University of Iowa Vice President for Research J. Marty Scholtz will step down from his position, ending a five-year term, the UI released Thursday.

Scholtz has served in his position since 2019. While the VPR, he managed the UI’s return to in-person operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through collaboration with the State Hygienic Lab and the state of Iowa, Scholtz helped in the process of distributing self-administered COVID-19 tests across the state.

During his tenure, Scholtz increased UI research spending by over $150 million from when he started, going from $508 million in 2019 to $660 million this year.

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

Additionally, Scholtz sought to bring national research funding from 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 to the UI.

Before working at the UI, Scholtz served as executive associate vice president for research at Texas A&M University for nine years.

Scholtz will continue to serve his tenure at the UI until the position is filled. The UI has launched a national search for a successor according to the release.

After a new person takes office, Scholtz will aid in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost to assess the current need for research funding at the UI in a short-term role.

“I am grateful to Marty for his leadership, especially during the challenging impact of the pandemic on scholarly work,” UI President Barbara Wilson said in the news release.