Looking for a Unicorn

Do Idaho's transparency laws handicap the search for the next BSU president?

This morning, Boise State University (BSU) professor and Claremont Institute fellow Scott Yenor shared his thoughts on the ongoing search for a new president at Idaho’s flagship university. He speculated that some of the strongest candidates may have already dropped out of the running and pinned the blame on Idaho’s public records laws.

According to Idaho Code § 74-106, the five final applicants for certain positions, including the presidency of a public university, must be made available to the public. While that sounds good for transparency, consider the implications for the four who do not receive a contract offer. The job of running our largest public colleges and universities exists in a very rarefied sphere, and the candidate pool includes sitting college presidents, CEOs, and other high-profile figures. How many strong candidates might, as Yenor suggested, be unwilling to risk upsetting their current boards by publicly pursuing a new position?

For all the criticism I’ve given Marlene Tromp for allowing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to take hold at BSU over the past six years, I’m told she was a positive influence on recruitment and campus culture. Leading a prestigious public university requires keeping current students motivated and engaged, attracting new students, maintaining consistency in staffing and operations, serving as a positive ambassador to the public, and staying on good terms with legislators who control the budget.

I do not envy the job of the State Board of Education in finding such a unicorn—someone who can check all of those boxes while representing Idaho values.

Would the Legislature consider exempting high-level positions like this from the requirement to publish the names of the top five finalists? It would be a tough sell, especially given the corporate press’s vested interest in uncovering exactly that information. Any sponsor of such a bill would almost certainly be labeled as opposing government transparency. And perhaps that criticism is fair—maybe the public’s right to know outweighs any need for confidentiality in the hiring process.

It’s something to think about as the search continues for the next president of Boise State University.