A Vandal education offers many benefits, from leadership development to growth as a citizen and a thinker to membership in a deeply committed alumni family. For many students, higher education is also a way forward to a rewarding occupation. Extensive research shows that a good job underpins a highly engaged personal and professional life. Building on our success delivering career opportunities for students and graduates, last spring U of I began a partnership with the Fenway Group. Fenway’s novel business model brings the benefits of another major employer to our college town setting, expanding the opportunities for relevant work experience available to students through contracts with outside companies – top-tier corporations like Southwest Airlines and CenturyLink. The organization can also effectively manage student projects with off-site employers from here in Moscow. With a space in our Bruce M. Pitman Center, Fenway hires Vandal students on campus and manages their work in information technology (IT), primarily web application development. Students earn a competitive wage in a fast-paced environment addressing business-critical needs – real-world work with real-world accountability. Over 18-24 months in the program, students receive mentorship, professional development and networking opportunities. At other Fenway sites, students often go on to work for the companies on whose projects they’ve contributed. The partnership is straightforward: U of I rents space to the Fenway Group and offers opportunities for connections with students, and the Fenway Group does the rest. College of Business and Economics Dean Marc Chopin initiated the program at U of I and has shepherded its evolution. The Fenway Group has already outgrown its original space as it scales up to 18 students in the program for fall 2018. Each student is gaining invaluable experience and skills that offer a leg up for life after college. “I think this program will ultimately be one of the things that helps differentiate the opportunities available at University of Idaho from those available at other schools in the region,” Chopin said. Kyle Tolliver, coach and technical lead for the Fenway Group, has been with the organization for six years. He’s facilitating connections with companies and mentoring student employees. He values the chance to “see students start their adult lives” with meaningful employment and responsibilities. “Seeing someone get their job and have a good opportunity ahead of them is really the main thing” that drives him to help Vandals succeed. Kyle is a professional reference able to vouch for students as they graduate and seek employment. They’ll also have cultivated relationships with employers through their consulting – an important complement to the experience now on their resumé. The current Fenway Group program is available to all students with aptitude and passion for information technology and computers, and has drawn interest from information systems and computer science students as well as students majoring in political science, engineering, English and more. Senior Tayler Makinen, from Meridian, and junior Jaidin Medina, from Moscow, are currently working together to develop a calendaring and scheduling system for Fenway. Tayler, who will graduate next May, is interested in database management and systems analysis. “I think the Fenway Group experience is going to mean a lot of for my future,” he said. “It’s going to show that I have experience with development and with the business side of the profession.” Jaidin, a double major in mathematics and computer science, is still exploring his options. “I’m not sure exactly where my specific interests lie,” he said, “and that’s something that at first drew me to Fenway. This work is an avenue I could definitely see myself pursuing.” Both students appreciate the opportunity to work on practical projects that will be put to immediate use. And they value having a supervisor who is a mentor. “You’re guaranteed someone’s there to help catch you when you stumble,” Tayler said. “You don’t have to come in knowing everything. Someone’s helping you and guiding you through the process instead of just giving you instructions and telling you to go.” That captures a lot of what we do at the University of Idaho – offer a valuable experience through a caring community. I’m looking forward to seeing how students like Tayler and Jaidin continue to take advantage of the opportunity to discover their passions, build their skills, and carve out their professional futures on their way to a good life filled with pride and purpose. Contact us if your organization sees value in partnering with the Fenway project and facilitating more opportunities for our hard-working students. | | Go Vandals! Chuck Staben President | | | Jim L. Anderson: Forever a Vandal Although University of Idaho Athletics lost one of its most steadfast supporters last month with the passing of Jim Anderson, his legacy of commitment lives on in the Jim and Marian Anderson Vandal Athletic Scholarship Endowment. Originally established by a group of friends in 2008 to honor Anderson’s tireless support of Vandal Athletics, the scholarship fund, with a market value of more than $40,000, supports student-athletes who achieve academically and show potential for success in their chosen field. His family has generously requested memorial donations be made to the endowment in lieu of flowers and gifts. “I am thankful the Vandals were such a big part of my dad’s life,” Lorie, Jim’s daughter, said. “It brought such joy to his life.” Jim began contributing to Vandal Athletics in 1985, and for more than 30 years was a fixture at home events. In 2012 he was inducted into the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame. For more information on supporting Vandal Athletics, contact Abby McLauchlin, 208-885-0259 or amclauchlin@uidaho.edu. | | Wall Street Journal Calls Palouse the 'Tuscany of America' The Wall Street Journal recently featured the Palouse region in an article in its Travel section. The article calls the region the “Tuscany of America,” celebrating its uniquely scenic rolling hills and agriculture, extolling the attractions of towns such as Moscow, and highlighting the role of the University of Idaho in the community. Read the article (subscription may be required). | | Collecting Oral Histories to Preserve History and Enact Social Change The year 2016 was a horrific one for the family and friends of Steven Nelson. Nelson, who was openly gay, died of cardiac arrest on April 29, 2016, after being robbed and beaten near Lake Lowell in Nampa. Compelled to action, Denise Bennett, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Media and a documentary filmmaker, is using Nelson’s death as a catalyst for social change. Bennett is working with the Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning, a partnership between the University of Idaho Library and U of I’s College of Letters, Arts and Social Studies, to collect, digitize and archive oral histories from members of the LGBTQ community across Idaho. Since 2017, Bennett has traveled across Idaho, conducting interviews with members of the LGBTQ community who are willing to speak about their experience. “We want to get a contemporary and diverse history represented,” Bennett said. “The goal is to document histories in every county of Idaho.” Read more. | | Restaurant Designed by U of I Architecture Professor Featured in National Magazine Scott Lawrence, assistant professor of architecture in the College of Art and Architecture, designed a Denver-based restaurant that was just named in Bon Appétit magazine as one of 2018's top 10 new restaurants in the country. Lawrence and his firm, Lawrence Nguyen Architecture, converted an 800-square-foot home into a full-service restaurant that, according to Bon Appétit, has an "all-day café vibe." The restaurant transforms from a coffee shop and bakery during the day to a vibrant restaurant at night, which proved a significant design challenge, Lawrence said. In addition to the design, Lawrence and his firm fabricated fixtures — custom lights and a bathroom faucet — and applied a wall finish in the restroom using phonebook pages and a neon sign. | | | | |