PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
‘Planning in the West’ Conference Looks at Place
Understanding thoughtful, place-inspired planning and its role in shaping our region will be the focus of the first Planning in the West conference, co-hosted by the Department of Public Policy & Administration and NewWest.Net on June 17-18.
Held in the Stueckle Sky Center, the two-day conference will highlight planning and development trends, showcase best practices and create understanding about how thoughtful and place-inspired planning can help shape the region in the most positive ways. Featured speakers and participants include leading planners, policy-makers, architects, developers and landscape designers from around the Rockies.
“This conference and partnership with New West is a perfect fit with Boise State’s growing focus on urban planning,” said Susan Mason, director of Boise State’s community and regional planning program. “As our community and regional planning program develops, our region’s growth can become a laboratory where students and faculty help uncover solutions to challenges. Through conferences like this, we can bring that discussion out of the classroom and into the community.”
Early Bird conference passes are $148 (May 29 registration deadline) and include Wednesday’s pre-conference tours and hosted cocktail reception, as well as Thursday’s breakfast, lunch and snacks. A special rate of $118 is available for government, university and non-profit employees, as well as full-time students. There is a $50 administrative fee for continuing education credits. Conference passes are just $118 per person for groups of three or more.
To see a full agenda, go to www.newwest.net/planning. To register online, go to www.regonline.com/newwestplanning09. For more information, call (406) 829-1725 or send an e-mail to conferences@newwest.net.
COLLEGE OF engineering
Boise State Selected to Receive Prestigious HP Grant
Boise State was selected as one of 10 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. to receive a highly competitive 2009 HP Innovations in Education grant. The grant is designed to address the need for more students to pursue and complete high-quality, high-tech undergraduate degree programs in engineering, computer science, information systems and information technology.
The winning proposal was written by Joe Guarino, professor and associate chair of the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, and Pat Pyke, director of education research in the College of Engineering. Thanks to their efforts, the university will receive an award package of HP technology, cash and professional services valued at more than $280,000. Technologies such as wireless HP Tablet PCs, wide-format HP DesignJet printers and remote access to high-power HP Blade Workstations from anywhere on campus will be used in innovative ways to fundamentally redesign the undergraduate learning experience.
Guarino said the grant will fund the Engineering Learning Community for Idaho (ELCI) project, which will provide learning resources for science, mathematics and engineering for use by students at all levels. It also will support basic research in these areas, and the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering will offer a course this fall for engineering students interested in developing simulations for the ELCI project. In addition, remote-access capabilities will allow students throughout Idaho to use powerful engineering and scientific programs hosted by Boise State’s College of Engineering.
“Hewlett-Packard is continuing its tradition of giving back to the engineering community. The HP Innovations in Education award will enable a sustained, virtual community for the promotion and advancement of engineering and science education in Idaho. We look forward to sharing our experiences with our colleagues at other universities, including the University of Illinois, Clemson, Purdue and Tulane, who also received HP grants,” Guarino said, adding that recipients will present their projects at the 2010 Education Innovations Conference, hosted by HP.
SUB GALLERY
Annual Watercolor Exhibition Opens May 29
Watercolor by Anne Watson-Sorensen.
The 30th annual Idaho Watercolor Society Juried Membership Exhibition will be at the Student Union Gallery May 29-June 5. The gallery is on the second floor of the Student Union Building.
A reception is from 6-7:30 p.m. June 5, followed by an awards ceremony from 7:30-9 p.m. in the SUB Hatch Ballroom. Free parking during the reception is available in the Liberal Arts parking lot just to the west of the Special Events Center.
This juried member’s exhibition presents the best water-media paintings of artists living in the state of Idaho. The work exemplifies skill, creativity, imagination, a desire to communicate an original vision, and works that simply come from the heart. This year’s juror, Pat Weaver, will provide a lecture presentation regarding her work, with an accompanying demonstration.
The exhibition is presented by the Fine Arts Program at the SUB.
CAMPUS COPY
Resumes Printed Free for Employees, Students, Alums
Campus
Copy locations in the SUB and Education Building are offering free resume printing
for all Boise State students, alumni and staff actively seeking employment.
David Nefzger, supervisor of Campus Copy, and Ted Bailey, manager of Printing and Graphic Services, came up with the idea when discussing how they might help Boise State job seekers.
Bailey commented, “The current economic environment and the stress that go along with the job search process are huge. This is our way of offering a little relief. In addition to social networking and a digital resume, a customized printed resume could create a lasting impression that gets you in the door.”
Campus Copy also is developing an online template for ordering social networking business cards that will be available in the next few weeks.
GETTING TO KNOW GOOGLE APPS
E-mail Conversation Threads
Now that e-mails are being delivered directly to Google (and not forwarded from GroupWise) there has been a change in the way that threaded e-mails are working. Issues include the following:
- If you send out several individual e-mails, even ones that are exact duplicates of each other, replies to that e-mail will not be threaded. If you send a single e-mail with all of the recipients listed in the to, cc or bc lines, replies will be threaded.
- If you send a mass e-mail as a mail merge, responses will no longer be threaded. A mass e-mail sent in Google by pasting data into the to, cc and bc lines will be treated as one conversation and will thread.
- Recurring e-mails sent from a system (something like workflow@boisestate.edu) sent on different days will not thread. The same user and same subject line sent on the same day will thread.
- Replies to e-mails sent from a third-party system using one of your e-mail addresses will not be threaded. These go out as separate e-mails. But replies to a listserv will be threaded.
Learn more about threaded conversations and other features in Google Apps for Employees by reading BroncoBytes, produced by the OIT Help Desk.
For questions about using Google Apps for Employees, please visit the help desk Web site, contact the OIT Help Desk at ext. 6-4357 or send e-mail to helpdesk@boisestate.edu.
AHSAHTA PRESS
Rachel Loden’s Book of ‘Darkly Witty’ Poems Published
Boise State’s Ahsahta Press has announced publication of Rachel Loden’s long-awaited
book of “darkly witty” poems titled “Dick of the Dead,” a follow-up to her award-winning
“Hotel Imperium.”
The book is an investigation into American sexual, political and poetic consciousness, at the eccentric heart of which lies the undead and uneasy 37th U.S. President, Richard M. Nixon.
Also sifting the evidence (or implicated in its findings) are J. Edgar Hoover, Sylvia Plath, Hugh Hefner, Wyatt Earp, Valerie Solanas and Vladimir Putin, as well as an experimental subject in a pink tutu, a Finnish gravedigger, an exiled Anglo-Saxon poet, and an industrious gang of fairies.
Loden’s Nixon is never merely the consummate villain deplored by his critics; nor is he the tragic visionary statesman acclaimed by his apologists. He is nearly a force of nature, throwing off his gravestone in the garden at Yorba Linda, calling up his troops, his family and even his black and white cocker spaniel, ready to smash death by any means necessary, to beat back a sea of pretenders and retake Washington by storm.
Loden’s “Hotel Imperium” was named one of the 10 best poetry books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. She has twice been included in the “Best American Poetry” series and has received a Pushcart Prize. Loden lives in Palo Alto, Calif. “Dick of the Dead” is her second book of poems.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
MBA Team Wins Prize at International Business Plan Competition
Heat 2 Optimize (H2O), a team of Boise State MBA students, bested teams from Germany, France and China to win the Benchmark Capital Challenge at the 2009 Global Moot Corp Business Plan Competition earlier this month in Austin, Texas. Boise State’s team was one of only 38 teams from around the world to compete.
The team, led by David Rush, worked with Boise inventor Dale Kramer to develop an innovative, energy-saving electric water heater that allows utility companies to shift electricity consumption to off-peak periods.
H2O placed third in the preliminary round of the 2009 Global Moot Corp Business Plan Competition, losing out to a team that went on to the final round. Rush’s team was honored with the Benchmark Capital Challenge award and $1,000 in prize money.
“This competition was the most valuable portion of my MBA experience so far,” Rush said, noting that he had the opportunity to interact with renowned entrepreneurs who have built companies and sold them for millions of dollars. “We’re going to take it one step at a time and continue to pursue our idea.”
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
New Alumni Officers, Directors Elected
The Boise State University Alumni Association elected officers and new directors
at the organization’s annual meeting last week. Officers and directors meet quarterly
to govern the association’s operations.
Andrea Evans, senior director of state customer relations for Corrections Corporation of America, was elected to a one-year term as association president. Also, a new slate of executive committee members was elected: Travis Burgess, first vice-president; Ward Hooper, second vice-president; Jess Byrne, treasurer; Greg Chavez, secretary; and Travis Jensen, past president.
New board members are Sheri Muncy-Freeman, Aaron Charrier, Heidi Low, Brian Ballard, Joshua Ingram, Monte Jackson, Tom Labrecque and Pat Large.
The Alumni Association connects, celebrates and engages alumni and friends of the university to build lifelong relationships that support the future of Boise State. With more than 65,000 alumni throughout the world, the association also strives to support students and advocate on behalf of higher education. Key programs include the Bronco Advocacy Network, the Legacy Scholarship Fund for relatives of alumni, and a nationwide network of chapters and volunteers. For more information about the Alumni Association, visit alumni.boisestate.edu or call ext. 6-1698.
HEALTH, WELLNESS AND COUNSELING
Anger Management Workshop for Women
What: Nice Ladies & Witches: Anger Management Skills for Women
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. June 19 and 26
Where: Multipurpose Building, Room 201
Instructor: Carol Pangburn
Registration info: One credit pass/fail. Cross-listed in Counseling & Health
Studies. (If not a current student, apply as non-degree seeking, then
register through BroncoWeb).
This workshop is designed to help you transform anger into a constructive force for reshaping your life by helping you to understand and manage your anger to make meaningful and lasting change in important relationships.
CAMPUS RECREATION
Communication Department is Mail Stop of the Month
Congratulations to Mail Stop 1920 (Communication/SSPA), Campus Recreation’s Mail Stop of the Month for June.
Mail Stop of the Month is an incentive where Campus Recreation offers eight free trial visits to all current non-members, valid for one month, who work at the winning mail stop. Current members at that mail stop can receive a free guest pass and a cool prize.
The trial pass is good for eight total visits during the month of June only. If you are a faculty or staff member at the winning mail stop, you should have received both a letter and a flyer in the mail. Simply present the letter and/or flyer to the Service Desk at the Student Recreation Center to receive eight free visits.
Should you be interested in purchasing a membership at the end of the month, or after your eighth visit, stop by the Student Recreation Center or call ext. 6-1131. Current members at the winning mail stop also must present the letter and/or flyer to pick up their guest pass and prize.
Learn more at rec.boisestate.edu.
3v3 Indoor Basketball Tournament
Get your hoop on and take part in Campus Recreation’s first-ever community basketball tournament. The tournament runs July 10-11 on the Boise State campus.
Teams may have a maximum of four players. The goal is to create brackets that evenly match teams. As such, teams will be divided into six divisions: Boys/Girls 12–14, Boys/Girls 15–17, and Men/Women 18+. Games will take place in the Student Recreation Center, the Auxiliary Gym in Taco Bell Arena and the Bronco Gym.
Cost is $39 per team on or before June 26. After June 26, the cost is $59 per team. Registration continues until July 6.
Register at rec.boisestate.edu/Basketball3v3. For more information, call ext. 6-2447.
