As University of Iowa students are returning to campus this fall, President Sally Mason will be leaving.
As I get closer and closer to sixty-five and watch friends reach that milestone, I thought long and hard about 'is this a good time for me?' - UI President Sally Mason
Mason turns 65 in May, and announced today that she's made the decision to step down within the last few weeks.
"I’d like to leave on August first. That completes my eighth year. That’s a good, long tenure these days. I would like for them, the Board, to consider both the deferred compensation package that’s out there as well as the original contract that I had that had a transition year in it. And they’re doing that, and I very much appreciate that. They’ll have a meeting on Tuesday and I’m very grateful. Very grateful.”
Mason came to the University in 2007, and she'll remain in her post until August 1, 2015, which marks the end of her eighth year as President of the University of Iowa. Her current annual salary is nearly $526,000.
She says she plans to spend time traveling and with family but doesn't yet have plans to extend her professional career.