Four finalists chosen for ISU’s top post

POCATELLO, Idaho – The state Board of Education on Tuesday named four finalists to vie for the Idaho State University president’s post, which was vacated in October by Richard Bowen after faculty voted no-confidence in his administration.

The candidates are Lois Muir, a provost at the University of Montana in Missoula; Jay Noren, a vice president from the University of Nebraska; Larry Lemanski, a vice president at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton; and Arthur Vailas, a vice president at the University of Houston.

The board will announce its selection in February after the finalists tour the school and meet local officials, faculty and students. The job pays $165,240 a year.

“Each of these finalists have the ability to provide strong leadership for Idaho State University,” Karen McGee, a member of the education board’s search panel, said in a statement. “These four individuals have the knowledge, experience and professionalism to lead ISU.”

In his 21 years in ISU’s top post, Bowen was credited with overseeing a resurgence in enrollment, helping stabilize programs whose accreditation was in danger and spurring unprecedented construction, including a new performing arts center that opened this year.

However, the Faculty Senate no-confidence vote came after Bowen backed pay raises as high as 28 percent for 36 ISU administrators at a time when professors received only marginal pay increases.

Bowen had agreed to step down next June but ended up quitting nine months early.

“The faculty is looking for somebody who is interested in keeping communication open, keeping the faculty informed and involved in decisions,” said Kay Christensen, chairwoman of the ISU Faculty Senate as well as the coordinator for the university’s paralegal studies program. “From the list of candidates I’ve seen, I’m very pleased. It shows a list of people who have strong university backgrounds, people who have been involved in administration on differing levels.”

Michael Gallagher, a former dean and vice president at ISU in the 1980s and 1990s under Bowen, has served as interim president since Oct. 11.