An introductory Q&A with the Cooks

Three days before he officially was on the job, President David Cook and his spouse, Katie Cook, took time for a short Q&A with Inside about the start of his presidency and how they hope to meet lots of Iowa Staters. The Cooks are Ames High alumni and completed their undergraduate degrees at Iowa State, he in 1992, she in 1994. They arrive in Ames after nearly four years in Fargo, where he served as president of North Dakota State University (NDSU).

What's been your strategy for relearning Iowa State?

Dave: In the months leading up to March 1, Wendy [Wintersteen] and the whole team have really been generous in prepping me and giving me homework. David Spalding has been amazing; he and I have been meeting twice a week. Setting up that foundation and background has been critical. 

Once we arrive we know things move fast; we've been in this spot before. With the help of my staff, I have a 100-day plan that gets me into mid-June. In that plan, I'm going to get out there and do a lot of listening, a lot of learning. Of course I have ideas; I'm an alum of this institution, I've been the president of a land grant. But I have a lot to learn.

There are outcomes, metrics, stories that tell you Iowa State is in a very good place. So, I want to build on that, rather than reinvent anything.

With just 11 weeks to the end of the semester and legislative session, what will you focus on initially?

Dave: The Legislature is front and center. I've been looped into what's happened in the first half of the session, but I'll have to be very engaged there; that will be critical in the short term. Some of what's coming will be fun: conference and post-season weeks for basketball and wrestling. It's fun to watch our student athletes compete but it's also a great way to engage alumni who love this institution. So, it'll be a great chance to meet more people and hear what they think about Iowa State and what they want the new president to be thinking about.

'Navigating change through servant leadership' was the title of your presentation during your campus interview. Tell us how that reflects your leadership style.

Dave: Part of being a servant leader is getting out to talk to people and understand the issues from their perspectives. We're a land-grant institution, which means we care about the entire state, including the role we have for the state's workforce. 

On campus, I want an environment where people on the leadership team know they can be candid and challenge me and disagree with me. An Abraham Lincoln philosophy is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you but also who have diverging opinions. That's going to make your decisions overall a lot stronger because they're going to be challenged. I think that's important.

You've indicated your support for Iowa State's culture of innovation. How should faculty and staff see themselves in it?

Dave: Bringing it to the forefront in the classroom, across all types of disciplines, is absolutely critical. Innovation doesn't have to have an entrepreneurial angle to it. I think it's challenging people to grow and think differently every day. We have to keep evolving, higher ed has to keep changing. The world is changing -- AI is the latest example -- and we want to lead.

I'm a big believer that higher ed needs to work with business and industry. It's part of the land grant mission, certainly. But also, when you blend the academic piece with workforce needs learning, our students leave here well prepared.

How will you communicate with faculty and staff?

Dave: Part of that again is the listen and learn. So, I'll get out there in person to talk to a lot of groups: departments, colleges, the governance groups, to hear more about where we need to go and understand better how I can advocate for them.

We're thinking about what the appropriate channels will be, whether that's social media, videos, written communication or leaning into the Knoll for opportunities to engage different groups. All of those are on the table and will be better defined after the first 100 days.

Katie: We really want faculty and staff to know: When you're showcasing something special in your unit, send a message to the president's office. If we can get there even for a little bit, we want to be there. Maybe one or both of us can't make it, but we sure can't attend if we don't know about it.

Dave: This is such a rich environment. If we have the opportunity to attend, we enjoy it -- and then we also can advocate for all the amazing things we're doing here at Iowa State. We need help learning about more of those things.

Editor's note: Request a Cook appearance using the form at the top of the president's website.

Iowa State's 2022-31 strategic plan has 5+ years to go. What will you do with it?

Dave: I'm impressed with it. I think it's a very strong plan, it's thoughtful and comprehensive, and I love that's it's metric driven. Part of the appeal in coming to Iowa State is that we're doing well -- enrollment is one example.

When someone new comes in, he needs to take a look at everything, and I think the evolution of the strategic plan will be an outcome of the first 100 days. My hope is that we think about how we can enhance it. Where are the opportunities to evolve and make us all better?

Is the President's Leadership Class an ISU tradition you'll continue together?

Katie: We will, and we're excited about it. It's a different way to get to know the students. I spent time with Robert (Waggoner, Wintersteen's spouse), and he reviewed a lot with me. We'll be learning ourselves this first year, and then we'll see if we can put our own mark on it.

Dave: Alumni who have reached out to us mention that they were members of the "X-year" PLC, so they identify themselves with the program.

Katie: Our first class (March 3) will include dinner afterwards in a dining center. We believe in eating in the dining halls, where you meet students where they are and can have more informal conversations.

Dave: Showing up for them is important, and there were lots of great conversations. Even at the end of a long day, it's rejuvenating to have that experience.

As an undergraduate, did you have a favorite spot on campus, a place that restored you? 

Dave: It's a beautiful campus. Just walking across central campus, from Beardshear to Curtiss, walking past the campanile, would do that for me.

Katie: Gold Star Hall in the Memorial Union. My dad's name (Lt. Kennith Tapscott, U.S. Navy) is there, so it always felt like my heart was there when I walked through it. The other place is the horse barns, even when I was little and before I was a student here. I love those horses. 

If 56-year-old Dave Cook told 20-year-old Dave Cook, 'Shape up, young man. You're going to be in charge someday,' how would he have reacted?

Dave: I would have been surprised. I was a first-generation college student, so even though it was just moving across town, it was a big step to get here. To think that I was going from there to where I am now, I think I'd be pretty surprised.

What role would you like to carve out at this university?

Katie: I want to be involved. I want to support the students, I want to support Dave, but I want my role to be authentic, so I think it will take some time. I'll use this first year to figure out how I fit in and what Iowa State wants from their president's spouse. I think that might involve lots of volunteering whenever opportunities come up, to see what the needs are and if there is a fit for me.

Editor's note: Katie will finish out the semester co-teaching (mostly online) an undergraduate course being piloted this spring at NDSU. Intended for ag education majors, it provides insight into numerous human disabilities and introduces equine therapy strategies for teachers in their work with students with disabilities.