The Iowa Board of Regents will convene Monday to appoint Benjamin Allen as the interim president of Iowa State effective May 9.

He will serve as Iowa State’s interim president until a new president is appointed and assumes office. His annual salary will be $525,000, according to a presidential search meeting notice.

The $525,000 is equivalent to the salary Leath currently earns at Iowa State.

At the meeting, the regents will also officially accept the resignation of current Iowa State President Steven Leath effective May 8.

It was announced Monday that Leath will leave Iowa State to become the 19th president of Auburn University in Alabama.

Leath said Monday in an email to the Iowa State community that he has “volunteered to work closely with the regents to identify an interim president and start a search for a permanent president.”

“In addition, I will keep you updated during this time of change,” he said.

Allen served as the president of the University of Northern Iowa from 2006 to 2013. Prior to that, Allen was Iowa State’s provost and dean of the College of Business.

Allen announced he would be leaving UNI in August 2012, after many community members criticized Allen’s decision-making capabilities after he announced the closure of a lab school and about one-fifth of the school’s academic program offerings. 

The UNI faculty later issued a vote of no confidence in Allen, which later led to an investigation by the American Association of University Professors based on reports that UNI violated governance, academic freedom and tenure procedures when proposing academic cuts. 

Allen had served as UNI’s ninth president. He has a doctorate and master’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois and a bachelor of science degree in business economics from Indiana University. 

Under his leadership, amid the controversies, Allen “established priorities of increasing student achievement in undergraduate programs and providing statewide leadership in Pre-K through 12 education, including UNI’s lead role in the Iowa Mathematics and Science Education Partnership with Iowa State University and the University of Iowa.”

Student Government President-elect Cody West said that while he does not know much about Allen thus far, he’s excited to work with him.

“As an interim, he will serve the university well,” West said.

West also said that while he cannot speak too much about the presidential search, it is looking to be more transparent than that of the Auburn University search for a new president that led to the hiring of Leath.

West said it will more than likely be similar to the search process of that of the recent UNI presidential hire.

West said that he is also happy to see that the regents are not appointing an interim internally, as he said he feels it might take them away from their department or ability to apply.

“It’s good it is an external person,” West said. 

At their Monday meeting, the regents will also authorize an executive director, in consultation with board leadership, to “advertise for, select and enter into an agreement with a search firm to provide consulting services for the Iowa State University presidential search.”

The regents will also establish a search committee and develop a process and timetable for the search.

The regents will be updated on the status of the presidential search during the April meeting at the University of Northern Iowa.