Gov. Terry Branstad appointed two new members to the Board of Regents, the board that governs Iowa’s three main, public universities, on Monday morning.

Construction business owner Milt Dakovich and former state Sen. Larry McKibben from Marshalltown were appointed to the board by the governor.

Iowa State President Steven Leath is excited to begin working with the new board members.

“It has been nice to get to know them, and their different backgrounds add a lot of diversity to the board,” Leath said. “Right now, they are getting up to speed and I have offered to host them at ISU. They are excited to meet the faculty and the students and I’m excited to have them here.”

The appointment of the two members comes after Gov. Branstad’s two previous nominations were rejected by the Iowa Senate in the spring of this year.

If approved by the Iowa Senate, their terms will run through April of 2019. If rejected, their names will be removed from the board.

“I have chosen two passionate public servants who will help guide our Regents institutions through the next six years,” Branstad said in a press release this morning. “Larry’s legislative expertise and Milt’s construction background will provide both of them with the knowledge and experience needed for these two seats on the board.”

McKibben served in the Iowa Senate from 1997-2008 and has attended all three of the state universities.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa, served as a graduate teaching assistant at Iowa State University and then graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law. 

Dakovich earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in both civil engineering and construction engineering.

McKibben is currently an attorney at Moore, McKibben, Goodman & Lorenz, LLP, in Marshalltown, and Dakovich is the president of Aspro, Inc., an asphalt paving contractor, in Waterloo.

Iowa State University Government of the Student Body President Spencer Hughes got to meet the new members at Wednesday’s Board of Regents meeting.

“I look forward to working with them in the future,” said Hughes. “I plan on talking with them and working with them about the outcome of our efforts at the Capitol, and how we can increase student efforts there.”