The final five: Idaho State presidential field narrows

The list of finalists for the Idaho State University presidency is in — and it includes one familiar name and one internal candidate.

Lewis-Clark State President Cynthia Pemberton is among the five finalists to succeed Kevin Satterlee, who is retiring from Idaho State at the end of the year. Pemberton has been president at Lewis-Clark since 2018.

Also on the list is C. Shane Hunt, dean of Idaho State’s College of Business and a professor of marketing. Hunt joined Idaho State in 2020.

Here are the other finalists, also announced by the State Board of Education late Wednesday afternoon:

Matt Cecil: Provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs at Northern Kentucky University. Cecil joined NKU in 2021.

Robbyn Wacker: President of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Wacker has been president at St. Cloud since 2018.

Robert Wagner: Executive vice president and chief operating officer at Utah State University, where he has worked 16 years.

The finalists come from a pool of more than 80 applicants. A search committee this week interviewed 12 semifinalists, narrowing the field to the five finalists.

“We have an outstanding pool of finalists to choose from,” said State Board member Cindy Siddoway, co-chair of the search committee.

The finalists will visit Idaho State’s Pocatello and Meridian campuses next week, and speak to students, faculty, staff and the public at open forums. The public can comment on the finalists through an online portal.

The State Board of Education hopes to name a successor next month.

 

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. He can be reached at [email protected]

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