Boise State president defends LAUNCH enrollment gains, says $1.5M in non‑taxpayer funds used to defend lawsuit and outlines budget priorities

Marlene Tromp, president of Boise State University, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 29 that the university has increased student access through the LAUNCH program, improved graduation rates, and used non‑taxpayer funds to defend litigation related to campus operations.

Tromp said Boise State has 1,300 students enrolled in LAUNCH, with 600 students relying on LAUNCH as their sole financial support. She said the program connects students to high-demand fields including nursing, computer science and radiological sciences.

On litigation costs

When asked about the Big City Coffee lawsuit, Tromp told the committee that Boise State ‘‘used only non taxpayer funds to support the defense of that lawsuit’’ and provided a cost figure: ‘‘We've spent about $1,500,000.0. We do not anticipate that the appeal will add a significant amount to that total at this time,’’ she said. Tromp said employees who testified did so as part of their employment or using personal time, and that she would provide additional detail to the committee on costs and what funds were used.

Free-speech initiative and campus programming

Tromp described the Institute for Advancing American Values and programming intended to foster…