University of Northern Iowa leadership will change following the unanimous approval of a national search by the Iowa Board of Regents on Wednesday.
The decision marks the beginning of a transition period for the Cedar Falls campus as President Mark Nook prepares to retire at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year. The search process aims to secure a successor before Nook’s contract concludes on July 1, 2027.
Board staff plan to begin seeking applicants for potential search-firm partners this Friday, according to the Iowa Board of Regents. Aimee Claeys, board counsel, said that the administration intends to follow a proven template for finding new leadership.
“We fully anticipate that this search will follow the cadence and process that we have used quite successfully in recent searches,” Claeys said during the Nov. 12 meeting, noting the 2025 selection of David Cook as president of Iowa State University as a successful precedent.
The search comes after Nook announced his retirement plans on Oct. 23, promising to remain in his role until a new president is officially seated on campus. This continuity is intended to prevent a leadership vacuum during the transition.
The Board of Regents has established a specific window for the selection process. Claeys, working alongside Chief Academic Officer Rachel Boon and Senior Communications Director Josh Lehman, will lead the effort to develop a search committee and a formal timeline.
The board expects to present the final selections to the group during its April meeting, which is scheduled to take place on the UNI campus. This timing is critical to meeting the July 1 deadline for the new president’s arrival.
Nook will have served as the president of the university for a decade by the time he steps down. In his initial retirement announcement, he described his tenure serving the university and the state of Iowa as “one of the greatest privileges” he has experienced.
The transition follows a period of high activity for the state's higher education system. While the UNI search is a primary focus for the board, recent months have seen broader administrative shifts across the regency universities.
Board President Robert Cramer acknowledged the upcoming transition and the contributions of the outgoing leader during the meeting. “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,” Cramer said.
The search committee’s work will ultimately determine the direction of the university as it enters a new era of administration. It is unclear whether the next president will focus on expanding the university's economic impact—which, according to a Lightcast study, contributed $18 billion to Iowa's economy in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
The board will now move into the active phase of identifying firms and committee members to manage the national recruitment effort.
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