CEO of ACT planning to retire in 2015

IOWA CITY - Jon Whitmore, CEO of ACT in Iowa City, will retire next year after being at the helm of the non-profit organization for the last four years.

Whitmore, who previously served in leadership positions at the University of Iowa, San Jose State University, Texas Tech University and the University of Texas, succeeded Richard Ferguson as CEO.

He plans to retire Aug. 31, 2015, and return to his roots as an academic, artist and outdoor enthusiast.

'It has been the highest privilege of my working life to be allowed the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of E.F. Lindquist and the likes of Oluf Davidsen and Dick Ferguson to serve as ACT's CEO,” Whitmore said in a statement. 'The commitment and passion of all the ACT team members to improve the lives of individuals on a daily basis has made this quite an incredible journey.”

ACT has expanded its reach over the last four years, launching new programs and developing new capabilities. The organization recently acquired Pacific Metrics, a leading provider of education technology solutions.

Carl Cohn, chairman of ACT's board of directors, said the organization will launch a global search for Whitmore's successor in the weeks ahead.

'In his stellar leadership of our company these past four years, Jon has dramatically improved ACT's standing in the ever-changing assessment industry as our country embraces an era of new standards and new measures of accountability for K-12, higher education and the workforce,” said Cohn, professor and co-director of Urban School Leadership at Claremont Graduate University.