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Board of Education selects new presidents of Idaho State University, Lewis-Clark State College

Board of Ed selects new presidents of ISU, LCSC
Board of Ed selects new presidents of ISU, LCSC
Posted at 12:51 PM, Apr 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-06 14:51:21-04

State education officials have selected the new presidents of Idaho State University and Lewis-Clark State College.

Idaho State Board of Education announced Thursday that Kevin Satterlee will lead the university in Pocatello and Cynthia Pemberton will take charge of the college in Lewiston.

Satterlee has been serving as Chief Operating Officer at Boise State University since 2015, and a vice president since 2010. He has served in a variety of positions at Boise State since 2001. Prior to that, Satterlee was a deputy attorney general in the Idaho Attorney General’s Office for six years. While there, he was lead counsel to the State Board of Education, State Board of Pharmacy, State Board of Nursing, and the State Liquor Dispensary. Because of his unique relationships and historical knowledge, Satterlee also serves as special counsel to the president at Boise State on issues related to the State Board of Education, legislative and policy issues, athletic department issues, and institutional compliance.

Satterlee received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Boise State University (magna cum laude) and was named a Top Ten Scholar of the University. He received his law degree from the University of Idaho (magna cum laude).

Satterlee told Thursday’s audience about his wife Margaret’s family’s first experience as a Bengal, when her mother came to Pocatello in 1948 to attend college. She was only able to attend for one semester as her father passed away. Satterlee said that today, at age 88, she still wishes she could have attended longer. 

“She took from her one semester at this university, that she was going to make sure her children went to college. And they did. And they became first-generation college graduates,” he said. “I stand here today humbled that I am going to be working for the university that my mother-in-law spent her whole life wishing she could attend.” 

Satterlee said he was going to continue the University’s focus on expanding and growing health care programs, and to help ISU see its great potential. He said he will work to improve student recruitment and retention, and work hand-in-hand with the community. He also said he plans to work with faculty to bring their research and innovations to the forefront. 

“When Margaret and I came for our campus visit, we both left with a clear sense of the passion all of you have for this University. I will honor that passion,” he said. “Margaret and I couldn’t be more proud to join the Bengal family.” 

He starts the job in mid-June with a $370,000 annual salary.

Pemberton, vice president for academic affairs at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado, visited LCSC’s Lewiston campus and Coeur d’Alene Center on March 21-22. She said her interest in the position only grew as the interview process unfolded.

“Early on I had the notion that there would be a strong and compelling fit between my core beliefs about the importance of higher education and its life-changing impact, and the mission and values of LCSC,” Pemberton said. “And with every step along the way – from my meetings with faculty, staff, students, community members, and most recently the State Board – I grew more convinced of that fit, and increasingly motivated to pursue the opportunity to bring my best abilities into service on behalf of student success at Lewis-Clark State College.”  

Pemberton will be just LCSC’s third president since 2001, as Dr. Dene Thomas served from 2001-2010 and Fernandez from 2010 to the present. She joins a college that has seen a 20 percent growth in enrollment over the past 10 years, has had a record number of graduates the past three years, and has major expansion plans in place with the Career and Technical Education facility in the Lewiston Orchards. LCSC is celebrating its 125th anniversary and is positioned with many well-known and emerging programs and the lowest tuition in Idaho among four-year public institutions, officials said.

Pemberton said her future vision for the college will center around, “empowering and emboldening LCSC, supporting and growing the role it/we play in helping Idaho achieve its education goals and advancing the citizenry of Idaho.”

She begins the job in July with a $225,000 annual salary.

Board President Linda Clark says the board is eager to work with Pemberton and Satterlee, and it's confident that they're the "right people at the right time."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)