Chuck Staben served as President of the University of Idaho from 2014-June 2019. Under his leadership, the state of Idaho instituted a novel Direct Admission process to facilitate college-going and increased need-based financial aid for all Idaho students by 50%. During his tenure, the University achieved new highs in student retention and graduation, a 25% increase in extramural research funding, and record fundraising. Dr. Staben’s innovation was recognized by membership on the American Council on Competitiveness. Dr. Staben is currently a professor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho, and recently published an opinion piece on coronavirus readiness in Inside Higher Education.
Prior to serving as President at the University of Idaho, Dr. Staben was Provost at the University of South Dakota (2008-2014) and served the University of Kentucky from 1989-2008 as a professor of biology, chair of the biology department, associate vice president for research, and acting vice president for research. He has held over $10 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies as well as a Course and Curriculum Development grant from NSF in bioinformatics.Dr. Staben received his BS in Biochemistry at the University of Illinois, a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of California-Berkeley, and had postdoctoral fellowships at Chiron Corporation (a successful biotechnology startup) and at Stanford University
