Catherine Woteki, dean of the College of Agriculture, has recently announced she will resign to take a position with food company Mars Inc., effective July 31.

Woteki, who has been at Iowa State since January 2002, has been hired by Mars, which is located in McLean, Va., as the global director of scientific affairs.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy praised Woteki for her leadership of the College of Agriculture throughout a period of budget cuts. Since Woteki took her position as dean, the college has lost several million dollars in a series of cuts.

“She has guided the college smoothly through the very difficult budget challenges we’ve had to endure,” Geoffroy said.

“I think she’s done a terrific job, and she will very, very much be missed.”

Provost Ben Allen echoed Geoffroy’s praise of Woteki’s handling of budget cuts without hurting programs.

“It could have been easy to go in another direction,” he said.

Allen said Woteki’s presence at the College of Agriculture will be missed.

“Dean Woteki is an outstanding leader; when someone of that caliber leaves the university, that college is going to be challenged somewhat to keep the momentum going — there’s no denying that,” Allen said.

“The good news is that as a good leader, Dean Woteki established a very strong leadership team around her. That infrastructure remains.”

In a statement on the College of Agriculture Web site, Woteki said the new position was an unexpected opportunity. She said the decision also had a personal side, as her husband, Tom Woteki, is a Washington, D.C. area resident and a vice president at Northrop Grumman Corporation.

“She and her husband have lived apart for the four years that she’s been here,” Geoffroy said. “Both their sets of parents live in the Washington, D.C. area. She wanted to be closer to them, and the opportunity came along.”

Allen said he plans to announce an interim dean within days. He said the process of finding a new dean usually takes a year.

“We would, of course, like to move faster if we can,” Allen said.

A search committee is planned to be established, and public interviews should be conducted once candidates are selected.

“It’ll be a very open search, it’s a very, very important college,” Allen said.

Both Allen and Geoffroy complimented Woteki for expanding the focus of the College of Agriculture, which now includes consumer and environmental issues.

Geoffroy also commended Woteki for her work as chairwoman of a task force formed in the wake of the 2004 Veishea riot.

“That was a difficult job because of the range of opinions and passions associated with the issue,” Geoffroy said.