The Idaho State Board of Education has announced that five finalists have been picked from a list of more than 60 candidates vying to become Boise State University’s seventh president.
The finalists were selected after 12 semifinalists were interviewed last week by the Boise State President Search Screening Committee.
Listed in alphabetical order, the Boise State president finalists are: Susan E. Borrego, chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint; Darren Dawson, dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University; Andrew Marcus, a professor of geography and the former dean of the College Arts and Sciences at University of Oregon; Edward Seidel, the vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System; and Marlene Tromp, the provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The finalists will visit the Boise State campus this week. The main forums for each day are planned as follows:
Faculty and staff: 11 a.m.-noon at the Stueckle Sky Center’s Double R Ranch Room
Students: 4-5 p.m. at the Alumni and Friends Center
Alumni, friends and community: 5:15-6:45 p.m. at Boise State’s Alumni and Friends Center
The student forums and the faculty and staff forums will be recorded for each visit, but out of fairness to the finalists, they will all be made available at the same time after the last candidate has appeared. A feedback form will be created for each finalist, as well. The links to the videos and the feedback forms — and more information as it becomes available — will be posted at boisestate.edu/presidentialsearch.
Susan Borrego, on campus Monday, March 4
Dr. Borrego, chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint, is a nationally-renowned leader and advocate for student success. Under Dr. Borrego’s leadership the university footprint grew by 25 percent including breaking ground on a 65,000 square foot addition to the science facilities; established a School of Nursing, and raised over $57 million dollars. New academic partnerships were created in Spain, and 15 new innovative academic programs were created including green chemistry and physician’s assistant programs.
Andrew Marcus, on campus Tuesday, March 5
Dr. Marcus is a professor of geography and the former dean of the College Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon, a position he held from 2013 to December 2018. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college at the university, and is the academic home to more than 60 percent of the student body. Marcus was responsible for an operating budget of over $150 million, 500 tenure-track faculty, 250 non-tenure-track faculty, and 200 staff. During his 15-year tenure at the university, Dr. Marcus has served as faculty member, university senate president, department head, associate dean and dean. The University of Oregon is a Carnegie-classified R1 university and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
Marlene Tromp, on campus Wednesday, March 6
Dr. Tromp is the provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Carnegie-Classified R1 University with approximately 20,000 students, an operating budget of over $700 million and research expenditures in excess of $120 million. Tromp is responsible for providing leadership for all academic and administrative components of UCSC, including curriculum, finance, operations and facilities. UCSC is a Hispanic Serving Institution and ranked among the top 70 national universities in the country. Prior to her arrival at UC Santa Cruz, Tromp served in various administrative roles at Arizona State University, ranked as the most innovative school in the nation for the fourth consecutive year by U.S. News and World Report.
Darren Dawson, on campus Thursday, March 7
Dr. Dawson is the dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, a Carnegie-classified R1 institution. As dean, Dawson manages a college of 160 faculty, 3,600 undergraduate students, 440 graduate students and 75 members of the professional staff, with annual research expenditures over $28 million. Dawson’s research activities led to eight books, more than 500 publications and more than 12,000 citations. At K-State, Dawson worked with various departments to develop a strategic research emphasis-area plan leading to the hiring of additional faculty, catalyzing research, and providing additional educational support for graduate and undergraduate students.
Edward Seidel, on campus Friday, March 8
Dr. Seidel is the vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System, with universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The system’s three universities offer over 500 academic programs to more than 85,000 students. In this role, Seidel works closely with the president of the University of Illinois System, university chancellors and leadership, government officials, business leaders, and universities across the state to engage potential public and private partnerships to strengthen the links between higher education, research, and business to drive innovation and stimulate economic development across the state of Illinois.