Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter said Friday he will not seek reappointment to the board after his current term.

Serving as president pro tem from 2011 through 2013, Rastetter was re-elected president by unanimous vote in April 2014 and April 2016.

Recently freezing student tuition for the first time in 40 years, a move he claimed would help students take a break from Iowa’s climbing rates, Rastetter said in his press release that “it was a tough decision” to leave the board. But he is happy with his contributions to lowering student debt.

A promoter of agricultural education and programs, Rastetter has spoken to students on campus several times about the importance of entrepreneurship. As the CEO of Heartland Pork Enterprises for 10 years, he grew the company into the 13th largest pork producer in the United States. 

In an interview with the Iowa State University Foundation, Rastetter said that schools “ought to encourage agriculture students to get involved. There is significant profitability across the sectors of our economy.”

When Rastetter’s term expires at the end of April, he plans to continue his contributions to midwestern agriculture. He will focus his efforts on the Iowa-based crop, beef and pork producer Summit Agricultural Group, where he serves as CEO.

The Board of Regents will nominate one of its own to become the new president later this year.