President of Iowa State University Research Park retiring

The longtime head of Iowa State University's booming Research Park - who oversaw its explosion in size, scope, and impact - is retiring, triggering a national search for his replacement and the temporary return of a familiar face.

Steve Carter, who's led the nonprofit research park since 2000, is leaving Iowa State on Dec. 31 after arriving on campus in 1990 as director of the ISU Small Business Development Center.

Warren Madden, ISU's former senior vice president for business and finance who retired in June 2016 after a 50 years at the university, will serve as interim research park president until Carter's successor is named.

A national search to find that successor will launch next month, with the university recently picking the Buffkin/Baker search firm of North Carolina to facilitate the process.

The firm will work with a six-member search committee, with a goal of hiring a research park president by late spring.

The next president will be expected to continue the momentum of an enterprise that's seen dramatic growth in 31 years - since the ISU Research Park Corporation was established in 1987 as a nonprofit, independent corporation governed by a board of directors appointed by Iowa State and its fundraising foundation.

When Carter took over as its leader in 2000, the park - with its mission to incubate new and expanding businesses and foster growth for established ones - spanned 200-plus acres and included five buildings totaling 270,000 square feet.

It had served 111 companies in various stages of development. It had 60 tenants and 800 on-site employees, including both those with the park and its tenants, according to its website at the time.

Since then, another 179 companies have called the research park home - plus 80 that have participated in one of two startup programs: the private Ag Startup Engine or Iowa State's Startup Factory, which in two years has churned out 45 companies responsible for generating more than 50 jobs and more than $18 million in external funding.

On Carter's watch, park employment swelled to 2,290 and its land size doubled to about 400 acres just south of the ISU campus. With 15 buildings, the park now boasts more than 703,000 square feet, according to the enterprise website.

ISU President Wendy Wintersteen often touts the research park for its contributions to campus, the community, the state, and the world - via innovation and discovery. She told lawmakers earlier this year it added 12 new companies in the 2018 budget year alone.

Carter is earning a salary of $217,419.

In discussing the park's success, Carter in a news release noted 13 companies with roots in the research park have either been bought by bigger companies or had an 'initial public offering” - a stock market launch.

'The probability of this number of companies in a 20-year-window in a single, rural Midwestern community is astronomical,” Carter said, reporting Iowa statistically should have one IPO every 10 to 15 years. Ames, he said, has had five in 20 years.

'There's been a lot of success here, and I think part of it is, there's a lot of really smart people, really good people, around Ames,” Carter said. 'Ames has developed a culture and the park is part of that, providing a physical environment. Iowa State and how it deals with businesses is also part of that.”

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