This week the Vandals converged on Reno, Nevada, for the Big Sky Conference basketball tournaments. I had a chance to join Vandal fans in the “Biggest Little City in the World” this week and see the action in person. Win or lose, our teams exhibit the toughness and resilience that represents the University of Idaho so well. We can all be proud of their effort on the court. However, something you don’t see from the bleachers in Reno or on television is the work our Vandals put in on the student side of the student-athlete equation. The life of a college athlete involves a lot of hours in the gym, in meetings and with other team commitments. But the young men and women in our Athletics programs are balancing those responsibilities with a focus on academics and on contributing to the culture of the University of Idaho. We have a lot to be proud of off the court, and our basketball programs provide notable examples. You may know that many on our men’s team are seniors. Among this veteran group, three students – Perrion Callandret, Jordan Scott and Chad Sherwood – have already graduated; Jordan and Chad are currently pursuing master’s degrees, and Perrion is taking on a second bachelor’s degree. Chad has actually helped create an Athletic Leadership Certificate for undergraduates, extra effort that pays it forward for future Vandals to earn a credential that reflects and enhances their experiences as student leaders. The Vandal women are no less accomplished. On a team with a fall 2017 average GPA of 3.71, 10 Vandals had GPAs of 3.0 or higher and five women achieved a perfect 4.0. The Vandals’ team Graduation Success Rate is 94 – seven points higher than the national average. One senior, Nejra Solo, is already pursuing a graduate degree in plant sciences after earning a bachelor’s degree with a 4.0 in molecular biology. And in February, thanks to a perfect 4.0 GPA, junior Mikayla Ferenz was voted First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District, qualifying for the Academic All-America Team ballot. Ferenz has also twice been a Big Sky All-Academic honoree. I congratulate our student-athletes for their commitment to success as students and as campus leaders. Our coaching staff and Athletics department have set high expectations for academic success, too. Importantly, donors help provide opportunities for students when they contribute to the Vandal Scholarship Fund. Next year, Vandals will get a chance to see our student-athletes in our home state of Idaho, as the Big Sky basketball tournament moves to Boise. I’m looking forward to cheering them on in their roles as athletes – and as students. | | Go Vandals! Chuck Staben President | | | Reids Help Turn Student-led Initiative into Reality The J.A. Albertson Building, home of the College of Business and Economics (CBE), is undergoing an exciting basement renovation. In 2016, students in CBE and the Interior Design program created a strategic plan to transform the underutilized CBE basement space into an innovative and welcoming space designed to enhance the CBE learning experience. When Jim and Tedde Reid first learned about the collaborative, multi-discipline and student-led design concept for the Albertson basement, they were impressed. Not only did the students have a clear vision and strong plan, they possessed a contagious passion to move the initiative forward and provide a solution for an identified student need. “We were excited to support a student-initiated project like this and help turn their vision and design into a reality,” said the Reids. Their excitement resulted in a contribution that established the Garth Reid Conference Room, named in honor of Jim’s late brother and CBE Alumni. For more information about giving to CBE and/or the “basement project,” contact Brian Mitchell at bdmitchell@uidaho.edu or 208-885-2634. | | Raven Scholars Program Helps Students Find Their Way From the Spokane Spokesman-Review, Feb. 18, 2018: Aidan Neelon’s grades rose from straight C’s to A’s and B’s last semester when the University of Idaho sophomore found the place he belonged on campus. Neelon, who grew up in Moscow, said he made the academic leap by joining the Raven Scholars, a university transition program for students on the autism spectrum. Since the program’s inception in 2011, the retention rate among students who participate has been higher than the university’s undergraduate retention average. “Getting into a career and building a life I can be happy and comfortable with, and being able to successfully manage my life as my own, is a lot more possible,” Neelon said. “It’s nice to find somewhere you belong, because if you find it once, you can find it again.” Read more. | | Coeur d'Alene Education Building Moving Ahead From the Coeur d'Alene Press, March 3, 2018: A public education building project in Coeur d’Alene that has been discussed for almost a decade could break ground this spring, with completion a year away. Bids on the estimated $8.2 million project located inside the higher education campus of the education corridor — the former DeArmond Mill site along the Spokane River adjacent to North Idaho College — will be received this month for the 30,000-square-foot facility funded in part by Idaho’s public universities and colleges. Called the North Idaho Collaborative Education (NICE) facility, the two-story structure is expected to house University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho State and Boise State university classrooms. It’s also supposed to create one-stop student services — admissions, financial aid and advising. Read more. | | | | |