George Washington University President Steven Knapp (L) introduces businessman Carlos Slim in 2009. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

George Washington University announced today that its president, Steven Knapp, will not renew his contract when it expires at the end of July 2017.

Knapp said in a message to the GW student body that he always intended on serving for 10 years. “A shorter tenure would make it hard to carry important projects through to their conclusion; a longer one would deprive the institution of an opportunity to consider fresh ideas and approaches,” he wrote.

He began at the university in August 2006, and still has one more academic year at the helm of the institution. Knapp’s compensation reached nearly $1.2 million in fiscal year 2015, according to the GW Hatchet.

Knapp’s predecessor, Stephen Trachtenberg, is credited with turning GW from a commuter school into what is now considered by US News & World Report the 57th best college in the country, partially through bumping up tuition prices.

Knapp oversaw the opening of GW’s School of Nursing and launched a fundraising campaign with the goal of reaching $1 billion by 2018. Under his tenure, GW absorbed the Corcoran School.

“The work of my final year as president is clearly defined,” Knapp said in the announcement. “I will concentrate on supporting the deans as we rapidly approach the conclusion of our $1 billion ‘Making History’ campaign. I will continue to focus on building our worldwide and lifelong community of GW alumni. And I will seek new ways to make good on the university’s promise to ensure that every student we enroll has the fullest possible opportunity to succeed so that he or she can go forth from the university fully prepared to change the world.”

The American Council on Education found in a 2011 report that college presidents serve an average of seven years, down from 8.5 in 2006.

The university’s Board of Trustees will spend Knapp’s final year conducting a search for his replacement, the details of which they’re expected to announce in the coming weeks. The Board of Trustees is “looking for someone who will continue to elevate research, academics, and the student experience,” says Candace Smith, a spokesperson for GWU.

The current president of American University, Neil Kerwin, announced in March that he would be stepping down at the end of his contract in May 2017.

Smith’s quote has been updated.