Staff Spotlight

Paul Lasley’s career at Iowa State has provided him an opportunity to tackle a wide variety of projects and responsibilities. Upon starting at Iowa State in 1981, Lasley created the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll, providing timely and relevant information on agriculture and rural life that is still in place today. He also helped create courses within the sociology program at the university that focus on ethics and changes in agriculture.

But for all those successes, it’s the relationships he has built that Lasley is most proud of. A lifetime of work trying to understand and improve life in rural Iowa has made him a trusted voice across the state.

“I’ve worked hard to develop a rapport with stakeholders across the state to be an independent and impartial voice on change in our communities and in our state,” Lasley said. “I get a number of calls to offer commentary and to provide analytical assessments of current issues, but also to offer my opinion and perspective.”