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December 2011
Volume 24
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Boise, Idaho
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First issue free
Professors win national award
Top Stories
Egyptian elections
Kimberley O’Bryan Journalist
Egypt has its first election since the revolution.
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Changes
CODY FINNEY/THE ARBITER
After formally accepting his new title as athletic director, Mark Doyle presents plans for the future of BSU.
Stop freaking out about catalog changes, people.
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Coyle named AD
Mark Coyle to become permanent Boise State athletic director Wyatt Martin Sports Editor
Senior Day
Sayonara, seniors! Broncos finish regular season on top.
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Weather Today
Boise State University’s search for a new athletic director came to an end this week, as President Bob Kustra announced Thursday Mark Coyle would take over for fired Gene Bleymaier. The hiring came after a nationwide search, which was conducted over the past three months by the recruiting firm Spencer-Stuart out of New York City. The firm found Coyle to be the candidate Boise State was looking for. Oddly enough, Coyle had reached out months before, only days after Bleymaier’s firing, in a personal email to the university’s president. Kustra had no idea at the time this would be the individual who would eventually be filling the athletic director position.
At Thursday’s press conference, Coyle emphasized his commitment to making the Broncos a national brand and continuing fundraising efforts for the athletics department. “What we have in Mark Coyle is not only somebody who is steeped in athletic department experience, but somebody who has worked outside in sports marketing for universities,” President Kustra said of his and Coyle’s goals for the athletic department. “And who are we kidding, in this day and age it’s becoming more and more important for us to find a way to take the Bronco Nation on the road, so to speak.” Coyle comes from the University of Kentucky, where he was the deputy director of athletics for the Wildcats since September 2010.
Before being deputy director, Coyle worked as the senior associate director of external affairs since 2005. Prior to Kentucky, Coyle worked for the University of Minnesota from 2001-05, the University of Miami from 1993-94 and Florida State University from 1992-93. From 1997-2001 Coyle worked for Host Communications, a sales and marketing firm out of Lexington, Ky. In his tenure he was promoted to vice president of the collegiate sports division. Coyle earned his bachelor’s degree in English as well as a master’s in education from Drake University. He earned another master’s in sports administration at Florida State University. “When I got into this business, I told myself I wanted to be at a place that had a strong
athletic program and valued the importance of academics,” Coyle said. “If you look at this program and look at what they’ve done athletically and academically—it’s unbelievable.” Coyle also mentioned keeping Head Football Coach Chris Petersen would be one of his main priorities. This is something many fans were concerned about, especially with UCLA sending Petersen an offer which would have paid the coach just under $4 million a year (according to a Los Angeles Times report). Petersen turned down the offer and looks to be securely planted in Boise for the time being. Coyle is expected to begin his duties as AD in January, pending an Idaho State Board of Education review.
New Jobs Act benefits teachers Sunny
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President Barack Obama speaks about American Jobs Act at the White House.
Cheyenne Perry Journalist
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The Arbiter
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The national unemployment rate is approximately nine percent. Job cuts this year have exceeded the total of last year by more than 34,000. Teachers are being laid off all over the U. S. These troublesome statements are not new to Americans — pink slips have become as common as paychecks. But could there be hope for America’s teachers? President Barack Obama seems to think so. In his Sept. 8 address, Obama advocated for a proposal he hopes will serve as a start for America’s economic recovery. This proposal is known as the American Jobs Act and it may bring
hope to teachers throughout the United States. Before delving into the American Jobs Act, it’s important to understand what occurs when teachers receive dreaded pink slips. First of all, a pink slip doesn’t guarantee a teacher will be laid off. Oftentimes, teachers receive pink slips while their districts are still determining what teachers they can afford to keep. Teachers waiting for a definite answer usually continue working until the end of the school year or when they are informed of whether they’ll return the next year. These teachers must continue teaching without knowing with certainty if they’ll still have a job. If a teacher is laid off, he or she faces the re-
ality of trying to find another job among schools looking to downsize. Many people believe the Jobs Act will help eliminate layoffs and the stress that follows. One focus of this act is to stabilize teachers in their current jobs, as well as to rehire teachers who have lost their jobs. An article from The White House Blog described the positive effects of the American Jobs Act for teachers. “The plan includes funding to support 400,000 teaching jobs, including protecting up to 280,000 teachers who are at risk of being laid off due to state and local budget cuts as well as rehiring tens of thousands of teachers who have lost their jobs in the last three
years,” it said. The American Jobs Act website shows how the act will affect the country and affect each state. According to the website, Obama plans to set aside $30 billion to help teachers keep their jobs. This will hopefully “prevent layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers” nationwide. An effort to retain and hire more first responder jobs—such as firefighters and cops— is included in this package, adding another $5 billion. The amount Idaho is expected to receive from this portion of the Jobs Act is roughly $160 million “to support up to 2,500 educator and first responder jobs.” Planned renovations for schools will also affect teachers. Public schools and community colleges, for example, will benefit from more than $25 million devoted to construction, expansions and restoration. Through these improvements, jobs will be created. The possibility of teachers gaining security in their jobs brings hope to some of America, but some people still doubt whether the American Jobs Act will fulfill everything Obama has promoted. To listen to Obama’s speech advocating the act, visit the White House website. To see the details of this act either visit the White House or American Jobs Act websites.
Two professors won National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for 2012: Alan Heathcock and Mitch Wieland. In the country only 40 writers were chosen out of 1,200 applicants. “I’m not surprised,” Adjunct Professor of Fiction Writing Heathcock said. “I think there’s something special going on here, in general, all the writers have embraced this idea about quality and excellence and we actually think we should be writing something that matters.” Heathcock graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree at Boise State. He has several short stories published in national magazines such as Zoetrope: All-Story, Kenyon Review and Harvard Review. His stories have won the National Magazine Award for fiction. His book, “Volt,” has received several awards and he is a literature fellow for Idaho. “Mitch (Wieland) was one of my professors back in the day. Mitch is this very quiet guy that has this idea of excellence. In class, he would talk to us all the time about excellence and quality. It’s the first time I had a professor bring those things up,” Heathcock said. Professor of English Wieland has written two books that have received starred reviews— “Willy Slater’s Lane” and “God’s Dogs.” He was founding editor of The Idaho Review and his short stories have appeared in several magazines including The Best of the West, The Southern Review, The Kenyon Review, The Yale Review, TriQuarterly and The Sewanee Review. Wieland is currently on an Arts and Humanities Fellowship for Boise State. The fellowship is annually awarded to three arts and humanities faculty members. “For this academic year, I have been released from all teaching and committee duties to finish a novel set in Japan entitled Enka Men,” Wieland said. He will visit Tokyo for a month in the spring of 2012 to finish his research for the book. His research includes Enka music, the shunning of traditional roles by young Japanese and high school bullying. Heathcock has a wife and three kids who are proud of his accomplishments. “But at the same time, life is life. I have to set the table, clean the house and take my youngest to hip-hop dance class,” Heathcock said. Weiland’s wife is a graphic designer and his son is a member of a band called Jumping Sharks. “With so much art, music and writing taking place in our house, we pretty much have the humanities covered. It stays lively,” Wieland said. For Wieland, the grant will help him do research for his book. Heathcock will only have to teach one class of fiction writing next year. “It’s come to the point that I really need the time to write, and this gives me the luxury,” Heathcock said. “But I’m going to keep teaching; it keeps me sharp, keeps me connected.”
Photo courtesy alan heathcock
Alan Heathcock, Ph.D. arbiteronline.com