CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Regents has announced the hiring of an Iowa native and a current chancellor of Montana State University Billings as the new president for the University of Northern Iowa. The Des Moines Register reported Tuesday that Mark Nook will lead Iowa’s third-largest university, known for its education programs and persistent budget challenges.

Nook was selected over two other finalists, former Temple University president Neil Theobald and UNI Interim President Jim Wohlpart. Nook, who grew up in Holstein, Iowa, replaces former President Bill Ruud, who left the university this summer after three years of heading UNI to become president at a small college in Marietta, Ohio. Ruud was credited upon his departure for increasing enrollment, cutting student debt, raising millions of dollars and hiring key administrators.