If Pocatello’s streets seem quite a bit busier it’s because over 9,000 Idaho State University students have started their fall semester.

Monday was back to school day for ISU students and Welcome Back Orange and Black, a Pocatello tradition, was held Monday afternoon and evening in the downtown. The event is the Pocatello business community’s official fall semester greeting to invite ISU students back to local shops and stores.

ISU President Kevin Satterlee welcomed his students back by thanking them for choosing ISU and promising to help them build successful futures.

“Do not lose focus on the reason you woke up this morning,” Satterlee stated in an email to every ISU student. “You are at Idaho State University because of the impact education will have on your life. Education will help you reach your goals. Education has the ability to make your life better. Today you begin the work to make your dreams a reality. I am proud to be a part of this university community, and I believe in your future.”

Satterlee announced earlier this month his goal to turn ISU into a green carbon-neutral university with electric-powered vehicles and solar energy.

While those efforts are still in their infancy, ISU is touting its many very visible construction projects as students return for the new school year.

The iconic Holt Arena is receiving a much anticipated multi-million-dollar upgrade, much of which will be completed in time for the ISU football team’s home opener on Sept. 17.

The construction of the ISU Alumni Center is also underway and on track for a spring completion.

Upgrades are continuing at the university’s on-campus housing facilities as part of a three-year plan to improve the dormitories.

And perhaps the biggest project, the renovation of Leonard Hall, the 80-year-old home of the ISU College of Pharmacy, is set to begin before the semester ends. The project is being mostly funded by a $14 million donation from the ALSAM Foundation. ISU says it’s the biggest donation in the university’s history.

Another highlight of ISU’s fall semester will be the Bengal Connect program that brings together ISU students with faculty and staff mentors to help the students get the most out of their college experience.

The program began last year and proved so successful that it’s being expanded to involve every first-year student this school year.

The goal of the program is to provide ISU students with the resources they need to continue their schooling at the university. ISU said Bengal Connect definitely had a positive impact on student retention during the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters so it was decided to expand it to include every ISU freshman starting with the fall 2022 semester.

ISU also reports that it has seen an increase in research grant awards for five consecutive years and was once again named a Top Ten Military-Friendly University by GI Jobs magazine.

“We ranked fourth in the nation based on student surveys, veteran retention, graduation rates, and job placement,” ISU stated in an email to the Journal.

Satterlee urged ISU’s faculty to not lose sight of the importance of their work.

“As we start a new semester, do not lose focus on one thing: We are truly changing lives for the better,” he stated in an email to ISU’s faculty. “Thousands of our students woke up this morning with optimism for their future. Our students have goals and, with our help, will receive an education to make their dreams a reality. This is what we do, and it is what we will continue to do.”

ISU’s final fall enrollment numbers won’t be known until Oct. 15.

The university saw its overall enrollment increase by over 3 percent last fall and is hoping for similar success as the new school year begins.