AMES, Iowa —

The Iowa Board of Regents has named David Cook as the next president of Iowa State University.

Cook, a graduate of Iowa State, is currently the president of North Dakota State University. He will succeed ISU President Wendy Wintersteen, who is retiring after nine years of leading the university. Cook will take office on March 1, 2026.

His contract is for five years with an annual salary of $700,000 and a five-year deferred compensation plan beginning March 1, 2026, with annual contributions of $100,000.

An Iowa State alumnus, Cook earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and speech communication from ISU, and a master’s and Ph.D. in organizational communication from the University of Kansas. As a researcher, he has been a principal or co-principal investigator on ne

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