December 19, 2007
Dear Friends,
A key aspect of a fulfilling college education is a rich and varied campus
experience. At Boise State, we’ve taken very deliberate steps in recent
years to create a stimulating cultural, academic, research and social
atmosphere on campus. Now, another piece of that campus life puzzle
is falling into place.
A task force made up of students, alumni, faculty and staff is working hard
with the administration to expand and enhance the Greek community
on campus. It’s an important next step in our evolution that
will fully mesh with our progress as a metropolitan research university of
distinction.
As part of this process, a group of representatives from the four major
umbrella organizations for the national sororities and fraternities recently
visited campus to assess our strengths and weaknesses as we search for the
right path forward for a more robust Greek system. We eagerly await those
recommendations because we believe such an investment goes hand in hand with
our work to build up our research and other student programs, academics, facilities
and infrastructure.
Research shows that college students who engage in both the academic and
social side of campus life are more satisfied with their college experience and
that satisfied students have more success academically. Students who are more
active in campus life outside of the classroom are more likely to graduate,
show a higher affinity for their college or university as students after graduation,
and donate more money to their alma mater as alumni.
Certainly, involvement in a fraternity or sorority is not the only avenue
for fostering such connections between the university and its students. Activities
like the campus newspaper, student government, intercollegiate or intramural
sports, and the more than 200 student clubs and organizations at Boise State
create similar beneficial ties. Creating a stronger Greek system simply
gives us another tool for fostering a vibrant, stimulating and diverse
campus college experience.
It all adds to the sum total of the value of a Boise State education and
the success of our students.
As always, the students, faculty and staff of Boise State University thank
you for your steadfast support. And on behalf of the entire Bronco family,
we truly wish you and yours a very happy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Bob Kustra
Here are a few other recent or upcoming items of interest from Boise State
University:
- Idaho elementary school teacher and astronaut Barbara Morgan,
who flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor last summer, visited campus and gave
a lecture on the experience Dec. 10. Morgan participated in the Teacher
in Space program as the backup to Christa McAuliffe for the ill-fated
mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. She later trained as a mission specialist
and flew aboard Endeavor last August in an educator-astronaut mission.
- William Carman, a professor in the Department of Art,
recently received a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators.
Carman’s illustration, “Fine Dining,” received the award
after being included in the society’s 50th anniversary exhibition.
The Society of Illustrators, based in New York, holds one of the top illustration
exhibitions in the country and is highly competitive.
- According to research under way by the university’s Centre
for Creativity and Innovation, Boise is neck and neck with Portland
and Seattle when it comes to fostering creativity, which has been shown
to be a direct indicator of the economic success of a city. Boise ranks
6.7 on a 10-point scale, with Seattle ranking 6.8 and Portland ranking 6.9
on the creativity index designed by Boise State researchers.
- A group of Boise State University researchers recently received
$940,000 in federal funding for West Nile virus vaccine research.
President Bush signed legislation, supported by the entire Idaho delegation,
authorizing the research program on Nov. 13. The interdisciplinary team
of researchers, led by Ken Cornell in Boise State’s
Department of Chemistry, will work with the U.S. Department of Defense to
finalize details and move forward with the research. Cornell will work with
biology professors Juliet Tinker, Denise Wingett and Gongxin
Yu.
- Winter Commencement will unite the university for a traditional
ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21, in Taco Bell Arena.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and no tickets are required. The ceremony will honor
August and December graduates and will include the processional and recessional
of candidates. Also, President Kustra will present a Silver Medallion
to Roger Michener, an alum who served on the BSU Foundation Board
from 1990-2005, acting as president from 1999-2001. The Silver Medallion
is Boise State’s highest recognition of service to the university.
- As you surely know by now, the Bronco football team has accepted an invitation
to play East Carolina University in the 2007 Sheraton Hawai’i
Bowl Dec. 23. The game will be broadcast by ESPN. Boise State will
be making its sixth straight post-season bowl appearance, and its eighth
in the past nine years.