(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents introduced David Cook to become the new president of Iowa State University in November, and he is now on the job. Cook told Radio Iowa he plans to do a lot of listening in the first months. “I’ve kind of outlined 100 days to just listen and learn and get out and talk to people. really better understand what are the opportunities and the challenges and what can this new president do to really help to continue to build on an amazing foundation,” he says. Cook is an Ames native and Iowa State graduate who was president of North Dakota State when he was hired. He replaces Wendy Wintersteen who retired in January. Cook is going to be in Des Moines today (Tuesday) to visit with lawmakers for the first time.

“I think the big issue is when you’re when you’re leading a land grant, it’s going to be, you know, workforce. What’s our role in changing the landscape there and helping to make sure that we’re educating students to make a difference in our state,” Cook says. Cook says his wife has joined him and they’ve already been talking with students to get their thoughts. “To make sure that they can be successful and what can we do to continue to make sure that they’re having a great experience at Iowa State,” he says. The Board of Regents is considering a tuition increase for students at the three state schools. Cook says that is something they will talk with students about.

“I mean, I know affordability, probably on just about every college campus is going to always be critical and that’s going to be something that is very important to me,” Cook says. He says 73 percent if Iowa State students have a scholarship and almost half of their students graduate without debt.