Here We Have
university of idaho magazine | summer 2009
President M. Duane Nellis
L i s t e n i n g a nd L e a d i n g
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idaho Here we have
university of idaho magazine | summer 2009
8 Of Time and the River University efforts in Cascade define our land-grant mission
Photo by Pam Benham. The optimism of Cascade residents is reflected in the book-reading gnome atop the city library sign.
Cover Story 16 The Nellis Era Has Begun
Departments
From the President Campus Quotes
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Campus News
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Quest
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Class Notes 25
Events Upcoming 37
Get to know Duane and Ruthie Nellis.
Features 14 A Life of Leading
Sen. James McClure receives the Legacy of Leading Award.
20 The Power to Lead
University engineers are now “plugged in� to a new research and learning power source.
22 Commencement 2009
Sports 34 Kibbie Overhaul
Work has begun on the ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center renovation project.
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On the Cover: President M. Duane Nellis
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From the President The University of Idaho Magazine
My wife, Ruthie, and I thank you for the many warm welcomes we have received as we enter the University of Idaho community.
Summer 2009 • Volume 26, Number 2 University President M. Duane Nellis
Vice President for Advancement Christopher D. Murray
Senior Director of Marketing Christopher S. Cooney
University of Idaho Alumni Director Steven C. Johnson ’71
Alumni Association President Wayne Wohler ’77
University of Idaho Foundation Chairman Frances T. Ellsworth ’83
Editor
Jeff Olson
Magazine Design Scott Riener
Class Notes Editor Annis Shea
Writers and Contributors Leah Andrews ’02 Hugh Cooke ’74, ’77, ’02 Cheryl Dudley Donna Emert Tony Evans Brandi Hayes ’08 Ken Kingery Joni Kirk ’98 Bill Loftus ’81 Becky Paull ’79 Tania Thompson
Photographs
Joe Pallen ’96 Kelly Weaver and as credited
www.uidaho.edu/herewehaveidaho
The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer and educational institution. © 2009, University of Idaho Here We Have Idaho magazine is published three times a year. The magazine is free to alumni and friends of the University. Send address changes to: P.O. Box 443147, Moscow, ID 83844-3147. Send editorial correspondence to: University Communications and Marketing, P.O. Box 443221, Moscow, ID 83844-3221; phone (208) 885-6291; fax (208) 885-5841; e-mail: uinews@uidaho.edu.
She and I are traveling around the state this month meeting with countless individuals who care about and understand the true value of the University to this state. We are so gratified by the openness and welcoming atmosphere – we feel like we are coming home – and appreciate the chance to listen to what everyone is sharing with us. I will take your comments and feedback under advisement as we move forward with the work before us. Let me take a moment to recognize and thank Interim President Steven Daley-Laursen for his tremendous work at the helm during the past year. As interim president, he guided this institution during a difficult time, yet his keen strategic decision making enabled the institution to steer a steady course and keep on track toward a vision of a transformed University of Idaho. There is much work ahead for me, Provost Baker, the executive team and the extended University community, but we embark on that with the strength and support of Dr. Daley-Laursen. I’ve mentioned that Ruthie and I chose Idaho. Many of the things that drew us to this great institution: leadership, scholarship, community engagement and momentum, are presented in this issue of Here We Have Idaho. It was a powerhouse end to the academic year! In this issue, read about some of the recent presentations from distinguished visitors to our university, including the Chief Justice of the United States and the former Prime Minister of Norway. Learn about the National Science Foundation’s $2.9 million grant to our distinctive Waters of the West program for a water resources project that connects University researchers with middle and high school students in rural northern Idaho and eastern Washington. Delve into service learning and community impact through the many ways that the University’s research and scholarship is transforming the community of Cascade, Idaho. Celebrate with us as we honor the life, commitment, work and outcomes one of Idaho’s very best citizens, Senator James A. McClure ’50, who was the inaugural recipient of the University’s Legacy of Leading Award. And learn about the corporate leadership of Boise-based POWER Engineers, whose $500,000 gift has established a state-of-the-art laboratory within the College of Engineering. Even in the midst of a world in economic crisis, the institutional maturity and strategic direction of Idaho’s flagship, research university stayed the course. I extend a heartfelt thanks to Vandals whose connections to and continuing support of the University help embolden us to strive toward our aspirational vision for a transformed University of the future. I am proud to become Silver and Gold and look forward to what we will accomplish in the months and years ahead.
Letters Policy
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We welcome letters to the editor. Correspondence should include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for purposes of clarity or space.
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M. Duane Nellis President
Quotes tes Campus
“It goes without saying that the college will continue to produce fine lawyers. But this College of Law realizes its full measure of greatness when the school and its graduates take advantage of the opportunities to do more, to contribute to the public good through public service and civic leadership. … I hope each of the law students who will graduate in this centennial year remember Lincoln’s example, not only as a lawyer, but also as an individual committed to public service and a higher cause.”
Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr., who reflected on this year’s bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birth at the March 13 College of Law Bellwood Lecture.
— Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr.
“These diseases that we can protect ourselves against – malaria, TB, HIV, diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections – are impacting people in the poorest countries where their economies don’t grow, where social unrest, unemployment and the threat of civil conflict force the stagnation of health and education systems, and climate change further exacerbates this situation. … A world where a billion people are deprived, insecure and vulnerable is an unsafe world.” — Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and former director-general of the World Health Organization, presenting the keynote address March 31 at the Borah Symposium, “Building Health, Building Peace.”
“Those who achieve the very most, those who change lives and those who make entire communities and societies better places for future generations do so by being driven to lead. Leadership will help you find success. It will open opportunities both unexpected and desired. But most important, the cultivation of leadership skills will help you forge an approach to life which builds consensus and commitment among those who come to
U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, from his 2009 Commencement address on the Moscow campus.
share your goals. So I am here today to urge you make pursuit of leadership skills a core goal as you live your life.”
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— U.S. Representative Walt Minnick
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News Campus
TODAY@IDAHO For more on these stories and for daily University of Idaho news, go to www.today.uidaho.edu.
Graduate student and College of Education Wright Fellow Salvatore Lorenzen was recognized by Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter for his exceptional efforts as a Post Falls High School science teacher. Lorenzen received the 2009 Governor’s Industry Award for Notable Teaching in Science (GIANTS).
Edward J. William II, an electrical engineering doctoral student from San Diego, Calif., received the 2009 Mike Shinn Distinguished Member of the Year at the 35th annual National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) convention. He received $7,500 and a flight with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. Rachel M. Bonas, computer science doctoral student originally from Trinidad and Tobago and the University’s NSBE chapter president, received a $3,000 Board of Corporate Affiliates Scholarship. The Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance has been granted a fiveyear renewal on its National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) accreditation. The University’s recreation program is the only NRPA accredited program in the state. Accreditation is granted to an institution or a program that meets or exceeds stated criteria of educational quality.
Engineering students designed a snowmobile with the best acceleration and fuel economy, and the best value in the International Clean Snowmobile Challenge, leading to a third place finish. “This program creates an environment where students and faculty can collaborate on design to create a low-emission and fuel-efficient snowmobile,” said the team’s faculty adviser Karen Den Braven, a mechanical engineering professor. “Year after year, the team takes top honors, and team graduates have been hired as engineers by the snowmobile industry.”
New this fall: By popular demand, University
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Housing will provide a micro fridge in all residence hall rooms. A micro fridge consists of a mini refrigerator with a microwave on the top. Students no longer will have to buy or rent the appliance.
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University of Idaho student collecting coffee grounds from the Common Grounds coffee shop.
The Best Part of Waking Up to Sustainability It’s called the Moscow Coffee Compost Project – and it’s grounded in a campus and community passion for, or maybe addiction to, coffee. This year, volunteers collected more than three tons of coffee grounds from 11 campus and Moscow coffee shops. They transported the grounds via bicycles and a bike trailer to various composting sites around Moscow. The project is funded by one of eight mini-grants awarded to students for efforts related to campus waste reduction, climate change and culture shift in support of sustainable initiatives. As the program expands, project members say they could easily collect about one ton of coffee grounds per week.
Building a New Approach to Learning The College of Art and Architecture is in the planning phase of a new Interdisciplinary Studio Complex that will include some 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor studios. It also will feature a construction yard, a technical shop and assembly yard, a town square for project review and gallery exhibits, and faculty offices.
Students will learn about trusses, wall systems and irrigation connections by actually building them. They will learn how to grade a project by hopping on a front end loader. They’ll understand the feasibility of their designs as they develop before their eyes.
Conceptual design of the College of Art and Architecture Interdisciplinary Studio Complex.
In addition, the complex will offer something different from the traditional classroom approach that is dedicated to just one discipline. Students and faculty will be able to focus on a problem and bring together all the disciplines needed to find answers. The complex will emphasize sustainability through passive daylighting and other energy-efficient concepts, as well as a series of open and enclosed gardens, green roofs and rainwater harvesting.
WoW! $2.94 Million Water Resources Education Grant The University has received a $2.94 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a water resources project that connects University researchers with middle and high school classrooms in rural northern Idaho and eastern Washington. The program is spearheaded by the University's Waters of the West (WoW) program.
The new interdisciplinary Studio Complex only will become a reality if private dollars can be raised to build the facility. S-H Architecture of Las Vegas, Nev., under the leadership of its vice president, Eric Roberts ’05, a member of the college’s advisory board, has provided funding for architectural design services. The remaining funds for the $3.5 million privately funded project are currently being raised. For more information, contact Bob Stout, development director, at (208) 885-0363, bstout@uidaho.edu.
The five-year project pairs graduatelevel research scientists with middle and high school science teachers to enhance education on water resources through new classroom activities, workshops and field projects. The program will reach about 3,000 middle and high school students. Ten science or engineering graduate students will receive $30,000 fellowships each academic year from the grant to help deliver classroom and field projects in water resources. summer 2009
“Few schools promote the opportunity to learn by building – to realize ideas in three dimensions,” said Mark Hoversten, dean of the college. “For that reason, we will intentionally leave much of the finish work incomplete. Our students will join with us to create their own work environment.”
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News Campus
Free Air for Bikers Bike riders are getting a break for their sustainable commuting efforts. A free air station has been installed at the University Steam Plant on Sixth Street to keep bike tires inflated. A second air station is scheduled for the Idaho Commons. The air station has hoses to service both Schrader and Prestas air valves. “Since 93 percent of students and 72 percent of faculty and staff live in Moscow with an easy median commute of 1.6 miles to campus, there’s real potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate crowded parking lots,” said Darin Saul, University of Idaho Sustainability Center director. In addition, every five bicycle miles, as opposed to vehicle miles, saves some 4.85 pounds of carbon dioxide and burns 235 calories.
$16.5 Million for Biomedical Research Under the research leadership of the University of Idaho, 10 Idaho higher-education and research institutions will share a $16.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue efforts to enhance the state’s biomedical research. The renewal grant to the Idaho Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) supports undergraduate, graduate and faculty research and other statewide efforts. The grant is the third major award for the network that was founded in 2001 and brings the total federal investment to $40 million.
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“This network has helped high school students gain a better understanding of science, and more than 500 college undergraduates gain laboratory experience,” said Carolyn Hovde Bohach, the network’s director and a University of Idaho microbiology professor.
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Idaho undergraduates pursuing science and healthrelated careers nearly doubled from about 1,600 in 2004 to more than 3,000 in 2008.
NASA astronaut Steven Swanson
Vandal Pride Goes Out of This World NASA astronaut Steven Swanson, a mission specialist on a recent Space Shuttle Discovery flight, packed a University of Idaho flag with him when he flew off into space. He carried the Vandal colors on behalf of his nephew, Greg Swanson, an electrical engineering graduate student at Idaho and a nominee for the NASA International Year of Astronomy Student Ambassador for the state of Idaho. Swanson also has a daughter who attended the University of Idaho in 2007-08. He will present the flag to the University this fall during the Sept. 19 San Diego State University at Idaho football game in the Kibbie Dome.
From Our Readers I read with great interest the cover story in your 2009 Winter issue about the University of Idaho’s College of Law. I noted that you mentioned the only two graduates, both women, in the Class of 1945. One of these women is my aunt, Catherine Dochios Vlachos, and the other, her friend Claire Drong. I thought you would enjoy seeing the photograph that was in Moscow’s June 5, 1945, Daily Idahonian, regarding their graduation. Gov. Charles C. Gossett came all the way from Boise to congratulate them and personally shake their hands. Catherine is on the right shaking the governor’s hand in the photograph. Kind regards, Elene Plastino Schumacher ’76 Rathdrum
Quest research news
Scientists recently demonstrated that a single divergent branch on the evolutionary tree can drastically alter an ecosystem in a relatively short time span. Using threespine stickleback fish – dubbed a “champion of evolution” – scientists proved evolution is a two-way street. “This phenomenon is called ecosystem engineering,” says Luke Harmon, professor of biological sciences. “It’s the way species can engineer their environment through the effects of what they eat and how they live.” What makes threespine stickleback scientifically relevant is their evolution into two distinct species, limnetic and benthic, within the past 10,000 years – a relatively short time period, biologically speaking. What makes stickleback so interesting is that they’ve evolved into the same two species multiple times in completely separate ecosystems. The traditional question is, “What characteristics of the lakes might have influenced this evolution?” But Harmon flipped the question on its head and asked, “What effect might evolution have on the ecosystem?” Harmon introduced the two recently evolved species of stickleback to large aquatic tanks designed to mimic lake ecosystems. Some were filled with limnetic sticklebacks, some with benthic sticklebacks, some with a mixture of the two species, and some with stickleback similar to the two species’ common ancestor. Despite their common ancestry, the stickleback species’ altered evolutionary histories caused major differences in how they engineer the light environment of their aquatic ecosystems. The tanks with the ancestor had more aquatic plants due to their feeding behavior. This caused the water to have smaller dissolved organic substances, making it more transparent. This subsequently caused even more differences, like the amount of chlorophyll in the water and the species of zooplankton present.
The next big thing in cancer treatment may be hotter, covered in more gold, and even be a better swimmer than recent Olympic champion Michael Phelps. Scientists at the University of Idaho are engineering multifunctional and dynamic nanowires coated in gold that swim through the bloodstream and attach to specific cancerous cells. Once there, an electromagnetic field heats the nanowires, which destroys the targeted cells. “Cancer is a dangerous enemy because radiation and chemical treatments cause a lot of side effects,” said Daniel Choi, associate professor of materials science and engineering. “We can’t avoid side effects 100 percent, but these nanowires will minimize the damage to healthy cells.” The technology involves many steps requiring a lot of continuing research, but each of the basic concepts have been already proven in laboratory tests. Choi and his team have already created nanowires that can “swim” to their targets and heat up when exposed to low frequency electromagnetic fields, which are not harmful to the human body. The next step is to make them biocompatible, meaning safe to introduce to the human body, and able to seek out specific cancer cells. Choi believes the gold plating will take care of the biocompatibility. If not, he has several polymers in mind that he also believes would work. As for seeking out specific cancer cells, Choi is also a member of and working with a University of Idaho group called BANTech – an interdisciplinary group that integrates nanomaterials research with cell biology and bioscience research. The group has identified several promising antibody candidates for coating the nanowires. This would enable the nanowires to seek out and attach to specific cancer cells.
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Evolutionary Engineering of an Ecosystem
Hot, Golden, Swimming Nanowires Zap Cancer
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Of Time and the River
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By Bill Loftus Photos by Pam Benham
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University Efforts in Cascade Define Our Land-Grant Mission
As for much of Cascade’s history, the river still carries the town’s dreams. Those dreams have changed as Cascade and Idaho have changed. The utilitarian development of Cascade Reservoir and its Bureau of Reclamation dam that impounded the North Fork morphed to include the popular Lake
Cascade State Park. Change swept away the Boise Cascade lumber mill, which provided good jobs when timber was king. People left when the mill went down. And others came to stay because of the river and recreation. Cascade also is a place that exemplifies the University of Idaho’s role as a promoter of leadership. Faculty, students and alumni all have buoyed Cascade’s citizen efforts to navigate a new course its residents have charted.
Landscape architecture graduates Doriena Hassett, Jesse Buster, Will Howard and Ben Blodgett hit a high note atop the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade with Professor Steve Drown in May before their presentation of a master plan for the riverfront park.
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To visit Cascade is to visit Small Town, Idaho. Main Street is Highway 55, the Long Valley’s principal artery. Well-kept commercial buildings flank the sidewalks. Most of the homes occupy the hillside above the street to gain a better view of the Payette River’s North Fork below.
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Of Time and the River
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University Outreach
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Three years ago, University of Idaho Extension won support from the Northwest Area Foundation to offer community leadership training in Cascade and 30 other small towns stretching north to Bonners Ferry. Built on James J. Hill’s railroad fortune, the foundation works to reduce poverty and promote prosperity in states once served by the Great Northern Railway.
students in their education, and the students gave us some tremendous opportunities to think about things in a different way.”
Cascade Mayor Dick Carter, an early skeptic of the Horizons initiative, celebrates its effectiveness. Although the program formally concluded in 2008, Carter credits University of Idaho Extension with helping the community adapt.
Jividen invested his time and efforts in a number of ways. He supervised the planting of trees to screen airport parking from the highway and traveled to Moscow’s campus in December to provide community feedback and thank students for their work.
“People’s attitudes changed,” Carter said. “People saw that they could be involved. They got excited and started doing all sorts of things. Then the students started working on park ideas. People felt good about helping the
The Horizons effort helped the community to focus its efforts. The students helped Cascade visualize the possibilities for the riverfront property. Working through the academic year, landscape architecture, architecture,
Dwight Jividen saw Horizons and the University’s help much as Carter did. It provided a way for Cascade to prepare itself for change and to shape change for the community’s benefit.
The community’s desire for the park, which began to sprout before the University’s formal involvement, blossomed in early spring. Enthusiasm and hard work by community members yielded a $500,000 commitment to the “Friends of the Cascade Whitewater Park” from Mark and Kristina Pickard of Miami, who own a home at nearby Tamarack. Their pledge will help to fund the park’s crown jewel, Kelly's Whitewater Park, named in honor of Kristina’s late sister, Kelly Brennan.“We could not have done what we’ve been able to accomplish without the University’s support. We didn’t agree with all of the ideas the students came up with, but they were all helpful as we thought about the future,” Jividen said. University of Idaho Extension sparked the process through economist Priscilla Salant’s efforts to win the Northwest Area Foundation’s support. “The Horizons program provides a rare opportunity for small towns to identify a common vision for achieving prosperity that includes all parts of the community. One of the program's strengths is it gives communities time to work through tough issues,” Salant said. The Cascade effort reaches across the University and deep into its land-grant mission to support public education. As a grassroots organization, Extension’s priorities are set by the state’s people, said Charlotte Eberlein, extension director, and community development ranks high as a priority for Idahoans. “They want to be able to continue to live in their rural communities and they want to see their communities thrive and prosper.” Increasingly, as in the case of Cascade, it means finding expertise throughout the University to help communities achieve their goals.
Faculty Expertise and the Student Experience Two days after the University’s spring commencement in Moscow, four new landscape architecture graduates traveled to Cascade with Professor Stephen Drown to present a plan for community development that was a joint fulfillment of their senior thesis requirement. The project provided a capstone to their education. Drown’s role reflected a new partnership between the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, which includes Extension, and the College of Art and Architecture. Extension faculty and staff live in communities throughout the state to offer research-based solutions to issues ranging from agriculture to community development. In a novel partnership, Drown, professor and chair of landscape architecture, joined the University’s academic mission to educate students with extension’s sustained mission to aid communities like Cascade. The focus was a master plan that tasked students to interpret Cascade’s desires for a 2-1/2 mile riverfront park to expand recreational activities and boost economic development. “We built the consensus of things we feel represent the interests of the community and a little bit more,” Drown said. That little bit more reflects the students’ professional view they hope will stretch the community’s own vision. “As you look to the future perhaps this park can develop in this fashion. This is also a park that is not just about the river, it is about the city,” Drown said. The College of Art and Architecture has had a tradition of taking students into communities to tackle projects. “This project was different because of its scale and the community’s commitment. The Cascade project really gave students the chance to work closely with community members,” Drown said.
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bioregional planning and community design students learned, listened and produced research documents, drawings and plans based on Cascade’s dreams and the character of the region.
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Of Time and the River emphasized its green infrastructure, the intent to keep Cascade’s best features intact for the future while allowing the community to grow. Their ideas included a world-class skateboard park and horse-riding facilities that could help the community become a recreational destination for families. They also explored the feasibility of using biomachines to replace the community’s existing wastewater treatment and repurpose the former mill site to become a biologically-based energy producer.
Cascade riverfront park supporter Dwight Jividen, center, hears from students, from left, Doriena Hassett, Ben Blodgett and Will Howard during their master plan presentation in May.
For Jesse Buster, the presentation to a crowd of some 70 community members marked his year-long commitment to Cascade. He started gathering information the previous summer as an intern funded by University of Idaho Extension. Buster’s reconnaissance focused on the community’s goals and the physical characteristics of the 2-1/2 miles of property between Cascade and the river. His summer’s work provided the foundation for nearly 80 architecture and landscape architecture students taking classes on campus during the fall and spring semesters. “My job was to do research on what could become a regional park and what were the needs of the community,” Buster said. “As a student, when you really integrate with the community it’s a very practical experience.”
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The other new graduates, Ben Blodgett, Doriena Hassett and Will Howard, addressed individual elements of the master plan. They
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The exercise will help prepare him for a future career, Buster said. “When you’re working with people in a community, there’s a bigger vision needed than you might use for a classroom exercise,” he added. “We learned by working directly with a real community, because you get real comments back about your ideas. That was really valuable.”
Alumni Leaders One portion of the park, Fischer Pond at the property’s southern flank, has scientific potential to fulfill Cascade’s dreams. This is where Cascade High science teacher Clinton Kennedy, a 1989 College of Education graduate, gives his students the opportunity to change the world. And they have. An aquatic observatory of concrete and stone provides views into the life of a stream. The nearby pond, a popular fishing destination, provides another laboratory for community and environment where Kennedy and his students practice science. “I had a science teacher from another school come to Cascade to see what we were doing. He got really excited because our students had a lot of freedom to do all kinds of things. They were excited about learning,” Kennedy said.
A model of interdisciplinary education, albeit one who also demonstrates life’s twists and turns, Kennedy began his studies at the University in zoology, botany and biology. A break from college and the birth of twins led him to a career in logging. Another shift took him back to Moscow two decades later to complete his secondary education degree with an emphasis in science. Ten years ago, he won a Presidential Award for Excellence in teaching secondary science and reveled in the opportunities that teaching in a small school can provide. Flip forward another 10 years. From a love of science and his community, Kennedy’s work this year won him the College of Education’s Tom O. Bell Prize for Idaho’s Outstanding Teacher. There’s more, too.
really started in the Valley County Extension Office. Community development means developing and working with leaders and giving them tools to help their communities." Horizons gave Cascade the chance to put its own ideas to work. The University expanded its efforts to help out, stretching beyond our faculty and staff to help transform students' educational opportunities. Steve Drown helped put the talents of our students to work on a project the community made a priority. "At each stage, every party benefited," Hammel added. "As a major part of our land-grant mission, the biggest victory was helping Idaho and Cascade prepare for the future."
In April, he took students in Cascade’s advanced biology class to Orlando, Fla., to celebrate their winning a Seaworld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Award sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. Their project, a biocoil, relies on low-tech biology in a PVC tube to remove excess nutrients from local streams and improve Cascade Reservoir’s water quality. Kennedy also picked up his own award at Orlando, this one given by the National Science Teachers Association: Outstanding Environmental Educator. “I love the University of Idaho. My mother went there, I went there and my kids went there. And I’m glad the University is involved in Cascade,” Kennedy said.
That focus on leadership is fundamental to Extension and its presence statewide, said John Hammel, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences dean, adding, "Our role in Cascade
Clinton Kennedy '89
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Kennedy's education at the University of Idaho helped him transform a love of science and community into a role that is typical of the University's legacy of leadership.
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Sen. James McClure
A Life of Leadership Sen. James McClure makes a point during a press conference. McClure represented Idaho in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 1990. MG 400-6817-19261-2, University of Idaho Special Collections and Archives
When future history books are written about Idaho, Senator James A. McClure ’50 will be regarded as one of the state’s great public officials and very best citizens. The University of Idaho is proud to count him and his wife, Louise ’50, among its most treasured alumni.
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In April, the University honored Sen. McClure with the inaugural Legacy of Leading Award. The award was established to honor Idaho alumni who exemplify the University’s leadership qualities and who have contributed to its 120-year history of producing leaders, thinkers and global citizens.
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“Senator McClure has been a model servant of the people of his state and the nation through his exemplary career of leadership,” said President Steven Daley-Laursen at the award ceremony. “His tireless work for the
people of Idaho and for his alma mater has inspired many people to follow in his footsteps of civic engagement, action and service.” More than 500 of his friends and associates attended the award ceremony, a testament to the respect and affection McClure has earned during life as a public official. “I feel a little awkward accepting an award sitting down,” joked McClure, who suffered a stroke last December. “The University of Idaho is very near and dear to my heart. … Thank you to the University of Idaho for this distinctive honor and this tremendous gathering tonight.” The McClure political biography is impressive enough: Payette County prosecuting attorney, Idaho state senator, three-term member of Congress representing the First District of Idaho, and three times elected to the United States Senate. Notable accomplishments of his U.S. Senate tenure include leadership in the creation of the federal Department of Energy and his bipartisan work with then Governor Cecil Andrus to create the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. McClure served on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he also chaired from 198187, and the Helsinki Commission on Human Rights. In 1987, he served on the Senate Select Committee to investigate the Iran-Contra Affair.
Both Jim and Louise graduated from the University in 1950: Jim with a law degree and Louise with a bachelor’s degree in music, and they both sang in the Vandaleers. Jim also received an honorary degree from the University in 1981. Their dedication to the University always has been significant, and they are recipients of a number of University awards, including being honored as grand marshals of the 2007 Homecoming parade. In 2001, they established the James and Louise McClure Endowment for the Sciences and Public Policy. Jim and Louise McClure are, by any measure, among the best citizens of Idaho. Their passion for service recalls a comment by President John Quincy Adams who said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Creating the Award Sculptor Melissa Bixby, a master’s of fine arts student from Soldotna, Alaska, created the Legacy of Leading Award. The design incorporates turrets from the Administration Building, a casting of the brick exterior of Phinney Hall, the glass panels of the Library and the Administration Building Melissa Bixby and clock. The wooden base is Louise McClure from another notable campus landmark, the Camperdown elms that line Campus Drive leading to the Administration Building. “I feel really honored that I was able to create an award that is going to be given to someone who personifies the Legacy of Leading,” said Bixby.
Arriving at Insight: McClure Center for Public Policy Research Public policy makers deal with complex issues. The decisions they make have significant and lasting cultural, environmental and economic impact. The McClure Center for Public Policy Research was established to provide policy makers access to unbiased information that will inform their decisions, provide scholarly insight, and ultimately allow them to formulate sound, lasting solutions. The McClure Center is housed in the University’s College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences and draws on expertise from across disciplines, including the scholarship of Idaho’s leading researchers in agricultural and life sciences, natural resources and law. The Center currently is focused on providing forums for public and scholarly discussion of the issues that shape us as a state, as a nation and as players on the global stage. The McClure Lectures on Science and Public Policy bring national and international experts to the University of Idaho campus to explore the intersection of scientific study and public policy. Recent speakers include: Dr. Susan Wood, on health and reproductive issues; Admiral (Ret.) John J. Grossenbacher, who focused on the development of nuclear energy; and Jerome Ringo, who discussed the possibilities for a clean energy revolution. In addition, on-campus panels sponsored by the Center have provided public forums that allow citizens to actively participate in national dialogue on the seminal issues of the day. In recent years, the McClure Center has hosted panels focusing on American foreign policy in the Middle East, Supreme Court appointments, gay marriage and the presidential primaries. The University of Idaho has recently undertaken a campaign to raise $3 million to endow and ensure the future of the McClure Center. The monies will allow the Center to provide nonpartisan public policy research and polling for Idaho and the West, to increase public dialogue, to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and to enhance civic education.
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Through hard work, study and desire, he became an expert on natural resource and energy issues. From 1981 to 1987, when he chaired the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, he was widely regarded as the preeminent expert in Congress regarding national and international energy issues. Republicans and Democrats alike took notice – and action – when the senior senator from Idaho spoke on the connections between energy and national security and the need for smart policy about nuclear energy and controlling nuclear weapons.
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The Nellis Era Has Begun
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By Jeff Olson
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Get to Know Duane and Ruthie Nellis
With those words, Mike Rush, executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education captured the mood in the standing-room-only Administration Auditorium on April 22. Moments later, the continuum of leadership advanced with State Board of Education President Paul Agidius’ introduction of M. Duane Nellis as the 17th president of the University of Idaho to a standing ovation. “What a wonderful Vandal family welcome to Ruthie and me,” said Nellis. “We are just so pleased to be here at the University of Idaho. It is a great honor to accept the presidency of this wonderful land-grant institution.”
traditional curriculum of liberal arts and sciences. When the University of Idaho was established in 1889 as the state’s first university, it was designated the state’s landgrant institution. That led to the creation of a statewide Agricultural Extension Service and growing support for agricultural research to help Idaho farmers and ranchers and their families. The Extension Forestry program followed, with a mission to provide similar assistance to forest owners, loggers and professional foresters in the state. Today, outreach programs are offered statewide in a multidisciplinary approach in order to enhance the economic development and improve the quality of life of the citizens of Idaho. “A land-grant, to me, really is the people’s university,” said Nellis. “We are part of the fabric of this state.”
A Passion for Land-Grants
Kind of a Workaholic
As Duane Nellis assumes the presidency of the University of Idaho – his official start date was July 1 – he’s devoting important time to getting to know the people throughout the state and letting them get to know him. A statewide “Listening Tour” began in early July.
Nellis comes to Idaho from Kansas State University, where he served as provost and senior vice president since June 2004. Prior to that appointment, he was dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University for seven years.
But while the newness of his presidency is at the forefront, Nellis’ understanding of what the University of Idaho is all about is grounded in experience – land-grant experience.
His first academic appointment was at Kansas State in the Department of Geography, and his research in the utilization of satellite data and geographic information systems to analyze various dimensions of the earth’s land surface was supported by more than $3 million in funding from sources such as NASA, the National Geographic Society, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
He earned all his degrees at land-grant institutions – a bachelor’s in earth sciences/geography at Montana State University and master’s and doctoral degrees in geography at Oregon State University. His 29-year teaching and administrative career in higher education also has been exclusively at land-grant universities, Kansas State University and West Virginia University. “We enjoy visiting larger cities and experiencing the city, but we really like the smaller, university-oriented community like a Moscow, like a Manhattan, Kan., and like a Corvallis, Ore.,” said Nellis. “All these communities revolve around land-grant universities, and there’s a special place in my heart for the role that land-grants play in the United States.” Just what is that role? Land-grant colleges were created by Congress in 1862 to promote agriculture and mechanical arts into the then-
But his skills as an administrator were identified early in his career. “I became a department head at 32,” said Nellis. “That began to define my dual career as a faculty person and as an administrator. Then, I became an associate dean, and was appointed a dean when I was 42 years old.” During his introductory remarks to the University, Nellis provided a hint at the reason behind his success when he commented that he was “kind of a workaholic.” Later, his wife, Ruthie, commented, “I think you can drop the ‘kind of.’” Nellis added some clarification to his comment.
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“[There are,] in the life of every great institution, a few signature moments and, certainly, the selection of a new president counts as one of those.”
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Get to Know Duane and Ruthie Nellis “I think it’s because I feel so passionate about what I do. I said workaholic, but to me, being involved with a university like the University of Idaho is more than my job because I love what I do,” he explained. “It’s a privilege for me to have these sorts of opportunities to work with talented faculty members, bright students, excellent staff, and outstanding alumni and friends of the University. It’s so stimulating and something I look forward to every day.” President Nellis takes on his leadership role at the University at a time when economic realities require a strong set of leadership skills. The University has developed a budget for fiscal year 2010 that reflects an $11.7 million reduction in general education appropriations from the state. That was accomplished through a number of actions that included the elimination of 41 vacant positions as well as the non-renewal of 21 personnel, and a 6.5 percent increase in the full-time undergraduate student fee. In addition, 35 degree programs were closed, consolidated or transformed.
she served as the project manager overseeing construction and development of a new university library at West Virginia University. She also was interim director of the West Virginia University Health Sciences Library and worked on Kansas State University’s national commercialization initiative as director of Knowledge Resources. The Nellises have two sons who are students at West Virginia University. One is a graduate student in geology, and the other is an undergraduate student in geography. “We were at West Virginia University for seven years and they made links there, received significant scholarship offers to go to WVU and decided to stay,” said Duane Nellis. “But they are excited that we’re coming to the Northwest.” The University’s new First Lady says she initially sees her role as supporting the president, with a priority of getting settled in the president’s home and ensuring that it is ready to serve as an important place for University events.
“There’s been an excellent job done by the current leadership provided by Steven Daley-Laursen, Doug Baker and others. I want to be able to build on that in the sense of setting priorities for the institution and recognizing that just like other land-grants, we cannot be all things to all people.” Nellis said. “We have to set priorities. In the first six months or so I’ll need to learn as much as I can about institutional priorities – where the premiere programs are, where the key investments are, and help stabilize the budget situation.”
“I am also very interested in the marketing of the University,” she said. “People throughout the state often aren’t aware of the tremendous resources they have at a major land-grant university like the University of Idaho, and how to get to them. That’s an area I hope to promote strongly.”
The Nellis Family
“Alumni can be our strongest advocates, not only in the state but in the nation,” said Nellis.
Nellis is returning to his Northwest roots. He was born in Spokane, Wash., and grew up in northwestern Montana. He and Ruthie met as undergraduates at Montana State.
The more than 90,000 Vandal alumni around the world also create an important network.
A Message to Alumni What does President Nellis see as the role of alumni?
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“As our alumni have success in their careers, many times the “Duane and I both have a geography/geology background,” corporations and businesses at which said Ruthie Nellis. “My undergraduate degree is in earth they work become special partners Contact President Nellis at sciences with a focus in geography, with the University to provide career president@uidaho.edu or visit the and of course, Duane’s is in earth pathways for our students and also President’s Web page at sciences/geography. I also have create special relationships with our www.uidaho.edu/president. Stay a graduate degree in library and faculty. And, of course, if we are going to connected through the weekly information management." be the type of University I envision, we President’s Friday Letter; subscribe need their financial support. That’s going Her career has centered on library to it at uinews@uidaho.edu. to be crucial as we move forward.” and information management, and
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I AM MORE THAN A
PROUD SUPPORTER OF MY UNIVERSITY
I AM FULLY INVESTED IN EVERYTHING I DO. As President of the Vandal Scholarship Fund and as a partner with Idaho’s largest independent insurance agency, I will never ask anyone to work harder than I do. Whether I’m helping a business with an employee benefits package or working to provide scholarships for our athletes, I want people in the trenches with me. The University taught me that success is the result of creating genuine relationships. So when I meet a fellow Vandal at a function or in a boardroom, it’s like the personal relationship is already in place. It makes doing business in Idaho easy, and that is the most valuable sales tool imaginable.
I AM DEBBIE HETHERINGTON. I AM THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO.
By Leah Andrews
The POWER to Lead University engineers are now “plugged in” to a new research and learning power source.
Engineering students at the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus now have the chance to work with real-time power systems, thanks to a distinctive partnership with and a generous donation from POWER Engineers, a leading consulting firm based in Idaho. The $500,000 gift from POWER established a state-of-theart laboratory with a Real Time Digital Simulator, as well as external voltage and current amplifiers to be used to interface the simulator with actual protection and control devices. What’s the big deal about power?
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Simple. Our future.
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With massive transmission towers, multiple substations and millions of miles of power lines, the nation’s electrical power grid provides essential electric power to all of us. POWER Engineers is an international firm based in Hailey that specializes in energy projects and efforts to improve the country’s aging power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. They see the University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department as a great partner in working for a bright future, and training the next generation of power systems engineers.
electrical engineering department since its inception and has a strong reputation as a power program throughout the region.” The need for advancing the educational environment of power engineering programs is becoming increasingly urgent as the nation is experiencing a shortage of power engineers. Demand for engineers who work on the generation, distribution and transmission of electrical power is expected to grow from 150,000 positions to 175,000 in 2010, according to a report commissioned by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology.
“The University of Idaho is one of our top schools “The gift from POWER “The University of Idaho is one of our in terms of employee Engineers advances the recruitment,” said top schools in terms of employee college’s commitment Bill Eisinger, POWER recruitment. This donation allows us to programs that foster Engineers transmission to continue a strong relationship with research excellence,” and distribution the University of Idaho, encourage said Don Blackketter, vice president and a advancement of future engineers and dean of the College of University of Idaho Engineering. “Through provide a state-of-the-art laboratory alumnus. “This donation varied programs at allows us to continue a that can be found at only a handful of all levels, the college strong relationship with universities in the U.S.” is creating a pipeline the University of Idaho, Bill Eisinger ’75, POWER Engineers of engineering and encourage advancement vice president of future engineers and technology experts, provide a state-of-thebeginning in the art laboratory that can state’s middle schools be found at only a handful of universities in and extending beyond graduate studies. the U.S.” We are tremendously appreciative of this
“This will give us capabilities that very few schools anywhere have. Coupled with the proximity of experts in the field – like POWER Engineers – who can give input and feedback, this provides a significant advantage for our students,” Johnson said. “The power engineering program at the University of Idaho has been part of the
generous commitment and look forward to continuing our friendship with exceptional alumni like Bill Eisinger and industry leaders like POWER Engineers.” POWER Engineers also will provide an annual payment of $10,000 for operation and maintenance of the new facility. The simulator is connected directly to power system control and protection equipment that will allow for more thorough testing and training in realistic conditions. For more information about the University of Idaho's engineering programs that have been producing a legacy of leaders for more than 100 years, visit www.engr.uidaho.edu. summer 2009
The donation “will bring some of the best technology in the industry into our labs and helps the department continue to provide one of the largest and most extensive power engineering programs, in terms of courses offered, in the United States,” said Brian Johnson, power engineering professor and chair of electrical engineering.
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Commencement 2009 Stepping from students to alumni The University of Idaho celebrated its 114th commencement in May with great pomp and circumstance. Ceremonies were held in Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls and Moscow. Nearly 1,550 students were eligible to receive their degrees. Two programs – the executive master’s of business administration and interdisciplinary master’s in bioregional planning and community design – produced their first graduates. For some in the Class of 2009, current economic conditions make job prospects challenging. “This is probably the most challenging job market that our graduates have seen in years,” said Suzi Billington, director of the University Career Center. “We saw 76 percent fewer employers recruiting at our spring career fair and there were 44 percent fewer employers interviewing at the University this year. There are simply more people competing for fewer jobs.” The Career Center provides free, lifetime services to all University of Idaho alumni. They can help you with job-hunting basics, or you can view an exclusive job database at Vandal Career Connections at www.capp.uidaho.edu. For more information, call (208) 885-6121.
President’s Medallion recipients: Dorothy “Dottie” Stimpson, chairman of the Idaho Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism and founder of the City Club of Boise; The late John “Jack” Xavier Combo, former deputy manager and acting director of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; and Marilyn Howard ’60, ’65, teacher, principal and former Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction.
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This award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the cultural, economic, scientific and/or social advancement of Idaho and its people.
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Honorary Degrees
For those deserving honor by virtue of scholarly distinction, noteworthy public service or significant contributions to the state of Idaho.
The Politics of Peace
Honorary Degree recipient John S. Chapman ’58 By Tony Evans In 1906, Lafayette Russell Parsons came from Detroit, Mich., to Weippe to manage the Mussel Shell Mining Company. He had seven children and settled his family in Moscow to ensure they would all receive a university education. When the Mussel Shell ceased operations, Parsons taught chemistry at the University of Idaho and later became the comptroller. Parsons also twice served as university president.
The Martins became surrogate parents for Chapman, who never lost touch with them during his busy career as an attorney. Over the next 50 years, Chapman found time to serve on numerous civic and political organizations in support of the arts, health care, education and international development. But the politics of peace remain a central interest to Chapman and he has endowed a chair for Peace Studies at The Martin Institute at the University of Idaho. In doing so, he has ensured that the conversations that began so long ago at the Martin home continue for future generations of students and teachers. Four generations of the Parsons family have attended the University of Idaho, and they represent nearly a century-long legacy of learning, and of giving back. “We are at a serious point in history,” said Chapman recently at his Cloverly Ranch near Hailey. “We have lost many friends internationally. The terrorist problem puts us in a precarious situation. It is my hope that this fulltime professorship at the Martin School of International Studies will serve to promote peace and avoid conflict among nations.” In 1964, after graduating from Stanford University Law School, Chapman was asked by Idaho Senator Frank Church to lead a delegation to Ecuador as part of President John F. Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress program. The team
went to Pelileo, a town that had been destroyed by an earthquake. “Our goal was to improve our relations with South America,” said Chapman, who asked his friend and mentor Boyd Martin and his wife, Grace, to come along. Together they helped to create the Idaho Partners of the Americas, and raised more than $100,000 to rebuild the infrastructure of Pelileo. In 1966, they returned to Pelileo, and a hero’s welcome, when they were carried on the shoulders of the residents of the town during a fiesta held in their honor. In 1978, Chapman teamed up with Boyd Martin once more to begin negotiations with the Idaho State Board of Education to establish the Martin Institute. For 20 years, Chapman served as chairman of the Institute’s advisory board, and is currently a board member and CEO emeritus at the Martin Institute. As a civic leader in Boise, Chapman was instrumental in creating the Boise River Greenbelt. While serving as chairman of the Idaho Commission for the Arts, he noticed that the state was spending only the bare minimum on the arts in Idaho. He worked to establish “Arts for Idaho,” a lobbying group that brought the rank in per capita arts spending in the state from dead last to 26th in the nation in three years time. For 10 years, Chapman was a member of the Democratic National Committee and represented the 15 western states on the DNC Executive Committee alongside then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and Nancy Pelosi.
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Fifty years later, Lafayette Parsons’ grandson, John Sherwood Chapman ’58, began studies in political science at the University of Idaho. Chapman would sometimes join friends for coffee and intellectual conversation at the home of Professor Boyd A. Martin and his wife, Grace. The hosts often talked with the students about politics and about the prospects for world peace.
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While at the University of Idaho, Chapman was president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and founded the annual fraternity Turtle Race as a way to help settle an internal conflict at the fraternity. “I was a Phi Delt, but I had two uncles and a first cousin who were Betas,” said Chapman. “This, of course, required some skills at conflict resolution early on.” As an attorney, he served on the Idaho State Bar Association Board of Examiners and is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. “My family had seven attorneys who were members of the Idaho Bar Association. I had no choice but to join,” joked
Gordon F. Law, Idaho public broadcasting and instructional television pioneer. Gordon Law came to the University of Idaho in 1962 to head the Department of Communication. His mission was to create a viable academic program in radio and television broadcasting and to address growing student interest in this field. Law advocated a practical, hands-on approach that allowed students to gain reallife experience. A year later, in December 1963, KUID-FM went on the air. It was the first educational FM radio station in Idaho. “They [the students] went wild. KUOI had been the backbone of the department, but it could only handle so many kids in a day. All of a sudden, we had an FM station that signed on at 6 a.m. and signed off at midnight. Kids were lining up for the experience.”
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In 1965, Law received a federal grant for the construction of a television station and transmitter, and soon after, Idaho’s first public television station, KUID-TV, began broadcasting. Today, it has evolved into the statewide Idaho Public Broadcasting system.
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Chapman, who says he was raised with both the Republican and Democratic political points of view. Perhaps because of the political mix in which he grew up, Chapman sees working for peace as a nonpartisan process. “I am very much in support of the principles of the Martin Institute. Their research programs gather students from many different countries and encourage them to travel abroad. We should do everything we can, both domestically and internationally, to avoid violence and to encourage cooperation among people and the nations of the world. This makes peace more attainable.”
Frederic D. Johnson ’52, professor emeritus of forest ecology, educator, researcher and mentor. During his 34-year career at the University of Idaho, Fred Johnson influenced, inspired and educated generations of students who went on to careers as ecological scholars and leaders in national and international forest ecology and management. Johnson’s vision and expertise are broad and radiate from his infectious enthusiasm to learn everything he can about Idaho plant communities. Where did that enthusiasm come from? “I grew up in Chicago and we never had a backyard that wasn’t just concrete,” recalled Johnson. “When I was about 10, I bought a packet of carrot seeds at a dime store while on vacation in Indiana. I wanted to see how those carrot seeds grew.” His interests grew larger than the carrots and range from the forest ecosystems in Idaho to the tropical forests of southeastern Asia, Africa and Latin America. He has achieved scholarly distinction through his work on understanding classification of forest habitats, the ecological processes in ancient cedar groves, Pacific yew and any other communities, and his knowledge of the plants of the northern Rockies. His outreach efforts include authoring “Wild Trees of Idaho” and starting the Idaho Big Tree Program that has inspired many Idahoans to learn more about trees and their natural surroundings.
Class Notes
It may be summer, but there’s no slowing of the pace for the Alumni Association. We’ve got a full schedule of events this summer to bring Vandals together, including Vandal Night at baseball parks in Denver, Spokane and Boise. We’ll also be at Vandal Send-off events around the state to welcome the new class of Vandals coming to campus in the fall. We’re also gearing up for fall – football, Homecoming, Dads’ Weekend, law and forestry education reunions. We’ll try to schedule our new chief Vandal, President Duane Nellis, at as many events as possible to help you get to know him better. Our Vandal Vibe e-newsletter is a great way to keep current on alumni events around the country. It also features accomplishments of students, faculty, staff and alumni, special alumni programs, and ways you can support the University. Vandal Vibe is sent out every two weeks. You can subscribe by sending an e-mail to alumni@uidaho.edu. Vandals are nothing if not social, so check out our social networking sites on Facebook, LinkedIn and Ning. You can connect to those sites from our Web page, www.idahovandals.com. Go Vandals!
Steve Johnson ’71 Executive Director University of Idaho Alumni Association
Golden Reunion Weekend
April 30 - May 2, 2010 A Golden I is anyone who graduated from the University 50 or more years ago. For Reunion Information visit www.uidaho.edu/GoldenI or call (208) 885-6154
1950 Jerry Kramer ’58 has been selected to the East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame. Floyd Fairweather ’59 has been named Distinguished Lifetime Educator for Minot State University. This award is made to a retired faculty member who has exhibited outstanding contributions to the university during employment and after retirement. Lynn Little ’59 has been selected as one of Canada’s Outstanding Principals by The Learning Partnership.
1960 Jim Kempton ’60, ’61 was elected to a two-year term as president of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. Ben Marra ’62 ,and his wife, Linda, have published a new book, “Faces from the Land: Twenty Years of Powwow Tradition.” They traveled to powwows across North America to document with photographs the brilliant colors, incredible craftsmanship and personal significance of the regalia worn at these events. Helen Tomlinson Washburn ’63, ’67 was appointed by Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. She is president emerita of Cottey College and retired from that position in 2004 after 18 years. Washburn was inducted into the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000. James L. Botsford ’64 has retired after 37 years from the New Mexico State University Department of Biology. He lives in Las Cruces and is enjoying retirement. He directs a choir and sings in two choirs. L. Wayne Cooke ’66 was superintendent of Engineering for Freeport, Indonesia, at the world’s
largest copper mine in Tembagapura, Indonesia, for 20 years. He was involved in a considerable amount of innovative engineering, including the building of a tramway from the mine at an elevation of about 12,000 feet, down the mountain to the port. He spent six months in Siberia in the fall and winter of 2007-08 to set up machinery for a gold mine owned by Kinross Gold Corporation. He now is retired and lives in Florence, Ore. Daniel S. Looney ’68 , Idaho “Artist for All Seasons,” has been listed in the 2009 Marquis publication of “Who’s Who in America.” He also was a nominee for the 2008 Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Dan Looney Gallery and Studio is currently located in the Boise area. Dan also is a part-time banker. Suzanne Sload ’68 has opened her own franchised business in Boise called Maui Wowi that sells smoothies and coffees. Dennis Albers ’69, ’72 retired in January 2009 after having served several years as the Idaho County prosecutor and legal counsel for the city of Grangeville.
1970 Alan Merkle ’70, ’71 has been named chair of the executive committee for Stoel Rives LLP, a full service U.S. business law firm. Eugene F. Pratt ’74 , a district court judge in the Tri-Cities, Wash., since 1979, has retired. Linda Weeks Roose ’74 , IT specialist, retired from the National Interagency Fire Center after a 30-year Forest Service career. She placed third in her age group at the 2008 inaugural 70.3-mile Iron Man Triathlon in Boise. She
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Alumni
To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.
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Alumni continues to teach private music lessons from her home studio. Ron Schlader ’75 is the acting district ranger for the Admiralty Island National Monument at the Tongass National Forest. The position includes management of the 936,000-acre island near Juneau, Alaska, that is 95 percent wilderness. Darrel R. Perry ’76, ’79 will retire from the Idaho Court of Appeals in September. He will continue to serve as senior judge and sit in on the Court of Appeals when another judge isn’t available to hear a case. Greg Kessler ’77 is the director of the Washington State University School of Architecture and Construction Management. He was presented with the WSU Alumni Association Faculty Service Award that recognizes faculty whose superior service has brought honor or distinction to the university and the alumni association. Wendy Kastelic Wiley ’77 founded VIE Communication in the Seattle area with partner Carrie Shaw. Information on the company can be found at www. VIEcommunication.com. Paul Agidius ’78 ,who has a private law practice in northern Idaho, has been named president of the Idaho State Board of Education through April 2010. Steven Broadbent ’78 has joined the Critical Path Institute, an independent nonprofit organization, as the director of Consortia Operations. James K. Duff ’78 has joined Minera Andes Inc., a mining exploration company, as chief operating officer.
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Chris Tormey ’78 is the new special teams coordinator for the University of Hawaii football coaching staff.
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John P. Ryan ’85 has been appointed president and chief executive officer for the Sterling Mining Company. He also was named to the company’s board of directors.
Steven A. Lemmel ’79 is a 2009 Meridian Award recipient at Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS). The award is the highest public staff recognition at CAS and honors those individuals and teams whose extraordinary skills, commitment and achievements played key roles in the success and advancement of CAS and the American Chemical Society in the prior year. Lemmel has been employed at CAS for nine years and is a senior scientific information analyst.
Corporation. Century West is a firm of planners, engineers and construction management specialists with offices in Portland and Bend, Ore., and Spokane and Ellensburg, Wash.
Marty Trillhaase ’79 is the opinion page editor for the Lewiston Tribune. Previously, he was the opinion page editor at the Idaho Falls Post Register.
Melinda Smyser ’82 was named to the District 11 Idaho Senate seat left vacant by the appointment of Brad Little as lieutenant governor.
Steve Wirsching ’86, ’92, ’93 has been named the director of the West Coast office for the U.S. Wheat Associates in Portland, Ore.
Elizabeth (Betsey) LaBroad Greene ’83 has been working for Harford County government in Bel Air, Md. for more than five years. She is a current development planner/forester. She has two daughters ages 14 and 20.
Corby G. Anderson ’88 received the 2009 Milton E. Wadsworth Award from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. The award is given for a distinguished contribution that advances understanding of the science and technology of nonferrous chemical metallurgy. He was recognized for his notable contributions in hydrometallurgical research and his role as director of the Center for Advanced Mineral and Metallurgical Processing at Montana Tech of the University of Montana.
1980 Lt. Col. Glen L. Jackson ’80 has returned from his second tour in southern Iraq with the U.S. Army ReserveFacility Engineer Detachment (FED). Jackson’s main focus was managing reconstruction projects in Iraqi communities. Projects included building kindergarten/primary schools, water treatment units, road improvement projects and electrical distribution projects. The picture is of a site where they were building an eight-classroom school. He currently lives in Augusta, Ga., where he works at the DOE-Savannah River site in his civilian job. Solomon Uwadiale ’80 is a performance management consultant and author, and lives in Tacoma, Wash. His recent book, “Public Leadership,” profiles successful public leaders in Washington state who have gained national prominence. Dennis Fuller ’81 has been named president of Century West Engineering
Deborah Smith ’81 has retired from her position as counselor at Camelot School in Lewiston. Randy L. Davenport ’82 is vice president and chief operating officer for Nord Resources Corp. in Tucson, Ariz.
L. Michael Bogert ’85 has been appointed to the Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation board of directors. Murray Feldman ’85 , a longtime Holland & Hart partner and Boise environmental and natural resources lawyer, is the new administrative partner for the firm’s Boise office. Feldman will guide the office’s overall business and its legal services offerings to the firm’s clients. Christine Nicholas ’85 received the Leadership Award from the Boise Area and Southern Idaho chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. The award is given to women who promote a climate for a healthy business community on local, state and regional levels. Colleen Nolan ’85 has been named dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Shepherd University at Shepherdstown, W.Va. She will oversee Shepherd’s departments of biology, chemistry, computer sciences, mathematics, and engineering, and the Institute of Environmental Studies.
Mario Alvarez ’86 has been appointed to the board of directors for LED Power Group, Inc. He is the current chief operating officer of China Tel Group, Inc. Steven L. Harris ’86 has been appointed vice president of engineering for Cascade Microtech.
Kelli C. Kast ’88 has been promoted to senior vice president, chief administrative officer, general counsel and corporate secretary for the Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. Dawn Hartley ’88 has been named this year’s recipient of the Wilderness Society’s Edward A. Ames Award for scholarship and conservation advocacy. The award recognized individuals who have applied their time, talent and energy to the study and dissemination of data that will advance the mission of The Wilderness Society. She is a geographic information systems analyst and programmer in The Wilderness Society’s Seattle, Wash., office.
Paul Migchelbrink ’88 has been named a shareholder of the Portland law firm Farleigh Wada Witt. Migchelbrink’s diverse business practice will continue to emphasize business law, real estate and intellectual property. Mike Cox ’89 is the new linebackers coach for the University of Washington. Jacques Lemieux ’89 has been hired as a real estate agent for the Coeur d’Alene office of Century 21 Beutler and Associates.
1990 Doug Rutan ’90, ’91, ’96 has joined Northern Arizona University-Yuma as coordinator of the school’s education program and as an education professor. Lt. Col. Kevin McMahan ’91, ’93 is serving as the operations officer for the 81st Brigade Combat Team in Ramadi, Iraq. This is his second tour to Iraq. Richard Luark ’92, ’93 has joined the firm Kleinfelder in its Bellevue, Wash.-area office. William L. Peterson ’92 is a supervisory special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Counterterrorism Division, Extra Territorial Investigations Unit. He completed a four-month tour in Afghanistan where he served as the FBI’s deputy-onscene commander. During his tour, he oversaw the FBI’s counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan. Dirk Vanderwall ’92 has taken a position as chief of the reproduction section and director of the Hormann Research Center for Animal Reproduction at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
Michelle Evans ’93 ,a Latah County deputy prosecutor, has been named Idaho’s Prosecutor of the Year by the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Danny Markus ’93 has returned from a one-year voluntary assignment in Afghanistan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. He helped to rebuild that country’s agricultural sector. John DeJoy ’94, ’95, ’98 founded his company, CFO Services, in 2004. He offers executive-level financial services to businesses such as cash flow analysis, strategic business planning, cash and profit monitoring, and marketing research. Scott Ellis ’94 is principal at Blaine High School in Blaine, Wash. Gregory Doyon ’95 has accepted the position of city manager of Great Falls, Mont. Roderick Sidwell ’95 has joined Ze-gen, Inc. He will play a key role in the process design and execution of the company’s first commercial advanced gasification facility and all subsequent facilities. Carey Carscallen ’96 is dean of the School of Architecture at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. He also is the recipient of the 2008 Michigan Campus Compact Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning Award. Tad Jones ’96, co-owner and architect with the Boise-based firm Jones & Jones Design Studio, Inc., has obtained a license to practice architecture in the state of Colorado. Jones also is licensed in Idaho, Oregon and Washington and holds a certificate with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards in Washington, D.C. Jones & Jones specializes in residential and commercial architecture, as well as development land planning.
Peter Mundt ’96 is a media producer for the Interactive Conversation Initiative at Healthwise in Boise. Dan Whiting ’96 has joined the National Alliance of Forest Owners, based in Washington, D.C., as the director of communications. James Adams ’97 has been elected as assistant district chief of Station 1 at the Bellevue, Neb.,Volunteer Fire Department. An incorrect state was listed in the last issue. Bradley Ford ’97 has been appointed by Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter as Idaho 3rd District Judge. Greg Iverson ’97 has been promoted to vice president, chief accounting officer and controller for the Apollo Group, headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz. Eric Shaver ’97, ’00 has been appointed to the leadership team of Boise Young Professionals for 2009. Ken Carroll ’98 has been selected to join the leadership team of Boise Young Professionals for 2009. Dennis Galinato ’98 has been promoted to senior engineer of Murray, Smith & Associates, Inc., a Pacific Northwest consulting engineering firm that specializes in public infrastructure engineering. He is an associate with MSA and leads the firm’s stormwater group. Peter Schneller ’98 has been named the 2009 Great Teacher for Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. Joel Thomas ’98 is the running backs coach for the University of Washington football coaching staff.
AlUMNI Class Notes David Alexander ’99, ’02 has co-founded IVUS Energy Innovations where he is the CEO. One of the company’s first products is a highly efficient, white LED flashlight. Nathan Cornilles ’99 graduated from Army Aviation School in 2006. He flies the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter for the Alaska Army National Guard part-time in addition to his full-time position as a senior project manager for RPKA, Inc., a civil engineering firm. Nathan and his wife, Amanda, have two children, Emma and Joshua.
2000 Tammy Ray ’00 has been elected to the College of Western Idaho board of trustees. Travis Palmer ‘01 has been chosen to join the leadership team of Boise Young Professionals for 2009. Bradly R. Rice ’01, ’06 ,former Vandal football player and law school graduate, has joined the Nesset Bodman Group, a private wealth management service with D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lewiston. Erik Cegnar ’02 has cofounded IVUS Energy Innovations where he is the principal engineer. Donna Henderson ’02, ’04 is the new plant pathology farm adviser with University of California Cooperative Extension in Imperial County. She will provide plant disease education and research to assist pest control advisers and growers in the county. Salvatore Lorenzen ’02, ’05 was awarded the Idaho Governor’s Industry Award for Notable Teaching in Science (GIANTS). GIANTS recognizes teachers for their efforts to link industry and the economic future of Idaho to the classroom by enhancing
summer 2009
To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.
27
Alumni
Class Notes
science and technology education. Salvatore teaches technology education at Post Falls High School.
Hilerie Scott ’05, ’06 is the marketing director at Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area in northern Idaho.
John F. Papineau ’02 earned his master’s of social work degree from Eastern Washington University in 2005. He is a clinical supervisor with the Child Welfare, Region II, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Jim Herndon ’06 has joined the McAlvain Group of Companies as a BIM/3-D modeling and design technician. He will aid McAlvain in leveraging new technologies in the construction industry that allow for the virtual construction of projects prior to actual construction.
Viola Alepuyo ’03 will serve part-time as a legal counsel to the Northern Marianas delegate-elect Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan. Alepuyo will maintain a private practice but will be limited to matters in which the federal government has no interest or involvement. Jyl Beveridge ’03 has passed the Landscape Architect Registration examination in Idaho. Amy Campbell ’03 is finishing the second year of her Presidential Management Fellowship. She works as a water resources planner and program manager for the Southern California-Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior. Nikolas Jones ’03 received his Idaho State Professional Engineer license. Rabiou Manzo ’03 has received the Sarlo Foundation Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for his outstanding service to refugees and displaced persons in Boise. Rabiou is the resettlement program manager at the Boise IRC office. Steven Hacker ’04 is executive director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce. Fred Jessup ’05 has been hired by IVUS Energy Innovations of Moscow.
idaho
Mike Maughan ’05, ’07 has been hired by IVUS Energy Innovations of Moscow.
28
Gerri Sayler ’07 has an art installation, called “Between Silences,” showing at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Wash. It is a collaborative installation of sculpture and sound created by Sayler and University of Idaho faculty member Professor Robert Dickow. Katlin Davis ’08 has been named program manager for the Idaho Beef Council. She will be responsible for implementing the council’s market plan for increasing consumer beef demand throughout the state. Kimberly Robertello ’08 published a book, “EvidenceBased Practices in Alcohol Treatment: The Robertello Evaluative Tool for Assessment and Evaluation,” with VDMVerlag Publishers in Germany. It is available internationally through amazon.com. Stephanie Wheeler Snyder ’08 is a personal lines underwriter at Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho.
Marriages Randy Arnayro to Charles Hartley ’99 Aimee Kathleen Barnes ’01 to Ryan Lee Baerlocher Misty Rose Beehner ’07 to Nicholas Alan Alexander Rebecca Diane Bloomquist ’07 to Thomas James Luper Shyla Marie Brannan to Brett David Lisenbee ’99 Diedra E. Case ’03 to Jeff Zimmerman Katie Christian ’08 to James Tunca ’08 Kara Deobald ’02 to Cameron Englund Emily Dukes ’04 to Malfred Shaw Jr. ’06 Bridgette Dyer-Leighton ’98 to Kevin Drysdale Monica Ann Hill ’04 to Dennis James Dau Stephanie Anne Kazda to Neal Joseph Drury ’07 Elizabeth Kimball ’05 to Kurt Gregg ’03 Angela Ellen King ’02 to Daniel James Davis Rachel Kuhn to Balmiki Bhattacharya ’99 Kindra Joy Levien to Jacob Montgomery Church ’03 Lindsay Marie Patton to Timothy Lee Heimgartner ’03 Miki Pitkin ’04 to Evan McKim Pitman ’04 Sherry Shawinski ’99 to Gregory Hildebrand ’98 Jill Somers to Tim Stout ’84 Theresa Marie Wallace to David Richard Church ’04 Mary Waterman ’03 to Justin Jicha ’06 Kay Lynn Westacott ’07, ’08 to Devon Lee McKinney Stephanie Wheeler ’08 to Travis Snyder
To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.
Boam
Hawkins
Herrett
Walker
Future Vandals DJ Michael, son of James ’97 and Debra Williams Adams Sydney Lee, daughter of Ryan ’05 and Angela Farnham ’05 Banks *Hadley Lynn, daughter of John ’03, ’07 and Sarah Francisco ’04 Barker *Lucy and Mina, daughters of Matt ’98 and Mandy Jones ’98 Boam, granddaughters of Ted ’66 and Donna Boam and Tom ’72 and Cindy Schubert ’72 Jones
Cornelius
Crist
Englund
Fegelein
Hutchison
Johnson
Pennick
Pickard
Thompson
Wojcik
Youree
Zrno
*Jeffrey Huckleberry, son of Jeffrey and Suzanne Drennan ’05 Fegelein
Walker LaMar, son of Brent and Heidi Nuttman ’04 Lockhart
*Jack Walter, son of Luke ’03, ’05 and Stephanie Thompson
Laelle Elisabeth, daughter of Stephen ’05 and Stephanie Jacobs ’06 Hardy
Oliver Sebastian, son of Donald ’98 and Kori Mear
Gideon Allen, son of Tim ’07 and Elizabeth Christenson ’07 Topliff
*Grayson Wade, son of Hadley ’98 and ShanRae Hook ’99 Hawkins
Leah, daughter of Kristopher ’06 and Donalee Meek
Mayli Emma, daughter of Ryean-Marie Tuomisto ’98
*Maggie Hart, daughter of Matt ’03 and Megan Glindeman ’01, ’04 Herrett
*Matthew Dean, son of Ryan ’07 and Stephanie Kohal ’07 Pennick
*Alexa Kathleen, daughter of Curt ’94 and Janet Klug Walker *Violet Ray, daughter of Michael ’01 and Joanna Zattiero ’00, ’07 Wojcik
*Simone Riley, daughter of Larry and Vanessa Robinson ’96 Cornelius
Spencer Ryan, son of Scott ’01 and Cynthia Infanger
*Catherine Jo, daughter of Clayton ’01 and Laura Atchley ’99, ’02 Pickard, granddaughter of Clen ’66 and Emma Sawyer ’68 Atchley and great-granddaughter of Frank Sawyer ’36
*Magnolia Annabelle, daughter of Zackery ’05 and Melissa Biddinger ’04 Crist
Brecken Robert, son of Troy and Megan Semmler ’00 Jaeger
Jacob Kendall, son of Corey ’04 and Jennifer ’03 Runia
*Aaron and Taylor, children of Ryan ’03 and Jennifer Lingenfelter ’03 Zrno, grandchildren of Lisa Lingenfelter ’94
*Jackson Nicholas, son of Cameron and Kara Deobald ’02 Englund
*Kennedy Linn, daughter of Ryan ’04 and Michelle Biladeau ’04 Johnson
Kiera Lee, daughter of Kyle ’04 and Holly Maloy ’06 Steele
*Indicates the Future Vandal has a photo above.
*Reagan Violet, daughter of Kyle ’05 and Maureen Way ’06 Hutchison
*Macie Layne, daughter of Kody ’00 and Monica Janicek ’00 Youree
summer 2009
Barker
AlUMNI Class Notes
29
Alumni
Class Notes
In Memory 1920 Ann Moriarty Kroiss ’28, Longview, Wash., April 16, 2009
1930 Mary Smith Bonnett ’39, Hayward, Wis., Dec. 31, 2008 Maurice E. Byrne ’37, Boise, March 16, 2009 James W. Caples ’39, Salmon, March 21, 2009 Margaret Brodrecht Conklin ’36, Spokane, Wash., Jan. 23, 2009 Zelma Kiner Coon ’30, Boise, April 2, 2009 Elmer D. Eddington ’38, ’58, Idaho Falls, March 2, 2009 William M. Felt ’35, Santa Rosa, Calif., Dec. 18, 2008 Lyle A. Frazier ’32, Twin Falls, Dec. 23, 2008 Mary Redmond Fredstrom ’34, Kootenai, March 31, 2009
idaho
William H. Gauss ’37, Boise, Jan. 5, 2009
30
1940
Demark C. Jensen ’43, Provo, Utah, Dec. 23, 2008
1950
Joyce Beadles Adams ’42, Spokane, Wash., Jan. 21, 2009
Robert F. Jensen ’42, Danville, Calif., Feb. 2, 2009
B. Jean Ottenheimer Adams ’50, Aptos, Calif., Feb. 24, 2009
Robert Amende ’41, Mesa, Ariz., Dec. 5, 2008
Ruth Reese Johnston ’40, Emmett, March 29, 2009
Arthur C. Blomgren Jr. ’51, Tarpon Springs, Fla., Jan. 4, 2009
Joseph A. Baldus ’46, Nezperce, March 13, 2009
Walter R. Klug ’43, Spokane, Wash., March 15, 2009
Thomas R. Boback ’54, Rupert, March 26, 2009
Corwin C. Biehl ’42, Kihei, Hawaii, Nov. 22, 2008
Glenn C. Lewis ’46, ’48, Moscow, April 19, 2009
Cecil R. Bowyer ’42, Twin Falls, March 10, 2009
Anthony Bournia ’54, Loveland, Colo., Feb. 28, 2009
Harry F. Magnuson ’46, Spokane, Wash., Jan. 24, 2009
Dorothy Follett Brown ’43, Pullman, Wash., Feb. 22, 2009
James A. Burton ’50, ’64, Laporte, Ind., Nov. 8, 2008
Velma Davies Martindale ’40, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 19, 2008
Edwin J. Byrne ’55, Sequim, Wash., Feb. 12, 2009
Jack Buffat ’41, Pocatello, April 24, 2009 Donald M. Bullock Sr. ’46, Ketchikan, Alaska, Dec. 7, 2008 Harry K. Burke ’49, Palmer, Alaska, Dec. 15, 2008 Melvin Butterfield ’44, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 11, 2009 Frank C. Cannon ’47, Belton, Texas, Dec. 9, 2008 Edward Emrick Carlson ’44, Portland, Ore., Jan. 28, 2009 Leslie F. Cox ’40, Boise, Dec. 28, 2008
Margaret Burson McKinley ’49, Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 28, 2009 John A. Moggridge ’42, Payette, March 1, 2009 Roy A. Ockert Sr. ’45, Salem, Ore., July 16, 2008 Helen Dygert Pope ’49, Meza, Ariz., Feb. 16, 2009 Franklin Raney ’43, Bellingham, Wash., April 3, 2009 Mary Hamacher Ranta ’42, Vancouver, Wash., Nov. 21, 2008
Ralph W. Carpenter ’50, Boise, Feb. 28, 2009 Levon E. Chase ’54, Orofino, Dec. 21, 2008 Patricia Weltzin Clauss ’53, Spokane, Wash., March 6, 2009 Arnold E. Domke ’54, East Jordan, Mich., Feb. 8, 2009 George Durkee ’57, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 30, 2008 Stephen E. Emerine ’56, Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 13, 2009
Woody Lee Reed ’40, Glendale, Ariz., March 2, 2009
Richard W. Field ’50, Indigo Run, S.C., Jan. 3, 2009
Naomi Sargent Regan ’40, Menlo Park, Calif., Dec. 21, 2008
Kenneth M. Fisher ’58, Mesa, Ariz., Jan. 21, 2009
Dale Marvin Goss ’32, Tacoma, Wash., Jan. 22, 2009
Margaret McAuley Duclos ’48, Port Angeles, Wash., April 15, 2009
Utahna L. Hall ’32, Boise, Jan. 11, 2009
John D. Erickson ’47, Enumclaw, Wash., Feb. 15, 2009
Marjorie Mock Renfrow ’45, Mesquite, Nev., Dec. 17, 2008
Arden E. Gorsline ’51, Port Townsend, Wash., March 2, 2009
Leland C. Higginson ’37, Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 7, 2009
Barnaby Fluke ’41, Dousman, Wis., Jan. 4, 2009
Benjamin R. Riordan Jr. ’43, Nampa, Dec. 25, 2008
Joseph G. Haussmann ’52, Sandyston, N.J., Dec. 27, 2008
Ruth Ryan Larson ’39, Oroville, Wash., Jan. 5, 2009
Karl K. Goble ’40, Moscow, Dec. 19, 2008
Richard Ryan ’43, Malibu, Calif., Feb. 13, 2009
Michael C. Hepler ’56, Walla Walla, Wash., Sept. 3, 2008
Margaret E. Hesby MacLeod ’39, Rome, Ga., Nov. 7, 2008
Donald E. Grey ’44, San Diego, Calif., March 9, 2009
Virginia Greenough Sharpe ’49, Seattle, Wash., Jan. 21, 2009
Patricia Horting Holt ’54, Lewiston, March 6, 2009
Doris Bennett McGinty ’39, Springfield, Ore., Feb. 23, 2009
Robert H. Griffiths ’49, Boise, Jan. 1, 2009
Franklin B. Smith III ’46, Boise, April 3, 2009
Nancy Backstrom Hutchins ’59, Belgrade, Maine, Nov. 10, 2008
Carl E. Osterhout ’36, ’42, Declo, Jan. 18, 2009
Garth D. Haddock ’48, Coeur d’Alene, Feb. 27, 2009
Olive Holmes Smith ’43, Dayton, Wash., April 25, 2009
George F. Leopold ’54, Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 11, 2009
Claire Coppock Petersen ’37, Declo, Jan. 10, 2009
Raymond A. Hanson ’45, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 19, 2009
Ruth Specht Spaeth ’45, Boise, Feb. 26, 2009
Kenneth C. McCartney ’54, ’59, Carefree, Ariz., Dec. 24, 2008
Kathryn Cleveland Ramseyer ’38, Twin Falls, Feb. 8, 2009
Jack A. Hartvigsen ’44, Twin Falls, Nov. 22, 2008
Lillian Ferrel Suprenant ’43, Klamath Falls, Ore., Jan. 19, 2009
Jack B. McKinley ’51, Decatur, Ill., March 12, 2009
John R. Schiller ’38, Bellevue, Wash., April 1, 2009
Harry T. Howard ’49, Coeur d’Alene, Dec. 15, 2008
Joanne Howard Vinson ’48, Boise, Jan. 7, 2009
Sally Kuhlman McMurray ’51, Puyallup, Wash., April 3, 2009
Betty Dahl Schmirler ’37, Coeur d’Alene, April 12, 2009
Alice Larson Ingebretsen ’49, Spokane, Wash., Jan. 25, 2009
Robert E. Wethern ’43, Depoe Bay, Wash., Dec. 30, 2008
Robert D. Middlekauff ’56, Bend, Ore., April 16, 2009
Rose Meyer Toone ’34, Gooding, Dec. 7, 2008
Bertha Radermacher Jennings ’46, Lewiston, March 21, 2009
James S. Yates ’42, Coeur d’Alene, Feb. 22, 2009
Rosella Kelly Miller ’57, Coeur d’Alene, Jan. 30, 2009
To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.
AlUMNI Class Notes
Merrill L. Nielsen ’50, Meridian, Feb. 12, 2009
Donald R. Harris ’62, Winchester, Jan. 8, 2009
R. Scott Cunningham ’70, Nampa, Feb. 17, 2009
Gary L. Thorncok ’76, Gainesville, Fla., Feb. 22, 2009
LeRoy D. Owens ’56, ’61, Ashland, Ore., Feb. 21, 2009
Patricia Abbott Johnson ’65, Lafayette, Ind., Jan. 5, 2009
Robert O. Elsethagen ’71, Pocatello, Feb. 12, 2009
Gary R. Tomes ’74, Great Falls, Mont., Jan. 12, 2009
Richard E. Powell ’56, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 25, 2009
Surjit Kaur ’63, Arlington, Va., March 18, 2009
Albert W. Franzmann ’71, Soldotna, Alaska, Feb. 13, 2009
Richard K. Preece Jr. ’58, Mesa, Ariz., Feb. 7, 2009
Francis John Kempf ’62, Richland, Wash., April 4, 2009
Dennis Goldman ’74, ’83, Longmont, Colo., Dec. 5, 2008
Evelyn Burks Renfrow ’52, Yuba City, Calif., Dec. 12, 2008
Kenneth P. Kovacs ’63, Battlement Mesa, Colo., Nov. 24, 2008
Richard C. Griswold ’72, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 22, 2008
LeGrand Rigby ’56, Montpelier, April 5, 2009 Margaret Eke Robinette ’50, Pullman, Wash., April 12, 2009 Warren L. Roe Jr. ’55, Union, Ore., Jan. 22, 2009 Charles L. Sutton ’58, ’63, ’72, Moscow, Dec. 13, 2008 Marilyn Evans Sweeney ’54, Lewiston, Jan. 26, 2009 Freeland C. Thorson ’58, Boise, Jan. 11, 2009 Darrel E. Titus ’50, ’65, Orofino, Dec. 1, 2008 John D. Turnbull ’50, Boise, Jan. 9, 2009 Don Vogler ’59, ’60, Lodi, Calif., Dec. 17, 2008 Ralph H. Watson ’58, ’61, Boise, May 30, 2008 Peter K. Wilson ’51, Lapwai, March 30, 2009 Kieth A. Winton ’54, Redwood City, Calif., March 22, 2009 Norman W. Wood ’50, Moses Lake, Wash., March 2, 2009
1960
Roland R. Lodge ’60, Caldwell, Jan. 16, 2009 Carol Lovaas ’66, Lynnwood, Wash., Dec. 20, 2008 Richard B. Martin ’62, Idaho Falls, Feb. 15, 2009 Robert A. McDonald ’65, Hughson, Calif., March 16, 2009 Phyllis Alexander Michaelis ’67, Lewiston, Feb. 26, 2009
Timothy Lee Holt ’70, Beaufort, S.C., May 29, 2008 C. Wayne Hoopes ’71, Boise, Jan. 31, 2009 Robert N. Hudson ’74, Boise, Feb. 21, 2009 William M. Ison ’79, Blackfoot, April 5, 2009 Jerald D. Johnson Jr. ’75, Boise, March 10, 2009
John D. Baker ’81, Blackfoot, April 23, 2009 Peter L. Basoa ’84, Moscow, Jan. 10, 2009 Dirk Gombert II ’80, ’92, ’94, Idaho Falls, April 19, 2009 Steven D. Hale ’80, Kirkland, Wash., Nov. 20, 2008 Burke “Tony” Hudelson ’80, Boise, March 21, 2009 David E. Kuntz ’83, Lancaster, Pa., Dec. 28, 2008 Bryan S. Merrell ’88, Poulsbo, Wash., March 19, 2009
Arnold R. Misterek ’66, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 9, 2009
Christopher K. Kimball ’74, Wenatchee, Wash., March 10, 2009
Dean H. Pearson ’61, ’63, Moscow, Dec. 14, 2008
Laurel Spaeth Martlage ’76, Eagle, March 19, 2009
Donald C. Skinner ’83, Salisbury, Md., Feb. 27, 2009
William “Bill” H. Peterson ’66, Miami, Fla., Oct. 30, 2008
Cleston R. Messick ’73, ’74, Sandy, Utah, March 8, 2009
Rosa Larson Smith ’82, New Plymouth, Jan. 22, 2009
Donald R. Saxman Jr. ’66, Nampa, Dec. 11, 2008
Wesley J. Miller ’76, Nampa, Jan. 19, 2009
Janet Henderson Williams ’83, Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 9, 2009
John G. Stanger ’61, Idaho Falls, April 9, 2009
Dorothy Rieger Powell ’72, Grand Junction, Colo., Dec. 11, 2008
1990
Dennis A. Powers ’70, Chicago, Ill., March 29, 2009
David M. Best ’93, ’99, St. Maries, Nov. 23, 2008
Ronald L. Ravneberg ’70, ’73, Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2009
Donald W. Brooks ’90, Idaho Falls, Feb. 23, 2009
Marton J. Roberson ’76, Hampstead, Md., Dec. 17, 2008
Brandi M. Fairchild ’91, Seattle, Wash., Dec. 10, 2008
James H. Rondeau ’70, Bellevue, Wash., Sept. 22, 2008
Victor J. Hoffer ’99, Salem, Ore., Jan. 2, 2009
Phil Sheahan ’73, Heber City, Utah, Jan. 4, 2009
Joan K. Pilgram ’93, Boulder, Colo., Dec. 16, 2008
Robert G. Sparks ’70, Lakeland, Fla., Dec. 28, 2008
Cherie Sproed Rodriguez ’92, Midland, Texas, Jan. 6, 2009
Kathryn Smith Surfus ’74, Moscow, Jan. 30, 2009
Christopher M. Scully ’94, Anchorage, Alaska, Dec. 19, 2008
Margaret Remsberg Symons ’60, Kentfield, Calif., April 6, 2009 Bruce M. Trowbridge ’64, Ashland, Ore., March 16, 2009 Ellen Eskeberg Wales ’69, Spokane Valley, Wash., April 4, 2009 Manshiro Yuki ’64, Bellevue, Wash., Dec. 9, 2008
Bruce J. Bradley ’68, ’71, Jerome, March 6, 2009
1970
Gordon L. Brown ’62, Glenns Ferry, Jan. 25, 2009
Mary L. Aguirre ’75, Mountain Home, March 27, 2009
Merrill W. Conitz ’60, Moscow, March 9, 2009
Phillip J. Andrews ’70, ’72, Silverton, Ore., April 21, 2009
Allen H. Dalberg ’63, Missoula, Mont., Jan. 27, 2009
Roger L. Best ’72, Hope, Nov. 25, 2008
Richard L. Dalzell Jr. ’64, Meridian, Feb. 15, 2009
Daniel D. Burns ’74, Boise, March 13, 2009
Burton W. Dennis ’64, Henderson, Nev., Jan. 11, 2009
Daniel C. Collins ’71, Shelton, Wash., Feb. 18, 2009
Lisa Rosen ’81, Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 27, 2008
Alumni Award nomination deadline is Aug. 1, 2009. For further info: www.uidaho.edu/idahovandals/awards summer 2009
Lonny L. Renfrow ’52, Yuba City, Calif., Dec. 10, 2008
1980
31
Alumni Hall of Fame
Honoring Our Legacy of Leading – 2009 Alumni Hall of Fame
From left to right, Alma Winward ’70, C. Scott Green ’85 and Robert Bunting ’68
The accomplishments and careers of the 2009 Alumni Association Hall of Fame recipients are wide-ranging and inspiring. Robert Bunting ’68 leads the International Federation of Accountants; Alma Winward ’70 is a national leader in range management and earned the nickname, Mr. Sagebrush; and Scott Green ’85 is executive director of one of the world’s largest law firms.
idaho
Created in 1962, the Alumni Hall of Fame now recognizes more than 160 University of Idaho alumni who have achieved national or international distinction by their accomplishments. “Our 2009 inductees continue that remarkable legacy,” said Steve Johnson, executive director of Alumni Relations.
32
For Scott Green, the University of Idaho is among his earliest memories. “My grandfather [Leon Green] was head of the Physical Education Department and eventually athletics director, and he would always have my brothers and me in summer programs. We’d go out to the Arboretum for the Kirkland’s cookouts, and once he hired me to work in Memorial Gym and clean towels for a dollar a day.” Green, a former ASUI president, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. “The University experience really was important,” said Green. “It formed a lot of who I became. Part of it was my experience in my fraternity and the experience of meeting some very bright people on campus.”
He went to work for Boise Cascade after graduation and then earned a master’s of business administration degree from Harvard Business School. “I came out with more debt than any one person could possibly ever imagine,” he said. “I took the highest paying job I was offered, which happened to be in New York City.” He’s held positions with Deloitte & Touche, Goldman Sachs and ING Barings. He currently is executive director of WilmerHale, one of the world’s largest law firms. As executive director of the firm, he oversees the business operation that includes 1,400 employees at 10 offices in five countries. What’s his key to success?
“I think the thing that’s helped me most is that I know what I don’t know. I find people to help me out, and they’re amazingly willing to do so. … That’s all part of getting here. I didn’t do it by myself.” Alma Winward can make a claim shared by few people. “I owe a lot to sagebrush,” he said. Winward has been involved in the advancement of rangeland research, teaching and management throughout the Intermountain West. He retired in 2003 from a 23-year career as regional ecologist for the Intermountain Region of the Forest Service, where he led advancements in the understanding and management of riparian zone ecology. When he arrived in Moscow to start his graduate program, he thought he’d be doing an alpine study, but it got switched to sagebrush. “I grew up with it in southeastern Idaho – I was born in Clifton – so I knew sagebrush was sagebrush,” he said. “As soon as I started studying it, it opened up a field that has been so productive for me.” There are about 100 million acres of sagebrush in the West. Winward is one of the few who can identify all 31 varieties of sagebrush. He’s even identified and named some of the varieties. “When I started my career, sagebrush was considered a weed and there
were big efforts in the 1950s to eradicate sagebrush,” said Winward. “They threw everything at it – chemicals, plowing, you name it. … Its main benefit is it provides habitat for native animals. The sage grouse requires it – that’s a big issue now. We have to make sure we do things to maintain that or we’ll have a threatened or endangered bird – and it’s getting very close.” Winward is clear about the impact of his Idaho education. “I couldn’t have done the things I’ve been able to do if I hadn’t received the education I got here at the University of Idaho.” Hall of Famer Robert Bunting credits the University for instilling in him some basic principles. “My time growing up in Idaho and my time at the University taught me that everyone you deal with, you’re going to meet again. … How you dealt with people determined what your reputation was and how people thought of you. And I’m a CPA; our reputation is critical to our ability to make a living. It was a very good thing to learn.” Bunting earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and went on to serve as chief executive officer of Moss Adams, which is among the 11 largest accounting firms in the U.S., for 23 years before stepping down from that role in 2004. He currently is chair of Moss Adams’ International Services Group. He also serves
2009 AlUMNI Hall of Fame
as president of the International Federation of Accountants, the global organization committed to the development of high-quality international standards and the promotion of strong ethical values for the accountancy profession. “What I’m doing is very involved with the attempt to regulate the global economy,” said Bunting. “All the important economies – all 27 nations of Europe, Canada, Mexico, China, India, the rest of Asia, Latin American, all of Africa – have converted to our international standards.” The United States is the last to fully embrace the international standards. “I spend a lot of time talking to the regulators in the United States. I’m basically a traveling salesman for standards. I sell international standards door-to-door. The good news is that I get fewer doors slammed in my face these days.” Bunting quietly admits that he’s always tried to do a little bit more than people expected of him. “I always like surprising people. The first time I made the dean’s list here at the University, I didn’t tell my father. I let him read it in the local paper. I thought that would be more of a surprise than if I told him. People came up to him on the street and said ‘Congratulations.’ He said, ‘For what?’ That gave me a lot of pleasure.”
summer 2009
You can read more about the Hall of Fame recipient on the Alumni Association Web page: www.uidaho.edu/idahovandals
33
Kibbie Overhaul The ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center life safety and code renovation project is underway. The west wall of the facility is being replaced with translucent panels that will shine a new light on Vandal activities in the Dome. A range of interior work also is taking place, including new west-end exiting, the addition of handrails in the seating aisles and other life safety and code improvements. The University’s Board of Regents approved, and the University secured, a $10 million finance package to fund this initial phase of life safety work. The project will continue through football season. Learn more at www.dfm.uidaho.edu/kibbie. The face lift will continue with the addition of premium seating in the Kibbie Dome. For information on premium seating options, contact Tim Mooney, (208) 885-0258, tmooney@uidaho.edu.
Sports vandal
Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame Nomination Deadline Nominations for the 2010 induction class to the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame are due by Aug. 1, 2009. Nominees can be former studentathletes who have completed eligibility at least five years prior to the selection, former coaches, teams, former athletics staff members or significant contributors. Send nominations and supporting material to either Rob Spear, rspear@uidaho.edu, or Becky Paull, bpaull@uidaho.edu. You also can mail nominations to Athletics Hall of Fame, University of Idaho, P.O. Box 442302, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2302. Kayla Mortellaro
Mortellaro Excels
Akey’s Army
Freshman golfer Kayla Mortellaro finished in a tie for 27th at the NCAA West Regional Golf Tournament. The youngest Idaho golfer to qualify for the regional event, Mortellaro capped an incredible freshman season with her solid finish. She also is the Western Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Year, as well as a firstteam all-league selection. Mortellaro, from Tempe, Ariz., garnered one tournament title, two Golfer of the Week honors, one Golfer of the Month award, and recognition as part of the second best freshman class in the NCAA this year.
Head football coach Robb Akey will join four other college football coaches on a 10-day USO tour to southwest Asia this summer. Akey says he welcomes the opportunity to meet with and thank U.S. troops for what they do.
Rich and Mary Fox Award winner
idaho
Britta Rustad
36
Soccer player Britta Rustad is the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Rich and Mary Fox Award, given annually to the Idaho studentathlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average. Rustad, who plans to study abroad next year, is a double major in international studies and French and achieved a 3.97 average throughout her Idaho career.
“It is a great honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to thank these young men and women for fighting for the freedoms so we can live our lives the way we do,” said Akey. “ I’m sure it will be an eye-opening experience and I will be able to bring back many lessons to share with our football team.”
Vandal Celebrity Event The Vandal Scholarship Fund has planned a Vandal Celebrity Event, Friday, Sept. 11, at Seattle in conjunction with Idaho’s Sept. 12 football game at the University of Washington. Mark your calendar and join your fellow Vandals at this special event. Contact Shelly Robson at (208) 651-7992 or shellyr@uidaho.edu for more information.
Upcoming EVENTS
October
23
Vandal Scholarship Fund Governor’s Gala, Boise
2-4
Dads’ Weekend Ag Days
25
Vandal Night with the Colorado Rockies, Denver
16
College of Education Scholarship luncheon
31
Idaho Night with the Spokane Indians
19
College of Science alumni reception, Portland, Ore.
August 1
Alumni Award Nomination Deadline
13
Vandal Night with the Boise Hawks, Boise
15
SArb 40th Anniversary Reception in Seattle
24 26
Fall semester begins Northern Idaho Vandal Celebration at the Coeur d’Alene Resort
September
23-24 Vandal Pride Days in Reno 25-31 Homecoming Week “Keeping the Tradition: Centennial Edition”
30
SArb's 40th Anniversary Celebration/Reunion
November 10-14 Vandal Pride Days in Boise 23-27 Fall recess
December 3
Holiday Dinner with the Vandaleers Davenport Hotel, Spokane
4
Holiday Reception at the Coeur d'Alene Resort
11-13 100 Years of Forestry
11
Alumni Awards for Excellence Banquet, Moscow
18-19 Cheerleader Reunion, Moscow
12
December Commencement, Moscow
9-12 11
Vandal Pride Days in Seattle Vandal Celebrity Banquet, Seattle Education Celebration
Event information for these and other social connection opportunities can be found at www.idahovandals.com.
summer 2009
July
37
Moscow, ID 83844-3232 Electronic Service Requested
2009 Vandal Football September 5 New Mexico State
at Las Cruces, N.M.
September 12 University of Washington
at Seattle
September 19 Military Appreciation Day San Diego State Kibbie Dome September 26 Northern Illinois
at Dekalb, Ill.
October 3 Dads’ Weekend/Ag Days Colorado State Kibbie Dome October 10 San Jose State
www.vandalgameday.com or call (208) 885-6154 for more details
at San Jose, Calif.
October 17 Hawaii
Kibbie Dome
October 24 Nevada
at Reno, Nev.
October 31 Louisiana Tech
Homecoming Kibbie Dome
November 7 Fresno State
Kibbie Dome
November 14 Boise State
at Boise
November 28 Utah State
Kibbie Dome