A former Sprint executive is stepping down from the presidency of the four-campus University of Missouri system to be with his wife, who is recovering from cancer surgery.

Gary Forsee had served as the campus system’s president for the past three years.

Forsee told the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators on Friday that his wife, Sherry, is recovering well and will “soon begin a treatment regimen to ensure she remains cancer-free,” according to a release from the campus system.

The resignation was effective immediately.

Steve Owens, MU system general counsel, will serve as the interim president of the system. He had served as interim president since Dec. 2.

Curators will serve on a search committee, along with the board’s student representative, to find the system’s 23rd president.

Warren Erdman, chairman of the Missouri Board of Curators, praised Forsee for being “part of the solution” to the state’s economic challenges.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a leader of the highest order,” he said in the release.