Wagner touts partnerships — and Idaho State’s unique role in health fields

POCATELLO (Idaho Education News)– President Robert Wagner lauded milestones at Idaho State University Wednesday — but also said Idaho State would hold its historic ground in health care programs.

During a speech to the university community at the Pocatello campus, Wagner said Idaho State provides “the most efficient and effective way to meet the state’s critical needs” in health professions.

Idaho State has for years served as the state’s lead university in health care professions. But other colleges and universities across Idaho are offering nursing programs, to help address a statewide nursing shortage. And a State Board of Education working group is studying the state’s medical education needs — as Idaho State continues to look at acquiring the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, a for-profit medical school near Idaho State’s Meridian campus.

“We will not give up our unique statewide mandates,” Wagner said Wednesday. “And will remind state leaders they have invested in ISU for decades.”

Wagner did tout Idaho State’s recent partnerships, with the Idaho National Laboratory, ICOM and its sister state colleges and universities. Idaho State signed eight memoranda of understanding with partners in the past year, a university record, Wagner said.

“We find solutions,” he said. “We won’t operate independently.”

One partnership, with Treasure Valley health care providers, brought a nurse anesthetists’ program to the Meridian campus. The program took in its first students this fall, has received its accreditation, and is looking to expand. Already, applications have outstripped the program’s current size, Wagner said.

Wagner also discussed other key campus metrics:

Enrollment. Idaho State’s total enrollment hit 10,402 this fall, a 5.3% increase.

Undergraduate enrollment reached 9,152, a 10-year high. And graduate enrollment is increasing in some key professional and research fields, bucking national trends. Retention, meanwhile, hit 74.1% this fall, a university record.

Research. Wagner reported an $11 million increase in the university’s research portfolio. The total number of research awards is basically unchanged — a sign that faculty are landing more complex projects that emphasize partnerships.

Campus upgrades. Idaho State could pick a design firm by early October for a new life sciences building, and the university could break ground on the project by 2026, Wagner said. Wagner has described the replacement project as the linchpin in a multiyear facilities plan.

The budget. After years of budget straits, brought on in part by declining enrollment, Idaho State crafted its first balanced budget in a decade. Then came something that Wagner called “unexpected:” a 3% state budget holdback across most of state government. For Idaho State, the midyear cut came to $3.1 million. And now, universities are being told to plan for the possibility of deeper cuts next year — possibly up to 6%.

Wagner said Idaho State will take the budget uncertainty step by step. “We are looking forward, and we are looking up.”