Spring is a time to celebrate the University of Idaho community, and recognizing the success of students, faculty and staff this year remains a top priority despite the switch to remote learning. U of I students will be honored in the next week at the virtual Student Achievement Awards ceremony. I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to present two of the many honors that will be awarded there. Faculty and staff are being recognized as well, in acknowledgment of their dedication and continued accomplishments in teaching and research. The University Awards for Excellence are being announced online this week in place of a May ceremony. Among the recipients are three educators earning U of I’s highest faculty rank of University Distinguished Professor. Lee Vierling, who leads the Department of Natural Resources and Society; flutist Leonard Garrison, associate director of the Lionel Hampton School of Music; and English Professor Scott Slovic, a national leader in environmental humanities; were each selected for this distinction. These distinguished professor designations are among nearly three dozen awards that will be presented to faculty and staff this spring to honor excellence and achievement in our Vandal community. For example, the Lawrence C. McBride Prize recognizes staff members who go above and beyond expectations. This year’s recipient is University of Idaho Foundation Associate Endowments Director Barbara Warnick, who has supported students and donors at the university since 2001. An eight-member team from U of I’s McCall Outdoor Science School is also being lauded for efforts in the staff category. April is among the busiest times in higher education. Students are working to finish their spring studies while staff and faculty are completing grading, evaluating projects and planning events that culminate in honoring the Class of 2020. COVID-19 may have changed how we applaud that good work this spring, but it won’t keep us from these long-held traditions. We are in the top 6% of all public universities and colleges in the nation, and that doesn’t happen by mistake. It takes a team of innovative faculty and staff working together to deliver a high-quality education and be of service to our students. This team has risen to the current challenge around the pandemic and proven to all of us we can handle whatever is thrown our way. Vandal students are continuing to prosper as a result, including four who were recognized this spring as either Goldwater Scholars or Fulbright Scholars by two of the country’s most prestigious scholarship programs. Michael Bishop, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in creative writing from Hawaii, this spring received a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to New Zealand where he will conduct research for a creative nonfiction project. Annarose Qualls, a 2019 graduate from Moscow who earned degrees in international studies, Spanish and Latin American studies, received a Fulbright Award to assist local English teachers in Colombia. Our Goldwater Scholars are juniors Beth Hoots and Isabell Strawn, who are each receiving support from the program for students interested in STEM research careers. Hoots is from Oregon and a dual major in ecology and conservation biology and Spanish. She received the award for her work studying the health of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Strawn is a biological engineering major from Moscow and will use the scholarship to continue her research, which involves eliminating toxic chemicals from our nation’s groundwater. These awards are just a few of the examples of Vandal excellence we see in our community each and every day. It’s part of the Vandal Story that’s important to tell whether we’re together in person or remotely – and to everyone who will listen. |