January 30, 2008

Dear Friends,

Boise State University’s success as a metropolitan research university has reached an important milestone: our planned Center for Environmental Science and Economic Development (CESED) will be the first major brick-and-mortar project on campus brought about by and dedicated to the advancement of research.

Envisioned as a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research center for the departments of Geosciences, Civil Engineering, Public Policy and Administration and Political Science, CESED will nurture initiatives, educational programs and research partnerships in the areas of environmental science and economic development.

Cross-pollination of programs in areas like the environment, transportation, water, land use and community and regional planning will truly make CESED a hothouse for ideas essential to the future of the community, region and state. It will become the cornerstone of Boise State’s pursuit of scholarship that improves upon our state’s quality of life, the energy of its commerce and the well-being of its citizens.

We believe that CESED is so essential to the State of Idaho and Boise State that we made securing partial funding for the estimated $35 million-$40 million cost the University’s top priority for the 2008 legislative session. Earlier this month, we asked lawmakers to dedicate $15 million from state coffers to help with the cost of this very important building.

Not only will community partners who rely on Boise State’s expertise and leadership in these areas reap even greater benefits from the work done under CESED’s roof, but this interdisciplinary approach will continue the university’s practice of finding and encouraging academic and research synergies and the efficient pooling of resources. The cutting edge design will promote collaboration among scientists, engineers and public policy experts, while integrated classroom labs will give students hands-on experience with meaningful research.

By bringing some of Boise State’s strongest academic, research and community support pillars under one roof, CESED will become a foundation for Boise State’s future advancement as a metropolitan research university of distinction.

Thank you for everything you do for Boise State. Go Broncos!

Sincerely,

Bob Kustra

 

Here are a few other recent or upcoming items of interest from Boise State University:

• Boise State University will host a series of Focus the Nation events Jan. 30-31 as part of an unprecedented national educational initiative on global warming solutions for America at more than 1,400 universities and colleges in all 50 states. At Boise State, Focus the Nation events will include a series of classes and seminars to educate the university community about causes and effects of global change and discussions with government and business leaders about solutions to climate change. The public is invited to attend all events. For more information, please visit: http://www.boisestate.edu/focusthenation.
• Community members and students got up close and personal with America’s national symbol, the bald eagle, during the ninth annual Bald Eagle Days events held January 26. Participants took part in wildlife viewing along the Boise River with Audubon Society volunteers, listened to informative presentations featuring live bald eagles and other birds of prey and participated in hands-on educational raptor displays. This free public event is hosted annually by Boise State’s Idaho Bird Observatory to educate the community about local raptor populations and raise money for the observatory’s work. The festivities will continue on Friday, Feb. 1, when Idaho’s only four-term governor and Carter Administration interior secretary, Cecil Andrus, will deliver the keynote address at the Bald Eagle Days gala and fundraising dinner.
• “Maid In Idaho: Nell Shipman Film Festival” will give fans of silent movies and Idaho a special treat. Shipman was a pioneering filmmaker during the silent era who filmed many of her works in northern Idaho and eastern Washington. The newly restored prints shown at the screening — “The Grub-Stake” and “White Water” — showcase the visually stunning and pristine wilderness of Idaho. “The Grub-Stake” also now features a new score written by composer Ben Model, who is a silent film accompanist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Model will perform the new score on the Egyptian’s antique organ. The Festival is presented by Boise State University and is scheduled at 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise. Tickets can be purchased at the Egyptian Theatre.
• The Martin Luther King Jr./Human Rights Celebration at Boise State featured a noted poet and civil rights activist. Nikki Giovanni, a Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech, spoke as part of the ongoing 2008 event. Giovanni is a Black American poet, essayist and lecturer whose work influenced many throughout the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Her poetry is renowned for promoting racial equality and its urgency in calling black people to realize their identities and their rights. Most of this year’s celebration, featuring the theme “Whose America?” is free and open to the public. For more details call 208-426-1223 or go to http://mlk.boisestate.edu/index.cfm.
• Caleb Chung, world-famous toy designer and inventor of “Pleo,” the robotic dinosaur, was the featured speaker at Boise State’s annual creativity workshop on Jan. 29. Chung co-invented the 1998 hot toy of the year, the Furby, which sold more than 50 million worldwide and generated about $1.2 billion in sales. Chung is the founder of UGOBE, a company focused on creating lifelike robotic creatures that “blur the line between technology and life.”