[Vision2020] UI Friday Letter for May 16, 2008

[Tom Hansen]

Copied and pasted below is the UI Friday Letter for May 16, 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
May 16, 2008

Dear Friends,

No turn of events will ever diminish my pride and deep interest in the 
ongoing accomplishments of our University of Idaho community, such as 
those I report to you today.

First, we had a festive and joyous day, filled with graduates' smiles and 
prideful families, at our Moscow commencement ceremonies last Saturday. My 
congratulations to the latest additions to our Vandals' legacy of leading, 
and my thanks to all those staff and faculty members who worked hard to 
make the day a success.
       
University of Idaho researchers are leading a number of projects to 
explore the mysteries of our solar system. Professor of Geology Simon 
Kattenhorn conducts planetary geology research, and he recently received 
nearly $360,000 in funding from NASA to study the tectonic evolution of 
Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

The moons are of great interest to NASA because of the existence of liquid 
water beneath the ice shells of each moon, and the possibility of the 
existence of habitable environments. Enceladus was recently imaged by 
NASA's Cassini spacecraft; it shows evidence of eruptive water-ice jets or 
plumes from large cracks at the south pole of that icy moon. Both moons 
are constantly squeezed by the large tidal forces exerted upon them by 
their host planets, and this results in their icy shells being constantly 
fractured and deformed. Professor Kattenhorn will examine the complex 
geological history of each moon based on analyses of spacecraft imagery, 
to look for evidence of current day tectonic activity and to determine the 
cause for the observed patterns of surface fracturing.

I next want to recognize the efforts of Lloyd Mues, vice president for 
finance and administration of the University of Idaho. Lloyd has brought 
strong and strategic leadership to this most complex part of the 
University. He has guided us toward financial stability and strength. 
These efforts have earned the institution favorable positions with two 
Wall Street firms that have assessed our financial worthiness and debt 
capacity, with our external auditors and with our academic accrediting 
body. These are very powerful external points of calibration of the 
University's financial health. Lloyd also has launched a strategic 
budgeting process for the institution, and initiated significant capital 
improvements including energy savings. This week, we appointed Lloyd to 
the position on a permanent basis; he had served as interim vice president 
since May 2006. Thank you for your continuing service, Lloyd.

The University is now on its summer schedule, although the weather may 
argue that fact - we had a short snow flurry here in Moscow earlier this 
week. The Friday Letter also will now begin its summer schedule, and you 
will receive a monthly letter in June and July, with special editions of 
the Friday Letter in the event of urgent news. We will return on a weekly 
basis on August 15. 

Tim White	
President

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

Recent graduate Anna Makowski '08 has a passion for teaching and 
mentoring. Throughout her academic career, she's given of her time to 
elementary school students in a poor neighborhood in Santiago, Chile; 
tutored other fellow Idaho students in statistics, English and Spanish; 
and served as a mentor to various student groups. Makowski, from 
Beaverton, Ore., also has worked in a Mexican Consulate, studied abroad in 
India and the Dominican Republic, volunteered at an orphanage in Tijuana, 
Mexico, and studied Spanish, French and Hindi languages. Now, Makowski has 
been awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English in Colombia. With dual 
degrees in Spanish and political science, she hopes to expand her 
activities abroad to include work with children and to research growing 
eco-tourism and/or sustainable coffee farming. As a Fulbright Scholar, 
Makowski joins numerous University of Idaho faculty and students that are 
alumni of the program.

Senior Cassie Byrne is the recipient of a National Security Education 
Program David L. Boren Scholarship. The scholarship will provide up to 
$20,000 to fund a year of Arabic language and culture studies in Jordan 
during the 2008-09 academic year. Byrne calls the scholarship a dream come 
true. She is a Moscow native and is working on triple degrees in 
international relations, political science and Spanish. Byrne plans to 
complete her degrees in May 2010.

The Boeing Company recently gave $30,000 to fund hands-on classroom 
projects for students in the College of Business and Economics and College 
of Engineering. Earlier this spring, 22 students from Assistant Professor 
Scott Metlen's Systems and Simulation class traveled to a Boeing facility 
in Fredrickson, Wash., to present four business simulations projects. The 
students wowed Boeing executives with their suggestions for improvements 
to company operations. "You and the students should be very proud of what 
you accomplished. Bravo!" said Clinton Woo, senior production engineering 
manager for Boeing. For more information on corporate and foundation 
giving, contact Virginia Pellegrini at (208) 885-5303 or 
virginiap at uidaho.edu.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
UI '96

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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