Office of the President
Robert W. Kustra
Dr. Robert Kustra is president of Boise State University, the largest public university in Idaho, with an enrollment of nearly 20,000 students, and 2400 faculty and staff.
He leads the university in a time of dynamic growth in student enrollment, new construction, fund raising and research. Long heralded for its devotion to classroom teaching, Boise State has added another dimension to its mission as an emerging metropolitan research university of distinction.
Dr. Kustra became Boise State’s sixth president in 2003. His administration has been marked by an emphasis on upgrading admissions standards, improving the undergraduate experience, and increasing the number of graduate and doctoral programs. Significant scholarship opportunities have been created, including the Langroise National Merit Scholars, Boise State Capitol Scholars, and Presidential Civic Leadership Scholars.
Dr. Kustra is currently leading Boise State’s first comprehensive campaign, Destination Distinction, to raise $175 million in private support for scholarships, faculty, and programs.
Dr. Kustra had a long and distinguished career in public service in Illinois. He served two terms as lieutenant governor of Illinois, following ten-years in the Illinois Legislature. He also chaired the Illinois Board of Higher Education, responsible for funding and oversight of Illinois’ nine public universities.
Prior to joining Boise State, Dr. Kustra also served as president of Eastern Kentucky University and the Midwestern Higher Education Commission. He has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois at Springfield and Loyola University of Chicago. During elective office, he taught at the University of Illinois-Chicago and Northwestern University.
Dr. Kustra was recently appointed to the NCAA’s highest governing body as a member of the Division I executive committee and board of directors. He served on the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics and is past president of the Western Athletic Conference’s Board of Directors. He also serves on the board of the Special Olympics 2009 World Winter Games and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. He was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dr. Kustra hosts a weekly radio show, New Horizons, on the National Public Radio affiliate in Boise.
President Kustra holds degrees from Benedictine College and Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He and his wife Kathy have three grown children and three grandsons.