“I’m not leaving. I’m just stepping down.”

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy announced Friday that he will step down from his position as president no later than July 31, 2012.

Geoffroy announced his decision in a closed session to the Board of Regents during its meeting Wednesday.

He said he made the decision to step down about a month ago.

“I decided to stay as president until they turn it over to a new person,” Geoffroy said.

Geoffroy said he is unsure what he will do after he steps down, but he has a faculty position at Iowa State as a professor of chemistry.

“Ultimately it was a life decision. I’m 65 in a couple of months, and I have three wonderful grandchildren,” Geoffroy said. “This job makes it impossible to spend that much time with them.”

Geoffroy mentioned retirement as another option he is looking at after leaving his position as president.

The budget cuts from the last three years were not the reason he was stepping down, Geoffroy said, although he recognized the challenges the university will face in the future.

Geoffroy said he thought public universities would “probably not” ever be privatized.

“Universities will continue to face budget challenges, and they are going to have to adjust,” Geoffroy said.

Geoffroy became the 14th ISU president July 1, 2001.

He was one of three finalists for the president of the University of Kentucky, but instead he chose Iowa State.

“Both are fine universities, and I just think that Iowa State is a better match for my own background and interests … As you know, I’m a scientist, and Iowa State has great strength in the sciences and technology, and it just felt right,” Geoffroy told the Iowa State Daily in 2001.

During his time at Iowa State, he has helped develop two strategic plans.

The plans outlined the best ways to provide education to students through academic programs and raise the quality of academic life at the university.

He has also worked on retaining the top faculty, students and staff for the university.

Geoffroy is currently leading Campaign Iowa State, a private fundraising campaign that has raised over $800 million.

Iowa State hit a record number of enrollments in 2010 and 2011 and is projected to break its record again in 2012.

In 2001, Geoffroy increased the amount of tuition revenue that funds student aid from 11 to 18 percent.

After the VEISHEA riots in 2004, Geoffroy had to make a tough decision for the future of the longstanding tradition. Geoffroy had the option of cancelling VEISHEA festivities, but instead only cancelled the event in 2005.

Geoffroy is currently a member of the National Security Higher Education Advisory board, serves as the Regents’ representative on the Iowa Power Fund Board, is a member of the World Food Prize Advisory Committee and the Iowa Business Council, is the president of the Iowa 4-H Foundation and serves on the board of directors of the Big 12 Conference.

Geoffroy said he has been asked several times what he wants his legacy to be when he leaves Iowa State.

“I don’t really think that way. I’m a person who never looks back. I can’t change the past, but we can change the future. I’m proud of so many things we have accomplished,” Geoffroy said.