Recently the world watched as NASA’s New Horizons probe explored the farthest reach of the solar system yet visited by a man-made object. The photos of Ultima Thule, a snowman-shaped projectile 4 billion miles from Earth, have renewed an interest in science and discovery and can help us understand the early origins of the solar system. And one of our own Vandal students was a part of it. Doctoral student Rajani Dhingra was part of the team of 30 scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory who are analyzing images coming back from New Horizons. A student in Professor Jason Barnes’ physics laboratory, Dhingra also recently had a paper accepted about the rains on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. As she completes her thesis, she’s looking at postdoctoral research opportunities. I’m excited about that bright future. Dhingra exemplifies the intelligence and curiosity our Vandals bring to their passions, whether in the farthest reaches of space or here on Earth. She also represents the incredible opportunities that students – graduate or undergraduate – can participate in at our great public research university. Another Vandal exemplifies the life of service University of Idaho graduates can aspire to. This week I was proud to attend the first State of the State address from newly inaugurated Gov. Brad Little. Little is a 1977 graduate of our College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, a Phi Delta Theta member, a third-generation rancher, and a longtime public servant. In his inaugural speech, the governor quoted Louise McClure, the wife of late Sen. James McClure and together the namesake of our James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research. Little mentioned that in Louise’s 2014 U of I Commencement address – actually my first Commencement as president – she urged listeners to “be ethical in all things.” I know the governor takes that message to heart. We look forward to working with him to improve education in Idaho and help the state meet its goals for bolstering educational success. There are many other Vandal success stories from just the past month since our previous Friday Letter. Our collaborative efforts on burbot recovery in the Kootenai River have been lauded. Grades from fall semester show our student-athletes made another strong effort in the classrooms. And former football coach Dennis Erickson, who led the Vandals to four straight winning seasons and a Big Sky Conference championship, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. As we embark on this new semester, I hope all Vandals – students, faculty and staff, alumni and friends – will be inspired by the U of I success found across endeavors. The term Ultima Thule, in fact, is an old mapmaking reference to a distant, unknown place. Each of us has some personal voyage to such a destination – that’s part of education, part of research and scholarship. And together, there is no limit to what we discover or where we can go. | | Go Vandals! Chuck Staben President | | | College of Engineering Emergency Fund Helps Students in Need Frankie Bautista had near-perfect attendance, so when he started missing classes, his professors knew something was wrong. They discovered an apartment fire had left Bautista with just a few clothes and no place to stay. He slept in his car for a night, and his parents, migrant farmworkers in Parma, drove up to stay with him in a hotel. “My parents never went to school, so they wanted me to go to college to live the dream they didn’t get a chance to live,” Bautista said. But six days after the fire, staying at U of I was becoming financially unfeasible. Bautista’s advisor connected him to the College of Engineering Emergency Fund, an account started by longtime engineering supporters Linda ’62 and Bob ’64 Parkinson and sustained by an endowment. The fund helps students with short-term, unexpected circumstances that threaten a student’s ability to graduate. For more information on supporting the College of Engineering Emergency Fund and other initiatives, contact Bobbi Hughes, College of Engineering executive director of advancement, at bhughes@uidaho.edu or 208-885-5303. | | Burbot Makes Spectacular Rebound in Kootenai River From the Spokane Spokesman-Review: In the early 2000s, the world’s only freshwater cod was all but gone from the waters of the Kootenai River in North Idaho and British Columbia. Once counted in the thousands, regional populations of burbot – sometimes known as ling cod – had dropped to a mere 50. Today, that number is closer to 50,000. The fish’s spectacular rebound stems from a collaborative restoration effort by fisheries, communities, academics and state officials, along with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Bonneville Power Administration. As a result, a decade and a half after facing extinction, “The Leopards of the Kootenai” are back on the menu. With regional populations hovering between 40,000 and 50,000 in the Kootenai, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission announced last week that a burbot fishing season had been approved as part of its fishing rules for 2019-21. It’s the first time since 1992 that fishing for burbot has been greenlighted by state officials. Read more. | | Student-Athlete GPAs Above 3.0 for 10th Straight Semester University of Idaho student-athletes achieved a department GPA of 3.09 in fall 2018, the 10th consecutive semester with a 3.0 or better. Of Idaho's 16 teams, 12 posted at least a 3.0 GPA, with two programs setting all-time records. Women's tennis posted a 3.81 team GPA, the second-highest in program history and third-highest in department history (GPA records date back to 2000). Women's swimming and diving posted a 3.66 GPA – the best single-semester mark since the program’s 2004 reinstatement – led by 27 student-athletes with a 3.0 or higher, including nine with a perfect 4.0. Women's soccer secured its highest semester team GPA on record with a 3.65; 28 student-athletes had at least a 3.0, and 11 had a 4.0. Women's cross country (3.73), women's track and field (3.67) and women's basketball (3.5) also posted at least a 3.5 team GPA. Football featured a department-best 35 student-athletes at or above a 3.0. In all, 190 Vandal student-athletes scored at least a 3.0 GPA, and 51 earned a 4.0. | | | | |