UI alumnus elected new executive director of SBOE
University of Idaho alumnus Matt Freeman began his new role as the executive director for the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE) on June 29.
Freeman had previously served as the SBOE’s deputy director and chief fiscal officer since 2009. Before working for the SBOE, Freeman said he received his law degree from UI and even worked in Washington, D.C.
“I think I do bring a unique skill set,” Freeman said. “Having served as a legislative budget analyst, working on the budgets for colleges and universities, I developed a relationship in that capacity with financial vice presidents and budget directors of institutions and board members as well.”
Freeman said there are already a few higher education plans in the works in SBOE that he is going to work toward.
One of these plans is a direct admissions system for Idaho high school seniors. Freeman said in the plan if a senior hits a certain benchmark that hasn’t yet been set they will receive a message directly from the SBOE letting them know which Idaho colleges they would be admitted to based on their accomplishments in high school.
Another plan is to develop a universal application process for Idaho institutions, Freeman said. Currently, students looking to apply to higher education institutions have to apply to each school individually, so a common application portal would help Idaho students apply to more Idaho schools, he said.
“Between the two (plans) we really think that this could help with our 60 percent goal,” he said.
One of Freeman’s goals, which is a goal that’s shared among many members of the SBOE, is to have at least 60 percent of the Idaho population within the ages of 25-34 obtain a college degree or more, he said. He hopes he can do his part as the executive director to get the state closer to this goal.
“I think that K-12 is obviously a critical part of the pipeline,” Freeman said. “But when those students graduate, and we want them to graduate, they need to have strong programs to go into instate.”
Freeman said there seems to be cultural barriers against higher education in Idaho, and many of SBOE’s plans are targeted to change these stigmas.
He said the SBOE is undergoing a lot of changes lately as well, with many new members being added.
“It’s going to be a time of change, but we’re really excited,” Freeman said. “We have just an excellent board that’s highly engaged, very thoughtful and passionate about education, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer