Higher Ed Series: Idaho State University

[Music] good afternoon welcome to the Boise Medford chamber of commerce's series on higher education in Idaho this is the first of three conversations like this my name is Kevin Richard I'm the senior reporter at Ido education news Ido Ed news.org I want to First give a thank you to our sponsor of this series sparklite what is great internet is it strong is it fast is it reliable at spark light we know connection goes Way Beyond technology from Monday morning meetings to Friday nights with friends and everything in between that the best connections are always there right when you need them so how do you know it's great internet because it works we're sparklight and we're always working for you to begin our series we're going to be talking for the next hour with the newest president in Idaho's higher education system Robert Wagner he was named president at Idaho State University in January he joins us this this week and to to talk about what's happening at Idaho State and what's happening in higher education in general and there he is welcome president Wagner hello Kevin thank thank you very much for this opportunity it's a pleasure to uh be here no and thank you for taking the time I'm looking forward to uh asking you some questions and get a sense of uh what's happening at ISU now what you hope to see happen in the years to come let me start since you are relatively new you took uh you took the position in in January a lot of viewers probably are are just getting to know you so why don't you talk a little bit about your background uh your your resume in higher education and how your uh career took you to pocatella sure well thank you again Kevin uh it's a great question it's something I I'm I'm very proud of my past uh it's a very non-traditional approach to hire Ed Administration uh I I I start I started out as a traditional student uh receiving a bachelor's degree and going on to a a teaching career uh had a successful experience doing that both in teaching as well as Administration then really felt like I needed something else that I was interested in doing something else and importantly I turned to higher education as a way to open doors and that was a graduate degree it was a master's degree so as a non-traditional student uh W uh with a full-time job uh wife three uh very very young children at home I went and did a uh graduate degree it was a Friday night and Saturday program uh it took me a couple years but that really opened up my eyes to other opportunities then I I I reengaged uh uh in the workforce worked in in really once again got that urging that that that that there was something else that that that there was something that I needed to be doing so what did I do I again turned to higher ed uh to to open up doors of possibilities and uh that higher education experience uh was a PhD a doctorate in political science and public policy at the time I thought uh that I would go in uh to government relations work so my wife and then five kids uh all under the age of nine we moved 2,000 miles away uh to Upstate New York where I worked on a uh uh PhD uh had an incredible experience both educationally uh my family had a great experience it was challenging uh uh a financially but we made it work uh and while I was there working on that degree I uh became acquainted with higher education Administration and and uh actually worked in the president's office and did government relations work public relations uh faculty development served as a special assistant to the president really opened up my eyes to to really all that higher education had given me lus far how I could play a role in promoting it in really giving back and doing that in an administrative way just made sense so when I finished my PhD uh began looking for jobs I looked for higher education Administration jobs and and that's when we found ourselves back West uh and uh I took a job at Utah State you University it was an area that we were familiar with my wife and I were at were actually married there uh my wife's an Aggie a proud Aggie uh and so we uh returned we continue to raise our five kids and I had a tremendous experience at um at ut state the community uh was great for our family uh the institution was great to me I had lots of opportunities to serve in many different capacities after about 16 years I began seeing those those Ur those urgings uh began happening again and I thought you know maybe there's something else uh and and so I I I looked and and and saw the opportunity at at at Ido state it appealed to me one because it was just an hour and a half north uh I I I told people during the interview process that southeast Idaho northern Utah border is a soft border the those communities are very similar just good hardworking people uh and uh so but was it wasn't a real stretch geographically the institution uh uh has a great reputation as a public research institution so I felt like that was the next step so I threw my hat in in the earring and and was very pleased and and very excited uh to have been offered Thea job and uh seven months in I couldn't be happier well that gives me a lot of of stuff that I want to jump on to as we talk here in the next uh 50 50 minutes or so I mean you your your background is kind of a lifelong learner uh your your background in higher education Administration your background in as a student of political science and public policy there's a lot there I'll want to talk about but let me start though with kind of where you left it you've been in pocatella now for seven months you've been on the campus what are your overall takeaways about Idaho State at this point sure well first first of all the most important resource that a higher education institution has is its people uh and I'm so excited to I i' I've been so excited to get to know the people to get to know the ISU Community itself faculty our students our staff uh at all of our campuses across the state they are just absolutely incredible Kevin they have higher education in their bloods in their hearts uh they're focused for our faculty and staff they're focused on on students and Student Success and contributions to our uh uh uh to our communities through teaching through research through creative art s uh I just really have felt at home and have felt embraced by by such a a a warm and talented uh uh uh group of people um I think Idaho state is positioned very very well and we can talk more about that as we get into the um the uh discussion but just my my my initial reaction and answer is it's all about the people and the people are what makes Idaho State University great and it's that Campus Community but it's also that broader Community I mean pocatella was my first stop as a journalist after college and I I worked for a couple years in pocatella and I could I could see that relationship between the community and the campus and how things just kind of change every August when the school year starts as it has uh as it did this week do you know it's so energetic and I will have to say that my wife Tracy and I have been so grateful to have been embraced by the communities that Idaho State University serves uh for our Pocatello Campus of course Pocatello and chubbic in the surrounding communities our Idaho Falls campus uh the boisey Maran area and twinfalls uh we have just been embraced by the community and I have gotten a sense that Community leaders and members know just how important an institution is to their community and and I've spoken with Mayors city council County Commissioners we've all agreed that the success of Ido State University is tied very closely to the success of these local communities and you are right fall is a great example when the students return When classes begin there's an energy that comes into these communities that's that is pal that that is palpable you kind of found your way into to higher ed Administration along along the way in your in your life and in your career what excites you about it now what keeps you in this uh in this field well I am a firm believer a staunch supporter Kevin of public higher education uh the role that it can serve uh in our state uh in our local communities in our region in our in our nation as well um one of the many things that interested me about Ido State University is the fact that it's a public uh it's a public institution it's a research institution and it has multiple campuses so what does that we mean well well on the public side it means that we have a responsibility to the estate we have a responsibility to the public to the communities that we um um um um serve and I think that's critical that keeps us in check as an institution to make sure that we are doing what we need to uh to do we can't underestimate the power of research in higher ed uh so much of where our country has come from from a technological uh uh uh State stage of advancement has come has started on higher education campuses so we need to continue that um that uh that uh research side and and then just the idea of access uh the idea of making sure that we are available to our students that we're serving our our local community as well ow state university has positioned so well to be able to do that but I'm excited when when I think of higher ed I think of the contributions that it can make now and and I'm sure we'll get to this perhaps a little later we and higher ed need to do a better job of telling our story we need to do a better job of of talking about the benefits and and the things that we bring to our communities and to uh the estate yeah that's on my list of things that I want to ask you about kind of the politics facing higher ed but let me keep you drilled down a little bit to ISU here a little bit uh and you're your experience there the first seven months as you see it right now what are the top priorities facing your University sure I would yeah well well I would first I need to give a shout out to to my predecessor Uh Kevin sadly he and his administration as well as faculty and staff the community uh uh really did an incredible job the last couple years working on an Institutional strategic plan uh I've looked that the i' I've looked that uh U of course in in depth um I've done a lot of strategic planning it's a great plan uh it's a solid plan and I really give the institution credit with within that plan though I'm a firm believer that strategies are really the most important part of a strategic plan uh and in higher education one of the things that we need to do a better job of is being able to Pivot being able to evolve being able to adapt based on the needs of our community and based on the needs of our state so as I look at Idaho State and as I've been out listening to members of the institutional Community as well as the external Community itself I been doing that now for about five months asking a series of questions getting feedback I've taken all of that information back uh gone gone over it very deeply with our Central Administration team and coming out of that there are some themes some opportunities for aaho State one is enrollment growth and success we as an institution we can grow and frankly we should grow we need to grow in order to serve the State better but enrollment success is not just about growth enrollment success is also retaining students and helping them to uh succeed getting them in the door is just the first part the most important part is then helping them to be successful to meet whatever goals they have whether it's a certificate whatever credential or degree it might uh be so it's really imperative from an enrollment standpoint that we continue to grow but we continue to increase our retention rates for example that's how we measure students that continue from semester to semester making sure that we are successful and helping them to be successful looking at things like looking at things like our completion rates students that actually complete that's why they're here that's why they come to our institution that's why they invest their time their resources that's why they sacrific to come we as an institution have a responsibility to make sure we can help them to be successful so enrollment growth enrollment and Student Success first and foremost is a priority for us and that's been a priority at idah state for some time enrollment was a challenge for several years even before the pandemic and then the pandemic caused a lot of challenges for all universities enrollment did show some signs of increasing the past couple years in retention I know was a really high priority uh for the prior Administration yeah we in in fact this fall we are seeing enrollment growth again which is fantastic our uh retention rates are also up which again is is bodess very very well for our completion rates which do need to improve and it's something that we are very very focused on we're going to continue to focus as a priority on our academic programming making sure that we're we're putting out there the credentials the degrees the programs that our students need that our community needs that in that industry needs across the state that has to be a strategic priority part for us and that's example of of that pivoting Kevin that I was telling about we have to be able to Pivot as an institution bring on new programs bring on new credentials that uh really meet those uh need some other challenges you had asked about as well as strategic priorities of of course are our physical infrastructure itself especially on our pocelo campus that's something that has to be addressed um we we we we have great facilities at all of our campuses we serve our students very very well but there are needs there are buildings there there there are facility infrastructure needs that we have to address and that's going to be a focus uh uh for us e external Rel yeah please you were talking about that at the C Board of Education meeting on Wednesday that you have one building that you really can't renovate right now because you can't really run hot water through it I mean that's yeah it's it's it's there yeah it it comes to a point where where the structural engineers come and say listen it's actually going to cost more to renovate this building than it is to tear it down and build a new we're at that point uh with one particular building on our campus and so that's our priority is is is to really focus on that building and the point I made uh with the State Board is gone are the days uh when we can rely upon just one source of funding to build a building so we are going to seek State uh support but we're going to seek philanthropic support we as an institution have great bonding capacity and we were very careful with that but we have to recognize that that's a tool at our disposal too but really meeting the infrastructure needs of our of our institutional Community are critical and that building is first and foremost on our on the top of our uh list and just that together what building are we talking about again I'm sorry sure sure sure that's our Life Sciences building on our Pocatello campus I'll add to that what that leads into Kevin though is another strategic priority for us and that's external relationships and Partnerships gone or the days when higher education institutions can work in a vacuum the Ivory Tower they do their own thing and and they don't worry about the outside world we have to engage we have to engage with our communities we have to engage with e industry we have to engage with our Alum making sure that that that they are uh liking what they see that they're supporting our institutions so a pro a project like our Life Sciences building means we need to reach out and and we need to engage with industry uh we need to engage with philanthropy to really go out and seek the help and support that we uh need to to be able to take care of the infrastructure like our uh Life Sciences building so you're going to see me you'll see members of of Idaho State University really making it a priority to be out to engage whether again it's with alumni uh whether it's with legislators both at the state and federal level industry we've Kevin we have to be out there we have to be meeting we have to be engaging telling our story but also talking about the ways that Idaho State University can serve U um um can uh serve them the last thing I will mention about uh strategic priorities it goes back to what I first said and that's the greatest a the greatest asset and resource that we have are our people we need to make sure we're treating our people well our faculty staff our students that they have what they need to be um successful so that's a PRI that's certainly a priority for us and something that again I I I think it's what makes Idaho State University great so of course we have to invest in that want to shift gears a little bit and talk about launch we have talked so much about launch the past year and a half we've covered it so much of the legislature now we're finally seeing it on the ground as your students come to to campus this week how is launch affecting your enrollment and where are you seeing launch students show up what are they what programs are they pursuing well first of all I have to say when I first learned about uh a launch it was actually when I was considering applying um and the launch program under the direction of the governor told me a lot about this state it told me that this state values higher education and its role and place in economic development in um in uh sustainability in local uh community in Statewide success so I was really I was so pleased to learn about launch now now months later we have over 500 students enrolled at Idaho State University right now on the launch program itself uh and that means a lot to us as an institution uh we we we we have we are the only higher public higher education institution in the state that well we have the most qualifying programs I should say with launch because we off we offer everything from Tech certificates clear up to graduate degree so so we have really as an institution we have the most to gain because we can put those very very critical academic programs on the table for students to be able to come in and use launch to then go right back out and enter the workforce better themselves and better their their Community healthc Care uh is probably the number one area of chosen Pro uh chosen programs um for our launch students uh we have a a number of students who have selected our nursing programs uh Dental hyene biology radiographic science uh many more of the Allied Health programs itself and then we get into some of our business programs like accounting uh which is critical for economic development and Entrepreneurship uh we also uh uh have a number of our students that are using launch for our teacher education programs and we need to focus on that as a state as an institution and making sure that we're filling that critical need so launch it's something that I've learned to be very very proud of uh for the state I know that it's important I know that it's an investment but it should be considered just that an investment in the people of the state to give them the tools that they need to be successful in their lives in their communities Drive Economic Development and economic Prosperity launch can do uh that and and I can't wait uh to see what the return of that investment will uh be and it feels like what the students are doing this fall is is kind of confirming what the stakeholders have been saying at the State House for for two sessions about launches that this is going to maybe drive more students into pursuing a degree in education or or a degree in in healthcare where where we know that there's are high demands critical needs critical needs from both a health care standpoint as well as the teacher ad te uh teach or education standpoints absolutely critical needs but I would say a lot of our Tech a lot a lot of our College of Technology programs too are very popular for launch whether it's welders uh um uh what a book keeping whatever it might be these are technology certificates and Associates degrees that qualify for a a launch work where students can go and they can very quickly get out into the workforce find a well-paying job support themselves and support their families how do you see Idaho state's role in health care programs I mean that has been Idaho state's belly wick for decades uh how do you see fulfilling that role in the future and how do you see you know how does that play into the demand that we're seeing Statewide I mean the demand for nursing and the demand for for spots and nursing programs and other healthc care programs well I I will say this is yet another uh uh a a dimension of Ido state University that really interested me when when I learned about the healthc care uh the Health Sciences mission that Idaho State University has and has had for decades in the state it is such a critical uh need not only in the state of Idaho but in the inner Mound West itself especially when you consider rural Health Care needs so when when when when I looked at that when I saw that I I thought wow what an opportunity for this institution to continue to make impact to continue to serve the state to continue to serve local communities and so I it it I I made the point very early on and I've not been there long uh but very early on I made the point this is something that is important to this institution important to the state we are going to double down on our Health Sciences are the health care programs that we Pro provide and we're going to do that in a variety of ways whether it's creating new programs uh increasing the capacity of existing programs reaching out to the healthc care industry itself to partner with them we have examples of that now as well as looking in strengthening our relationships and Partnerships with the other p uh public institutions in the state we have that mission but we know Kevin we can't do it all by our our El and I'm so proud of our sister institutions uh at the community college level and at the four uh a year degree level that are doing an incredible job in the regions that they serve and helping meet the healthc care needs we're partnering with many of them for example Lewis Clark uh State we we we are partnering with them with nursing with our physicians assistant program to really Drive uh the growing and need of Health Care Professionals in Northern Oto so it takes a village but we take that primary responsibility uh as an institution very very seriously and we're going to do more and collaboration I've got to think is really important in in healthc care because even though you've got high demand for these programs these are expensive programs to scale up I mean you you you can't go solo on many of these because of the cost issues I'm imagining well in in and that's where relying upon one institution that has the mission that's where it becomes beneficial for the state because Kevin what's expensive is duplication and competition that's what we can't have I've spent my professional career in higher ed Administration in public Statewide University Systems and I've seen what happens when competition rules the day and when competition rules the day no one wins the institutions don't won't win uh the students generally don't win and the state does not win it's only through collaboration and cooperation so what you just described as important for the state of Idaho to recognize that Idaho State University we've been doing this a long time and we've built an infrastructure we have built faculty expertise and infrastructure that make makes it easier for us and more efficient for us to stand up additional programs and increase capacity we also have relationships with the various accrediting bodies too that are critical some of these programs take multiple years just to receive accreditation we have those relationships as well as the relationships with the clinics the hospitals the providers the private practices so what you described the state of Idaho is done a good job in saying this is the institution that's going to have the primary mission for that that allows us to be efficient but we also love to partner with our sister institutions that are doing programs uh uh Health Care programs in high demand areas to meet local and Statewide uh needs but boy you know Idaho State University we have the capacity we have the ability we have the experience we have the relationships we're going to go for we we are going to go forward to really help meet the needs of our state let me shift to FAFSA because you talk about the the impact that launch has had in terms of your enrollment this fall I mean 500 students I mean that's a big chunk of your your new students uh tied to launch but FAFSA has been a problem for universities and colleges the past several months do you have any sense of what that has done in terms of has that affected enrollment negatively sure well first of all uh going back timeing this question to launch can I just say there couldn't have been a better time for launch to launch than a year when the federal government uh Department of Ed has struggled so mildly to make Federal tuition Aid available for our students so for the launch program to be there this fall at such a critical time it it couldn't have been better the timing is just so critical and I think really yeah it really shows the value of launch and the forethought of our state leaders to say we're not going to rely upon federal funds we can do this as a state and and U that's important now we do rely and we do benefit from those federal dollars so fafs is important and Idaho State University just like all of the other institutions in the country that rely upon those federal dollars we have struggled it has been a tough year um really the uh roll out in what should have been a positive experience and abbreviated a faster fasta process much easier for our students and parents what should have been such a positive thing has turned out to be just really an agonizing ordeal for students for parents and frankly for the institutions themelves I I give a shout out to our financial aid office to our registers off um office to our recruiters they have been working literally Kevin Day and Night communicating with potential students with parents answering questions as changes come out as information and it is literally trickled to us uh as an institution and we then have to pass that on they've worked so so hard to be able to get that information out we've increased FAFSA completion nights and and really sought to be able to sit down with students and parents and help them one of the things that I will say oh yeah this this is make or break stuff for some kids I mean you know I was absolutely better alone kid when I went to college well and as was I uh uh and and and so absolutely the stakes Kevin couldn't be higher uh and so we have felt at Ido State we need to take on the responsibility to go out and make up some of that ground and and do our best to be able to help not only are we concerned though I do have to say not only are we concerned about the difficulty that the new process has created the other concern is the qualifications have changed and there is going to be we are worried that that there is going to be potentially a a n negative impact in some of our rural communities in the way the FAFSA and the federal department of Ed count uh assets for our uh farming communities for example that can change uh what students qualify for we're very very concerned about that and this fall we're watching the data really closely to make to see yeah yeah to see what those absolutely so we're watching really closely to see what those impacts are we're also preparing to be able to come back with as much institutional Aid as we can provide these communities they're important to us and we want to serve and help them and we in we don't want Financial barriers to be a cause for a student to not get a degree to not get a certificate what whatever it is that they need so step up with institutional Aid with philanthropic Aid with state aid like launch you know if those Federal rules change we need to be able to help our students and and and help their parents be able to afford that college education again whether it's a six-month certificate or it's a fouryear degree we want to be there to help them ISU is serving two really different markets and really interesting highered markets I mean Eastern Idaho you you've got BYU Idaho an hour or so away growing r you've got the College of Eastern Idaho you know now a community college and growing rapidly and all of the other you know all the other higher education institutions here in the Treasure Valley where you've got a Meridan campus I mean you've got Boise State CWI you know you've got the private schools uh how do you see ISU competing in those two very different markets and finding a niche in those two markets sure well there is a contradiction um and the contradiction that I've been talking about for autostate University is usually the say goes you can't be everything to everyone well for a public institution we do and we can and what I mean by that is we need to be able to Pivot to adjust to adapt but we need to be able to serve different types of student populations are we going to continue and increase uh our traditional student population absolutely we're going to grow on our pocatella campus the student life that residential campus experience being a Bengal it's a rich experience and we want students to be able to come and to experience that if if that's what they're interested in but we also need to be prepared and to be able to do more for our non-traditional students like uh me the different uh degrees that I got at different points in in my life with family and jobs and and and community service and all that goes along with it so we need to be able to be more to more populations now Ido state university has a tradition of doing that we have a tradition yeah yeah we remember from when I in the 80s I mean you were nontraditional we have a we have a great traditional student experience we also have an incredible non traditional Stu Stu student experience we have professional degrees where students can uh uh uh work at their own schedule evening classes online programming we have again our multiple campuses around the state state that are linked for example Idaho Falls and Twin Fall Falls that are linked with the state's community colleges there so we can do Pathways from the community college up to a four uh year agree all of that is absolutely critical so Kevin we need to be more to more people Idaho state has the foundation to be able to do that again we're the only institution that goes from the College of Technology and Tech certificate degrees clear up to graduate degrees and research degrees we can be more uh uh to more people and uh that's going to help us to uh grow uh we we love our sister institutions the work that our community colleges are doing the work that BYU is doing um I will say I spent a certain number of years uh recruiting in southeast Idaho for Utah State University I got to go get those students back we've got to go back and tell these students and parents that Ido State University is an incredible place to be if you're a traditional student or a non-traditional student at all of our campuses we want to be able to serve whatever those needs are we have to be Kevin multi-dimensional the institutions that are onedimensional frankly those are the institutions that are going to struggle unless they have a a they a hundred billion dollar endowment uh uh those are the institutions that are going to struggle we have to you're the ones who are going to Ste that enrollment Cliff yeah yeah so our strategy has to be multi-prong it it it it we we we we we have to a very diverse strategy in order to serve and meet the needs the state of Idaho has a number of students who have some college but they have no degree we want to be able to come and to be able to help them compete and and again whether it's a Workforce uh directed certificate we want to be able to do uh that or a traditional four uh year or a graduate degree this again is where our health care programs on the professional side are so critically important as well so our POS our institution is positioned to be many things to many people how real a threat is that demographic Cliff that we keep hearing about the decline in the number of 18 to 22 year olds that you expect in the pipeline I mean Idaho's growing but I suspect Idaho isn't growing fast enough to outgrow the the demographic well I'll tell you if I was president of an institution on the East Coast especially the the northeast or in the midwest I'd be very very concerned um just as you said the state of Idaho is not seeing the uh demographic decline the the population declines that many of those states are now certainly our birth rate has slowed uh we we we are seeing a bit of a leveling out what I've been telling people though what I've been explaining to legislators and Industry leaders and members of my own instit U is yes we need to be aware of enrollment not so much an enrollment Cliff as much as an enrollment in a demographic change for example what's changing in this state are the number of diverse students who who are here in the state many of whom are first generation students we need to be able to acknowledge that and we need to be able to again pivot adapt change to be able to meet a growing number of students who are coming to us whose parents didn't attend college who can't provide them to help or advice or support that they might need so I'm not as concerned about the enrollment Cliff as I am about the demographic change and that is something that as an institution we need to be ready to address whether it's standing up a first generation students Center to be able to help our first gener generation students more provide more programming for stud for students with diverse backgrounds and uh experiences it's just absolutely critical as the population in the state is changing especially in southeast Idaho we as an institution need to adapt our programming our admissions and our student support it all goes back to that idea of enrollment success we have to be able to adapt and change to be able to meet the changing population and demographic needs of this state and it's a different set of Demands that those students have I mean as families trying to navigate A system that they're unfamiliar with I mean it's a it's a difficult bling process you throw FS of problems in on top of that it's well and gotta get students through the door well and you know some of those students may or may not come when they're 18 years old they might wait till they're sw5 so we need to be able to make sure uh uh no matter where they are in their life that that that that that we're accommodating them that we are that uh that we are accessible I saw that uh I saw that in my own uh life I navigated those Waters of balancing education a job a family community faith-based service i i i i to manage and balance all of uh that and it's tough on our students and their families and we can and should be doing more to support them given your background in recruiting in recruiting in Eastern Idaho in particular what what are some of the challenges especially when you get into rural communities about getting students excited about going to college getting them to see the value in pursuing a college degree well I think the most important responsibility that we have as a public institution in those communities the more rural communities is we need to be relevant ke Uh Kevin we need to be able to offer programs and degrees that are important for the students the families in those areas and uh we can do that through again strategic good strategic planning and academic planning so you know going into these communities and making sure that we're offering the pro the programs that they need that they want the programs that will serve their communities well I feel that we have a responsibility to do that as a public in as a public institution so it's really hard to go in there and just recruit and and not talk about specific academic programs in the way that our institution can serve them now if that's serving a traditional student in those rural communities that might leave to come to our campus for a residential experience great if if it's those students that feel they are more place bound where they want to stay okay we need to then make those educational experiences available to them just like we are with our next program where where we we are broadcasting some of our janed courses into these Rural High Schools helping these students get a head start in their college experience we can be able to do more of that both for the students that want to leave for a college experience but those students that want to stay especially the non traditional students I think that our legislators in those areas would love to know that we're making it possible for citizens in those rural areas to stay because many times when they leave oftentimes they don't come back and so we want to be able to provide education in those areas where they can stay where they can work on that family ranch they can work uh uh in that family business itself get a degree get an accounting degree to help with the family business get in get a business degree get a Health Sciences degree to be able to help a local rural Medical Clinic get that degree and then be able to stay and help that area you really open up the options of you can stay in the community where you have roots or you have a degree that is mobile that you know has value anywhere you go absolutely that's we we we just and we can and we are um we're we're we're we're proud of our southeast Idaho routs um I'm proud of of that I've embraced that I I I love it I love these communities that we serve but again going back to the m the multicampus system that we have I love being in Magic Valley um and the ways that we can serve I love being in in Idaho falls and in the ways that we we we can serve I look out the window here and I see across from our campus Idaho National Labs and and the work and the collaboration that we are doing for such a critical industry in the autof Falls area I think of our Meridian campus our presence in Treasure Valley that is is growing we have 23 Kevin we have 23 additional Acres on our Meridian campus we're ready to build we're going to grow uh those students that want to come to PO cello come we would love to have year a fantastic experience uh but if you need to stay uh especially in the health care Fields our Meridian campus is there to serve students and families and it's growing and we have room to grow I didn't didn't realize 23 acres in merid and that's a pretty sizable holding right there we we we we have a great relationship with the city we're working very very closely with them the vision that they have for that area for that City aligns very very well well with the interest and vision that we have we we we have the Oto College of osteopathic medicine is on our campus there our relationship with them with Icom is incredibly important that Meridian campus is yeah that that that Meridian campus is absolutely strategically critical for how we serve the health care uh needs of our uh state so you're student of politics you're a student of public policy so I'd be remiss if I didn't ask the uh the elephant in the room question about higher ed right now the politics of highered and some of the criticism of higher education not just in Idaho but nationally do the critics have any valid concerns uh any concerns that resonate with you any any issues that you feel like as as a sector higher education needs to do a better job of of addressing sure well well first of all as I said for I think we need to do a better job of telling our own story and and talking about our contributions in the way that higher education can serve serve communities and serve uh the estate I I think that's critical whether it's economic development through um through resource research meeting Workforce demands uh creative arts and bringing culture and Life to our communities um all of that is so important we need to do a b better job of talking about that we also need to do a better job of of being accountable um we're a state institution we receive state support when I go stand in front of the aost state legislature I accountable for that state support for that public mission that we have I accept that I respect that and you know as public institutions we need to be okay with talking about that more and saying yes we are a state institution and we need to make sure that we're meeting the needs of the state and sometimes those needs the way that we meet those needs are more apparent than others and that's where telling our story becomes uh uh becomes incredibly important I will say too that that you know a public institution like Idaho State University for decades and decades has been a place that is often referred to as the marketplace of ideas uh this is where ideas are generated this is where questions are asked and answered this is where we explore this is where we learn uh this is where critical thinking occurs uh this is where uh you know we learn not just content but we learn skills and we learn knowhow through a liberal arts education uh through a a a a more professional type education it's a Marketplace of ideas it's a rich cultural experience that's a good thing uh and we as a state we should embrace that and realize that that's the case now with that though comes areas that we have to be careful where we have to watch and we have to keep things in in check first of all our first amendment and Free Speech rights we have to keep those kinds of things in check constitutionally but most important we need to keep our students fa our students faculty and staff safe we need to provide in an environment and in a place where they feel a sense of place they feel a sense of belonging where they're safe uh to uh be able to ACC come so it's a balance uh some institutions across the country I will admit have struggled to find that balance we'll continue to focus on that at Idaho State University will continue to focus on the students uh uh the Student Life the the the the the cultural experience that is unique to Idaho as all states have unique experiences will continue to focus on that to make sure that students come and feel that sense of place that sense of belonging and that they are uh successful but we have to balance those those things and there's a lot in the news and Frank has been in the news for decades and decades about what that's that that's like and what that entails but higher education will continue to persist because our society needs that education component to be successful and that's kind of the Crux of the debate though I mean some of these programs these social justice programs you will say and your colleagues will say these are programs we need to provide to serve a changing student demographic to make a a new student demographic make these students feel more comfortable on campus critics political critics will say these are just programs that are you know their their indoctrination or their you how do you how do you win that debate well I I I think that first of all we need to not I I don't want to say not have the debate but I want to be really really clear um it's not Idaho State University's job to indoctrinate that's not what we're there for as an institution we're there to educate uh in very very specific very focused academic programs now we have a broad portfolio of academic programs but we're not there to indoctrinate that is not and should not be our job now whether it's a traditional student who comes and engages with other students whether it's student life you know we understand when you get a group of PE when when when you get a group group of people together dialogue occurs and discussions occur but institutionally our responsibility is not to indoctrinate our responsibility is to is to educate in a safe and in a positive environment for members of our institutional community at Ido State University that's what we're going to uh that's what we're going to focus on I I do not and won't let our Institution into debates of indoctrination and and and and whatnot we can't we have to important of a job to educate so that's just educate and and safety is such an interesting word that you use there because it's safety on a lot of levels for students it's it's physical safety obviously but it's also intellectual safety and emotional safety that you're trying to provide right absolutely and and and students and our faculty and staff need to be able to feel that they have the freedom they have the space the safe space to be able to do that once again you balance that though whether it's First Amendment rights uh uh the constitute the constitutionality of different actions in different ways that you express all of those things we have to be very very careful with again I I just want to stress that first and foremost on my mind is making sure that our institution is a safe place for all but our priority is is to educate and that's what we're going to be focused on okay so I I saved probably the most sensitive question for last um let's talk about domes uh you know there's this ongoing competition Kibby Dome versus hter now I've seen football games in both stadiums so I'm not going to take aide I'm gonna be you know neutral objective journalist here HT Arena versus K why is HT Arena well first of all a shout out to are U ofi colleagues and uh who I've uh just grown to appreciate and uh the collegiality that we have uh but as far as Dome versus Dome I'm so excited and and was so happy to learn that the University of Idaho took uh the ICCU Dome design and the model and then went went and built theirs uh so I'm very very proud of the fact that Ido state University's Dome the now ICCU Dome is the first of its kind uh it's been recently renovated in the interior the seats they have backs there's not a bad seat in the house our a cool renovation it was there a couple years ago for our Dome the seats are very close to the field uh it's not as high it it it it has a a a a closer feel you're much part of the athletic event that is occurring there uh it's a great environment again I give a shout out to our U ofi friends they have a fantastic Dome with fantastic athletic programs in fact I invite uh the state to come out on November 23d to the ICCU Dome where it will be the Rivalry game with our with between the Bengals and the vandals come out experience the ICCU Dome no matter what the weather is outside it's nice 72 degrees inside that Dome it sure to be a fantastic game we uh welcome our Vandal friends but we're we're very very proud of the ICCU Dome its originality and the fact that it's so much a part of our in so much a part of our institutional part of the community well I think you talked me into a road trip uh in November so we would love to have the we we would love to have you out k absolutely you may see me there president Wagner we covered a lot of ground um you know took on a lot of topics I appreciate you making the time to to talk with us today and hopefully again down the road it's been my pleasure Kevin thank you very thank you very much again I'm so I'm so excited to be here to be part of Idaho State University the state of AO itself we have much to be very proud of and I look forward for the chance to sh out again soon thank you very much for joining us thanks have a good day I want to thank U Idaho State University president Robert Wagner for joining us uh for this uh first installment of the chambers higher education series we will be back here on all of these platforms on Thursday September 19th we will be talking with Lisa Roberts she is the new superintendent of the Boise school district so we'll talk about what's happening in the Boise school district and how that ties into higher education in the state again I'm Kevin Richard from Ida education news thank you for joining us today [Music]