The Friday Letter

March 28, 2014

Former Joint Chiefs Chair To Keynote At Borah Symposium

Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wlll give the keynote address at the Borah Symposium April 7-9.
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Vandals Honor Moms Next Weekend

The University of Idaho will celebrate 125 years of Vandal moms this year for the annual Moms’ Weekend April 4-6, events throughout the weekend.

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Halls Propel Golf Program

Jess Hall ’74 and his wife Kathleen’s gift will allow for the planning of an indoor golf hitting facility to move forward. “Smaller sports programs don’t generally get the attention of bigger programs, and we wanted to help this established sport at Idaho,” said Hall. “Kathleen and I like how this project will benefit both the men’s and women’s teams. Idaho needs the facility to be competitive with other golf programs in the northwest.” University of Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear has worked closely with the Halls on the project. “Because of the generosity of Jess and Kathleen, our golf programs will have the luxury to practice year round,” Spear said. The Halls know how to deal with adverse weather as they’ve been building homes in Alaska for the last 35 years through their business, Hall Quality Homes. Jess is a native of Moscow and was excited for the opportunity to make a difference. “We are grateful to the Halls for their generous gift,” said Lisa Johnson, head women’s golf coach. “Their contribution will greatly impact our recruiting and training and help build a successful future for Vandal Golf.” For more on giving to Vandal Athletics, contact Ryan Gerulf at (208) 364-4566 or ryang@uidaho.edu.

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Dear Friends,

This is my first Friday letter, and it comes at the end of my first week as the University of Idaho’s President. As I reflected on the subject of this letter, I realized that Interim President Don Burnett had once again given me a perfect segue in the subject of his final Friday letter: change. I’d like to thank Don again for all he has done, and I hope you will send him your own thanks here. Certainly this week has been an enormous change for me personally -- one I have awaited somewhat impatiently.

An important part of preparing to lead a national, public, land grant university has been coming to a deeper understanding of why such universities are so vital to their students, to their states and to the United States. Institutions like ours bring value by providing an irreplaceable means for positive development, particularly now that higher education is changing and being questioned.
 
Public higher education in the United States began when the Founding Fathers recognized that an effective democracy would need an educated elite to serve as leaders. Universities provided leaders for the new American society, but the role of universities evolved and broadened.

New Bill, New Opportunities

President Lincoln signed three bills in 1862 that opened opportunities for men and women regardless of their backgrounds while also offering a means to build the economy of growing states: the Railroad Act, the Homestead Act, and the Morrill Act. All played a part in Idaho's development and in the founding of the University of Idaho. 
 
Lincoln's words can encourage us at the University today, “The land-grant university system is being built on behalf of the people who have invested in these public institutions their hopes, their support and their confidence,” Land-grant universities met state needs with classes in “scientific and classical studies…agriculture and the mechanic arts…in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.” Land-grant universities educate students who contribute to their states and to the United States, economically and as engaged citizens.
 
One of the next great challenges to the United States began with World War II and continued through the Cold War, when our country recognized the role of universities in research that could enhance our security. Today, particularly after the recession of 2008, the United States looks to its public universities to provide the education essential for employment, to cultivate leaders, and to provide the research and research capacity to ensure global economic competitiveness.
 
Changing Higher Ed Environment

Curiously, even as the nation looks to its universities for help, public funding for universities has decreased. The value of degrees outside STEM disciplines -- even the value of a college degree is questioned, and new, untested ways of educating students, typified by the Massive Online Open Course excitement, create fanfare. Our challenge is to balance issues of resources and access, to make evident the value of a college degree, to ensure that our research and engagement have the greatest possible impact, and to distill from educational trends those advances that can benefit our students and our University.
 
I know that a leadership transition is a time of institutional anxiety. People at the University and throughout the state are looking at me, and looking to me, in ways that I had not imagined prior to assuming this role. Believe me, the anxiety is not all outside the president’s office. In fact, a close friend asked me about my greatest concern in taking this presidency. I told her that the complexity and difficulty are daunting; that it's difficult to see how to take advantage of all the opportunities that the University has to succeed.
 
Together We Succeed

But, over the past week, I have seen what should have been obvious as we spoke, that I am not alone. I’ve seen how much passion surrounds the University. I see faculty and staff contributing their extraordinary talents. I meet students who amaze me with their ability and energy. I meet supporters and friends who astound me with their interest and generosity. So, we can all be heartened that when we pull together, we will succeed.
 
I’m glad to be here to join in saying, “Go Vandals!”
 
Sincerely,

Chuck Staben
President

Here's the Latest News from the University of Idaho

See President Staben's Welcome Address here.

Researchers Show BPA Threat To Hearts. UI researchers reported Tuesday that fetal heart development in rhesus monkeys whose mothers were exposed to bisphenol A or BPA, a common plastics additive, showed genetic changes that may signal later heart problems. Gordon Murdoch, an associate professor of physiology in the animal and veterinary science department, led the study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Passport foundation. The results were reported recently in PLOS ONE, an open-access scientific journal. When the pregnant monkeys were fed fruit containing BPA, their blood and their fetuses’ blood showed increased levels of BPA, according to a simultaneous study by researcher Fred vom Saal at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Murdoch examined the same monkeys and found fetal genetic changes affecting heart health. “Our study was the first to show that BPA affects heart muscle development in primate fetuses,” Murdoch said. Read more.

Athletes Win In Three Sports; Some On To Championships. Women's basketball, swimming and indoor track teams as well as the men's indoor track team have recently finished strong. Some are now headed to conference or national championships.

Basketball

The Idaho Vandals women’s basketball team accomplished a feat that has not been met in 29 years with the defeat of Seattle University's Redhawks, 60-57, last Saturday, that secured  to win the Western Athletic Conference regular season title and claim its first 20-win season since 2003-04. The team will now travel to the WAC Championship games in Las Vegas March 12-15.

Swimming

The University of Idaho Swim and Dive team won three events and broke four school records March 1 to take second place in the Western Athletic Conference Championships. Sophomore Jamie Sterbis won the 200 fly today with a time of 1:56.77, a new school record. She's now headed to nationals. Kelly Gufford, first year coach for the Vandals, was named Diving Coach of the Year. Mairin Jameson earned the Diver of the Year award, and Rachel Millet earned the Swimmer of the Year award.

Indoor Track And Field

The University of Idaho men’s track and field team claimed the 2014 Indoor WAC track and field championship title in a dramatic meet that came down to one point. The Feb. 28 event saw the women's team take third in the conference.

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Ahrens Lend Support to Boise Law Program. Ed Ahrens ’71 and his wife Teri have generously pledged $125,000 to the College of Law in support of expanding the law program in Boise. The couple are long-time donors to the University of Idaho, having supported areas across the University for 28 years. The Ahrens’ recent gift will help complete the tenant specific renovations in the Idaho Law Learning and Justice Center in Boise, keeping the college on track for occupancy in fall 2015. In addition to financially supporting Idaho, Ed has served on the College of Law Advisory Board and is a former member of the University of Idaho’s Campaign for Idaho Committee. He is a partner at Ahrens DeAngeli Law Group which offers services in the areas of wealth planning and preservation, as well as, trust and estate law. The firm’s attorney roster includes a number of University of Idaho undergraduate and law alumni, including the firm’s other partner, Darin DeAngeli ’87. For more information on giving to the College of Law, contact Terri Muse, director of development, at (208) 364-4044 ortmuse@uidaho.edu.

Dear Friends,

The snows of winter bring a quiet, austere beauty to the Arboretum on our Moscow campus. A white blanket covers the clearings and the frozen ponds.  Deciduous trees from forests around the world stand silently in leafless clusters. Native evergreens and yellow tamaracks sway gently, adding color to a landscape of light and shadow.
 
Soon spring will come to the Arboretum. When it does, life will abound. Trees, shrubs, and flowers will burst forth in profusion. Geese, ducks, quail, and other wildlife will appear. As summer unfolds, the Arboretum’s walking paths will be filled with strolling visitors. In the fall, when every brilliant hue is on display, the Arboretum will be a destination for artists, photographers, and lovers. In the winter, the cycle will begin again.            
 
A Symbol Of The Extraordinary

At all times of the year, whenever I recruit prospective students and new members of our faculty or staff, I take them –- if time permits -- to the Arboretum. Invariably, they find it enchanting. I encourage them to think that a university able to create something this extraordinary is also capable of helping them rise above the ordinary in their own lives.
 
The Arboretum has not always been a place of enchantment, however. Until the 20^th century, it was a tract of dusty hills and cheat grass. The transformation was a work of visionaries. You may not recognize the name of the first visionary, C. L. Price, but you probably have heard of his boss: Charles Houston Shattuck. In 1909 Price and Shattuck began the forestry program at the University, and in 1910 they began planting trees in the grove now known as the Shattuck Arboretum -- the first arboretum west of the Mississippi River. Price also beautified the campus by creating the iconic, tree-lined “Hello Walk” as well as the community of trees gracing the Administration Building lawn.
 
In the late 1970s, the original arboretum vision was expanded to a 63-acre tract contiguous to the golf course -– an area we now call the “new” arboretum or, simply, “the Arboretum.” George Gagon, the University’s director of physical plant, gained President Ernest Hartung’s blessing to begin work on the site. By 1980, the University of Idaho Arboretum & Botanical Garden had emerged. The University recognized the educational value of the Arboretum by naming botany professor Richard Naskali, Ph.D., as the Arboretum’s coordinator and, ultimately, as the Arboretum’s director. Dr. Naskali, in conjunction with horticulturalists Jake Leppart and Paul Warnick, a group of supporters who formed the Arboretum Associates, and a host of civic groups and volunteers, turned the dusty hills into a verdant complex. Through Dr. Naskali’s leadership, the Arboretum earned a national ranking in the Morton Register of Arboreta. It became, and now is, part of the academic life of the University and a place of distinctive beauty on campus.
 
A Changing Season -- A New President

The story of the Arboretum illustrates how every generation works for the benefit of future generations. In the life of a university, there is a sequence of inter-generational giving and receiving, not unlike the sequence of seasons in the Arboretum itself. In leadership, there is a similar succession of seasons.  Tomorrow, on March 1, 2014, Dr. Chuck Staben, the 18^th President of the University of Idaho will take office. He is, as many alumni and friends already know –- and as others will soon discover -- a splendid choice. His abundant talent and collegiality will enable him to bring forth the best in our academic community.
 
For every arrival there is a departure, but I’ll not travel far. When I carry the last cardboard box out of the president’s office, I’ll drive my old Subaru down the hill from the Administration Building back to the College of Law, where teaching, scholarship, and service await me as a faculty member. Karen and I have been humbled and honored to serve the University in our interim capacity. The service has enabled me to repay a family debt to the institution that opened a gateway of opportunity for my parents during the Great Depression.
 
We have too many people to thank, but I want to acknowledge all of our unselfish administrative colleagues, faculty, and staff –- including Brett Morris, whose research and ideas have contributed to my joyful task of writing the “Friday Letters.” Thanks also to everyone who has taken time to read them.
 
Now, a wind is rising -- a sign of coming spring. Above the Arboretum’s tree-lined hills, clouds billow and change shapes as they sweep across the winter sky. If you look closely, you may catch a glimpse of a flagship.

Go Vandals!
 
Don Burnett
Interim President

Dear Friends,

In 1950, University of Idaho President Jesse Buchanan told students in an open letter, "Attending the University is important to both you and your country. The strength of our nation is based upon a continuing production of well-trained young men and women –- well-trained in all fields of knowledge vital to progress."

A university underwrites our country’s progress when it provides educational rigor –- that is, when it simultaneously challenges students and enables them to post records of achievement worthy of national recognition. One of our most notable alumni, the late U.S. Senator James McClure ’50, discovered first-hand the meaning of academic rigor at the University of Idaho. “I managed to be a good student in high school,” he later told a biographer (W. Smallwood, McClure of Idaho, 2007), “but I never really learned how to study.” He eventually surmounted that challenge, yet the University demanded more. In one semester he posted A’s in all of his courses with a single exception where a professor gave him a B -- not because his work had fallen short of A quality, but because the professor believed he had the ability to do even better.   
 
National Scholars

Senator McClure’s formative experience was what we might call “tough love” today. The teacher-scholars on the University of Idaho faculty genuinely want our students to excel, and the results are heartening. We produce a remarkable number of national scholars, especially those in the Goldwater, Udall, Fulbright, and Boren programs. Last year, for example, our University produced two of the prestigious Goldwater Scholars selected from a nationwide field of mathematics, science, and engineering students. We had one of only 50 Udall scholars chosen from a field of 488 finalists in the environmental track -– the most heavily contested of the Udall programmatic tracks. Within the past two years our University also has produced a Fulbright Scholar in both the student and faculty categories. 
 
Our Boren Scholar roster is even more replete with recent Vandals. This program, administered by the U.S. State Department, provides a small number of full-ride scholarships each year for American undergraduates to live and learn in areas of the world critical to interests of the United States. Recently, we have had UI Boren Scholars in China, Bangladesh, and Azerbaijan.

High Performers

In other categories of distinction, our College of Agriculture & Life Sciences has produced a winner of the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Mathematical Biology. Students at the College of Business & Economics have placed 5^th out of more than 1,600 competitors in the nationally recognized Business Plan Competition conducted at Rice University.  Members of the University of Idaho Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers swept the first three places in the Technical Research Exhibition held last fall in Los Angeles. Students in our interdisciplinary Martin Institute have won the top research award in the National Model United Nations Conference in 10 of the past 11 years. A student in our theatre arts program recently was selected as a national finalist for playwriting awards bestowed through the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and another student’s work was selected for inclusion in the National Festival. During this academic year, a UI Army ROTC cadet earned recognition as the second-highest rated cadet nationwide, chosen from a field of 5,478 students.
 
Licensure Exam Leaders

Further evidence of student achievement is revealed by the results of national licensure examinations. Graduates of the College of Law have a higher first-time pass rate on the Idaho Bar Exam -– a standard, uniform national examination –- than the average pass rate for first-time takers from other law schools. UI graduates had a first-time pass rate of 87% versus 81% for non-UI first-time takers on the summer 2012 uniform exam. In the summer of 2013, UI graduates again outscored non-UI takers with a first-time pass rate of 83% compared to 80% for first-time takers from other law schools. 
 
Last year graduates of our College of Art & Architecture posted an overall pass of 76% on the national architecture licensure exam, comparing favorably with such universities as Harvard (74%) and UCLA (70%). Especially impressive has been the success of our engineering students. Among those who have taken the national Fundamentals of Engineering Examination, the average pass rate in recent years has been 93% compared to a national average of 81%.
 
Want more evidence?  I’m just getting warmed up!  It is not possible, however, to present a full compendium of student achievements within the space limitations of a single “Friday Letter.” The accomplishments mentioned above are simply illustrations of the excellence of students who embrace rigor and strive mightily. We are proud of all such students. They give us confidence in our university’s enduring reputation, and in the strength of our beloved country.   
 
Go Vandals!
 
Don Burnett
Interim President

2014

January 10
January 17
January 24
January 31

February 7
February 21
February 28

March 7