Idaho State University president vows accountability after disputed forensic lab funds; outlines budget, DEI changes and health‑care plans

Idaho State University President Robert (Rob) Wagner told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 that ISU will return appropriated funds tied to an Eastern Idaho forensic pathology project and put new controls in place to ensure the university follows legislative intent.

Why it matters: Wagner’s statement followed a legislative staff presentation that identified accounting and reporting issues in ISU budget materials and came amid public scrutiny over whether the university had properly tracked and used money that had been appropriated for a forensic pathology facility serving eastern Idaho.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, opened the session with an overview of ISU’s finances and flagged a technical reporting error in tuition-and-fees fund balances in the legislative budget book. "I want to note that I reviewed the actual fund balances in the State Treasury and happily, ISU has not overdrawn its bank account," Campbell said, describing the error as a display issue in the slide deck rather than a cash shortfall.

Wagner said ISU learned in late 2023 that the county partner no longer wanted the lab on ISU’s Pocatello campus and that ISU had already spent a small amount on consulting. "I believe Idaho State University should have kept those funds. We should have been responsible for those funds," Wagner said, adding that the university is reviewing its procedures for accepting and tracking legislative appropriations and will increase transparency around ownership and invoicing when multiple entities are involved.

Committee members pressed for clarity and thanked Wagner for returning the funds and for the report prepared by legislative staff. Wagner told the committee he had directed changes to ensure future appropriations are tracked to the legislative intent and that invoice procedures and ownership lines will be clarified under his administration.

Budget details and FY2026 request: In the ISU presentation, Campbell and Wagner described the university’s budget composition and recent adjustments. Campbell said 74.8% of ISU’s expenditures are personnel costs, 21.2% operating and 3.9% capital outlay. For FY2026, ISU requested $907,300 in operational capacity enhancement (OCE), $233,700 in endowment-fund adjustments and $988,100 through the enrollment-workload adjustment (EWA), according to the presentation. Campbell also described several past-year adjustments, including centralizations of audit and HR functions and prior CEC and EWA reductions and enhancements that shaped recent base budgets.

DEI centers and student-success reorganization: Wagner described changes to campus student‑support structures that university leadership has implemented to emphasize academic completion. He said ISU closed a diversity resource center and a gender resource center — actions he said stemmed from a broader review of student success work. Wagner said two full-time equivalent positions (one tied to those centers) were reassigned: one to student involvement to support student-led clubs and activities and one to the office of equal opportunity and Title IX, which now reports directly to the president. "We subsequently created the Bengal Success Center that is available for all of our students," Wagner said, describing the move as part of a refocus on academic completion and retention.

Health-sciences expansion and workforce pathways: Wagner emphasized ISU’s health‑sciences role in meeting statewide workforce needs. He highlighted a new Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia program that will start with 25 seats after receiving more than 200 applicants in the first year of recruitment, and he said health‑sciences enrollments have risen "over 700 students in the last five years." Wagner told lawmakers ISU seeks partnerships and clearer clinical/residency pathways so more graduates stay and practice in Idaho, particularly in rural and eastern regions.

Process and next steps: Committee co-chairs and members asked for additional written materials and thanked ISU leadership for cooperating with the staff review. Campbell said staff are continuing to trace the data issue in the tuition-and-fees slide and will update records if appropriate. Wagner pledged to provide more detail about the revised internal controls and how future legislative appropriations will be tracked.

Ending: The ISU presentation closed with Wagner describing a broad institutional focus on access, workforce outcomes and student completion, and with an offer to return further documentation to the committee on any outstanding questions about fund tracking and the FY2026 request.