Weber State University President Chuck Wight is among three final candidates under consideration for Idaho State University’s president position.
Wight, Boise State University vice president Kevin Satterlee and ISU executive vice president and provost Laura Woodworth-Ney have been selected for a second interview process to fill the position, opening after ISU President Arthur Vailas retires.
Candidates visited ISU’s Pocatello, Meridian and Idaho Falls campuses in March of this year to meet with students, faculty and administrators and demonstrate why they should be the next university president.
Wight said that his time at Weber State University has helped qualify him for the a potential position as ISU’s president.
“I think my experience at Weber State has prepared me to take this jump,” Wight said. “There are a lot of things going on at Idaho State that are challenging for a new president, and I look forward to that challenge.”
After the campus visits and faculty interviews, the Idaho State Board of Education selected the finalists. Wight remains a front runner according to ISU staff.
“I think they all did a great job but I was most impressed by Dr. Wight, mainly because of his connections with the community and his positive attitude,” Todd Johnson, ISU Veteran Student Services Center director, said in an interview with the Idaho State Journal. “One of the themes that came up through the entire process was that the morale of the institution — the spirit of the school — had been heavily damaged, and I feel Dr. Wight has the most experience connecting folks together within the school and connecting the school itself to the community.”
The state board will interview the candidates again on April 2 and an announcement concerning the final decision will come before the summer semester begins.
