[Vision2020] The UI Friday Letter for July 6, 2007

[Tom Hansen]

Copied and pasted below is the UI Friday Letter for July 6, 2007 -

-----------------------------------------------

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 July 6, 2007

Dear Friends,

This fall semester, the University of Idaho will offer the nation's first
fire ecology and management bachelor's degree through the College of Natural
Resources. The program will help to meet the growing demand for highly
trained fire professionals who can make sound decisions about fire
prevention, suppression and management. Students pursuing this degree will
learn about fire ecology and management in both forests and rangelands.

The impact of fire, especially in the West, is staggering. This summer,
we've already seen the impact of wildfires at Lake Tahoe and in Utah. The
2007 fire season quickly is heating up toward what could be a record burn
year. Scientific projections show that the size, severity and cost of fires
will continue to increase, especially in the forests and rangelands of the
northern Rocky Mountains. In 2006 alone, some nine million acres burned
around the nation and the U.S. government spent $1 billion on fire
suppression.

The University of Idaho has offered a fire research program for 30 years.
The new fire ecology and management degree program will extend our
leadership in this area and help the state and region achieve a sustainable
future in natural resources.

Tim White
President

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

Fire is one the most feared, fought and controversial components of the
West's physical ecosystem. "People don't landscape for fire prevention
because they don't think it will happen to them," says Yvonne Barkley,
associate extension forester at the University of Idaho. "But we need to
think about fire like people in Oklahoma think about tornadoes and people in
Louisiana think about hurricanes." The educational guide, "Protecting and
Landscaping Homes in the Wildland/Urban Interface," is available from the
University of Idaho. It provides insight to understanding wildfire and how
homes are destroyed, as well as tips to minimize home ignition potential. Go
to www.today.uidaho.edu/Details.aspx?ID=3897 for more information.

With fewer than 15 percent of students today taking pedestrian and bike
routes to school, the College of Education and the City of Moscow decided to
do something about it. They co-wrote a grant to the Federal Safe Routes to
School Program and were awarded $113,750. About 90 percent of program funds
will support infrastructure improvements within a two-mile radius of Lena
Whitmore Elementary School, including several infrastructure projects
planned to improve pedestrian and bicycle routes to school. The Department
of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance will work with the
community, schools and law enforcement officials to educate and encourage
students and families to participate in safe biking and walking to school.
This is the first year Safe Routes to School has funded Idaho programs, and
Moscow is one of 22 Idaho communities to get in on the ground floor.


Racine Olson Nye Budge & Bailey Chtd. continues its investment in student
excellence at the University of Idaho. The Pocatello law firm has renewed
its commitment to excellence in legal education in Idaho, as well as its
commitment to the development of future leaders in the legal profession of
Idaho and the Northwest. The firm recently extended a previously established
law student scholarship at the University of Idaho College of Law. The
initiative will provide a three-year recruiting scholarship to be awarded to
an outstanding student who enters the College of Law in the fall of 2008.
The intention of the scholarship is to help the college recruit and enroll a
student whose academic credentials are nationally competitive, placing the
student among the most highly qualified members of the entering class, and
evidencing the student's capacity to achieve the levels of excellence and
leadership expected of the lawyers of Racine Olson and the University of
Idaho. To learn more about giving to the College of Law, contact Michele
Bartlett at (208) 364-4044 or bartlett at uidaho.edu.

-----------------------------------------------

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Take care, Vandals.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
UI '96

>From the north came a tribe brave and bold . . .

"Here We Have Idaho"
http://www.tomandrodna.com/HWHI.mp3

"I-D-A-H-O, Idaho Idaho Go Go Go"
http://www.tomandrodna.com/Vandals.mp3