Iowa Board of Regents approves first steps in UNI president search

The Iowa Board of Regents has approved a national search to replace the University of Northern Iowa’s leader as President Mark Nook prepares for retirement.

Board Counsel Aimee Claeys said during the Nov. 12 board meeting that with board approval, which was given unanimously, board staff will seek applicants Friday for potential search-firm partners and also begin developing a search committee.

“We fully anticipate that this search will follow the cadence and process that we have used quite successfully in recent searches,” Claeys said, referring to the search that ended with David Cook being selected as Iowa State University’s new president in 2025.

On Oct. 23, Nook announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, with the promise of staying on until a new president is chosen and comes to campus.

Claeys, joined by board Chief Academic Officer Rachel Boon and Senior Communications Director Josh Lehman, will “spearhead” the search with board staff, she said, and will work with search committee chairs to establish a timeline for the search process.

The goal is to have a new president on campus by the end of Nook’s contract period on July 1, 2027, Claeys said, by bringing finalist selections to the board during its April meeting on the UNI campus.

Nook will have spent a decade at the Cedar Falls university as its president by the time he retires, with the president saying in his announcement that serving UNI and Iowa has been “one of the greatest privileges” he’s had.

“We’ll have … another opportunity in our next meeting or two to say all the nice things about President Nook, but we do appreciate all your work,” Board President Robert Cramer said.