William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, has selected Dr. Ann M. Fields to be its 26th president. Fields has served as interim president since July 2009. She will be the first female president at the Quaker institution founded in 1873 and one of only six women heading up the 30 private colleges in Iowa.

"I'm very pleased to have Ann Fields serve as president of William Penn University," said Joe Crookham, chairman of the board. "Her extremely high skill level, together with her nontraditional career path to this position, makes her highly qualified to lead the university during a time of great transition in higher education. We are also pleased that she will serve the university as our first female president."

Fields is an Iowa native who spent the first 20 years of her adult life farming. Following the farm crisis of the 1980s and her children's departure for college, she decided to enroll at Iowa State University the day after her 40th birthday. At ISU she earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees before completing her Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies.

William Penn University provides the opportunity for an educational experience with a focus on leadership, technology, and the Quaker principles of simplicity, peace-making, integrity, community and equality.