Updated: Ruud Selected Next UNI President

William Ruud will be the next president of the University of Northern Iowa.

Ruud, 60, is currently the president of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

The Iowa Board of Regents made the announcement in West Des Moines today after a day of interviews and deliberations. The regents voted unanimously in Ruud's favor.

Ruud will take over effective June 1 on a three-year contract, with a salary of $340,000.

"I'm looking forward to learning more, I'm looking forward to a great leadership challenge," Ruud said in a press conference after the announcement.

He said he would start out his tenure by talking with the university community to learn as much as he can.

"Over the next four to five months I want to have some good coversations. I want to listen," he said. "I want to hear what the challenges are, I want to hear what people think the solutions are."

Ruud became president of Shippensburg University in 2007.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration and Hospital Administration from the University of North Dakota, and both master's and doctoral degrees in Organizational Behavior, Management and Strategy, and Organizational Communication from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As he starts his job at UNI, he will face a host of issues, including the possibility of censure by the American Association of University Professors, bolstering campus morale, increasing UNI's enrollment, fundraising and ensuring funding from the Iowa legislature.

"I like to focus on 'friendraising' first and fundraising second," he said. "If you have really, really great friends then you don’t have to do much fundraising."

He said he is ready to advocate on UNI's behalf.

"I’ve got energy, I’ve got enthusiasm, I want to get out and sell the story of the University of Northern Iowa," he said.

Ruud beat out another candidate, Michael Wartell, 66, who was chancellor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and is now Chancellor Emeritus. A third candidate, Avijit Ghosh, withdrew his candidacy earlier this week.

Current UNI president Ben Allen has announced he will retire by July.

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