Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen announced today she will retire next year after a 46-year career with the university.

In a message to the campus community, Wintersteen said she has asked the Iowa Board of Regents to begin the search for the land-grant university’s next president, who would assume the role in January 2026.

“In these past years, Iowa State University has reached new heights of research and teaching excellence, continued improvements in student outcomes and national recognition for innovative and entrepreneurial achievements … I will truly miss our ISU students and their creativity, excitement and potential,” Wintersteen wrote in the message.

Wintersteen became the 16th president of Iowa State in 2017. She is the first woman and second alumnus to hold the position.

Before serving as president, Wintersteen was the inaugural endowed dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station for 11 years. She started her career as one of the first female ISU Extension associates in integrated pest management after attending Kansas State University. She then completed her doctorate in entomology at Iowa State.

During her tenure, Wintersteen has worked with university alumni and friends to secure more than $275 million for new and renovated facilities to Iowa State’s campus such as:

• Student Innovation Center.
• Gerdin Building expansion for the Ivy College of Business.
• Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building, a facility made possible by the largest single gift for an academic building in Iowa State history.
• Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Phase 1 completed and phase 2 ($66.5 million). underway with support from the state of Iowa.
• Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex.

The Iowa State University Research Park has experienced significant growth with a 150-acre expansion and nearly 50 new tenants and Wintersteen has worked with ISU Athletics Director Jamie Pollard on approval of the CyTown development, the announcement said.

In Wintersteen’s first four years as president, the Iowa State University Foundation exceeded its $1.1 billion fundraising goal, raising $1.542 billion. The funding created 148 named faculty positions and included $500 million for student support, including 56,000 donor-funded scholarships.

The announcement said Iowa State’s reputation for research and innovation have grown during Wintersteen’s tenure, including several national and global recognitions for innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education. Over the past eight years, the university received more than $4.2 billion in external funding, including three consecutive years of record-setting research funding.

Iowa State’s first-year student retention rate has climbed to 87.6%, 10.5 percentage points higher than the national average for four-year public institutions. Nearly 75% of Iowa State’s undergraduates complete two or more high-impact practices such as learning communities, faculty-student research projects, internships or study abroad.

Iowa Board of Regents President Sherry Bates said Wintersteen has provided “steady guidance” through external challenges like the derecho and COVID-19 pandemic.

Charles Sukup, chairman of Sukup Manufacturing Co. and Iowa State alumnus, said Wintersteen’s efforts will “benefit students and the state of Iowa for years to come.”

“She has been an outstanding servant leader who has earned the trust of faculty, students and the citizens of Iowa,” he said.

Wintersteen serves on several national and state boards and committees, including the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Council of Presidents and Research Intensive Committee, America’s Cultivation Corridor and the World Food Prize Foundation board of directors.

She was inducted into the Iowa Business Hall of Fame in 2021 and has been recognized as a Business Record Most Influential Business Leader in 2024 and 2025, Woman of Influence in 2018 and the EO Iowa innovationENTREPRENEUR of the Year in 2024.