Boise State’s Marlene Tromp could leave Idaho for new role at University of Vermont

Boise State University President Marlene Tromp has been named the finalist for an identical position at the University of Vermont.

Tromp is interviewing at the Burlington, Vt. campus Tuesday and Wednesday, the university said on its presidential search website.

The website lists no other finalists for the vacancy.

“We are delighted to announce that the University of Vermont Board of Trustees has approved Dr. Marlene Tromp as sole finalist for the position of university president,” the co-chairs of the university’s presidential search committee said in an open letter Monday.

The search committee interviewed more than 10 candidates for the job. The university’s board of trustees first discussed the opening with Tromp in February.

Boise State did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.

Tromp has been president at Boise State since July 2019, a tenure marked by several milestones.

She has presided over a period of enrollment growth — and enrollment rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s largest four-year university, Boise State’s fall student headcount was 27,198 last fall, up nearly 4% from 2019. Tromp also has presided over a period of growth in in-state enrollment.

While student numbers have grown, Boise State has also seen an improvement in graduation rates. In 2022-23, Boise State’s four-year graduation rate was 42.7%, up from 38.1% three years earlier.

Boise State has also grown its research portfolio over the past five years. Research awards totaled $83 million in 2024. In a speech in August, Tromp said Boise State was “just a hair’s breadth away” from achieving R1 status, the highest research classification offered by the American Council of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Boise State also reported a record $61.3 million in fundraising in 2023-24, as the university is pursuing a five-year, $500 million “Unbridled” capital campaign.

But Tromp’s time at Boise State has not been without controversy. Since her arrival, Tromp has been a lightning rod in the ongoing Statehouse debate over social justice and diversity, equity and inclusion. And in September, an Ada County jury awarded Big City Coffee owner Sarah Jo Fendley nearly $4 million in a First Amendment lawsuit against Boise State; Tromp testified in the trial.

If Tromp leaves for Vermont, she would be going to a smaller university, at least in terms of enrollment.

Founded in 1791, the University of Vermont has an enrollment of close to 15,000, including nearly 12,000 undergraduates.

The University of Vermont is the state’s land-grant institution. Its research portfolio totaled $266.4 million last year, and it received R1 research designation this year, according to a university fact sheet. The university is also home to the Larner College of Medicine, the nation’s seventh oldest medical school.

This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 11:07 AM.