Boise State’s Tromp appointed next president of the University of Vermont

Boise State University President Marlene Tromp will become the University of Vermont’s 28th president, the university’s Board of Trustees announced today. She will assume the post later this summer.

Tromp had led Boise State since 2019.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dr. Marlene Tromp as the 28th president of the University of Vermont,” said Cynthia Barnhart, Board of Trustees chair and co-chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. “She has demonstrated excellence as a leader and a scholar who can foster deep and meaningful connections across the university and beyond.”

Tromp was the lone finalist and visited UVM for an on-campus interview process on March 18-21.

“I came to Vermont with a clear feeling for UVM’s strength in research, its focus on student success, and the fulfillment of its land grant mission to Vermont and the nation,” Tromp said in a press release posted on the university’s website. “This is a university that has the power to truly lead the nation and even the world on several fronts, and I’m so excited to work with my colleagues, the students, alumni, and friends to improve individual lives and the life of the community.”

Tromp will succeed Suresh Garimella, who led UVM from 2019 until October 2024, when he became president of the University of Arizona. Provost Patricia Prelock has served as interim president of UVM since October.

The State Board of Education is responsible for hiring a successor at Boise State.

“I want to thank her for her service to Boise State,” said State Board President Linda Clark. “Dr. Tromp and her team found ways to significantly increase enrollment; improve student retention and graduation rates; increase fund raising and promote Boise State throughout the country – all of which are top State Board priorities. Dr. Tromp has much of which to be proud during her tenure at Boise State and I wish her the very best in the next phase of her career at the University of Vermont.”

Tromp led Boise State during a period of enrollment growth — and enrollment rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin Richert reported earlier this week. 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.

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. Click here to read more about Tromp’s time in Boise.

Tromp posted a farewell statement to students and colleagues on Boise State’s website.

“I am so proud of all that we’ve accomplished in the last nearly-six years, outcomes I celebrate as I prepare to wish this beloved community farewell,” she wrote. “Boise State now has a very strong national and international presence well beyond our stellar athletics programs. … Together, we have faced real and serious challenges, and, as a community, taken them on. In an often difficult environment, we still made dazzling things happen.”

Check back later for a more detailed story.