He became a management science and economics professor at Iowa. In 1988 Fethke was named an associate dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, and in 1993 he was named the interim dean of the Tippie College.
Fethke transitioned from a professor of management science and economics at Iowa to become an associate dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business in 1988, and later served as the interim dean of the Tippie College in 1993.