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New LCSC president enthusiastic about school's future

by Judd Wilson Staff Writer
| October 15, 2018 1:00 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — Lewis-Clark State College offers a private school experience at a public school price.

That’s the sales pitch from LCSC President Cynthia Pemberton, a Medford, Ore., native who was named LCSC’s new chief in April and took office July 1.

The slogan fits — and apparently so does Pemberton, who was visiting Coeur d’Alene late last week.

She was a first-generation, low-income college student when she earned her degree at Willamette University in Salem, Ore.

“If you’d have asked me when I was 18 about being a college president, I wouldn’t have known what it was,” she said with a laugh.

Over the years she’s had “an incredible education journey,” including two stints overseas via the Fulbright program. She said she’s glad to be back in Idaho. Pemberton has served at various institutions of higher education, including 14 years at Idaho State University. She added that the new position with LCSC is the perfect fit for her.

One of her goals is to make sure that LCSC is also a great fit for each of its students. If a student is a good fit for the school, that student is more likely to finish his degree program instead of quitting midway, she explained.

To that end, LCSC faculty are individually reaching out to prospective students in much the same way that coaches recruit athletes for their programs.

“We’re personal, we’re high-touch,” Pemberton said. “You come to LCSC and we’ll know you, and you’ll know us.”

Her top priority this year is connecting and communicating. Not only herself but other LCSC leaders are reaching out to the campus community. Pemberton has held open forums for people to ask her anything they’d like, and she has made it a habit to walk around and venture into each part of the LCSC world in Lewiston.

Pemberton sees Idaho’s institutions of higher education like the members of a rowing team, all pulling together to promote higher education. She said LCSC brings a unique element to the Idaho higher ed team. LCSC is nestled in a protected, comfortable, safe valley environment that offers an education that is also protected, comfortable, and safe.

“Our graduates do outstanding work” in fields such as nursing, education, business, communications, social work, and sports administration, she said.

LCSC has programs in Coeur d’Alene, Orofino, and Grangeville in addition to the main campus in Lewiston. The majority of LCSC students come from similar backgrounds as hers, and have to make studying fit in around their jobs. To that end, LCSC offers classes online, in the classroom, and a hybrid of the two.

According to U.S. News and World Report, LCSC’s student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1, with nearly 60 percent of its classes smaller than 20 students.

“Over and over again what I hear people say is, ‘I know my faculty, they know who I am. It’s personal. They care about me as a person.’ That’s a private school education experience, and we deliver it at a public school price. No one else in Idaho is doing that,” she said.

A presidential investiture ceremony is planned for Friday during LCSC’s Homecoming Week.