, the search for a new vice president of research has been narrowed down to two names.
In 2024, it was announced that around $684 million in external funding was spent on research projects across the university. From groundbreaking cancer research at UI Health Care to studying religion and societies in the College of Liberal Arts, Hawkeyes constantly participate in research.
The former Vice President of Research Marty Scholtz stepped down in February after five years in the role. Scholtz accomplished a lot as VP; spearheading campaigns to return research to campus after COVID-19, increasing funding, and diversifying sources for external research support are just some of his accolades.
“I am proud of all that we have accomplished to support and expand the research enterprise at the University of Iowa so that researchers and scholars across our institution have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to forge new frontiers of discovery,” Scholtz said in the news release announcing his resignation.
Scholtz left the UI for a position at Brown University.
In September, Lois Geist, associate provost for faculty and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the Carver College of Medicine, was named interim VP for research as the search committee looked for candidates.
“I have had the privilege of working with colleagues from across campus who are conducting important research, scholarship, and creative activity, and I look forward to building on this excellence,” Geist said in a press release.
The search committee is co-chaired by Denise Jamieson, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine, and Jamie Jorgensen, vice president for legal affairs and general counsel.
“They understand the importance of advancing our research enterprise at Iowa and they have a multi-leveled appreciation of the unique skills needed to provide campus-wide leadership in this area,” UI President Barbara Wilson said in a news release in March when the chairs were announced.
In the past week, two candidates have been brought to campus to participate in open forums across campus.
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The first candidate is Belinda McSwain Sturm, director of the Kansas National Science Foundation’s Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and the Ross McKinney Faculty Fellow in environmental engineering at the University of Kansas.
Sturm held an open forum on Oct. 10 at the Medical Education Research Facility. She visited the campus on Oct. 10 and 11.
Sturm has been the interim VP of research at the University of Kansas for the past year. She holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering and geological sciences from Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The second name up for the coveted position is David Schwebel. Schwebel is the associate vice president for research facilities and infrastructure and professor of psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Schwebel held his open forum from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 16. He participated in a campus visit on Oct. 16 and 17.
He has held multiple positions of leadership at the University of Alabama Birmingham. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Yale University, a Master’s in Psychology, and a Ph.D. from the UI.
The university will announce its final decision for the position in the coming weeks.