Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton will be honored Thursday, Nov. 3, as part of Southern Oregon University’s annual alumni awards ceremony.
Pemberton will receive the SOU Alumni Excellence in Education Award. This award recognizes an SOU alumnus who has distinguished themselves in the realm of teaching and/or leading at the primary, secondary or collegiate level. Pemberton has served as president at LC State since July 1, 2018, becoming the third female president in the history of Idaho’s four-year public institutions.
Pemberton earned her master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at Southern Oregon College (now university) with a focus on physical education, sports psychology and nutrition.
Originally from Medford, Oregon, Pemberton earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She received her doctorate in education leadership at Portland State University.
She began her higher education career in 1984 at the University of Nevada in Reno and also taught at Truckee Meadows Community College. In 1989, Pemberton moved back to Oregon serving as assistant athletic director, head women’s and men’s swim coach, faculty and later senior women’s administrator for athletics at Linfield College in McMinnville.
Pemberton held a number of positions from 1998-2012, including associate and interim dean of the graduate school at Idaho State University. She served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Dickinson State University from 2012-16, and then was vice president for academic affairs at Colorado Mesa University for two years before accepting the LC State position.
