Iowa State University Presidential Search - March 2017

The Board of Regents will vote to begin the search process for the 16th President of Iowa State University in a telephonic meeting March 27. 

Dr. Ben Allen (pictured) will be considered for appointment as interim president following Steven Leath’s last day in office, which is proposed as May 8. Allen served as the ninth president of the University of Northern Iowa and was Provost at Iowa State from 2002-06. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois in 1974.

The Board also will consider authorizing Executive Director/CEO Bob Donley to begin the search for the next president of Iowa State. Donley, in consultation with Board leadership, will establish the process and timetable for the search, including the hiring of a search firm and the creation of a search committee. Donley will report on the status of the search at the April 19-20 Board of Regents meeting at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs.

Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter thanked Leath, who was named Auburn University’s 19th president on March 20, for his service to the Regents enterprise.

“I would like to thank President Leath for his service to Iowa State University, the Board of Regents and the state of Iowa,” Rastetter said. “ISU has made great strides during his tenure, including achieving record enrollment. We wish President Leath and his wife, Janet, the best at Auburn University.”