Reframing Organizations

  Prior to coming to Idaho State University, President Satterlee had a long history with the State Board of Education. He had most recently worked at Boise State University as the Chief Operations Officer, but also was an attorney in the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, and served as the lead attorney for the Idaho State Board of Education. His relationship with the state board of education and the state political landscape was valuable, and also offered him political capital that he could use to benefit the University.  This didn’t always mean that he received the funding he asked for — when he asked for extra funding for student retention, for example, the legislature declined. President Satterlee funded the initiative internally, however, and then used the resulting success to ask for more funding to increase retention further. His knowledge of the workings of Idaho government and political capital allowed him to take more risks when needed as well.  The political game...

For President Satterlee, the words trust, stability, compassion and hope required a fairly specific recipe.  The first two words required open and transparent communication, something employees felt was lacking with the previous administration. He instituted a campaign that encouraged faculty, staff and students to submit ideas via email — any idea was welcomed. Later, he instituted Coffee With Kevin, an opportunity to come, chat, and ask questions about anything. These types of forums aren’t uncommon in a workplace environment, but sometimes they can be an echo chamber- it was vital that President Satterlee follow through with answers or a response to concerns, and, for the most part, he did.  It was also important to Satterlee that his communications to his employees reach them. This became especially apparent when two years into his tenure, the University moved all operations online due to COVID-19. During this time, the University sent out 127 emails to faculty, staff and ...

In the years before President Satterlee, President Arthur Vailas operated within the structural framework, utilizing a fairly strict top-down structure. The university operated under a strict top-down structure, with little room for dissent. As Lee Bolman and Terrance Deal point out in their textbook “Reframing Organizations,” structural frameworks tend to work well in organizations that rely on repetitive work, or work that is more automated. At University, which by nature has a wide variety of professionals, this framework can lead to resentment. And, in Idaho State University’s case, it certainly did.  After several months of public arguing between the faculty and upper administration, and just one week after faculty overwhelmingly blasted President Vailas in a vote of no-confidence, President Vailas asked the state board of education to disband the faculty senate, a clear signal in the faculty members’ minds that their voices would not be heard.  This was the environment P...

  Even before he was named president of Idaho State University, Kevin Satterlee was crafting a message for his future team- one that created a sense of togetherness and a need to work together for student success.  “People ask why I want to leave Boise State,” he said at his candidate open forum. “The answer is, “I don’t. I don’t have job applications out everywhere. I have one. I see the potential here. I see the good I can do here.”  In the years prior to this transition, Idaho State had taken some hits, both internally and externally. Internally, the president and other top officials had faced votes of no confidence. The faculty senate had been disbanded, prompting a sanction by the American Association of University Professors. Externally, the University faced declining enrollment, exacerbated by a perception of mistreatment of international students. The previous president, Arthur Vailas, had left under less-than-ideal circumstances, and, before him, the previous pre...