2023 Iowa Hunger Summit Speakers

Wendy Wintersteen

President, Iowa State University

Dr. Wendy Wintersteen became the 16th president of Iowa State University on Nov. 20, 2017, after a nationwide search, followed by a unanimous vote of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The first woman to hold the university’s highest office, Dr. Wintersteen has served Iowa State for more than 40 years in several capacities.

Innovate at Iowa State captures Dr. Wintersteen’s vision of a university with boundless opportunities for students and faculty to move their innovative and entrepreneurial ideas forward. The centerpiece is the 146,000 square foot Student Innovation Center, the technology-rich campus hub for students, classes and clubs excited to create marketable solutions, hold pitch-off competitions and envision new businesses. The Start Something Network encompasses the growing portfolio of academic courses in innovation and entrepreneurship offered in every undergraduate college.

Under her leadership, Iowa State has established international prominence in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education – named the 2023 Entrepreneurial University of the Year for the Americas and ranked #11 out of 300 public and private universities by the prestigious Princeton Review three years in a row. Iowa State also received the 2022 Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the highest honor presented by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers and the 2021 Model Program Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurial Education by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, noting “Iowa State’s program was expansive in its scale and boldly embraced the challenges of engendering innovation and entrepreneurship across its campus.”