I am trying to gauge if you are holding these opinions because you actually teach at BYU-Idaho, or because you are a concerned outsider parent, or what. 

When I was a newly minted PhD, yes, I was "just hoping for a job." I also was looking for a job that had some longevity and growth. BYU-Idaho is a stepping stone to nowhere (besides a junior college). And I am certainly not the only new PhD who thinks that. I can point to many, many, many PhDs who were looking for more than just "a job." Unless BYU-Idaho can offer a research path for faculty, they are hedging in faculty to the point that they cannot move up the academic chain. If you are a new faculty who is tepid on doing research, academia is not for you. If you cannot exhibit a marked degree of success in research, most sectors of academia will not even look at you. Why did you even get a PhD? You should have just sped through an EdD and gone on to teach. 

If you have a PhD in French Literature, yes, BYU-Idaho might be a job you could look at. Your market is very niche. If you have a PhD in computer science or statistics, why would you ever take 60% market value pay to live in Rexburg and help struggling students through "college" algebra? That requires a large buy-in to the cause. And most people getting PhDs in STEM fields are actually NOT keen on teaching introductory courses for the rest of their career (while getting paid $65k a year). We can go out and teach at doctoral granting institutions. We can work at national labs. We can work in the private sector as researchers. And get paid market value to do so.

You speak of "mentoring students." That term is often used in a *research* setting. BYU-Idaho has next to no research. When an academic speaks of "mentoring" students, they are not speaking primarily about handing out free life advice to undergraduates. Sure, some people like speaking with students and "mentoring" them in school. But you can do that at essentially every university.