After nine months of searching, the ISU Foundation has found its next president.

Dan Saftig, current vice president of marketing and communications for the Minnesota Medical Foundation at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, will take the reins beginning July 1.

Saftig visited campus last week and was officially named Foundation president and CEO Tuesday. He said one of the reasons he was interested in the position was because of the positive things he had heard about the university and the state of Iowa.

“Iowa State has a great reputation outside of Iowa,” he said. “All the people we’ve met outside Ames have said what a great place it is.”

Saftig will replace Des Moines businesswoman Peg Armstrong-Gustafson, who has been serving as interim president. She was offered the position, but declined, stating she did not desire a permanent position.

Before Armstrong-Gustaf-son, Tom Mitchell served as Foundation president from 1997 to 2002.

In June 2002, he left the Foundation for a position at the University of California in Irvine.

Saftig also has a connection with Iowa State through ISU President Gregory Geoffroy. Saftig and Geoffroy worked together at Pennsylvania State University, where Saftig served as director of annual giving and prospect development.

Last summer the ISU Foundation created a search committee and hired a search-consulting firm to help find a new foundation leader.

John Lawson, chairman of the Foundation board of directors, said the search committee was looking for someone with experience in development and managerial work.

He said Saftig has had successful fundraising campaigns at Pennsylvania State and the Minnesota Medical Foundation.

Lawson said Saftig was identified earlier this year by a thorough nationwide review of major foundations.

He also said Geoffroy and other ISU staff members from Pennsylvania State were aware of Saftig.

Out of the 40 to 50 candidates, 10 visited the ISU campus.

Lawson said Saftig was the most qualified for the position. “He met all the criteria and then some,” he said.

Saftig said he is optimistic about joining the Foundation, despite recent problems such as the open records controversy and pending lawsuit.

“The challenges in the past have silver linings,” he said. “I am pleased to be stepping into a foundation that has looked at these issues.”

Saftig has worked for the American Heart Association in Wisconsin, and as executive campaign director for Community Counseling Services in San Francisco.

Saftig received his bachelor’s degree in mass communication and political science from the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse and a master’s degree in nonprofit administration from the University of San Francisco.

He has been at the Minnesota Medical Foundation since 1996.

Brad Choate, president and CEO of the Minnesota Medical Foundation, said in a Foundation press release that Saftig would bring positive qualities to Iowa State.

“Creativity and hard work are the hallmarks of Dan Saftig,” Choate said. “I’m confident that he will bring that same energy and dedication to the Iowa State University Foundation that he shared with us.”