List of presidents of Iowa State University

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Following are presidents of Iowa State University.

Presidents of Iowa State University

The following persons have served as president of Iowa State University:^[1]^[2]^[3]

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No.	President	Term start	Term end	Ref.
Principals of Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm (1858–1898)
1	Adonijah S. Welch	1868	1883
acting	George W. Jones	1868	1868
acting	James L. Geddes	1877	1878
acting	Charles E. Bessey	1882	1882
2	Seaman A. Knapp	1883	1884
acting	Joseph L. Budd	1884	1885
3	Leigh S. J. Hunt	February 1885	July 1886
4	William I. Chamberlain	July 1886	November 1890
5	William M. Beardshear	February 1891	August 5, 1902 ^[a]	^[4]
Presidents of Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (1898–1959)
acting	Edgar W. Stanton	August 23, 1902	September 1903	^[5]
6	Albert B. Storms	September 1903	August 1910	^[6]^[7]
acting	Edgar W. Stanton	August 1910	July 31, 1912	^[8]
7	Raymond A. Pearson	August 1, 1912	August 31, 1926 ^[b]	^[9]^[10]
acting	Edgar W. Stanton	1917	1918
acting	Herman Knapp ^[c]	September 1, 1926	August 31, 1927	^[10]
8	Raymond M. Hughes	September 1, 1927	March 17, 1936 ^[d]	^[11]^[12]^[13]
acting	Charles E. Friley	October 18, 1935	March 17, 1936	^[12]
9	Charles E. Friley	March 17, 1936	June 30, 1953	^[13]^[14]
10	James H. Hilton	July 1, 1953	June 30, 1965	^[15]
Presidents of Iowa State University (1959–present)
11	W. Robert Parks	July 1, 1965	June 30, 1986	^[16]^[17]
12	Gordon P. Eaton	July 1, 1986	October 19, 1990 ^[e]	^[18]^[19]
acting	Milton D. Glick ^[f]	October 20, 1990	May 31, 1991	^[19]
13	Martin C. Jischke	June 1, 1991	August 13, 2000 ^[g]	^[20]^[21]^[22]
interim	Richard C. Seagrave ^[h]	August 14, 2000	June 30, 2001	^[22]^[23]
14	Gregory Geoffroy	July 1, 2001	January 31, 2012	^[24]^[25]
15	Steven Leath	February 1, 2012	May 8, 2017 ^[i]	^[26]^[27]^[28]
interim	Benjamin J. Allen ^[j]	May 9, 2017	November 19, 2017	^[28]
16	Wendy Wintersteen	November 20, 2017	January 2, 2026	^[29]^[30]^[31]^[32]
interim	David Spalding ^[k]	January 3, 2026	February 28, 2026	^[33]
17	David J. Cook	March 1, 2026	present	^[34]

Table notes:

[a]
Died in office.
[b]
Resigned to head University of Maryland, College Park.
[c]
business manager and treasurer the college
[d]
Hughes began indefinite leave of absence in October 1935 until he was formally replaced in March 1936
[e]
Resigned to head Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and return to scientific research.
[f]
Provost at time of appointment.
[g]
Resigned to head Purdue University.
[h]
At time of appointment, just complete stint as interim provost.
[i]
Resigned to head Auburn University.
[j]
Retired president of University of Northern Iowa at time of appointment.
[k]
Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business and vice president for economic development and industry relations at time of appointment.

References

[1]
"Iowa State University Presidents Collection". Iowa State University.
[2]
"Presidents of Iowa State". Iowa State University.
[3]
Carson, Isaac; Curry, Maggie (October 22, 2017). "A breakdown of Iowa State's past 15 presidents". Iowa State Daily.
[4]
"DEATH OF DR. BEARDSHEAR, PRESIDENT AMES COLLEGE". The Des Moines Tribune. August 6, 1902. p. 5. President William M. Beardshear. A. LL. D. president of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, died at his residence on the college today.
[5]
"E. W. STANTON TO ACT". The Des Moines Tribune. August 23, 1902. p. 2. No Successor to Beardshear Will Be Selected at Present. Prof. E. W. Stanton will be acting president of the State college until a successor to the late lamented Beardshear shall have been chosen. This much was decided at the meeting of the board of directors. No further definite action was taken in the matter of the presidency and the board has no candidate prominently in view.
[6]
"PRESIDENT NAMED... AMES COLLEGE". The Des Moines Tribune. July 3, 1903. p. 1.
[7]
"BOARD TO MEET FRIDAY AT AMES". The Des Moines Tribune. March 30, 1910. p. 1. Other matters will be discussed at the session, and among them will probably be the matter of the successor to President Storms, whose resignation will take effect next September.
[8]
"STANTON IS ACTING PRESIDENT OF AMES". The Des Moines Register. August 19, 1910. p. 1. The state board of education today named Dean Stanton of lowa State college to be acting president of the institution to succeed Dr. Storms.
[9]
"New President of Ames". The Des Moines Register. May 2, 1912. p. 5. Raymond A. Pearson, the new head of the Ames Agricultural college, is expected here soon for a visit with James H. Trewin, president of the state board of education. Mr. Pearson is 39 years old. He will assume his duttes Aug. 1.
[10]
"SEEK EDUCATOR FOR PEARSON'S PLACE AT AMES". The Des Moines Register. June 18, 1926. p. 14. Dr. R. Pearson, recently resigned as president of Iowa State college... The board has taken no definite toward the selection of a successor to President Pearson, whose resignation is effective Sept. 1... Herman Knapp, business manager and treasurer the college, who has been acting president during the absence of President Pearson, will continue in that capacity, it is expected.
[11]
"HUGHES GIVEN A WELCOME BY AMES FACULTY". The Des Moines Register. June 24, 1927. p. 2. Dr. Hughes arrived here last night with Mrs. Hughes, and today he conferred with department heads in an effort to acquaint himself with the administrative problems which will confront him when he assumes the presidency Sept. 1.
[12]
"Hughes Asks Leave From I.S.C. Post". The Des Moines Register. October 18, 1935. p. 1. President Raymond M. Hughes of Iowa State college will ask the Iowa board of education here today for an indefinite leave of absence to regain his health, he revealed Thursday night. During his absence from the college, Dr. Hughes plans to tour the southern and eastern states, he said, visiting his daughter... Granting of President Hughes' request by the state board is expected to be a formality. Previously when President Hughes has been away from Ames, administrative responsibility has been assumed by Dean and Vice President Charles E. Friley. Dr. Hughes has been president. of Iowa State college since 1927, coming from Miami university, Miami, Ohio, where he also was president. He is 62 and will be eligible for retirement in 1938.
[13]
"A NEW PRESIDENT AT IOWA STATE". The Des Moines Register. March 19, 1936. p. 10. It is hardly necessary to welcome Iowa State college's new president, Charles E. Friley, to his post of responsibility, inasmuch as he has been serving as acting head of the school for some months. Dr. Friley's rapid rise to Iowa State's leadership since his coming to Ames as dean of the industrial science department a few years ago, however, suggests a definite fitness for this larger task as well as an intimate acquaintance with the many phases of agriculture with which the institution is concerned. There is appropriateness, moreover, in the bestowal by the board of education of the distinction of president emeritus upon the retiring president, Raymond M. Hughes
[14]
"Quietly Hunt A Successor To Dr. Friley". The Des Moines Register. May 22, 1952. p. 28. Two members of the Iowa board of education Thursday confirmed reports the board has "quietly" begun looking toward the eventual appointment of a successor to Dr. Charles E. Friley, who has been president of Iowa State college at Ames, since 1936. Dr. Friley will reach the mandatory, 1953, retirement and has age "un-officially" notified the board he intends to retire then, the board members said... Served since '36, Dr. Friley became president of Iowa State college, Mar. 17, 1936, following the resignation of Dr. R. M. Hughes the previous month. Dr. Hughes had served as president since 1927.
[15]
"Hilton of No. Carolina To Head Iowa State College". The Des Moines Register. November 7, 1952. p. 1. Dr. James Harold Hilton, dean of agriculture for North Carolina State college at Raleigh, Thursday was elected president of Iowa State college at Ames, effective next July 1. Announcement of his selection as successor to Dr. Charles E.Friley, who is retiring after serving 17 years, was made in Des Moines by Dwight G. Rider, Fort Dodge, president of the Iowa state board of education.
[16]
"New I. S. U. Head". The Des Moines Register. December 11, 1964. p. 1. A former Tennessee farm will be the next president of W. Robert Parks, 49, was Board of Regents to succeed James H. Hilton, 65, who will retire as president next July 1.
[17]
"ISU hunting for finance-minded new president". The Des Moines Register. May 17, 1985. p. 13. The search for the next president of State officially began Thursday, and members of the presidential search committee wasted little time setting to work. The 21 committee members, assisted by William Tipping of the executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles, began pondering the qualities they want in the person who will guide the institution after current president W. Robert Parks retires June 30, 1986.
[18]
"Texas A & M provost chosen as ISU president". The Des Moines Register. November 21, 1985. p. 1. Gordon Eaton, a top administrator at Texas A & M University and a geologist who has studied Hawaiian volcanoes, Wednesday was named president of Iowa State University. The Iowa Board of Regents chose Eaton, 56, from among six finalists. As Iowa State's 12th president, he succeeds W. Robert Parks, who is retiring after 21 years. Eaton's appointment takes effect July 1.
[19]
"President Eaton to step down". The Des Moines Register. July 19, 1990. p. 1. Iowa State University President Gordon Eaton, who has brought sweeping and controversial changes to the school, said Wednesday he has resigned to head Columbia University geological laboratory. The State Board of Regents appointed ISU Provost Milton Glick as interim president effective Oct. 20.
[20]
"New president promises to put ISU in limelight". The Des Moines Register. February 22, 1991. p. 1. Iowa State University's new president who has a doctorate in astronautics and is the grandson of a farmer said Thursday he hopes to lead the institution to national pre-eminence. That goal, Martin Jischke said, is "ambitious and challenging but it's doable." Jischke also promised a strong commitment to undergraduate education. Jischke, 49, chancellor of the University of Missouri-Rolla, was named by the Iowa Board of Regents to ISU's top post during a hastily arranged telephone meeting Thursday. He will be Iowa State's 13th president and will earn a salary of $164,000. He plans to arrive in Ames on June 1.
[21]
"Jischke will leave ISU for Purdue presidency". The Des Moines Register. May 23, 2000. p. 1. Iowa State University
[22]
"Board names Seagrave interim ISU president". The Des Moines Register. June 17, 2000. p. 17. Richard Seagrave, a prominent engineering professor at Iowa State University, will be the school's interim president after Martin Jischke leaves this summer. The Iowa Board of Regents announced Tuesday that Seagrave will take over the job while ISU searches for Jischke's successor. A new president could be named by December but would probably not start until the summer or fall of 2001, regents officials said. Jischke announced last month that he is leaving ISU to take the president's job at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. He leaves Aug. 13. Seagrave will begin Aug. 14.
[23]
"Remembering Richard C. Seagrave's legacy in chemical engineering education, university leadership". ISU. September 11, 2025.
[24]
Hacker, Annette (March 25, 2011). "President Gregory Geoffroy will step down". ISU. President Gregory Geoffroy today announced his intention to leave his post no later than July 31, 2012. He will remain president of Iowa State until a successor is named.
[25]
"Gregory Geoffroy". ISU. Geoffroy began his tenure as Iowa State University's 14th President on July 1, 2001.
[26]
Krapfl, Anne (September 29, 2011). "Leath will be our next president". ISU. Steven Leath will become Iowa State's 15th president on Feb. 1, 2012.
[27]
Krapfl, Anne (March 23, 2017). "Leath takes top job at Auburn University". ISU. In his resignation letter to the state Board of Regents, he wrote that his last day at Iowa State will fall between May 8 and June 2.
[28]
"Allen Appointed Interim President at Iowa State". Iowa Board of Regents. March 27, 2017. Dr. Ben Allen was appointed interim president and will begin his service as such on May 9... Steven Leath, who was named Auburn University's 19th president on March 20, will finish his Iowa State presidency on May 8.
[29]
"Wendy Wintersteen named Iowa State University president". ISU. October 23, 2017. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, today named Wendy Wintersteen the 16th president of Iowa State University. Wintersteen's appointment concludes a nearly six-month national search. She will take office on Nov. 20, 2017. Wintersteen, endowed dean of Iowa State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, will succeed Benjamin Allen, who has served as interim president since May 8. Steven Leath, Iowa State's 15th president, assumed the presidency at Auburn University last spring.
[30]
"Forever true for ISU: President Wendy Wintersteen to retire in 2026". ISU. May 16, 2025.
[31]
"Farewell reception: President Wendy Wintersteen and Robert Waggoner". ISU. President Wendy Wintersteen will retire on Jan. 2, 2026.
[32]
https://iowastatedaily.com/327021/news/david-spalding-named-interim-president-at-iowa-state-university/
[33]
Prescott, Mallory (November 20, 2025). "David Spalding named interim president of Iowa State University". Iowa State Daily. The Iowa Board of Regents appointed David Spalding on Nov. 13 to serve as interim president of Iowa State University beginning Jan. 3, 2026, for which he will earn $600,000.
[34]
"David Cook named president of Iowa State University". ISU. November 11, 2025. The Iowa Board of Regents today named David Cook the 17th president of Iowa State University. Cook, president of North Dakota State University, succeeds Wendy Wintersteen who will retire in her ninth year as Iowa State's president. Cook, who is an alumnus of Iowa State, will take office on March 1, 2026.

List of presidents of Iowa State University

Presidents of Iowa State University

See also

References

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