May 8, 2003

Dr. Robert W. Kustra Named 
Sixth Boise State University President

Robert Kustra, who previously served as president of Eastern Kentucky University and lieutenant governor of Illinois, has been named president of Boise State University, the State Board of Education announced today.     The announcement was made at a press conference on the Boise State campus. Kustra was selected following a seven-month national search conducted by the State Board.      Kustra is currently serving as president of the Midwestern Higher Education Commission in Minneapolis. The commission is an organization of 10 Midwestern states responsible for advancing higher education through interstate cooperation and resource sharing.     Kustra previously served as chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and in the Illinois state Legislature. He held faculty positions at various institutions, including Northwestern, the University of Illinois, Roosevelt University and Loyola University.     He earned a Ph.D. from Illinois, a master’s degree from Southern Illinois and a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine College in Kansas — all in political science.     Kustra will assume his duties at Boise State this summer. He will be the university’s sixth president. He replaces Charles Ruch, who announced his retirement from Boise State last August.     Kustra served as president at Eastern Kentucky from 1998-2001, as chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education from 1996-98, as Illinois’ lieutenant governor from 1990-98, as a member of the Illinois state Senate from 1982-90 and in the state’s House of Representatives from 1980-82.     “We have found an exceptionally strong and dynamic leader in Dr. Kustra,” said State Board of Education President Blake Hall. “The Board is extremely pleased to appoint him as president of Boise State University, and is confident he will able to lead the institution to the next level of excellence.”     The State Board set Kustra’s salary at $162,000 per year. Consistent with other Idaho university presidents, housing and a car will also be provided, along with a supplemental compensation package paid for by the BSU Foundation. Kustra will be joined in Boise by his wife, Kathy. -30- Contact: Bob Evancho University Relations 426-1643

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