In the News
Chronicle of Higher Ed Features Boise State
Boise State’s flexible workload policy for faculty is the subject of a story in the July 18 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The story, titled “Teaching, Research and Service by the Numbers at Boise State,” outlines the new policy — in place since fall 2006 — which allows faculty flexibility in how they divide their time between these three areas.
The article also talks about how this new policy is helping the university achieve its goal of becoming a metropolitan research university of distinction, by encouraging research and creative activity. Faculty quoted or mentioned in the article include Lisa Bostaph and Andrew Giacomazzi in criminal justice, Pamela Springer in nursing, and Philip Atlakson and Richard Klautsch in theatre arts. Provost Sona Andrews is also quoted.
To read the article in full, click here.
Bronco Stadium
Tichenor to Oversee Stueckle Sky Club
Valerie
Tichenor (right), who has served as the director of special events in the
athletic department at Boise State University since March of 2006, has been
named executive director of the Stueckle Sky Club addition currently under
construction at Bronco Stadium.
Tichenor will oversee the new $35.9 million facility, which is scheduled for completion before the first home football game in August. Her responsibilities include overall management, scheduling, setup and catering, conferences, special events and game-day activities, along with coordinating the event calendar for the new structure.
When Boise State athletic teams are not using Bronco Stadium, the facility will be leased for meetings, conferences and special events.
The expansion includes a new concourse on the west side of the stadium, a state-of-the-art press box, suites, loge boxes and club seats. The structure will also house the 7,100-square-foot Double R Ranch Club, the 5,200-square-foot Bronco Club Room, the 5,000-square-foot press room, a 700-square-foot conference room, a full-service kitchen, a new ticket office and two new merchandise stores.
Revenue generated by the facility will pay for the additions and upgrades, and provide $600,000 each year for the Boise State academic building fund.
Individuals and groups wishing to reserve space in the new press box/sky club addition can contact Tichenor at ext. 6-2570, or by e-mail at vtichen@boisestate.edu. For information on purchasing remaning seats, contact Curt Apsey at ext. 6-1781
Campus Master Plan
Norco Building Latest Green Project
Construction is under way on the new Norco building just behind the Student Recreation Center on the southeast side of campus.
When complete in about a year, its 81,300 square feet will be home to the Department of Nursing, with classrooms, seminar rooms, practice labs and an acute care simulation lab, as well as house a new Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center, complete with urgent care clinic, a pharmacy, a dental clinic and more. Integrating the two will enhance the quality of the learning environment for students.
But the building will also be an example of Boise State’s continuing commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. The high-performance building has been designed and will be constructed to the highest standards, consistent with program needs and budget. Current design indicates that it will be at least 40 percent more energy efficient than is required by code.
The building is planned for eventual connection to Boise State’s geothermal system, which would further reduce energy use. A possible groundwater-cooling loop, if feasible, could result in an additional 6 percent reduction in energy use. The siting and orientation of the building are critical to its energy use — an east-west orientation reduces overall energy needs by as much as 10 percent over what a north-south orientation would have required. Site landscape is also designed to provide shade.
Much thought was put into the size of the building and its location. In line with a metropolitan campus plan, the building will have a minimal footprint on the site. It is also located close to mass transit lines to help build the critical mass for further development of the system.
Additional enhancements will include: a storm water runoff retaining system that will directly recharge groundwater; a pedestrian-friendly orientation; low-emitting finish materials inside the building; and materials chosen to enhance the long-term durability of the building.
Morrison Center
New Plaza Under Construction
Photo by Dave Jensen
A portion of Cesar Chavez Lane in front of the Morrison Center has been closed since May to allow for Greenbelt and roadway improvements and a new plaza in front of the performing arts venue. Parking for box office patrons is currently located on the west side of the building, next to the Towers Hall metered parking. The project is scheduled to be completed in time to kick off the Center’s 25th anniversary year.
For information on this year’s Fred Meyer Broadway in Boise season or for details on other upcoming performances, visit mc.boisestate.edu.
Information Technology/Help Desk
Watch Out For ‘Spear Phishing’
Read expanded versions of these stories in BroncoBytes
Recently there has been an increase in “phishing” e-mails directed at dot-edu internet domains such as boisestate.edu. Known as “spear phishing,” the e-mails have some appearance of legitimacy because they refer the reader to the Help Desk or IT department. The following is an excerpt from an email message that came in last week:
“This mail is to inform all our {EDU WEBMAIL} users that we will be upgrading our site in a couple of days from now. So you as a Subscriber of our site you are required to send us your Email account details so as to enable us know if you are still making use of your mail box. Further informed that we will be deleting all mail account that is not functioning so as to create more space for new user. so you are to send us your mail account details.”
The e-mail continues by asking you to reply to the message and send your username and password. Don't do it. This is a phony attempt to grab your Boise State login information.
Boise State information systems support staff will never ask for your username and password in an e-mail. If you have any questions, please call the Help Desk at ext. 6-4357.
New Novell Passwords
Beginning July 23, OIT will upgrade the Novell password environment to utilize case sensitive characters. This means applications using the Novell password group (for example, GroupWise, BroncoWeb, BroncoMail and Blackboard) can now recognize case sensitive characters in passwords, potentially allowing for stronger, safer and more secure passwords to be set.
For more information on password resets, policies and guidelines, please see the OIT Help Desk’s Web site at helpdesk.boisestate.edu/accounts/passwords.shtml.
Center for Professional Development
July Newsletter Now Available
cpd.boisestate.edu/newsletter.html
CRIME LOG
Weekly
Crime Log
Boise City Police and Campus Security present the weekly crime report.
