Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on August 20, 2025
BOISE, ID – Boise State University will build on the biggest fundraising effort in school history — in hopes of getting more money into students’ hands.
Interim President Jeremiah Shinn Wednesday announced a $150 million campaign for a scholarship endowment.
If it’s fully funded, the endowment would provide need-based $2,000 scholarships for 3,000 students. That wouldn’t be enough to cover the entire need, Shinn said. But a $2,000 scholarship might make the difference for a student who might not be able to afford Boise State otherwise.
“This is our greatest need,” said Shinn, outlining the scholarship plan during Boise State’s annual State of the University address Wednesday morning.
The address is a back-to-school fixture at Boise State — held days before the start of fall classes. Outside Boise State’s Morrison Center, some students pushed laundry baskets piled with personal belongings, as they checked into dorms ahead of Monday’s first day of classes. A back-to-school energy was also evident inside the Morrison Center, as more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff gathered to listen to Shinn.
But Wednesday’s address had a feel all its own. Gone was Marlene Tromp, Boise State’s president since 2019, who has since taken the president’s job at the University of Vermont. In her place was Shinn, who took over as interim president in May.
Shinn — who is not seeking the president’s job on a permanent basis — made a few light references to the flux at the state’s largest university.
“I don’t mean to alarm you, but we are in a time of transition,” he said, drawing a few laughs from the audience.
Shinn tried to allay concerns. He promised to lead a roadshow this fall, meeting with staff and students at each college to discuss the transition.
But Shinn also tried to emphasize that Boise State is not standing still. He cited fundraising as one example.
Boise State’s $500 million Unbridled fundraising campaign is “way ahead of schedule,” he said. Three years ahead of the drive’s 2028 deadline, the university has raised $465 million for faculty support and endowed positions, student aid and athletics. It’s a sign, Shinn said, that donors consider Boise State a sound investment.
“This is what belief looks like in action,” he said.
Shinn cited other key benchmarks.
Boise State’s research portfolio has grown by 43% over five years. Shinn said this puts the university on the cusp of earning prestigious — and potentially lucrative — R1 research status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Boise State’s student-athletes are graduating at a 96% rate, one of the highest percentages in the nation.
And while many universities are struggling to attract students from a shrinking pool of college-age students, Boise State’s enrollment is likely to increase by more than 500 students this fall.
Shinn urged the staff and faculty in the audience to reach out, especially to new students, to help them find their place on campus.
“(Students) just need one person,” he said. “And every single one of us in this room can be this one person.”
