BOISE STATE, CITY TEAM UP FOR UNIQUE CLASS

A unique partnership between Boise State and the City of Boise has led to a first of its kind program for students interested in the wide swath of Boise’s history and the city’s inner workings. The second phase of the class begins Monday and runs through Friday, focusing on the city’s surrounding region, including trips to Avimor, Hammer Flats and Arrowrock Dam.

Billed as “a field school of urban affairs,” the immersive, two-part, 10-day class titled “Investigate Boise” features the insights of history professor Todd Shallat and Boise City Councilman David Eberle, a doctoral-level economist. In addition, three other Boise State professors, two city council members and agency directors from the City of Boise and the Capitol City Development Corporation are helping teach the 50 Boise State students taking the class.

Boise State senior and lifelong Boise resident Hayley Perkins said the unique class caught her attention because of her interest in city planning and the insight it offered into little known things about the city in which she grew up.

“I had no idea about all of the old buildings that were razed in downtown Boise during the ’60s and the ’70s,” said Perkins, a communication major at Boise State. Partly because of the class, she may pursue a master’s degree in community and regional planning, a new master’s degree program at Boise State that could be up and running by fall 2010. “My favorite buildings downtown are the old ones. It breaks my heart to know that we could have had so many more.”

Perkins’ realization about the value of Boise’s past, and growing understanding of how decisions about the city’s future are made, is exactly the kind of lesson in citizenship that Shallat and Eberle hope to impart to students in the new class.

“This class is really designed to be a place-based approach to a study of Boise in all its facets,” said Shallat, who also is director of Boise State’s Center for Idaho History and Politics. “David works on the inside – as a Boise-born businessman, and now city councilman. I work on the outside – as a historian from another place who has written several books about the things Boiseans tend to take for granted. Together, we know Boise like the backs of our hands.”

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In This Issue

  1. Investigate Boise
  2. Bernard Yurke Receives Tulip Award
  3. Bronco Sports Crack Top 50 in Standings
  4. KTVB to Broadcast Football, Basketball Games
  5. Free Admission to Boise Art Museum
  6. E-mail Attachment Size Increased
  7. Summer Courses in Leadership Offered
  8. New Student Barbecues Scheduled
  9. Testing Services Gets New Name, Home
  10. Campus Crime Log
  11. Photo of the Week
  12. Faculty and Staff in Action
New Horizons in Education

Historian Elliot West,

boomtown saloons, encore

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

Counseling services is moving (temporarily)

Counseling Services Temporarily Relocated

 

Counseling Services is being temporarily relocated to the first floor of the Technical Services Building, beginning this week. The department will move to its new location in the Norco Building in late fall. Counseling can still be reached at ext. 6-1601.

 

For a PDF with more information and a map of the temporary location, click here.

 

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Bernard Yurke Receives Tulip Award

Bernard YurkeBernard Yurke (right), a research professor in the College of Engineering, was awarded the 2009 Tulip Award at the 15th International Meeting on DNA Computing and Molecular Programming held in June at the University of Arkansas.

Under the auspices of the International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation and Engineering, the annual conference is a platform for leading researchers in computer science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, molecular biology and nanotechnology to present significant results and build interdisciplinary projects. It began in 1995 after the publication of landmark work by Leonard Adleman, a theoretical computer scientist who opened the door to the relatively new field of DNA computing.

Yurke was recognized with a Tulip Award for his important contributions to DNA-nanotechnology. Past winners include faculty members from such institutions as Duke University and the University of Tokyo, and conference participants typically hail from Caltech, Stanford, Princeton and other research powerhouses.

After growing up in Boise, Yurke did two years of undergraduate work at then Boise State College. He transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in physics. He completed his doctoral work at Cornell University under the guidance of Nobel Laureate David Lee. After working for Bell Laboratories for nearly 25 years, Yurke was appointed jointly as a research professor in the departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at Boise State. Currently, he heads up the interdisciplinary Bio-Nanostructure Group.

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ATHLETICS

Bronco Sports Crack Top 50 in Standings

Boise State cracked the top 50 in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings for the first time in school history as the Broncos completed the 2008-09 season with 449.30 points to place 49th.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the final standings on June 29. The previous best finish for Boise State came at the end of the 2002-03 season when the Broncos placed 63rd with 281 points.

Boise State scored points in eight of the 19 sports it sponsors. Wrestling scored the most with 64.5 points when it placed 12th at the NCAA National Championships. Men’s tennis was just a half point behind with 64 points and a final ranking of ninth. The Bronco football team, which finished the season ranked 13th in the final USA Today Coaches poll, scored 63 points.

The other sports scoring points included women’s gymnastics with 59.3, women’s indoor track and field with 55, women’s tennis with 50, men’s outdoor track and field with 47, and men’s indoor track and field with 46.5.

Boise State’s finish was the highest of all nine schools in the Western Athletic Conference. In the 16-year history of the director’s cup, Boise State has only finished outside the top 100 schools twice.

KTVB to Broadcast Football, Basketball Games

Boise State football and basketball games have a television home for the upcoming season. The KTVB News Group announced it would continue to air the games through the 2009-10 season.

KTVB president and general manager Doug Armstrong says the new deal will allow for the production of seven live football games this fall, taking all games not picked up by national television networks, including ESPN. The games will air live on KTVB, with repeats featured on the 24/7 digital channel. The games will continue to feature Mark Johnson on play-by-play and Tom Scott providing color analysis.

KTVB will scale back the number of basketball games aired — with three to four road games featured on 24/7. It was a mutual decision between KTVB and Boise State to pare down the number of home basketball games aired. The school wants to see if taking the games off television will boost ticket sales, while still putting television resources into showing some road games, and KTVB is looking for a cost savings.

The one-year agreement fills a gap between KTVB’s previous television contract, and a new multimedia rights deal signed by the school with Learfield Sports, which goes into effect in July 2010. It also syncs up the television rights with a contract held by Peak Broadcasting for radio broadcasts.

The 10-year Learfield Contract, worth $33 million, covers television, radio, stadium naming, marketing and other components.

COMMUNITY

Free Admission to Boise Art Museum

The divisions of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs are partnering with the Boise Art Museum (BAM) to offer free admission to Boise State students, faculty and staff who present valid student ID.

In addition to its permanent collection, BAM also presents temporary exhibitions throughout the year. Upcoming exhibitions include:

For information about free admission to BAM, please call the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, at ext. 6-1418. For general information about BAM and its exhibitions, visit the BAM Web site.

GOOGLE APPS

E-mail Attachment Size Increased

Google has increased the maximum file attachment size for e-mail messages to 25 megabytes for Gmail. As a note of caution, keep in mind that some external e-mail systems may not accept file attachments of that size.

The OIT Help Desk also has published several recent articles on using Google Apps in BroncoBytes, including:

Questions about using Google Apps? Call the OIT Help Desk at ext. 6-HELP, or visit the Help Desk Web site.

CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Summer Courses on Foundations in Leadership Offered

Business managers often find the transition to the first level of leadership the most difficult. To address this need, the Center for Professional Development is launching Foundations in Leadership, a series of six two-hour workshops focused on the basics of communication, performance management and team development.

The series explores the most common issues and challenges faced by new leaders and provides tools for dealing with these challenges effectively. Participants can take all six workshops or choose specific sessions that address their biggest challenges. Participants who complete at least four sessions will receive a “Foundations in Leadership” certificate from Boise State.

Workshops are scheduled for July 28 and Aug. 4, 12 and 19. The cost is $49.99 per workshop and includes all materials and parking. Those who register for three workshops can participate in a fourth for no cost. For more information or to register, call ext. 6-3861, email cpdinfo@boisestate.edu or visit cpd.boisestate.edu.

BRONCOS BEYOND BOISE

New Student Barbecues Scheduled

The Alumni Association, in partnership with the Office of Admissions and Family Programs, is looking for graduates and current family members who want to help recruit outstanding young men and women to Boise State and support the needs of current students and their family members.

Bronco Contacts can be found throughout the United States and are involved in a variety of activities and programs. Currently, a number of these volunteers are hosting barbecues for newly accepted Broncos to help ease their transition to the university. Upcoming barbecues for incoming freshmen and their families are scheduled in the following locations:

Volunteers also can volunteer in the following ways:

To learn more, contact the Alumni Association at http://alumni.boisestate.edu/groups/beyond.asp or ext. 6-1911.

ADVISING AND ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT

Testing Services Gets New Name, Home

Beginning today, the Selland Assessment Unit will transition to a unit called University Testing Services and be organized under Advising and Academic Enhancement. Most testing services will continue as they currently have been operating (see below). Hours will remain the same for now, but may be revised at a later time, based on the needs of the university.

Current testing services offered:

University Testing Services is located in TS115. Coordinator of testing services is Nancy Ness; administrative assistant is Susan Paseman. Ness and Paseman can be contacted at ext. 6-2762.

Information on testing services can be accessed three ways:

1. Advising and Academic Enhancement Web page – click the University Testing Services link on the left

2. Direct URL — http://academicsupport.boisestate.edu/testing.shtml

3. University homepage A - Z index — T for Testing

Campus Crime Log

Crime Scene TapeWeekly Crime Log

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

 

Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week

 

English professor Tom Trusky, left, helps undergraduate Carissa Lentz and graduate student Timothy Davis read the future with the help of a large animal bone. The event was part of a new summer course called Before the Book, which explores ancient writing methods and materials. Chinese oracle bones involved a priest inking and carving a question into one side of an animal’s shoulder blade. After cracking the bone with a hot metal rod, the priest would interpret the cracks and write the answer on the other side. Above, Davis asks if he will graduate in December.

Carrie Quinney photo

Faculty & Staff In Action

Mitch Wieland, Department of English, will sign copies of his new novel, “God’s Dogs,” from 6-9 p.m. Thursday at A Novel Adventure, 906 W. Main St. in downtown Boise. For more about the book, check out an article by Christian Winn in this week’s issue of Boise Weekly. Wieland also will be reading excerpts at The Cabin at 7:30 p.m. July 16.

Paul Bahnson, professor of accountancy, won the Journal of Accountancy 2008 literary award for an article he co-authored titled “A New Day for Business Combinations” for the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Accountancy. The award, established in honor of John Lawler, former Journal editor and senior vice president of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, recognizes the author(s) of the best article published in the Journal during the 12 months ending with the December issue, as determined by the magazine’s editorial advisers. The winning article was co-authored with Paul Miller, professor of accountancy, and Brian McAllister, assistant professor of accountancy, both at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Greg Hampikian, Department of Biological Sciences, was featured as Boise Weekly’s Citizen Boise on June 24. The profile focused on his work with the Idaho Innocence Project and his research on Basque DNA.

Don Holley, Department of Economics, was quoted in a Channel 12 news report that stated that gas prices may have peaked for the summer. Holley noted that low gas prices tend to bring more travel, employment and consumer spending. He also was quoted in a Sunday Idaho Statesman story on the economy.

Ferd Schlapper, executive director of Health, Wellness and Counseling Services, was interviewed for a story about the promotion and implementation of tobacco-free campus policies in the May 2009 issue of Student Health Spectrum. Several of Schlapper’s comments also were included in a separate story on current issues in student health, which ran in the same issue.

Uwe Reischl, professor of health sciences, and Cynthia Clinkingbeard, adjunct professor of health sciences, were invited speakers at the 12th International Public Health Seminar in Riobamba, Ecuador, June 22-26. Reischl presented on the medical and public health consequences of childhood obesity and Clinkingbeard presented on the diagnosis and comprehensive management of type II diabetes in adults. Their visit to Ecuador was sponsored by the Idaho Chapter of Partners of the Americas, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., promoting cultural and scientific collaboration between the United States and Latin America.

Marty Downey, associate professor of nursing, and nursing student Carolyn Punt presented a research poster at the American Holistic Nurses’ Association’s 29th annual conference held in Madison, Wis., June 10-14. The research featured in the poster was the result of collaboration with co-investigator, Susan Parslow, associate professor of nursing. The research and poster, “Reflective Journals as a Source for Evidence-Based Practice in a Holistic Nursing Course,” elicited a great deal of interest due to its association with the conference theme: “Reflective Practice: Creating Sacred Space.”

Stan Steiner, professor of education and chair of the Department of Literacy, was co-author of a recently released textbook for ESL teachers in Korea. The book is the first in a series that teaches English using cultural contexts (food, traditional games, village life, etc.) familiar to Koreans.

John Freemuth, professor of political science and public policy and administration, was recently quoted in a Jefferson Public Radio story about the removal of the Savage Rapids Dam on Oregon’s Rogue River. Freemuth was also part of an expert panel titled “Agriculture, Open Space and the Promise of ‘Resource-Based’ Planning” at the Planning in the West Conference co-hosted by the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs and NewWest.net on June 18.

Local News Sources:

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

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