POCATELLO — The State Board of Education has named the 12 members of a search committee tasked with finding the next president of Idaho State University by the end of the year.
The state board announced in an Aug. 29 news release that the 12-person committee will “vet candidates, interview semi-finalists and recommend a list of finalists for the State Board of Education to consider” and that the state board will ultimately interview and select the university’s 14th president.
“We have a strong committee of ISU stakeholders who care deeply about the institution,” said State Board of Education President Linda Clark. “Idaho State University has been on a roll these past five years and the next president needs to continue and build on that momentum. (State) board members Cally Roach and Cindy Siddoway will co-chair the search committee, both are ISU alumnae and I know the committee’s recommendations will help us find a strong leader to continue ISU’s positive trajectory.”
The 12-person search committee that has been tasked with assisting in finding the replacement for ISU President Kevin Satterlee after he announced his Dec. 31 retirement includes:
• Cally Roach — State board member, search committee co-chair
• Cindy Siddoway — State board member, search committee co-chair
• Stephanie Adams — ISU Alumni Association board member
• Colden Baxter — ISU Faculty Senate chair
• Art Beery — Representative from business and the community
• Teresa Conner — ISU College of Health dean
• Dave Jeppesen — Past chair of ISU Foundation
• Brian Sagendorf — ISU vice president of operations
• Jessy Sears — ISU Staff Council president
• Pauline Thiros — ISU athletic director
• Claudia Washakie — Fort Hall Business Council secretary
• Emma Watts — Associated Students of Idaho State University president
Maintaining the positive momentum that Satterlee helped foster during his five-year tenure at the school seems to be the most important focus among some who are serving on the search committee.
“I firmly believe that we need a president who believes in and will love Idaho State University,” Thiros said. “We need that. I think we found that in President Satterlee. He was very, very committed to the core mission of serving our students and has believed that if we serve them, and we do it well, that the enrollment will come and the performance will come.”
Thiros said that over the past half-decade, ISU has experienced a culture shift that has involved every person on the school’s campus embodying the spirit of putting students first and that’s something that she will be paying close attention to when it comes to combing through those who apply to become Satterlee’s replacement.
“We need someone who is extremely student centered, who is a gifted leader, who can continue to foster this great organizational culture that we have built where we are one university, one team working for the benefit of the students,” Thiros said.
ISU physics professor Dan Dale, a former chair of the ISU faculty senate, echoed a similar sentiment while also expressing some concerns about the makeup of the 12-person search committee.
“I think a lot of faculty are disappointed that there’s only one faculty member on that search committee,” Dale said. “Personally, I would like to see a larger emphasis on academics at ISU and a greater role of the faculty.”
Dale added, “I think that we had the (former ISU President Arthur) Vailas years where there were a lot of problems and I think President Satterlee has improved the environment and the culture of the university quite a bit. But I think to take it to the next stage, we need to laser focus on the academic mission of the university. I think that should govern how we recruit students. What is the emphasis in terms of allocation of resources? That is what’s going to bring us to the next level is a focus on academic excellence.”
Art Beery, who is a partner and general manager for Cole Chevrolet, Nissan and Kia in Pocatello, said he too is looking for a president who cares about ISU and can maintain the school’s upward trajectory, adding that he saw a vast change at the school right after Satterlee took over.
“When I first moved here it was more like a town with a university than a university town and I think Kevin has done a pretty good job at changing that,” Beery said. “I’d like someone who can continue that momentum and really focus on what the school has already been focused on, primarily the focus on implementing winning traditions, with nicer venues and those types of things.”
Beery added, “I’m really looking for a president that wants to be here, someone that is going to believe in making ISU a success as opposed to seeing this role as a stepping stone and probably not one where it’s their last stop either.”
In addition to naming the members of the search committee, the state board in its news release announced that the executive search firm WittKieffer has been selected as the group to lead the search for ISU’s next president.
“WittKieffer has been in business for more than 50 years and has extensive experience in the education sector,” the state board’s news release said. “WittKieffer will be paid approximately $161,700.”
And lastly, ISU has established a president search website accessible by visiting https://www.isu.edu/presidentialsearch/. The website provides information about both the search committee and a transition committee that has been established to welcome and support the school’s next leader.