March 27, 2013
Note: Archived materials may contain broken links.
Vandals make great achievements each day, and these feats shine brightly on our alma mater. Does a fellow Vandal come to mind? Help us honor them.
Give tribute to alumni and friends through the Alumni Association award and recognition program. Founded in 1962, this program recognizes outstanding alumni, friends and students through a number of awards that celebrate achievements in volunteerism, success, commitment to the University of Idaho and much more.
This spring, evening programs and award celebrations recognizing this year's honorees will be held in Moscow, Idaho Falls, Coeur d'Alene, and will include our Alumni Hall of Fame induction in Moscow.
We urge our alumni, faculty/staff and friends to nominate deserving candidates for future awards before August 1, 2013. Nomination forms can be downloaded online. The online awards brochure also is helpful in developing and submitting a thorough nomination. A complete nomination packet will detail the nominee's career, including letters of reference, and will cite accomplishments that meet the award criteria and guidelines.
Today's Vandal Vibe highlights upcoming alumni recognition festivities.
Steven C. Johnson ’71
Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Upcoming Events
March 30 – Alumni and Friends Easter Egg Hunt | 
April 4 – Latah County Silver and Gold Celebration |
April 5 – Vandal Friday
April 8 - Vandals in New York City |
April 9 – Boston Alumni Reception |
April 17 – UIRA Night at the Hartung Theater in Moscow |
April 18 – UIRA Spring Luncheon in Moscow |
April 19-21 – Moms' Weekend |
April 19 – Silver and Gold Football Scrimmage in Moscow |
April 23 – Eastern Idaho Silver and Gold Celebration in Idaho Falls |
View events near you on the complete Alumni Calendar.
Silver and Gold Day
Each year the University of Idaho Alumni Association celebrates the ceremonial month of its creation with several awards ceremonies across the state of Idaho. The first Silver and Gold Day was held in 1981. Celebrations over the years have included tree planting, ice cream socials and honoring distinguished alumni.
View a slideshow of historical photos from the first decade of Silver and Gold celebrations.
Latah County Silver and Gold Celebration
6-8 p.m. on April 4
Best Western Plus University Inn, 1516 Pullman Road in Moscow.
RSVP online
Cost is $20 per person and $10 for grads of the past decade. Registration deadline April 1.
Three individuals will be honored for their commitment to the association and U-Idaho:
Joy Irving ’64 who will receive the Jim Lyle Award, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in home economics. She became a board member in 2008 for the university’s Leila Old Historic Costume Collection. The educational apparel collection includes pieces dating back to the Civil War and is owned by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
She also created the Dwight and Melva Hoffman Engineering Excellence Endowment and has made gifts to the Niccolls Building renovation project and the George Irving Chemical Engineering Scholarship Endowment in honor of her husband.
Richard and Barbara Bull will be recognized as honorary alumni. The couple has served the university, community and state during their more than 40 years in Moscow. In 1967, Richard joined the university’s faculty as an assistant professor specializing in cattle nutrition for the department of animal and veterinary science.
For decades, Richard and Barbara have been active volunteers with Vandal Athletics, operating the scoreboard for basketball games and serving as football statisticians during home games.
Eastern Idaho Silver and Gold Celebration
6-8 p.m. on April 23
Best Western Plus University Inn, 1516 Pullman Road in Moscow.
RSVP online
Cost is $25 per person and $15 for grads of the past decade. Registration deadline April 17.
Two individuals will be honored for their commitment to the association and U-Idaho:
Bill Frederiksen '71 will receive the Jim Lyle Award for long-term dedication and service to the university and/or Alumni Association through volunteerism. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in 1971.
For 23 years, he played a pivotal role in the Steer-A-Year program to benefit the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Department of Athletics. Each year some 50 head of steer are donated to U-Idaho for hands-on animal science courses and other educational purposes including 4-H and FFA judging contests. Steers are sold when they reach market weight, and revenues are donated to animal science and athletics scholarships, as well as beef research.
Mike Carpenter will receive Honorary Alumni Recognition for providing faithful and distinguished service to the University of Idaho and its alumni.
Carpenter has been an energetic spokesperson for the Vandals of Idaho Falls. He has organized football game transportation as well as numerous watch parties. In 2012, Carpenter helped build the area’s first baseball game event and alumni golf tournament.
Hall of Fame Inductees
The University of Idaho Alumni Association will honor its 2013 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees May 9-11 during spring commencement in Moscow.
Matt Espe, ’80 of Lancaster, Penn., earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in the College of Business and Economics. He was appointed CEO in 2010 of Armstrong World Industries, Inc., in Lancaster, Penn. He oversees $2.6 billion in revenues and 8,500 employees worldwide. He has logged 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, distribution and management in global manufacturing businesses.
Before joining Armstrong nearly three years ago, he served as chairman and CEO of Ricoh Americas Corp., a subsidiary of Ricoh Co., Ltd. Prior to that, Espe was chairman and CEO of IKON Office Solutions, Inc., a $4 billion office equipment distributor and services provider with 24,000 employees.
John A. Rosholt, a Lewiston native, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at U-Idaho in 1959. After serving as a commissioned officer at a U.S. Army Missile Base, he returned to campus, where he earned his law degree in 1964.
He was admitted that same year to the Idaho State Bar Association. In the 27 years following he practiced with two law partnerships, serving as partner in one. In 2001, he became a founding partner in the Twin Falls and Boise firm of Barker Rosholt & Simpson LLP. His firm specializes in natural resources law, representing clients with interests in such activities as irrigation, hydropower and mining, while also representing and advising clients on land use, the fine points of a variety of environmental regulations and in settlement agreements with the region’s indigenous tribes.
From the Field to the Screen
State of Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame and University of Idaho Hall of Fame member Craig Juntunen is the executive producer of the critically acclaimed documentary STUCK. This award-winning documentary uncovers the real-life journeys children and parents face through the international adoption system. Juntunen said his experiences as a leader on the football field led to his development into an entrepreneur. Read more about his work.
Movers & Shakers
University of Idaho Library Head of Cataloging and Collections Ben Hunter (right photo, last on far right) has been named a Mover & Shaker in the library industry by the national publication, Library Journal. He has been working to transform the traditional U-Idaho tech services unit into a forward-looking department.
“Basically, I take a few million dollars’ worth of journals and databases from dozens of different publishers and distributors and guide a team of people to make sure that all those resources work together so that our users feel like they’re using a single, giant system,” he said.
Joe Knows … Awesome Moms
Show everyone how great your mom is by nominating her for Mom of the Year. The winning mom will be honored at the Moms’ Weekend 2013 brunch Saturday, April 20. View the complete Moms' Weekend schedule for April 19-21.