After 22 years as a Cyclone, Paul Tanaka will retire from his position as university counsel at Iowa State this spring.

Tanaka has spent more than half of his years practicing law at Iowa State, where he oversees business transactions, lease agreements, regulations for research, student disciplinary policies and employee issues among other university legal matters.

“I get to work with extraordinary people doing extraordinary things,” Tanaka said.

Tanaka, a Colorado native, first attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1976. After his undergraduate degree, Tanaka worked for a rental car company briefly before moving to Montana to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Montana.

Tanaka decided while he was in the graduate program in Montana that there were not a lot of employment opportunities for someone with a philosophy degree available, so he applied to law school at the University of Washington.

Tanaka originally intended to practice environmental law, but took a job with the attorney general in Washington when he graduated law school in 1984. During his time with the attorney general, Tanaka worked at Washington State University, where he got his first taste of higher education law.

Tanaka was intrigued by the diversity and challenges of higher education law, and took the opportunity to come to Iowa State in 1994 as a director of legal services.

Tanaka has tackled policy issues for the university since 1994 that have ranged from employee disputes to electronic cigarettes on campus and everything in between.

“Some of the things I’m proudest of are the things you don’t talk about because they didn’t happen,” Tanaka said. “Sometimes you’re able to avert problems before they occur; that’s certainly a part of the job that we do and it’s a part that no one sees.”

Tanaka has also transitioned from director of legal services to university counsel, a title change that was made to better reflect his position as counsel for the university, not individuals within it.

Tanaka said his favorite part of the past nearly 22 years has been helping to shape the university.

“You get to be involved with the development of the campus and the improvement of the campus,” Tanaka said.

Paula DeAngelo, ISU associate counsel, said Tanaka will be missed.

“He’s a joy to work for,” DeAngelo said. “I’m still in denial [that he’s leaving].”

DeAngelo said Tanaka is known for his forward thinking and practical approaches to solve difficult matters.

Tanaka said he plans to take some time off after retirement to relax and spend time with his wife and two children, but he suspects that he will continue to practice law after “retirement.”

When asked about where his post-retirement career will take him, Tanaka said he’s leaving his options open, but he isn’t ruling out teaching possibilities or other paths in higher education law.

“I’ve always found the environment around the university an exciting place,” Tanaka said.

After spending most of his life attending or working for universities, Tanaka is prepared to spend some time off campus.

“I’m finally graduating,” Tanaka said with a smile.