Upcoming Vacancy at BSU?

Dr. Tromp is considering an East Coast job

The University of Vermont (UVM) has announced that Boise State University (BSU) president Dr. Marlene Tromp is the sole finalist to take over its leadership vacancy. Tromp was hired by the State Board of Education (SBOE) in 2019 after an 18-month process to succeed Bob Kustra, who announced his retirement in 2017.

According to the statement from UVM, Tromp has:

…worked in partnership with the faculty to increase the academic excellence and research profile of the university and has shattered the student graduation record, research funding record and philanthropy record year after year since her arrival. She has increased access and enrollment for in-state students and provided an affordable education for students from elsewhere, integrating the university deeply with the local economy. With academic leadership, she has created pathbreaking partnerships with industry and nonprofits to advance students and the state.

On the other hand, Tromp has drawn criticism from conservatives for advancing DEI and other leftist initiatives during her tenure. In 2020, the Legislature slashed BSU’s budget in an effort to push back on DEI initiatives. However, in 2023, Anna Miller reported that BSU was doubling down on DEI by hiring an executive official tasked with ensuring “inclusion and belonging”.

Despite a resolution by the SBOE late last year to shut down DEI in Idaho’s public colleges and universities, there is little stopping taxpayer-supported institutions from continuing them under new names. Laws can only do so much, and personnel is policy. The best way to ensure that our public universities are promoting our state’s values is to have presidents who are committed to those values.

Should Dr. Tromp move on, the task of hiring a new president falls on the SBOE, which is made up of eight people. Seven of those eight are appointed by the governor, while the eighth is the state superintendent of public instruction. The current board is:

• Dr. Linda Clark

• William Gilbert Jr.

• Shawn Keough

• Kurt Liebich

• Cally J. Roach

• Cindy Siddoway

• David Turnbull

• State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield

It was Clark who headed the committee that recommended hiring Marlene Tromp in 2019. At the time, she said, “They’re looking for a president to take it to the next level, whatever that turns out to be.” The SBOE was impressed with Tromp’s experience at UC-Santa Cruz and Arizona State University, and ideology did not appear to come up in the discussion. In 2022, Debbie Critchfield said the same thing in response to a question from an Ada County PC.

If Tromp takes the position in Vermont, then I suggest writing to the SBOE and respectfully asking them to find a candidate who is not only highly qualified to run Idaho’s largest university, but one who will actively promote the values that have made Idaho what America was.

Feature image courtesy of Boise State University.