The Iowa Board of Regents accepted the resignation of University of Iowa President Sally Mason on Tuesday and voted to begin the search for a replacement.

Mason, who has been president of Iowa for almost eight years, announced last week that she would be retiring from her position. She is set to retire on July 31 of this year.

After a closed session discussing Mason’s performance as president, the regents accepted her resignation and authorized the start of a search for a new president for Iowa. This includes the selection of a search firm and committee and the development of a timetable.

The Regents also approved Mason’s status as a “president emeritus” and passed a motion to keep her on at Iowa as a tenured faculty member.