The inauguration of President Jay Byers took place on Friday, welcoming students, community members, alumni, and more to officially welcome Simpson’s 25th President.

Byers was appointed President in August of 2023, and has since overseen the completion of the $10 million Dunn Library renovation, numerous athletics facility enhancements and Simpson’s largest new student enrollment in more than a decade this fall.

The inauguration included greetings from Coe College President David Hayes; Gary Steinke of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; the Rev. Katie Dawson of United Methodist Church; Brian Williams of Indianola First United Methodist Church; and Amanda Zwanziger, President and CEO of the Indianola Chamber of Commerce.

Byers tells KNIA News it continues to be a goal of his to further cement Simpson in the Indianola and surrounding area community.

“We want to make sure that we are having a strong relationship with the students in the Indianola Public Schools and just the schools in general, and that is obviously a big part of it. But there are so many more things we can be doing, there are a lot of big ideas we are talking about not only with the schools but with the city, the county, and other things in terms of things we can continue to partner on. So we are just getting started, and we would definitely love to see a lot more Indianola students come to Simpson. We’ve had a lot in the past, but we are getting a lot of great interest in our new 3.5 GPA scholarship program. The more that we can do to strengthen the relationship between Indianola and Simpson the better we’re both gonna be.”

Hear more from President Byers on today’s Let’s Talk Indianola.