Regents re-elect Lang, Rastetter to leadership roles

State regents today re-elected the board's president and president pro tem to another term.

Regent Craig Lang of Brooklyn, Iowa, was unanimously elected as board president, with Lang abstaining. Regent Bruce Rastetter of Alden was unanimously elected as president pro tempore, with Rastetter abstaining.

The board elects leadership each spring in even-numbered years. The new terms will start May 1 and run through May 1, 2014.

Lang took over as board president in July, with Rastetter voted as president pro tempore at that time. That vote came after Gov. Terry Branstad asked the former president and president pro tempore to step down from those leadership posts, saying he wanted different board leadership.

Lang, a Republican, has been a regent since 2007, and his term on the board expires in 2013. Rastetter, a Republican, was appointed to the board by Branstad in 2011, and his term on the board expires in 2017.