A search committee narrowed a list of 78 candidates hoping to be Iowa State University’s next president down to eight in a closed meeting on Monday.

The 12-member committee selected the eight semifinalists, whose names have not been made public, to advance to the next round of the search process.

According to the meeting livestream, the committee will conduct virtual interviews with the eight between Oct. 20 and Oct. 22.

Finalists will be determined from those interviews and will have on-campus interviews and public forums during the first week of November.

The names of the finalists will be made public the day before their on-campus interviews.

The president is expected to be officially announced by the Regents on Nov. 11.

The successful candidate will succeed current ISU President Wendy Wintersteen, who in 2017 began her tenure as the university’s 16th president and the first woman to hold the position.

Wintersteen will retire in January 2026 and the next president will assume the presidency during the spring semester.