DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad has appointed an Iowa State University graduate from western Iowa to the board that governs public universities. Branstad on Monday named Sherry Ann Bates of Scranton, Iowa to the nine-member Iowa Board of Regents. Bates, 62, replaces Nicole Carroll for a term that runs through April 2017. Carroll resigned from the board last month after moving to Arizona. Like Bates, she is an ISU graduate from western Iowa.

Bates previously was a social worker at the Greene County Medical Center, and is on the Greene County Board of Health, the Scranton Telephone Board and the Greene County Foundation Board. Branstad says Bates’ professional and volunteer work “demonstrates her commitment to public service.” He says her belief in affordable higher education will serve her well as a regent.