Larry Dietz

Farm Life

Larry Dietz (1948- ) was the nineteenth president of Illinois State University. Raised on a dairy farm outside of DeSoto, Illinois, Dietz earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and his masters and PhD in higher education administration from Iowa State University. Dietz has served in a variety of administrative positions including at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Iowa State University, and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He came to ISU in 2011 as vice president for student affairs and as a professor in the Department of Education Administration and Foundations. In 2013, Dietz was a finalist for the presidency at ISU. In 2014, after the resignation of Flanagan, the ISU Board of Trustees named Dietz the permanent president.

Weathering the Storm

Dietz was a familiar face on campus, attending events and stopping to say hello to students who ask for a handshake or a “selfie”. Dietz led the campus through one of the longest budget stalemates in state history and ISU was one of only two campuses in the state not to implement furloughs during that period. In 2017, Dietz launched the capital campaign Redbirds Rising: The Campaign for Illinois State with the goal of reaching $150 million by 2020. The campaign ended on June 30th, 2020, raising $180.9 million with 56,143 donors supporting a variety of Redbird academic, service, and athletics programs.

In November 2020, Dietz announced his retirement from nine years of service at Illinois State University – five as president. His presidency saw high graduation and retention rates, a revision of ISU’s strategic plan, the establishment of the College of Engineering, and facility enhancements such as the renovation of the Bone Student Center. Dietz officially stepped down in 2021. On July 1st, 2024, Dietz came out of retirement to become the interim president of St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota.