University presidents tell House Education Committee enrollment, workforce training and research remain priorities

University presidents from Lewis-Clark State College, Boise State University, the University of Idaho and Idaho State University appeared before the House Committee on Education on Jan. 28, 2025 to brief lawmakers on enrollment, workforce training, research and campus programs.

The presentations emphasized statewide enrollment gains, workforce-aligned education including technical and health-care training, and the economic value public higher education delivers to Idaho. Several committee members pressed presidents on program details, a certificate listed on Boise State’s website described as a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) certificate, and legal costs arising from litigation at Boise State.

Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton told the committee that the President’s Leadership Council (the collective of the eight public institutions) reported serving 43,685 students statewide and delivering more than 18,000 credentials. She described Lewis-Clark State College as a small, teaching-focused, four-year public institution that serves a high share of nontraditional, first-generation and working students. "We are a teaching and learning institution," Pemberton said, and she described LC State as "North Idaho's health care education leader," listing allied-health and apprenticeship partnerships that train technicians and health workers.

Boise State University President Marlene Tromp said Boise State serves over 33,000 students, awarded 5,400 graduates last year, and reported a $1.6 billion economic impact. When asked about legal fees related to a recent lawsuit, Tromp corrected a misstatement in questioning and said, "Our total defense costs were about 1 and a half 1000000." She added that the university has statutory obligations to defend and indemnify employees and that the university has used non-tax funds and State Risk coverage for those expenses.

A repeated line of questioning focused on a DEI-labelled certificate listed on Boise State’s website. Tromp said the university had revised and "revisioned" its programs under the Institute For Advancing American Values and that the faculty had adopted a free-speech resolution based on the Chicago principles. She also said she would investigate the specific certificate referenced by committee members and follow up.

University of Idaho President Scott Green highlighted research growth—reporting about $136,000,000 in research expenditures last year—and said the U of I is nearing R1 classification, which sponsors more competitive federal research dollars. He described extension and research centers that address agriculture, wildland management and economic development in Idaho communities, and he noted the university’s role in a new dairy research center funded with legislative support and private grants.

Idaho State University President Robert Wagner emphasized statewide health-sciences training, dual-enrollment programs that reach rural schools and partnerships with the Idaho National Laboratory. Wagner and other presidents said Idaho Launch scholarships and related workforce funding were helping students enroll in high-demand programs; Idaho State reported 888 Launch students and listed top Launch programs by enrollment.

Lawmakers asked for follow-up data. Representative Clough and others asked institutions to provide counts of full-time students and average credit loads (12–15 credits was discussed as the common range). Representative Mathias asked about the possible impact of a presidential memorandum that paused disbursement of some federal financial assistance; University of Idaho President Green told the panel that past pauses have been short-lived but acknowledged that pauses can have time-sensitive impacts on research timelines, staffing and student employment on grants.

The committee also discussed program relevance and degree discontinuation. Presidents said their institutions are reviewing degree portfolios: Idaho State said it has submitted programs for discontinuation where appropriate and is pursuing data-driven budget and program alignment. Several presidents said completion and retention gains are a priority and that mental-health and financial barriers remain key reasons students fail to persist.

Ending: Committee members thanked the presidents and urged continued collaboration on workforce needs, program alignment and data follow-up. Presidents agreed to provide requested enrollment and program data to the committee.