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New President - Dr. Steven Leath


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Do you think he can help me get rid of mole crickets in my front yard and the clover that's growing amongst my cat-tail reed?

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1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

Do you think he can help me get rid of mole crickets in my front yard and the clover that's growing amongst my cat-tail reed?

It was my understanding that, as a pathologist, he would be more focused on controlling plant diseases rather than infecting your clover.

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18 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

This is funny, I think I read he approved $3 million in repairs for multiple ISU planes, one of which he wrecked?  Also tried to get away with taking private flying lessons in one of the university planes.  He may be just crazy enough to be a good dude.  The only crazy Gogue has in him is his complete lack of concern for any Auburn athletic program. 

“…The trustees and I have talked about that. Any use of the university aircraft will be prudent and focused on university business, and I think we're past that…”

http://www.oanow.com/news/updated-iowa-state-s-steven-leath-named-as-new-auburn/article_db73642e-0d82-11e7-9a49-332d51a57fe5.html

 

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As far as academics, I feel this is a home run hire. 

As far as athletics... I dunno... we will see... I mean a whole lot of us were extremely disappointed in the Kevin Steele hire... and I don't think a single one of us would go back and change it... so... you never know. 

Let's give him a chance before we start saying things like 5-19...

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8 hours ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

Let's give him a chance before we start saying things like 5-19...

So many forget that 5-19 got us our only national football championship in 59 years. Besides, he's an Agriculture guy and his wife is said to be a big fan of equestrian, a team that holds our most recent national championship. What's not to like?

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Questions follow Auburn's new president, Steven Leath, from Iowa State

Posted on March 23, 2017 at 2:57 PM

Iowa State University President Steven Leath is leaving behind a record of achievements that landed him the top job at Auburn University but a history of testing ethical boundaries that earned him criticism along the way.

Leath, 59, is known as a prolific fundraiser and charming academic who engages students and faculty. The Alabama land-grant university announced Leath's appointment as its next president Monday, touting his experience leading a similar school that emphasizes agriculture and his research career in North Carolina.

He will begin the job in July following a closed search that angered some Auburn constituents and prompted scrutiny of his 5 1/2 year Iowa State tenure. During that time, he had a penchant for mixing personal and professional interests. Among the issues were his questionable use of university airplanes, a land deal criticized as a conflict of interest, and the hiring of well-connected people without searches. One state senator called it "the old boy network in full swing."

A fresh example of how the president's interests got tangled was his relationship with Belin McCormick, a prestigious Des Moines law firm that has done work for Iowa State.

The firm helped Leath form a personal limited liability corporation that he used to buy a piece of land in rural central Iowa for a retirement home, from a company owned by the president of Iowa State's governing board. Months later, Leath's administration hired the firm to represent ISU in a legal matter involving popular Lego art sculptures, a dispute that would normally be handled by state lawyers.

At the center of both matters is Belin partner Steve Zumbach, an Iowa State donor who is honorary co-chair of a $1.1 billion school fundraising campaign launched by Leath last year. He helped Leath organize the LLC and has billed Iowa State $585-per-hour in the Lego case.

Leath has often dismissed questions about his dealings as distractions and argues the big picture shows he's leaving Iowa State better off. He cited statistics showing its enrollment rose to record levels, economic and research impacts grew, and hundreds of millions of dollars were raised. Student retention rates increased and debt declined.

But the university also made decisions that appeared to show favoritism, including hiring a former lawmaker who had given Leath free flight lessons.

"The process violated every requirement of equal opportunity," Quirmbach said. "The appearance was awful."

An enthusiastic pilot, Leath used university planes for personal training and to attend out-of-state medical appointments. He later paid back those costs. Leath previously reimbursed ISU for flights to his North Carolina home and for repairs to a plane he damaged during a hard landing while on vacation.

Auditors also found Leath didn't have required written permission to transport weapons on the planes during hunting trips with donors and business partners. A self-described archery nut, Leath occasionally took along a celebrity bowhunter.

Leath vowed to pay more attention to detail last year, calling himself a workaholic trying to do the right thing. He bristled at what he called unfair attacks on his integrity.

He defended his wooing of politicians, especially Republicans who controlled Iowa's executive branch and the university's board. "I'm in the relationship business, folks," he told students, defending his chummy relationship with Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter, who's effectively his boss.

When Leath wanted to find a farm where he could retire, he turned to Rastetter's company, Summit Agriculture. Summit bought a 215-acre property at an auction for $1.14 million, sold about two-thirds of the land to Leath's newly-formed SLS Holdings LLC and kept the piece that Leath didn't want. Zumbach was the registered agent for the LLC.

Leath has said that he understands why some called the purchase a conflict, while insisting he paid fair market value and that his creation of the LLC wasn't intended to conceal his identity. He said that he wouldn't do it again the same way.

ISU later hired Belin and Zumbach to represent the university in a financial dispute involving large, nature-inspired sculptures made of thousands of Lego bricks that have been displayed at the university's public gardens.

Seeking to profit off the popular sculptures, the university started a business with Brooklyn artist Sean Kenney, who built traveling exhibits of such sculptures. The university markets market them to gardens and zoos nationwide.

Former ISU employee Teresa McLaughlin filed a lawsuit alleging the university refused to pay marketing commissions required by her contract. Iowa State filed a counterclaim accusing McLaughlin of working for Kenney to market competing exhibits, which she denies. Kenney claims the university unfairly cut his fees but hasn't filed suit.

The university's usually represented at no cost by the attorney general's office. But Leath's administration paid the Belin firm $27,000 before receiving formal state approval to hire outside counsel, records show. Zumbach was paid for 15.5 hours of work on case at $585 an hour, and five other Belin attorneys billed between $285 and $390 per hour.

The attorney general's office said Belin's hiring was justified due to its intellectual property expertise. University general counsel Michael Norton said Belin was picked because of "the quality of their work from prior matters they handled for the university."

Quirmbach praised Leath for hiring faculty and building campus, but said the series of issues have taken a toll. Leath's departure, he said, "might be mutually beneficial for both sides."

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  • WarTiger changed the title to Questions follow new president
8 hours ago, Mikey said:

So many forget that 5-19 got us our only national football championship in 59 years. Besides, he's an Agriculture guy and his wife is said to be a big fan of equestrian, a team that holds our most recent national championship. What's not to like?

Mickey...you have been around long enough to know that on this forum there is ALWAYS something "not to like".?

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Well...I hesitate to make a decision off of what the mainstream media reports... This could all very well be exaggerated...it could be flat out lies, or it could be the truth.

 

My question is, if we can't hire certain coaches we want because of the way it will "look" to people, and the reports listed are true, how did this guy pass the test? I mean I know hiring a university president and football coach are world's different...but shouldn't a president be held to an even higher standard? IF these reports are true,  some of that stuff looks BAD. 

But again, we can thank the mainstream media and their clear bias towards some people, for not knowing what to believe. I would have to actually speak to someone from ISU until I was happy i had the truth... and I'm sure we did our due diligence, but from a university that is so concerned about  public perception, this is kind of a head scratcher... And bringing in a president that caused a  United Stated Senator to call "the old boy network in full swing" is troublesome...at best... 

Yet I still stand firm with my first comment...let's give him a chance before making any rash judgements. But it sure looks bad (from media reports) at the start...

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The man had permission to use the ISU planes. That was made clear earlier. Why people keep repeating this makes me question if they have the best interests of AU at heart or if they are simply trying to cause AU more bad publicity through lies.

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18 minutes ago, Mikey said:

The man had permission to use the ISU planes. That was made clear earlier. Why people keep repeating this makes me question if they have the best interests of AU at heart or if they are simply trying to cause AU more bad publicity through lies.

Unfortunately, some "auburn people" are perfectly will to promote and spread negative stuff about the school in order to support their personal agendas.

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4 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Unfortunately, some "auburn people" are perfectly will to promote and spread negative stuff about the school in order to support their personal agendas.

Sad but true.

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12 hours ago, Mikey said:

The man had permission to use the ISU planes. That was made clear earlier. Why people keep repeating this makes me question if they have the best interests of AU at heart or if they are simply trying to cause AU more bad publicity through lies.

I wonder why he didn't reimburse the school until after the controversy began?  I wonder what he meant when he said he, "learned his lesson"?  Perhaps legal, and ethical, aren't always the same standard?

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5 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

I wonder why he didn't reimburse the school until after the controversy began?  I wonder what he meant when he said he, "learned his lesson"?  Perhaps legal, and ethical, aren't always the same standard?

Wonder away!

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1 minute ago, Mikey said:

Wonder away!

LOL!  I wish that I could enjoy the arrogance and, baseless confidence that you do.  Knowing everything, not having to think or wonder, must be nice.

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20 hours ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I mean I know hiring a university president and football coach are world's different...but shouldn't a president be held to an even higher standard?

If you took a poll, which job do you think the vast majority of people would be most concerned about (or think is the most important)?

20 hours ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

And bringing in a president that caused a  United Stated Senator to call "the old boy network in full swing" is troublesome...at best

I missed this in my haphazard reading of articles reporting on the hire.  Could you elaborate on it? [Which senator (and any senator making fun of a good ole boy network is ludicrous at best), and to what good old boy network was he referring?]

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2 hours ago, oracle79 said:

If you took a poll, which job do you think the vast majority of people would be most concerned about (or think is the most important)?

I missed this in my haphazard reading of articles reporting on the hire.  Could you elaborate on it? [Which senator (and any senator making fun of a good ole boy network is ludicrous at best), and to what good old boy network was he referring?]

He will begin the job in July following a closed search that angered some Auburn constituents and prompted scrutiny of his 5 1/2 year Iowa State tenure. During that time, he had a penchant for mixing personal and professional interests. Among the issues were his questionable use of university airplanes, a land deal criticized as a conflict of interest, and the hiring of well-connected people without searches. One state senator called it "the old boy network in full swing."

It doesn't state which Senator it was, but this is why some posters have said that he will fit right in at Auburn.

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40 minutes ago, AUMASTERS said:

 One state senator called it "the old boy network in full swing."

Speculate based on your source.  An Iowa State senator, an Alabama State senator, an Iowa United States Senator (fed), or an Alabama United States Senator (fed)?  I'm just curious as to which dude in a glass house is trying to throw stones here.

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1 minute ago, oracle79 said:

Speculate based on your source.  An Iowa State senator, an Alabama State senator, an Iowa United States Senator (fed), or an Alabama United States Senator (fed)?  I'm just curious as to which dude in a glass house is trying to throw stones here.

Well it isn't my source it came from the article above " Questions follow new President Steven Leath from Iowa State", but from reading the article it sounds like it is an Iowa State Senator. You would think that a Senator would know when the "good ole boy network" is in full swing.

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Just now, AUMASTERS said:

You would think that a Senator would know when the "good ole boy network" is in full swing.

Appreciate the interpretation.  And yeah, a Senator that doesn't know when the good ole boy network is in full swing wouldn't be a Senator in the first place.;D

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