University of Iowa President Sally Mason to retire Aug. 1

IOWA CITY - Every day since Sally Mason took over as the University of Iowa's 20th president in August 2007 has been 'pressure-filled.”

'There have been plenty of challenges,” Mason told The Gazette on Thursday after announcing her plans to retire Aug. 1.

Those challenges have included potential UI funding losses in the millions; a push to grow the campus by thousands; institutionwide efforts to improve efficiency; and heated debate and protests around sexual assault, student debt, racial tensions, and free speech.

But, Mason said Thursday, none of those issues - and no person or group of people - pushed her to leave.

'If it had been too much, it probably would have been too much back during the flood,” Mason said, referencing the Flood of 2008 that caused an estimated $862.5 million in damages. 'I see the flood and recession as having been far more serious challenges to the university and to its long-term health and well-being than other issues we've faced.”

Rather, Mason said, she's about to turn 65 and was inspired by her colleague and friend Doug True, longtime UI senior vice president and treasurer. True announced in the fall his plans to retire.

'It appears to be very liberating,” Mason said.

Mason, who was openly criticized by the Board of Regents last year for failing to adequately communicate, said she's been meeting with Board President Bruce Rastetter and President Pro Tem Katie Mulholland monthly. She raised the idea of retiring with them in December.

'They were receptive to it,” Mason said.

Although she didn't disclose details about a potential payout associated with her retirement, Mason said she told the top regents she would be 'most appreciative” if they would look at the deferred compensation package included in her original contract.

Mason, whose salary stands at $525,828, has been working without a contract on an at-will basis since her initial five-year contract expired July 31, 2012. Her deferred compensation in 2011 was increased from $60,000 a year to $150,000 a year through June 30, 2016.

It's unclear whether the regents will allow her to collect that. Her original contract said she would forfeit all the deferred compensation if she left early.

The Board of Regents on Tuesday will meet in the Iowa Memorial Union on the UI campus to discuss in closed session Mason's retirement. Members will speak with the media after that discussion.

In a statement Thursday, Rastetter called Mason a 'tremendous advocate for the university” and a national leader in the higher education community.

'Thanks to her leadership during the floods and economic downturn, the University of Iowa continued to provide an affordable and high quality education during challenging times,” he said.

Upon hearing the news, Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a statement saying they appreciate Mason's service to the state in the form of dedication 'to providing a high-quality learning experience.”

But, in recent months, Mason and the University of Iowa have faced mounting pressure from Rastetter and the board to get better in some areas, including recruiting in-state students. Over the summer, the board approved a new way of allocating state resources to Iowa's three public universities that ties 60 percent of the Legislature's support to resident enrollment, potentially pulling millions from the university.

When asked Thursday about whether she feels she or the university has been treated unfairly, Mason said, 'It's all relative.”

'It's not about fairness,” she said. 'It's about how you address things going forward.”

Mason is implementing cost-saving efficiencies - including job cuts, potentially through an early retirement incentive - that resulted from a sweeping review of all three regent institutions.

She said she's not done and has a lot of plans for the coming six months.

'I feel confident I will have the university in a very strong position,” Mason said.

‘Horrible circumstances'

Mason said she wasn't planning to retire this year, but enjoyed her time away over break and said 'you come to interesting decisions” while on vacation. She and her husband own a home on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and they talked recently about seeing themselves 'in a quieter place.”

As to her legacy, Mason has overseen 'unprecedented construction,” including a new $292 million UI Children's Hospital, $126 million Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building, a fine arts campus, and the institution's first new residence hall since 1968.

'You'll see a lot of my legacy physically on this campus,” Mason said.

She also mentioned three years of tuition freezes for resident undergraduates, improved graduation and retention rates, and focused attention on reducing student debt.

In considering retirement, Mason said, she felt some pressure not to leave. 'But, really, everyone has been very gracious and understanding,” she said.

Upon learning Thursday of Mason's departure, Senate President Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, expressed disappointment.

'Her announcement saddens me,” Jochum said. 'I think she's been a very strong leader of the University of Iowa.”

Jochum said she respected and 'enjoyed” Mason, and said she hopes her successor is a woman.

'I think this state benefits a great deal from women leaders,” she said.

Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, seconded those comments and said the news is 'disappointing.”

'Very sad and a tremendous loss, not only to the university but to the whole state,” said Winckler, who sits on the House Education Committee. 'She was underappreciated.”

Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, said he was surprised by the announcement and suspects the mounting pressure on Mason and the university 'didn't help anyone.”

'She did a really good job considering all the horrible circumstances,” Dvorsky said.

The Legislature, for example, has delivered hard blows to university funding in recent years, and proposed changes to allocations have added tremendous difficulties, Dvorsky said.

'I think some of those things can grow on you and build up,” he said. 'I think she wanted to stay at the university and retire, but I think this is moving it up some.”

Regent Bob Downer, of Iowa City, told The Gazette that he respects Mason's decision.

'At the same time,” he said, 'I have been very happy with President Mason's leadership, as I believe I have expressed on numerous occasions, and I will be sorry to see her go.”

Downer said the job of university president is '24-7-365” and can be stressful and draining. Downer said he's not aware of any direct pressure on Mason to leave, and he believes earlier criticism leveled on Mason - particularly around her communication with the board - was misdirected.

'It was my view that Mason wasn't properly the target of any criticism,” Downer said. 'I have not found that to be a problem, personally.”

Downer said he believes Mason has provided 'excellent leadership,” particularly in fundraising for the campus and overseeing the flood recovery. When some of the replacement buildings debut, including Hancher Auditorium, Downer said he hopes Mason 'will have a prominent part in the opening.”

'She put her heart and soul into seeing to it that those come online,” Downer said.

Former regent Michael Gartner, said he recalls hiring Mason in 2007 over a cup of coffee in Vermont. Her intelligence, fundraising skills, and ability to connect with faculty were assets, he said.

But, Gartner said, Mason's UI career was a minefield of challenges.

'It was one crisis after another, most of them not of her making,” he said. Months after she arrived in Iowa City, two UI football players were accused of raping another student-athlete in a UI residence hall. An outside investigation completed in 2008 resulted in Mason firing two of her senior advisors, who subsequently sued the school.

He won't be surprised if Mason takes another job as a fellow or institute leader, but Gartner said he hopes she finds time to enjoy retirement.

‘Poised for greater excellence'

Mason became the first member of her family to graduate from college when she earned a degree in zoology from the University of Kentucky in 1972. She earned a Master of Science degree from Purdue University in 1974 and her doctorate in cellular, molecular, and developmental biology from the University of Arizona in 1978.

Mason started her career in academia at the University of Kansas in 1981 as an undergraduate teacher and adviser, and she worked her way up, becoming dean of the university's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She served as provost of Purdue University from 2001 to 2007 before taking her first presidential role at UI.

Under Mason's leadership, the university has raised $1.4 billion since 2008 and is working toward a goal of $1.7 billion by 2017.

Michael O'Hara, a UI psychology professor who served as faculty senate president in 2008 and 2009, said he thinks Mason's legacy 'will be mixed, from a faculty perspective.”

'We have to give her credit for leading us through a very difficult time that started not long after she arrived,” O'Hara said, pointing to the 2008 flood, the recession, and a sexual assault investigation involving two former football players.

But he said Mason's relationship with the Board of Regents could taint how she's remembered.

'Sally did have a rocky relationship with Board of Regents, and that hurt us,” O'Hara said. 'I do know she would fight for us very hard with the Regents. And I get the feeling they didn't like that.”

Although Mason has been faced with 'some of the most challenging times in the history of the institution,” Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, told The Gazette Mason has been a great leader and leaves the campus 'poised for greater excellence.”