e-news | Spring 2013

I am grateful for the financial and other support that many of you have offered our college. The Vandal family is remarkable indeed.

CLASS is central to many University of Idaho signature events. The recent 46th annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival attracted students from around the region and included clinics, workshops and performances that—as the Festival’s strategic plan states—educated, inspired and entertained. The James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research sponsored a symposium on federal fiscal issues that featured Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, retired Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson, Idaho Member of Congress Mike Simpson, and president of the non-profit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Maya MacGuineas. The program aired live on Idaho Public Television. You can view the symposium on the McClure Center website.

History Professor Ellen Kittell is co-chair for this year’s Borah Symposium. For sixty-five years, the symposium (named for iconic Idaho Senator and peace advocate William E. Borah) has brought students, faculty, staff, and the wider community together to discuss the causes of war and the conditions for peace. This year the theme is "Beyond the Battlefield: Sports, War, and Peace." The Martin Institute staff - Bill Smith, Ro Afatcheo, and Kelli Schrand - provide essential logistical support for the Borah Symposium.

The last week in February, we opened the sealed bids for the CLASS office renovation. The college staff should be “home” shortly following commencement!

Thanks in part to contributions to the College Excellence Fund, 37 Theatre Arts students competed in the Regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Once again, they recieved a variety of awards. Of special note is Millie Rose whose play Baby Bird was selected as a national semi-finalist for the John Cauble One Act Play Award. A complete list can be found on the Theatre Arts Department's website.

I am excited to announce that CLASS will join President Nellis and other colleges in hosting a New York City event on April 8. Two years in planning, emeritus professors of music Jay Mauchley and Sandy Mauchley will perform with dual pianos at the reception at Lincoln Center. If you are in New York City that date, we hope that you will join us.

We are all looking forward to the many spring award ceremonies and to commencement. The Idaho Repertory Theatre season will be underway before we know it.

I appreciate your continued support. Please feel free to contact me - I enjoy hearing from College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences alumni and friends. I encourage you to submit relevant updates and news to me at class-newsletter@uidaho.edu.

Best regards.