Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton is one of five finalists for the soon-to-be-vacant president post at Idaho State University, according to a news release from the Idaho State Board of Education.
Pemberton has been LCSC’s president since 2018. According to the news release, which was distributed Wednesday afternoon, Pemberton has during her time at LCSC overseen the elimination of a budget deficit, secured funding for the Schweitzer Career Technical Education Center and established a $1 million partnership with a private entity to support student scholarships.
Pemberton replaced Tony Fernandez as LCSC president when he retired at the end of the 2018 school year. Pembertoncame to the Lewiston school from Colorado Mesa University, where she had been the vice president for academic affairs for two years.
Pemberton has bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology from Willamette University, a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Southern Oregon State College and a doctorate in education leadership from Portland State University.
Kevin Satterlee, the Idaho State University president, announced his unexpected retirement in June. Satterlee, who is in his mid-50s, will serve his last day Dec. 31.
The other finalists to replace Satterlee are Matt Cecil, provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs at Northern Kentucky University; C. Shane Hunt, dean of the College of Business and a marketing professor at Idaho State; Robbyn Wacker, president of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota; and Robert Wagner, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Utah State University.
Arrangements are being made for the finalists to visit the ISU campuses in Pocatello and in Meridian next week. The State Board of Education will conduct interviews with the finalists Dec. 14, and the board intends to name a president by the end of the year, according to the news release.
