A search committee of 20 members has been formed to fill the position of the vice provost for extension — the current administrator announced his plans for retirement.

Stanley Johnson, who has been the vice provost for extension for nine years, said he spoke with Provost Ben Allen and will not retire until the committee finds a replacement.

“The committee is searching over the summer, and I suspect they’ll bring candidates in late October or early November — then I’ll go,” he said.

Committee member Michael Cooley, a sophomore in agricultural education, said the committee has met once, in late May.

During their first meeting, the committee laid the ground work for the hiring process, Cooley said.

“We finalized the job description and went over the qualities we’re looking for in candidates,” he said. “We’re making sure we realize the search needs to be truly national, as ISU Extension is one of the best in the nation. We’re looking for candidates with entrepreneurial skills that will work with extension and take it in new directions.”

Cooley also said the committee is beginning to advertise the position and hopes to have someone appointed by Dec. 1.

Another committee member, Chairwoman of Food Science and Human Nutrition Ruth MacDonald, said applications are due by the end of summer, after which interviews are planned to be conducted and public forums held.

From the final pool of candidates, the committee will make its recommendation to the provost and ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, she said.

Johnson said it will be hard leaving extension and retiring, as he has been involved in some type of education for nearly 41 years.

As vice provost, Johnson said he is most proud of expanding the budget and entrepreneurial activities, bettering programs such as manufacturing and soybean rust prevention and organizing a state-wide association of county extension councils.

He said the association is made up of nine members from each county, and is designed to make extension a strong political force.

Johnson said when he retires later this year he wants to fish more and plans to do consulting.