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AMES — The longtime executive assistant to Iowa State University’s president has signed a settlement agreeing not to sue and to retire by March in exchange for compensation recognizing her “years of commitment and service to the university.”

Shirley Knipfel — who since her appointment more than a decade ago has served two ISU presidents in Steven Leath and then Wendy Wintersteen — signed the agreement in late August to step into a lower part-time position before fully retiring in the spring.

Per the deal, Knipfel will voluntarily transfer to a three-quarters-time customer relations coordinator in the Office of Admissions on Nov. 1 and then reduce her employment to half-time, effective Jan. 1

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