University of Idaho President C. Scott Green will retire on June 30.

Green made the announcement during the president’s “state of the university” address Wednesday — an annual event that took a sudden and emotional turn.

Addressing the campus community at his alma mater, Green recounted success stories from his seven-year tenure, including advances in enrollment, research and athletics. He also reflected on the challenges of leading the U of I through a global pandemic and in the aftermath of the November 2022 off-campus murders of four students.

“We truly were at our best when the Vandal family and the Moscow community needed us,” said Green, fighting back tears.

“We love you, Scott,” one member of the audience said aloud, before the room rose in a standing ovation.

Green’s departure marks a transition at the state’s land-grant university, and sets the stage for another top-tier job search. The State Board of Education — which doubles as the U of I’s Board of Regents — recently filled the president’s vacancy at Boise State University, after a tumultuous and largely closed-door 16-month search.

‘We accomplished more than most thought possible’

A former U of I student body president, Green returned to Moscow in July 2019, leaving New York City and a top management position with Hogan Lovells, an international law firm.

Green said he came back, in part, to bring some stability to the president’s office — a revolving door at the helm of a university established before Idaho’s statehood. During Wednesday’s speech, Green noted that his tenure marks the longest of any U of I president since Richard Gibb.

Gibb was president while Green was a U of I undergrad.

Green graduated in 1984.

Green also discussed several milestones from his presidency.

By spring 2020, the U of I had covered $40 million in operating losses, a shortfall inherited by Green. Enrollment rebounded from a pandemic-era lull. Last fall, the U of I welcomed its second-largest freshman class in history. In 2025, the U of I received top-tier R1 research status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the first Idaho university to reach this threshold. Later that year, the U of I wrapped up a $500 million capital campaign.

“We accomplished more than most thought possible,” Green said.

On Wednesday, Green also revisited one of his signature initiatives, a failed bid to purchase the University of Phoenix, a massive for-profit online university with a national footprint and tarnished reputation.

The State Board gave the Phoenix deal the green light in 2023, after a series of closed-door discussions. The 2024 Legislature balked at the bid — with some lawmakers grumbling that they had been cut out of the process. The U of I and Phoenix broke off negotiations in June 2025.

Green said the purchase — with an overall price tag of $685 million — would have landed Idaho an asset that has since gone on the public market for $1.1 billion.

“History has already shown (this) was one of the greatest financial opportunities the state of Idaho will ever see,” Green said Wednesday.

‘He conquered that storm’

Green received plaudits Wednesday from top state leaders — including one of the state’s most prominent Vandal alums.

“Scott Green has served the University of Idaho with dedication, integrity, and a deep commitment to the Vandal family,” Gov. Brad Little said in a statement to EdNews. “As a fellow Idahoan and a proud Vandal, I appreciate his leadership through some of the university’s most challenging moments and his work to strengthen its future.”

State superintendent Debbie Critchfield said Green leaves big shoes to fill, but added that Green has put his successor in a better position to succeed. She praised Green for navigating the U of I’s budget crisis — after using his business experience to discover that the gulf was even deeper than the State Board had originally believed.

“It’s an understatement to say, ‘Wow, he really weathered the storm,’” Critchfield said in an EdNews interview. “He conquered that storm.”

Said State Board President Kurt Liebich: “President Green has served the University of Idaho with dedication, steady leadership, and a deep commitment to the students and communities it serves.”

Green’s departure puts the State Board in the spotlight. Details on the presidential search are “forthcoming,” State Board spokeswoman Marissa Morrison said Wednesday. In a news release, the U of I said the board hopes to choose a successor by spring.

If so, that would be much quicker and far less laborious than the State Board’s last search.

Marlene Tromp — who started as Boise State University president in July 2019, the same month as Green — announced her departure in March 2025. Tromp took the University of Vermont’s presidency that summer. Meanwhile, Boise State operated under interim and acting presidents during the slog of an on-again, off-again search. The State Board finally settled on University of Arizona engineering college dean David Hahn, hiring him on July 1.

For Critchfield, who has served two stints on the State Board, this will be her seventh presidential search. She believes a new 2026 state law will lead to a smoother process. Adopted during the Boise State search, the new law allows the State Board and the search committee to do almost all of their interviewing and vetting behind closed doors. The State Board is required only to announce one sole finalist — which it did in mid-June, 15 days before hiring Hahn.

“I think we’re in just an overall better place as far as the process,” Critchfield said. “(And with) what Scott has addressed and created at the university, it will be an attractive position across the country.”

The U of I presidency is one of the most prominent and highly paid positions in state government. Green made $479,192 per year — a figure slightly eclipsed by Hahn’s $480,000 salary.

And for Green, who spent much of Wednesday’s speech walking through the U of I’s new five-year strategic plan, the work will continue until June 30.

“In the next 10 months, I’ll pledge to you my full attention, dedication and commitment to this place that helps shape who I am, and will help mold who our students will be,” Green said.