J. Martin (Marty) Scholtz, who has served as the University of Iowa vice president for research since 2019, will step down from his role as he nears completion of his five-year term.

The university will immediately launch a national search for its next vice president for research (VPR). Scholtz has agreed to continue as VPR until his successor begins. 

During his time at Iowa, Scholtz helped lead the university through a period of research expansion and a new campus strategic plan. Achievements during his tenure include:

• A ramp down of research operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a phased, safe return to campus
• A successful partnership between the State Hygienic Lab, a unit that reports to the VPR, and the state of Iowa to rapidly deliver an at-home testing program for COVID-19
• A 30% increase in research expenditures from $508 million in 2019 to more than $660 million
• New efforts to diversify the sources of external support for UI research, expanding funding from private sources including foundations
• The hiring of two tenured faculty as part-time associate vice presidents for research to focus on broader faculty engagement in funded scholarly activities 

“I am proud of all that we have accomplished to support and expand the research enterprise at the University of Iowa so that researchers and scholars across our institution have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to forge new frontiers of discovery,” says Scholtz. 

In his role as VPR, Scholtz also has participated in national conversations about research policy to ensure that UI is well connected to major sources of federal funding such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, Department of Defense, National Endowment for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Humanities. He also has engaged with major foundations and companies so as to connect their priorities with UI research expertise. 

“I am grateful to Marty for his leadership, especially during the challenging impact of the pandemic on scholarly work,” says UI President Barbara Wilson. “He has stayed very focused on ways to grow our research activities in line with our strategic plan and to bolster scholarly collaborations across campus.”

Once a new VPR is hired, Scholtz has agreed to serve in a short-term role in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, helping spearhead a campus-wide assessment and realignment of research space, equipment, and infrastructure. He will continue to hold faculty appointments in the Carver College of Medicine as professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as appointments as professor of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of pharmaceutical sciences and experimental therapeutics in the College of Pharmacy. 

Before coming to Iowa, Scholtz served as executive associate vice president for research at Texas A&M University for nine years. Scholtz joined Texas A&M University in College Station in 1993, where he held faculty appointments in the departments of biochemistry and biophysics molecular and cellular medicine, and medical biochemistry and genetics.