(Indianola, Iowa) – Simpson College, in Indianola, has hired a new president, and it’s an alumnus. According to a news release, Jay Byers, a 1993 graduate of Simpson, will be the school’s 25th president when he takes office for the 2023-24 academic year. Byers will succeed retiring president Marsha Kelliher, who was hired in 2020. A formal announcement on Byers’ hiring will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, in Hubbell Hall on Simpson’s Indianola campus.

Jay Byers has worked for the Greater Des Moines Partnership, an economic and community development organization based in downtown Des Moines, for 18 years — the last 11 as president and CEO — and has been on the school’s board of trustees since 2012.