Cynthia Pemberton, Colorado Mesa University’s vice president for academic affairs will be exiting her position this summer.

An exhaustive search for Lewis-Clark State College’s (LCSC) new president has found Pemberton to be the best candidate for the job.

Pemberton has been with CMU since July 2016.

“While I love CMU, and consider living in the Grand Valley nearly Nirvana in terms of the quality of life it affords, applying for the position of president was and is a leadership opportunity I could not pass up,” Pemberton said in an email while she was applying for the job.

Pemberton had been selected by the small Idaho college from a pool of 63 candidates. The Idaho State Board of Education approved Pemberton’s contract with an announcement Thursday afternoon.

She will be replacing outgoing LCSC President Tony Fernandez who is set to retire.

Lewis–Clark State College is a public undergraduate college with an annual enrollment of about 4,000 students.

“While we would hate to lose Dr. Pemberton and are hoping she stays, we totally understand why she is pursuing this particular position,” Foster said when Pemberton was in the interview process.

Pemberton officially starts at the college on July 1, 2018, with an annual salary of $225,000. She made $114,893 this fiscal year at CMU.

It is likely that CMU will begin the search process for Pemberton’s replacement in time for the fall 2018 semester.