Liberal Arts & Sciences Young Alumnus Award
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Established in 2005 to honor alumni of the college, aged 40 and under, who have excelled in their professions and provided service to their communities
Gentry T. Collins
BA Political Science ’98
Ankeny, Iowa
Gentry Collins is the national political director for the Republican National Committee (RNC) in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Iowa State, Collins ran for the Iowa House and then just four years out of college ran the statewide Iowa gubernatorial campaign for Republican Doug Gross.
At the RNC, he has provided national leadership to Republican presidential campaigns over the last two presidential cycles.
In 2004, as executive director in Iowa, Collins helped a Republican carry the state for the first time in 20 years, as Iowa became one of only two states in the country to switch from voting for Gore in 2000 to Bush in 2004. Secondly, as regional campaign manager for John McCain in 2008, he helped Missouri become the only target state in the nation to vote for McCain.
His work with the McCain campaign earned him a feature story in The Wall Street Journal, which described him as one of “McCain’s Generals in the Field” and recognized his “metrics-driven accountability.”
A fellow campaign worker said that Collins has “established himself as a leading political strategist in Iowa and a rising national figure in the Republican Party.” Collins has retained close ties to ISU and has lectured in the department of political science. He is an annual member of the ISU Alumni Association.
