UPDATED: Boise State interim leader named as finalist in UM presidential search

The University of Montana and the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education announced current interim President of Boise State University Jeremiah Shinn as a finalist in the search to replace former President Seth Bodnar on Friday.

Shinn will visit campus on Monday and Tuesday, participating in an open forum and community reception where members of the public are encouraged to ask questions, according to a UM press release. He'll also meet with UM leadership, faculty and the Associated Students of UM, as well as others at the Missoula flagship.

Bodnar announced he would be stepping down as president of UM in January amid rumors he was planning to run for U.S. Senate, later filing as an independent in the race in March.

If Shinn gets the job, he would be overseeing a nearly $165 million budget and a staff of more than 1,200 employees at UM.

According to Shinn's resume posted to the presidential search website, he has served as interim president at Boise State University since May of 2025. BSU is more than twice the size of UM with more than 27,000 students on campus, a nearly $309 million budget and more than 2,000 employees.

Shinn touted his leadership skills during a time of transition for BSU, as well as his ability to fundraise, saying he partnered with the university’s foundation to secure donations in the millions.

The Missoulian reached out to Shinn for comment and had not heard back as of press time.

According to his resume, at BSU, he cut Financial Aid response times from 33 minutes to three minutes despite a 35% increase in call volume, increased mental health screenings by more than 200% and substance-use screenings by 53% by reducing access barriers, generated more than $1.6 million in student textbook savings through expansion of the inclusive access program, and shortened the time from staff job posting to hire by one-third by improving the search process.

Boise State Public Radio reported earlier this year that for every dollar of taxpayer funding which goes into the university, there is a $2.40 return, with the university generating $2.2 billion in economic impact a year in the state.

Two years before serving as interim president, Shinn worked at the university as vice president for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management. Prior to that, he held the same position at Louisiana State University since 2019.

At LSU, Shinn said in his resume he helped “lay the groundwork” for a $40 million donation toward student health within a total $245 million donation to the school for health care science and research.

According to his resume, at LSU he helped increase academic to career integrations by nearly 40%, built nearly 800 employer partnerships, and expanded career coaching capacity by 300%. He said he reduced health center wait times by more than 30%, doubled same-day appointments, and cut mental health wait times by nearly 40%. He also touted increased university recreation participation and revenue through things with adventure trips, club sports and a kids camp, while reducing staff by more than 20%.

Shinn graduated with an undergraduate degree in natural science from Arkansas Tech University in 1999 and earned a master’s degree in higher education shortly after from the University of Michigan.

Shinn went on to get his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University in 2015, and attended Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management in 2024.

In a short video posted to Boise State University’s social media last year, Shinn said his first dream was to be a physician, but he discovered he was “squeamish,” so he had to “call an audible," which is a football reference for changing a play at the last minute.

During his college tenure he played in a “very, very, loud band,” he said in the video.

“It’s one of my most favorite memories,” he said. “We had a blast.”

He listed Wilco, Radiohead and Tom Petty songs in a summer playlist in another post to social media last year.

Shinn's announcement as a finalist candidate to replace Bodnar comes after a “robust” search, with several “strong applicants,” Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian said in a press release on Friday.

“We are excited to reach this stage of the search, and we encourage faculty, staff, students and the community to participate in this on-campus visit,” Christian said.

The open forum will take place Monday on the third floor of the University Center starting at 3:30 p.m., followed by the community reception at 5 p.m. Members of the public may also submit questions or comments via email at presidentsearch@montana.edu.