[Vision2020] The UI Friday Letter for August 22, 2008

Fri Aug 22 05:56:37 PDT 2008

Copied and pasted below is the UI Friday Letter for August 22, 2008.

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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
August 22, 2008

Dear Friends,

It's that very special week of the year again. Students and parents, 
faculty and staff are preparing for the opening of the academic year on 
the Moscow campus. As parents say their final goodbyes and new students 
transition into this exciting new phase of their lives, we are pleased to 
be welcoming what promises to be one of the highest achieving, most 
diverse and largest freshman classes in University of Idaho history. 

At University locations around the state, we are welcoming students who 
will expand their career and life opportunities through programs designed 
for working adults; we are engaging in outreach to build strong 
communities, industries and public policy; and we are conducting research 
to meet economic, environmental and societal challenges. In all of these 
endeavors, we are using the powerful combination of knowledge and 
opportunity to make a difference for the citizens of Idaho and our global 
community - as we have done for nearly 125 years, as the state's flagship 
higher education and research institution. 

The University of Idaho begins this year with the promise of continued 
leadership and continued impact. This week I had the pleasure of welcoming 
new faculty members to Moscow. We have more than 70 new, permanent faculty 
of exceptionally high quality and talent, and diverse backgrounds and 
perspectives; they are ready to provide the transformational, 
multidisciplinary learning experience that is a true distinction of our 
University. They hail from institutions including Duke, Stanford, and the 
University of Virginia; California Institute of Technology and the 
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; University of 
Wisconsin and the University of California Berkeley. These faculty members 
have chosen to join, and to help sustain and grow, our "Legacy of Leading."

Indeed, our students, faculty, staff and alumni continue to lead through 
contributions and achievements that truly impact Idaho, the nation and the 
world. Two alumni in particular have been on my mind recently. They have 
earned honors for their achievements - in both athletics and in their 
dedication to community. I have come to appreciate this as a special trait 
of Vandals. They demonstrate the integral tie between athletics, academics 
and life success - and the desire to give back.

David Vobora '07 was honored recently with the 2007-08 Stan Bates Award, 
presented annually to the Western Athletic Conference's top male and 
female student athletes; he is the third successive Vandal to earn the 
award. David graduated as a Communications and Psychology major and now 
plays with the St. Louis Rams. He is a four-time academic all-WAC honoree 
and earned a place on ESPN The Magazine's All-District Academic Team last 
year. He also was named to the National Football Foundation/College 
Football Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society for "superior academic 
performance and excellence in intercollegiate football." On his way to 
earning the 2007 Most Valuable Defensive Player Award, he became the 
Vandals' second all-time total tackle leader for a single season and 
ranked third in the nation in total tackles. 

Amidst all of this, he volunteered for the Susan G. Komen Race for the 
Cure and Relay for Life and for a Moscow elementary school's Extended 
Reading Program. David Vobora truly is making his mark across a spectrum 
of leadership.

And the Legacy extends to Beijing, as Kristin Armstrong '95 last week 
became the second American woman cyclist ever to claim a gold medal at the 
Olympic Games. Recognized as one of the most accomplished American 
cyclists ever, Armstrong earned her bachelor's degree in sports 
physiology. In her home town of Boise, she is deeply connected and 
dedicated to the community, teaching swimming and raising funds for the 
YMCA through the "Armstrong for Strong Kids" event. She even took a break 
from training just weeks before the Olympics to talk to a camp full of 
aspiring cyclists. "Just to see kids getting out there and being active is 
great," she says. "I love to give back to the community and meet the kids. 
I want to be a role model for aspiring athletes."

A role model she is. Congratulations, Kristin and David. We celebrate with 
you as Vandals. Indeed, we're wearing the gold with you - the University 
of Idaho gold that signifies we are champions for higher education and 
what it can do for our state and our world. Welcome to fall 2008. Go 
Vandals! Go Idaho!

Steven B. Daley-Laursen
President

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

University of Idaho's Board of Regents voted yesterday to authorize the 
University to seek legislative appropriation in fiscal year 2010 to offer 
a full third year law curriculum in Boise. The Regents also 
recognized "the statewide mission of the University of Idaho for legal 
education" and directed the institution "to re-visit the issue of funding 
and support for a full dual location model, including a full three year 
branch curriculum in Boise, to continue collaboration with the Idaho 
Supreme Court on the Idaho Law Learning Center with respect to those 
programs to be delivered in Boise, and return to the Regents for further 
discussion." 

In this age of high gas prices, students can opt for a less expensive ride 
around town.

The Associated Students of the University of Idaho and the International 
Friendship Association offers the student body and others a more eco-
friendly transportation option with its Bike Loan Program. The program 
allows students, scholars and their families to borrow a bike for a 
semester, a year or longer. Bikes are donated to the program and 
thenrefurbished. Web site: 

www.webs.uidaho.edu/ipo/ifa_services/bikes.htm

Nearly half of Idaho is rangeland, which produces a wide variety of 
resources for society including forage, wildlife habitat, water and 
natural beauty. To help foster the study of these unforested lands 
dominating half the earth, Harold F. Heady '38 has generously donated an 
additional $93,150 to bolster the Heady Professorship Endowment 
established in 1994 in the College of Natural Resources. His goal is to 
bring the endowment to $1 million. Heady is a professor emeritus of 
rangeland resources at the University of California-Berkeley. Harold and 
his wife, Ruth, created the Heady Professorship to enhance career 
development and professional standing of CNR faculty studying rangelands. 
The Heady Professorship was the first to be created within the field of 
rangeland ecology in the U.S. The professorship honors Heady's preeminent 
career in range management and supports a prestigious research award for a 
deserving faculty member in the Department of Rangeland Ecology and 
Management. Currently, Lee Vierling, associate professor, holds the Heady 
Professorship. Vierling is using the award to advance rangeland 
scientists' ability to apply satellite remote sensing techniques while 
monitoring rangeland health. For information about giving to the College 
of Natural Resources, contact Jane Urbaska at (208) 885-7400 or 
jlurbaska at uidaho.edu.

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Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

Came a tribe from the north 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

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