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About Dr. Robert Kustra
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Robert Kustra
President, Boise State University
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Dr. Robert Kustra is president of Boise State University, the largest public university in Idaho, with an enrollment of nearly 20,000 students plus 2,400 faculty and staff.
Now in his seventh year, he leads the university in a time of dynamic growth in student enrollment, new construction, fundraising, and research. Long heralded for its devotion to classroom teaching, Boise State has added another dimension to its mission as an emerging metropolitan research university of distinction.
His administration has been marked by an emphasis on research, upgrading admissions standards, improving the undergraduate experience, and increasing the number of graduate and doctoral programs. Faculty awards and grants for research at Boise State have increased from $19.6 million to $37 million during his tenure. Significant scholarship opportunities have been created, including the Langroise National Merit Scholars, Boise State Capital Scholars and Presidential Civic Leadership Scholars.
Dr. Kustra is currently leading Boise State’s first comprehensive campaign, Destination Distinction, to raise $175 million in private support for faculty, student scholarships, and campus infrastructure.
With a long and distinguished career in public service in Illinois, Dr. Kustra served two terms as lieutenant governor of Illinois, following 10 years in the Illinois Legislature. He also chaired the Illinois Board of Higher Education, responsible for funding and oversight of Illinois’ nine public universities.
Prior to joining Boise State, Dr. Kustra also served as president of Eastern Kentucky University and the Midwestern Higher Education Commission. He has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois-Springfield, Loyola University of Chicago, the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Northwestern University.
Dr. Kustra was appointed in 2008 to the NCAA’s highest governing body as a member of the Division I executive committee and board of directors. He served on the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics and is past president of the Western Athletic Conference’s Board of Directors. He also serves on the board of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. In 2007, he was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame and was named the Most Influential Person in the Treasure Valley by The Idaho Statesman.
Dr. Kustra hosts a weekly radio show, New Horizons, for the National Public Radio affiliate in Boise.
President Kustra holds degrees from Benedictine College and Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He and his wife, Kathy, have two grown children, three grandsons, and treasure the memory of their son, Steve.
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