Iowa State University’s president-select Wendy Wintersteen released a letter to the community introducing herself and expanding on the “incredible honor and privilege” of being the 16th president for the university. Her official start date is Nov. 20, but said she will begin working with interim president Benjamin Allen immediately.

Wintersteen introduced herself as being “forever true to Iowa State,” including the last eleven years as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

She applauded an “outstanding team of faculty and staff who are dedicated to our distinct land-grant mission,” specifically the research and extension programs. She went on to say Iowa State was “the most student-centered” and “well-positioned to prepare students as productive global citizens while addressing grand research challenges.” Those challenges were improving and sustaining the “environment and water quality, feeding a hungry world, engineering the future of advanced materials and manufacturing and energy alternatives, and advancing the arts and humanities which encourage us to think creatively, find meaning and gain a deeper understanding of our diverse society.”

Wintersteen said she was “eager to begin engaging with the campus community” on becoming the best land-grant university in the nation, and looks forward to working with all members.