December 17, 2008

Dear Friends,

Boise State is not immune to the troubling economic news of recent months. State funding holdbacks of at least $3.5 million and a significant drop in the value of our endowment and other investments have triggered a thoughtful, if difficult, review process here on campus.

Make no mistake – our commitment to serving our students and fielding a forward-leaning research agenda is unshakeable. However, the economic realities require that we make strategic adjustments – not across the board cuts – to protect and support our core functions. So far, we’ve been able to weather these initial budget challenges by trimming capital project and equipment costs and finding other operational efficiencies, including travel and salary savings.

Moving forward, however, it’s clear that resources will be stretched and that your contributions to our university are needed more than ever. There has never been a more important time to support higher education.

One area we’re keeping a careful eye on is funding for about 850 student scholarships awarded by the Boise State University Foundation, our non-profit fund-raising arm. “Dollars for Scholars” is a specific effort to address this issue through end-of-the-year online giving. While student scholarships for the current academic year are safe, many could be in jeopardy over the long term without new funds. To find out how you can help, go to the Boise State homepage (www.boisestate.edu) and click on the link to “Dollars for Scholars.”

Despite the glum economic news, campus is buzzing with preparations for the end of the fall semester and winter commencement on December 19. And, of course, the talk of the town is the undefeated football team’s appointment with Texas Christian University in the Poinsettia Bowl on December 23. Sunny San Diego is the venue for what promises to be one of the best college football bowl match-ups this year.

I know I speak for all students, faculty and staff of Boise State in wishing you the very best this holiday season. And, as always, thank you for everything that you do for our university. Go Broncos!

Sincerely,

Bob Kustra

 

 

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

• Boise State’s Winter Commencement will honor August and December graduates with a traditional ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19 in the Taco Bell Arena. While 600 graduates are expected to participate, 1350 are eligible for 1420 degrees/certificates, and 249 are eligible for honors: 156 cum laude, 65 magna cum laude and 28 summa cum laude. The student speaker is Natalie Griffin, who is earning a bachelor of science degree in health promotion. A recipient of the U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award, Griffin is known for her dedication on the soccer field, in the classroom and in the community. In addition to maintaining exemplary grades, she devoted at least 20 hours a week to her sport, volunteered for numerous nonprofits and completed several internships devoted to health promotion.
• Cheryl B. Schrader, dean the College of Engineering, was recently presented the 2008 Hewlett-Packard/Harriett B. Rigas Award by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Education Society. The award honors outstanding women who have significantly and positively impacted electrical and computer engineering education through excellence in teaching, encouraging participation of women in the engineering disciplines, demonstrating scholarship in the field and developing new pedagogical systems that enhance learning and industry.
• A new sculpture, “Salute,” was unveiled as part of Boise State’s Veterans Day events. “Salute” honors veterans both on and off campus and is part of an extensive Student Union Building renovation. Boise State students initiated the project to dedicate part of the renovated building to the men and women who have served our country. Kay Kirkpatrick designed the metal-and-stone sculpture featuring the silhouette of a soldier saluting. In her artist’s proposal, Kirkpatrick wrote, “The salute as a gesture symbolizes both answering to duty and the individual who places working toward the benefit of others above themselves.”
• Boise State art professor Kathleen Keys was recently honored as the 2008 Art Educator of the Year by the Idaho Art Education Association (IAEA). Before arriving at Boise State, Keys worked for the Idaho Commission on the Arts. She later became director of the Boise State Visual Arts Center and was named assistant professor of art education in 2005. She now serves as the coordinator for undergraduate and graduate art education programs at Boise State.
• An interdisciplinary research team from Boise State’s Center for Environmental Sensing within the College of Engineering received an Innovation of the Year award in early-stage technology at the third annual Idaho Innovation Awards Oct. 29. The Boise State team won for the development of a subsurface Ion Mobility Spectrometer (IMS) probe that detects and quantifies volatile organic compounds trapped underground. Led by civil engineering professor Molly Gribb, the team includes research staffers Ray Carter, Dick Sevier and Daniella Morgos and Boise State engineering students Ayaka Nukui, Kyle Schwab, Ashley Zumwalt, Jesse Dillon and Ivan Geroy.