[Vision2020] The Friday Leter from UI President White (February 24, 2006)

[Tom Hansen]

Today's (February 24, 2006) Friday Letter from UI President White - 

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University of Idaho
Office of the President
Moscow, Idaho 83844-3151
Phone: 208-885-6365
Fax: 208-885-6558

The Friday Letter
A Newsletter for University of Idaho Alumni and Friends Feb. 24, 2006

Dear Friends,

This week, I'd like to highlight the very fine, rewarding work done by
current and former students in the University of Idaho College of Law, both
close to home and across the country. It is stories like these that s well
my pride in our students and alumni, and that increase our sense of
belonging to a very special, extended community of teaching and learning.

Law students Ritchie Eppink, Matt Sonnichsen and Nance Ceccarelli, recent
graduate Matt House and faculty member Pat Costello have been coaching
Orofino High School students in preparation for the "We the People" Mock
Congressional Hearing Competition on the U.S. Constitution. In January, the
Orofino team won the state competition. In April, they will fly to
Washington, D.C., to compete nationally. It's the fifth year UI College of
Law students have worked with the Orofino team. The law students sit as
judges, critique student presentations, look over student essays, spend time
in a question-and-answer session and serve as mentors. What a wonderful
example of UI's service to youth and to community these law students are
setting.
	
Luke Waldron Davis earned his law degree in December, and just a few weeks
ago, he was honored at the annual meeting of the New York State Bar
Association's International Law and Practice Section. Davis wrote the
winning entry in the national 2005 Albert S. Pergram Writing Competition.
Davis' article, "Reversing the Flow: International Law and Chinese
Hydropower Development on the Mekong," will be published in the New York
International Law Review. He also received a cash award of $2,000. The paper
was influenced by Davis' participation in the University of Idaho's 2005
International Law Symposium. The 2006 Symposium is March 16-18 in Coeur
d'Alene and Worley. The topic is "Indigenous Peoples and International Law:
Lands, Liberties and Legacies." Again, Davis' story is a fine tribute to our
law school's quality and influences, and to our students' own quality and
influence.

Tim White
President

Here's the latest news from the University of Idaho:

* Professor of glaciology Vladimir Aizen reports changes in glaciers in the
world's largest and highest mountain system may have the most immediate
effects on nearly half of the world's population. He spoke at a media
briefing organized by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science during its annual meeting in St. Louis last week. Aizen said changes
in the flow of freshwater from 100,000 glaciers in the Central Asia Mountain
System will affect nearly 2.5 billion people, and rising temperatures are
causing dramatic changes in the world's glaciers. 
Scientists studying ice fields in Greenland, Chile and Asia agreed during
the briefing. The U.S. Department of Energy funded Aizen to begin
preliminary studies of changes in snowpack in central Idaho's rugged Salmon
River country. He has also conducted expeditions funded by the National
Geographic Society, National Science Foundation and others to the Himalayas,
Pamirs, Tibet and elsewhere in central Asia. 

* The University of Idaho Alumni Association has named two distinguished
alumni to be inducted into the UI Hall of Fame this year.  Minoru "Min" 
Hironaka of Moscow, is a 1952 graduate in range management. He is a UI
honored professor emeritus of rangeland ecology and management. Hironaka has
made significant contributions to the art and science of rangeland
management as a discipline. D. John Thornton of Boise, is a 1970 and
'73 graduate from the College of Law. He has developed a successful law,
estate and wealth planning practice. Currently, his practice is limited to
the western United States. Thornton was an active leader in the University
of Idaho's successful Campaign for Idaho. The recipients will be honored
during a ceremony this spring on the UI campus in Moscow. 

* UI alumnus and Vandal Scholarship Fund member Steve Kincheloe '92 earned
recognition for a heroic rescue effort in January. Kincheloe, a Boise Police
officer, and two other officers responded to a report of a disturbance in an
apartment building, where they heard the sound of a smoke detector and
smelled smoke. Kinchloe kicked in the door and found a woman sitting on the
floor next to a burning bed with her shoulders and head on fire. The
officers smothered the flames on the woman and used fire extinguishers to
put out the fire. Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson called the actions of
the officers "nothing short of heroic." 
He added, that Kincheloe and the other officers risked their own safety to
save others, which is the height of service and sacrifice to the community.

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Take care, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
UI '96

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the REALIST adjusts his sails." 
- Unknown