Dear Students and Colleagues,
I write to you today to share the news that I have been selected to be the next president of the University of Vermont and will leave Boise State this summer to assume that new role. Over the coming weeks, the Board will announce a process for the selection of my successor.
I am so proud of all that we’ve accomplished in the last nearly-six years, outcomes I celebrate as I prepare to wish this beloved community farewell. We have achieved record student enrollment, including record Idaho and rural student enrollment; phenomenal research growth; generous giving to our mission that has grown our ranks of endowed professors, dramatically increased student scholarships, and elevated our athletics programs.I’m proud of Idaho Listens and the Institute for Advancing American Values, which proposed that universities could be places of deep engagement with a full range of perspectives and voices. I’m excited to see new housing options for students in the fall and am grateful that we have created new spaces for our academic programs. I am elated at the creation of a President’s Professor focusing on community engagement, our new industry and community partnerships position — work that will channel the powerful work of the university to and with others. There are so many projects — faculty research, staff efforts, student initiatives — that I could write a volume on all that has been done.
Boise State now has a very strong national and international presence well beyond our stellar athletics programs. We were one of a handful of universities invited to attend the G7 summit in 2023. We joined the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, the board of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the American Council on Education. We were called to participate and lead a nationwide program in student-designed innovation in higher ed and another on public impact research.
Together, we have faced real and serious challenges, and, as a community, taken them on. In an often difficult environment, we still made dazzling things happen — things that made our country turn its eyes to us. Your energy, your insight and innovation, your commitment to our students, our state, and the future kept you driving forward. You have been heroic. You have been inspiring. You are a beacon of light.
While I am awed and proud of all you have done, what I will miss the most is the people that make Boise State so great. Brilliant, hardworking, compassionate, serious — but also incredibly funny and warm: you made it important and meaningful to carry on when the hills were very steep.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the honor of serving as your president. I am confident that the excitement and impact you generate will attract another leader who will love Boise and Boise State as much as I have. Once a Bronco, always a Bronco. You will forever be etched into my heart.
With Sincere Gratitude,
Dr. Marlene Tromp, president