BOISE, Idaho — Boise State University President Marlene Tromp sounded a hopeful note for the upcoming school year, even as she acknowledged that the fall will bring "even more tumult."
Tromp made her remarks Wednesday morning during the State of the University address, the yearly speech meant to outline the goals and outlook for the university. Classes at Boise State are set to resume Monday, with a roughly 50-50 split of online and in-person courses. The school has estimated that about 10,000 student students will take at least one in-person class during the fall semester.
In her address, Tromp conceded that students and faculty will be returning amid a fraught time in the country, referencing protests in Boise and around the U.S.
"There have been financial challenges not just for institutions like the university, but for individuals and families. The pandemic helped create those challenges and then helped expose other challenges that we were facing as a nation. We've seen enormous racial unrest and conflict, and we're poised for a very conflicted political period in the near future."
But Tromp said the university will not back away from the challenges.
"I can't imagine a better time than when the world and the nation are in crisis for us to teach people and serve," she continued.
The university president thanked the campus staff and essential employees who have worked to ready Boise State for the coming school year and touted the faculty and student research that has culminated in $58 million in research awards. Projects like the study of nano-materials to purify water and create surgical implants, and Boise State's work to create face shields that have been distributed to front-line workers around the globe, serve as an example of the innovation the school will need to rely on to push through the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, Tromp said.
"We will not wither in the face of challenges or criticism. As a university, as a place of learning, we will learn. We will face those challenges and learn," she said. "We will reach more students even in our rural communities, we will increase the go-on rate, and we will change the lives of the college completers."
Tromp said the school is working to better serve rural students, saying the school can serve as a national model in that regard by bringing lessons to them. In the same way, she said, the university has moved its Career Services department, Bronco Day recruiting venture, and more online to better cater to students who can not physically come to campus. In addition, the school has unveiled the Bronco Gap program that will allow students who cannot enroll full-time to earn Boise State credit while pursuing projects they are passionate about.
She urged students and staff alike to be resilient and flexible as the university moves forward.
"We have been a catalyst for positive change in an incredibly difficult time - that's something Boise State should be so proud of," Tromp said.
For more on Boise State's reopening plan, click here.
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