December 14, 2006

Dear Friends:

And then there were two — two unbeaten Division 1-A football teams in 2006 (Boise State and Ohio State) and two “mid-major” football teams to crash the BCS party (the ’06 Broncos and Utah in 2004).

As you know, the 12-0 Broncos became just the second college football team from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference to earn an automatic berth in the BCS since the series’ inception in 1998. Coach Chris Petersen, his coaching staff and players now join the 2004 University of Utah team as the only other program outside the BCS leagues to play in one of college football’s major bowl games.

Please join me in congratulating “Coach Pete,” his coaching staff and the players for completing their second undefeated regular season in three years, winning their fifth straight Western Athletic Conference championship, and earning the opportunity to play against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

The Broncos’ 2006 season is the most recent step in an extraordinary 10-year climb from Division 1-A football newcomer to a place among the sport’s elite. This historic opportunity will allow us to showcase Boise State University in the national media in unprecedented fashion. As we have done with our ambitious academic and athletic plans for the future, we will highlight our successes in the classroom and on the field. Our efforts to achieve national recognition for our programs, our faculty, staff and students will be enhanced immeasurably by the national exposure a Bowl Championship Series game will provide. I would also like to congratulate Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier on his leadership of the Athletic Department over the years, yielding this historic opportunity for the entire university.

While the football team’s fortunes have our entire campus abuzz, there is other important news I would like to share with you as we near the completion of the fall 2006 semester.

• At 10 a.m. on Dec. 15, Boise State will hold its sixth winter Commencement in Taco Bell Arena. About 600 students are expected to attend the ceremony. In all, 1,394 students have qualified for graduation since the May Commencement, earning a total of 1,478 degrees and certificates. Four students have qualified to earn doctoral degrees: Teresa Lynn England and Rebecca Celia Maria den Hartog-King, who will each receive an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction, and Marc Leonard Buursink and Timothy Chad Johnson, who each will earn a Ph.D. in geophysics. Our congratulations to the December Class of 2006.

• Two building projects at Boise State recently received a nod of approval from the State Board of Education — expansion of the Student Union Building and construction of a Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center/Department of Nursing Building. Both buildings are part of the university’s ambitious master plan for campus improvement and expansion. These projects join two others currently under way on the Boise campus: The $14 million four-story Interactive Learning Center and a new $11.4 million parking garage located at Lincoln and University. The ILC is slated for completion by June 2007 and the parking garage by August 2007.

• The SUB project will provide for expanded food services, bookstore, meeting rooms, study lounges and other student activity spaces, for an increase of 66,000 square feet. The existing 27,000-square-foot facility will also be renovated. Total projected cost is $30.65 million. The Student Health/Nursing Building will allow for a 30 percent increase in the number of nursing graduates, thus helping to meet the state’s desperate need for more nurses. The Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center portion of the building will include space for administration, health promotion, general and urgent care clinics, a pharmacy, a dental clinic and counseling services. Total projected cost is $25 million. The building will be situated directly behind the Student Recreation Center between Michigan and Vermont avenues.

• Speaking of nursing, the State Board of Education also approved our proposal to begin offering a master’s level nursing program beginning in fall 2007. Students may earn either a master of nursing or master of science in nursing degree, with an emphasis in public health. Not only will the program benefit the careers of nurses already in the field, but it will also prepare more nurses for teaching positions at Idaho universities and will enhance Boise State’s undergraduate nursing program. In a show of collaboration and support, Boise State signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Idaho State University in September to better coordinate the delivery of graduate nursing programs to Idaho students.

• While on the subject of academics, Boise State researchers recently received two six-figure National Science Foundation grants — a $348,786 grant for a laser scanning confocal microscope procured by biology professor Julia Oxford and $375,000 in funding to anthropology professor John Ziker to study the use of portable homes among indigenous cultures in the Arctic. The microscope will enable Dr. Oxford and colleagues in anthropology, biology, mechanical and biomedical engineering, chemistry, and materials science and engineering to study materials on a molecular level in three dimensions, from studying the structure of cartilage to tracing the genetic history of plant families to analyzing prehistoric hominid bones and developing possible vaccines for cholera and other diseases. Dr. Ziker’s three-year grant is part of a $2 million project involving researchers in five other countries. These two major NSF grants are indicative of  the major advances our scientists and researchers are making as we continue our efforts to transform Boise State into a metropolitan research university of distinction.

Lastly, Kathy and I extend our warmest holiday greetings. As always, thank you for everything you do for Boise State University.

Best Regards,

Bob Kustra
President