Jay Byers, the president of Simpson College and former longtime CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, has died unexpectedly.
Byers, 54, was found dead at the Sigler House, the president’s residence near campus, on April 17, after a welfare check around noon. Byers has been president of the private college in Indianola since July 2023.
Indianola police chief Brian Sher said the cause of death is under investigation but there is no reason to believe he died as part of a crime. He was found at the house after he missed a morning meeting with Simpson Board of Trustees chair Terry Handley, “which was extremely unusual,” he said at a news conference. Handley said he asked staff to check on Byers with the help of Indianola police.
“This is stunning and devastating news to all of us here on campus,” he said, adding the entire campus is “stunned and grieving.”
“We are all in shock. This is not something that you expect,” Handley said. “Jay was beloved here on campus and in the greater Des Moines community.”
Classes at the college are cancelled until April 22 and grief counselors were expected to arrive on campus shortly.
The Simpson College Student Government Association posted on Facebook it was “devastated” to hear the news of Byers’ death.
“It was an honor to work with Jay to help make our campus a better place,” said the post, which featured an image of Byers with student leaders. “On behalf of the Simpson student body, we are sending our thoughts to President Byers’ family.”
Byers was a 1993 alumnus of Simpson College and served on its Board of Trustees for 11 years prior to his appointment as president. He was well-known in the Des Moines metro for his work as the CEO for the Greater Des Moines Partnership, a regional economic development agency, for 11 years.
In a news release announcing Byers’ move to Simpson, Greater Des Moines Partnership officials credited him with overseeing an expansion of the economic development group. The Partnership was then one of the country’s largest regional chambers of commerce, encompassing 24 affiliate chambers with about 6,500 members, the release said.
Byers had overseen the group during a period when the Des Moines metro grew faster than any other major Midwestern metro.
City leaders have credited Byers with growing the Greater Des Moines Partnership by quietly building strong ties with Des Moines’ most powerful and politically connected leaders.
Byers, who had served as an assistant to then-U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, joined the Partnership as a government affairs official in 2005. He joined the group as it was still working to convert the Western Gateway, then a collection of mechanics’ shops and car dealerships. It’s now the site of the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, one of many downtown Des Moines projects that received state support, as well as corporate headquarters, the architecturally distinctive central library and fashionable restaurants.
Last year, the Des Moines Business Record named Byers a top 25 influential leader.
Byers spent some time off work last summer recovering from injuries suffered in what college officials called a “serious” one-car automobile accident, but had since resumed his duties.
This story will update.
