(Radio Iowa) – One of two finalists to be the next president of Iowa State University says artificial intelligence is transforming society and Benjamin Houlton) says if he’s hired, one of his goals would be to make I-S-U a global leader in A-I.  “China is making big bets – fast,” Houlton said. “We need to make the same kind of bets.” Houlton has been dean of the College of Agriculture at Cornell University for the past five years. He’s overseeing 12-hundred staff, 600 faculty, 500 facilities and 300 million dollars worth of annual research.

“The United States is now 4th in (research and development) spending in agriculture. We’re behind China, we’re behind Brazil, we’re behind the EU,” Houlton said. “We need new investments.” Houlton says as I-S-U’s president, he’d work to establish more public-private partnerships and recruit the best talent to join the I-S-U faculty. “There’s a lot of talent on the sidelines at institutions that are looking at a place like Iowa State saying: ‘You know what? That’s a place that gets it. That’s a place I can be mission focused. That’s a place that would inspire me to do really great things.'”

Houlton says there is room for introspection and reform in higher education and it’s critical to regain the public’s trust — and work to ensure the students of today can thrive in the environments of tomorrow. “My vision is an institution that is afraid of no ideas. None,” Houlton said. “No idea should be too scary for us to address. No viewpoint should be too scary for us to evaluate. Our job is to be an honest broker for society, to be a convenor and to build bridges across disparate areas so that society can continue to power forward and we can best support America’s interests.”

Houlton spoke yesterday (Wednesday) during a public forum in Ames. He jokingly described himself as a “cheesehead” — he was born and raised in Wisconsin — and Houlton geeked out about Olympic Gold Medalists Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson, who both wrestled in college for Iowa State. “I will say this that I was an honorary coach for the Cornell wrestling team and I still get on the mat and wrestle with the kids. Yes, at age 50, but it’s amazing. They’re nice to me,” Houlton said, “so the bottom line is I’m so excited to be here with you and to experience Cyclone Nation.”

The other finalist for the I-S-U presidency is North Dakota State President David Cook. He’s an Ames native and he’ll be on the campus today (Thursday) for a series of events before a public forum late this (Thursday) afternoon. The two men will be interviewed by the Board of Regents next Tuesday.