Campus Sustainability is Key Focus
as Part of Earth Day Celebration

“The turf may be blue, but the campus is green.”

It’s a catchy way of saying Boise State is serious about sustainability – an appropriate message for Earth Day 2008. But while the new tagline adopted by the man in charge of those efforts focuses on making the campus more sustainable from stem to stern, its underlying purpose is much more subtle and personal.

“Ultimately, the vision of a green campus moves beyond our long-running commitment to efficient lighting, appropriate landscaping and high-performing, energy-efficient buildings,” said John Gardner, associate vice president for energy research, policy and campus sustainability. “It’s about engaging people to help them think about their own impact on the environment. It’s about creating an educational environment so that sustainable choices are the obvious and easiest ones to make in our everyday lives.”

Gardner was appointed to this new post in September to manage ongoing grassroots sustainability efforts on campus – from the “green team” to the student-led recyclemania competition – and as part of President Bob Kustra’s adherence to the Presidents’ Climate Commitment, a national effort by college and university presidents to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at their institutions.

As a result, Gardner is responsible for the university’s focus on creating a campus with an environmentally friendly footprint while advancing research in sustainability. He hopes to make the future expansion of Boise State’s campus a laboratory and model for low-impact development.

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Center Awarded Grant to Evaluate Medicaid Reforms in Idaho

The Center for Health Policy at Boise State is part of a group that has been awarded close to $400,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the effects of recent Medicaid reforms. Boise State’s research partners in the two-year study are the Urban Institute of Washington D.C., the project’s lead organization, and the University of Kentucky.

Idaho and Kentucky were selected for the study because they are among the first to use the new authority granted to states under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. That act expanded states’ flexibility for the adoption of innovative methods to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their Medicaid programs.

Across the country, double-digit increases in health-care costs have raised concerns about the sustainability of state Medicaid programs and their implications for federal and state budgets. Because Idaho and Kentucky implemented related policy changes in very different contexts (geographic region, demographic make-up and Medicaid program size), examining both states together will provide insights about the extent to which responses to policy changes vary across states.

Ed Baker, director of the Center for Health Policy, states that, “The Center for Health Policy is pleased to be working with nationally recognized research partners in this Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded research project. The results of this work should help Idaho understand what has worked and what needs additional focus regarding Medicaid reform efforts in the state.”

In This Issue

  1. Campus Sustainability
  2. Center for Health Policy
  3. Osher Institute
  4. Bicycle Congress
  5. Classified Employee of the Year
  6. Alumni Association
  7. Political Science Students Tapped
  8. Speaker to Address WWII Genocide
  9. 67th Annual Spring Concert
  10. "Two Rooms" by Lee Blessing
  11. Bookstore Open House
  12. International Programs
  13. Students, Faculty Present Research
  14. Winners of Campaign Survey
  15. French & Spanish Panels Share Work
  16. Campus Crime Log
  17. Faculty and Staff in Action
New Horizons in Education

Sian Mooney

Boise State Economics Professor

Guest Host: John Gardner

Friday, 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. on NPR News 91

Beyond The Blue

Construction is beginning this spring for the new Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center and Department of Nursing. The Norco Building is a $25 million project with general and urgent care clinics, pharmacy, dental clinic and counseling services.

OSHER INSTITUTE

Coach Petersen to Deliver Free Lecture May 21

osher graphicBoise State University football coach Chris Petersen will share some insight into how he motivates his coaches and players during a special address at 7 p.m. May 21 in the Bronco Football Complex on the south side of Bronco Stadium.

The special lecture is the final event of the spring season for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State. It is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Those interested should call ext. 6-1709 to reserve a seat. Free parking also will be provided.

Petersen, who led the Broncos to a Fiesta Bowl win and a WAC Championship during the past two seasons, will focus on the psychology he uses as he works with his coaching staff and players, and on how current technology has impacted the game of football. He will also answer questions from the audience.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is a membership-based program for the adult community, offering a series of lectures, noncredit courses and special events. The institute is offered through Boise State’s Division of Extended Studies and in cooperation with local organizations. It is open to anyone who wishes to participate. Boise State recently joined other institutions across the country that have OLLI programs, including Duke, Clemson, University of California-Berkeley, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon, Washington and Utah.

Membership includes seating at lectures in the independent lecture series and the opportunity to register for the institute’s short-term courses. Membership fees are $35 for one season. For more information about discounts for second family members and Boise State Alumni Association members or additional details, visit www.boisestate.edu/osher.

BICYCLE CONGRESS

Roadways to Bikeways Plan Unveiled, Other Plans Presented April 25

Ways that cycling can improve your life and the community will be presented at the fourth annual Community Bicycle Congress on April 25, which will feature the public unveiling of Roadways to Bikeways, a bicycle master plan for Ada County. The congress will run from 8 a.m.-5:15 p.m. in the Student Union Barnwell Room on the Boise State campus.

The Ada County Highway District will debut the nearly completed Roadways to Bikeways, an ACHD initiative designed to promote cycling and create new connections and facilities across the county.

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CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE

Larry KelleyKelley Named 2008 Outstanding Classified Employee

Larry Kelley, storekeeper for Facilities Operations & Maintenance — Central Receiving, was named Boise State’s 2008 Outstanding Classified Employee at the annual general meeting of the Association of Classified Employees.

Kelley is a 20-year employee and was recognized for a “standard of work effort that serves as an example to his peers,” for considering the “overall university impact when he deals with issues that reach across a broad spectrum of duties,” and for fostering “good community relations as it relays that Boise State cares about the community as a whole.”

Other nominees for the award also recognized at the luncheon were Gaynel Barzee, Carol Bugni, Nancy Daugherty, Lori Dawkins, Marian Graham, Rhonda Hughes, Midge Martensen and Lynda Robinson.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Nominations Accepted for Annual Distinguished Alumni Award

The Alumni Association seeks nominations for the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards to be presented during Homecoming 2008. Nominees should be graduates of Boise State who have built records of outstanding achievement within their chosen professions and have a strong connection to the university.

Access the nomination form here: http://alumni.boisestate.edu/programs/alumni_awards.asp. All nomination materials must be returned to the Boise State Alumni Association by July 1. Please feel free to contact Jennifer Wheeler (jenniferwheeler@boisestate.edu) with any questions.

Political Science

Two Students Tapped for Prestigious Minority Fellows Program

political scienceBoise State political science students Simon Tu (left) and Geneva Román (right) have been selected by the American Political Science Association for prestigious 2008-2009 Minority Fellows awards. Boise State was the only university to have more than one student selected.political science

The Minority Fellows program was established in 1969 in an effort to increase the number of minority scholars in the discipline. APSA assists minority students in completing their doctorates by concentrating on the recruitment of minorities and the retention of these groups within the profession.

The Minority Fellows Program designates up to 12 stipend minority fellows each year. Additional applicants who do not receive funds from APSA may also be recognized and recommended for admission and financial support to graduate political science programs. Fellows with stipends receive a $4,000 fellowship. Awards are based on students’ undergraduate course work, GPA, extracurricular activities, GRE scores and recommendations from faculty.

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HISTORY

Speaker to Address World War II Genocide Tonight

Author Geoffrey Megargee will speak on “A Blind Eye and Dirty Hands: The Wehrmacht’s Crimes in the USSR” at 7 p.m. tonight in Room 106 of the Liberal Arts Building at Boise State. The address is free and open to the public. The Liberal Arts Building is just west of the Special Events Center.Megargee book

Megargee’s lecture will focus on the links between the military campaign and genocide in the planning and execution of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi armed forces in 1941.

Megargee is the author of “War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941” and “Inside Hitler’s High Command,” which won the Society for Military History’s 2001 Distinguished Book Award. He currently serves as editor in chief for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s multi-volume “Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945” and is a presidential counselor for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

This lecture is sponsored by the Boise State Department of History and the Campus Outreach lecture program of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.


MUSIC

Boise Choristers Present Their 67th Annual Spring Concert to Benefit Music Scholarships

The Boise Choristers will present their 67th annual spring concert at 7:30 p.m. May 21-22 in the Morrison Center Recital Hall. Admission is free, but donations are accepted to fund scholarships for the Boise State Department of Music.

This year’s program is “Women of Note,” directed by Karma Ellsworth and accompanied by Gail Borup. All of the music for the concert is composed by, arranged by or about women. Featured are an arrangement of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “How Do I Love Thee?” and Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

There will be entertaining songs about “Cindy,” “Mariah” and “Anna Elise” and a song to remind the audience to “Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman.” The Choristers will also feature the 2007-2008 scholarship winners Patrick Scott, baritone, and Misti Moberly, soprano.

THEATRE ARTS

Theatre Arts graphicPlay “Two Rooms” by Lee Blessing Shows on Stage II

The Boise State Department of Theatre Arts is presenting the play “Two Rooms” at 7:30 p.m. April 24-26 and 2 p.m. April 26-27, in Stage II of the Morrison Center.

Tickets are $12 general, $10 non-Boise State students, Boise State alumni, military and seniors. Full-time Boise State students, faculty and staff receive one free ticket at the Student Union Info Desk. All tickets are available through Select-a-Seat or at the box office, which opens one hour prior to curtain. “Two Rooms” is playwright Lee Blessing’s tale of one man’s captivity and the roller-coaster ride of hope and frustration his wife endures half a world away. Michael, an American professor, has been taken hostage in Beirut. Back in the States, his wife, Lanie, awaits word of his fate. Michael is being held and tortured in a small room by Shi’ite Muslims, while Laine imposes her own form of self-inflicted torture in a second room, stripped of furnishings, that was once Michael’s den.

For more information about “Two Rooms,” visit http://theatre.boisestate.edu.

BOOKSTORE

Open House for Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day

Join the Bookstore tomorrow to celebrate Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day. The Bookstore will host an open house from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. There will be discounts throughout the store. Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day has become one of the largest workplace observances. The event is celebrated worldwide, bringing together millions of people for community events, educational seminars, social gatherings and individual corporate activities recognizing support staff with gifts of appreciation.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

Cross-Cultural Expert Helps Understand People from Other Countries

International Programs and Student Housing are teaming up on a free lunch and presentation. The campus community is invited to “Understanding International People: Why do they do that? Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask,” from 11:45 a.m.-2 p.m. April 30 in the Student Union Jordan D Ballroom. The event features Ryan Larsen, a funny, engaging cross-cultural expert who will guide you through understanding people from other countries.

Enjoy free international food and free giveaways. This is a drop-in event: come when you can and leave when you need to. For more information, call ext. 6-2660.

ENGINEERING

IPT Students, Faculty Present Research in NYC

Engineering graphicInstructional & performance technology (IPT) students and faculty presented their research earlier this month at the 2008 Performance Improvement International conference in New York City:

Also, IPT alumni Janet Emery ('03), David Barnes ('98), Tony Gonzales ('06), and current student Kris Benney were the recipients of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) 2008 Award for Excellence at the gathering.

COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN

Destination DistinctionWinners of Destination Distinction Survey

University Advancement thanks the many faculty and staff who made the time to answer the survey on the university’s comprehensive campaign, Destination Distinction. Your responses will help us as we continue to shape our awareness strategies. Our congratulations to the following randomly selected prizewinners:

$10 Starbucks gift cards

Destination Distinction tote bags and pens

MODERN LANGUAGES & LITERATURES

French and Spanish Panels Share Work at Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Conference

For the first time, a French-language panel was organized at this year’s fifth annual Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Conference. A crowd of about 30 students, friends, professors and members of the community gathered in the Lookout Room of the Student Union to listen to presentations pertaining to novels the speakers had read and researched in last semester’s Senior Seminar on French and Francophone (French-language) Novels of the 21st Century. André Moncheur de Rieudotte, a local Boisean born and raised in Belgium, presided as external judge to the competition.

David Haisley, a student majoring in French with an English minor, presented a paper titled “Coup de soleil comme marque du destin: La Textualisation du banal dans ‘Le Soleil de Scorta’ de Laurent Gaudé” (“Sunburn as a Mark of Destiny: Textualizing the Mundane in Laruent Gaudé’s ‘Le Soleil de Scorta’”). Megan McCutchan, who is double-majoring in French and linguistics, presented a study titled “Une Brebis déguisée en loup: ‘Parce que je t’aime’ de Guillaume Musso” (“A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing : ‘Parce que je t’aime’ by Guillaume Musso”). Double-majoring in French and political science, Rhiana Quick gave a talk titled “Une Société errante: Une Critique sociale de la désorientation dans ‘À l’abri de rien’ par Olivier Adam” (“A Wandering Society: A Critical Analysis of Displacement in ‘À l’abri de rien’ by Olivier Adam”).

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CRIME LOG

Crime SceneWeekly Crime Log

Boise City Police and Campus Security present the weekly crime report.


Faculty & Staff In Action

Editor’s Note: Student Laura Hartwig, nursing, was also a member of the Boise State Founders Leadership Society Class of 2008 induction on April 11.

Craig Hemmens, criminal justice professor and director of the Honors College, recently published Juvenile Justice (Oxford University Press, 2008).

Jill Gill, history, recently accompanied four history students (Dane Vanhoozer, Tamara Mackenthun, Pankhuree Dube and Brian Lawatch) to Spokane to take part in the regional conference of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honors society. The conference was hosted by Gonzaga University.

John Gardner, associate vice president of energy research, was quoted in an Idaho Business Review story about Idaho’s "uncertain" tech economy.

Donald Winiecki, associate professor in instructional & performance technology and sociology, recently presented his papers, “The Expert Witness and Courtroom Discourse: A Case of Applying Both Micro and Macro Forms of Discourse Analysis” and “An Ethnostatistical Analysis of Performance Measurement,” at the 2008 meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) in Portland, Ore.

Local News Sources:

The Idaho Statesman - The Idaho Press Tribune - The Boise Weekly - The Arbiter - Boise State Radio

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