David Cook named president of Iowa State University

AMES, Iowa (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.

Since 2022, Cook, 55, has led North Dakota State University, a land-grant university with 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and a $971.5 million biennial budget. The institution has five academic colleges, seven agricultural research extension centers and 53 extension offices.

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Originally published by Iowa State University in November 2025