The office and position of state medical examiner is established for administrative purposes within the Iowa department of public health. Other state agencies shall cooperate with the state medical examiner in the use of state-owned facilities when appropriate for the performance of nonadministrative duties of the state medical examiner. The state medical examiner shall be a physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, be licensed to practice medicine in the state of Iowa, and be board certified or eligible to be board certified in anatomic and forensic pathology by the American board of pathology. The state medical examiner shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the director of public health upon the advice of and in consultation with the director of public safety and the governor. The state medical examiner, in consultation with the director of public health, shall be responsible for developing and administering the medical examiner’s budget and for employment of medical examiner staff and assistants. The state medical examiner may be a faculty member of the university of Iowa college of medicine or the college of law at the university of Iowa, and any of the examiner’s assistants or staff may be members of the faculty or staff of the university of Iowa college of medicine or the college of law at the university of Iowa.