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AMES — Ames native and Iowa State University graduate David Cook — the second finalist to succeed outgoing ISU President Wendy Wintersteen — on Thursday told a campus crowd during a public forum that he wasn’t looking to leave his post as president of North Dakota State University.

“Life is good for us … We really love where we’re at,” he said of his wife, with whom he has three grown children. “But this opportunity, it's the only one I probably would ever even consider. It's home. It's deeply personal. Our family are here. It's where we grew up. It's where education opened my eyes to what it can do for generations of people.

“And so it's coming home,” he said, “and that's why we're here.”

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