The search for Iowa State’s 14th president cost $160,483, university officials said recently.

Owen Newlin, president of the state Board of Regents, said the board had anticipated a similar figure.

“I think we had a budget of about $150,000 to $200,000,” he said. “It was all within the range of what we expected.”

The last presidential search at Iowa State, which resulted in the hiring of former President Martin Jischke, cost $93,396.10, according to the Ames Tribune.

Newlin said Iowa State paid for the search out of the presidential office budget.

The final cost includes a $90,000 search fee and $22,758 in travel and expenses paid to professional search firm Korn/Ferry. This is the same firm used in the search for the current presidents of the University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa.

Candidate interviews cost a total of $29,373. This includes airfare and hotel costs for on-campus tours and interviews for the four finalists, which was “a major expense,” Newlin said. Another part of the figure is the cost of private jets used to fly the finalists to West Des Moines for the announcement of the new president January 22.

More than $11,000 went to the ISU Presidential Search Committee for travel and meeting expenses. Benjamin Allen, dean of business and search committee chairman, said travel for committee members who live away from Ames was the largest expense of the entire process.

Allen said the committee met about 12 times between August 2000 and January 2001 for a total of more than 100 hours.

“That does not include time spent on various subcommittees, reading files and preparation time,” he said.

The 27-member committee was formed to establish search criteria, generate a pool of talent to choose from and screen talent in order to provide selection recommendations to the state Board of Regents, Allen said.

Gregory Geoffrey, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at University of Maryland, College Park, was selected by the Board of Regents to replace Jischke, who is now the president of Purdue University. He will begin his duties on July 1.

Despite the expense, Allen said he thinks the search was worthwhile.

“I think we got a good president and that’s the bottom line,” he said.