ISU’s new president talks about the challenges he faces
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Deanne Coffin, KPVI
It’s the first week on the job for Idaho State University’s new president, Kevin Satterlee, who is already diving into the challenges he faces as the new leader.
“Which students should we be targeting and which are the ones we need to reach out to? Once we know better about our recruiting methods and our recruiting philosophy, then I think we’ll see the enrollments move in the right direction,” Satterlee tells KPVI.
ISU said earlier this year they will be raising the university’s tuition to 3.5 percent for Idaho residents and five percent for non-residents.
At the request of ISU, the State Board of Education approved a tuition reduction for Idaho Native American Tribe members.
“I would support any opportunity to either stop the increase in tuition or to have tuition declines. I think the idea of access for all Idahoans to higher education is important, keeping in mind however that Idaho as a whole has some of the lowest tuition rates in the United States and in the west in particular and Idaho State, among those, are the lowest,” says Satterlee.
Satterlee says he wants to be transparent and focus on building relationships.
“Number one is building relationships with this community, including our faculty and our students and all of our supporters. Building that relationship will help the entire institution move forward,”says Satterlee.
And one of the biggest hurdles is funding, particularly with the school’s athletic department.
“Our athletic department budget is challenged. We have to find ways to augment that to help us have success in those programs. Athletic programs open up a window to the university for so many people to experience the good things we do through their engagement through athletics, so that’s important,” says Satterlee.
Satterlee is from the northern Idaho town of Priest River.
He has a law degree and has worked with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office and was the State Board of Education’s Chief Legal Officer.
Most recently he’s served as Boise State University’s Chief Operating Officer.
This story was first published by KPVI. It is used here with permission.