ICCU Supports Arena with Naming Rights Agreement The new basketball arena being built on the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus will be called the Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) Arena, thanks to a $10 million, 35-year naming rights agreement. The 62,000-square-foot, 4,200-seat arena will be a one-of-a-kind engineered wood structure, highlighting Idaho’s wood products industry and providing a unique home for U of I’s basketball programs as well as other activities. The $45 million project already has financial support from the Associated Students of the University of Idaho, the U of I Alumni Association, the U of I Foundation, and others. Fundraising will continue through the next year, with a 2019 target construction start date and 2021 opening. | | | U of I Awards 618 Degrees at Fall Commencement Ceremony Approximately 600 graduating students received a combined 618 degrees in December 2017 at the University of Idaho fall commencement ceremony. Candidates applied for 436 baccalaureate degrees, 151 master’s degrees, 19 doctoral degrees, five law degrees and seven specialist degrees. The fall’s commencement brought the university's all-time totals to 118,165 graduates and 126,421 degrees. Janet Nelson, vice president for Research and Economic Development at U of I, gave the keynote address. U of I also awarded four honorary doctorates in recognition of service to the university and contributions to the state of Idaho and the nation. Honorary doctorate recipients included Kirby A. (Noland) Dyess, Brent Holben, Bill Newbry and Silas Whitman. | | | Retention and Graduation Progress The University of Idaho is building on its state-leading, 82 percent first-to-second year retention rate to ensure more students persist from semester to semester and earn degrees. This spring U of I rolls out a comprehensive data management tool called VandalStar to help students, advisors and faculty members stay connected in support of student progress. The university is also centralizing its advising to efficiently and effectively deliver the best possible support. Affordability, a key factor in retention and drop-out prevention, is bolstered by four-year, renewable institutional scholarships and by the better Education About Money for Students (BEAMS) financial literacy program, available to every student. | | | U of I Researcher Elected to National Academy of Inventors The National Academy of Inventors has elected University of Idaho researcher Greg Moller as a fellow of the academy for his innovative work to clean wastewater in Idaho and worldwide. Moller, a member of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty since 1990, holds six patents, all licensed by companies that treat wastewater from communities and businesses, and three patents pending final approval. In addition to his work as an inventor and researcher, Moller has won a national excellence in teaching award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. | | | Associate Dean Receives Fulbright Specialist Award College of Engineering Associate Dean Lee Ostrom, director of Academic Programs at the University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, received a Fulbright Specialist award to Finland in January. Beginning this February, Ostrom will spend five weeks at Aalto University in Helsinki working to improve safety in the university’s physics and chemistry laboratories. Ostrom is an expert in risk assessment, human factors ergonomics and industrial safety. He is co-author of two texts, “Occupational Ergonomics a Practical Approach,” and “Risk Assessment: Tools, Techniques, and Their Applications.” He has taught at UI since 1989 and has served as both a teacher and administrator at the Idaho Falls Center. Fulbright alumni since 1946 include 57 Nobel Laureates, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners, 70 MacArthur Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and nonprofit sectors. | | | Vandals Recognized as 2018 Women of the Year Twelve University of Idaho alumnae are among the Idaho Business Review’s 50 honorees as 2018 Women of the Year. The honorees include: Ariel Agenbroad, Emma Atchley, Renee Bade, Linda Clark, Anna Eberlin, Shiloh Holmes, Amy Little, Tara Malek, Elizabeth Montgomery, Christine Nicholas, MaryAnna Peavey and Crystal Wilson. Vandal alumnae have earned recognition as Idaho Business Review Woman of the Year in consecutive years: Three-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong was honored in 2017, and Norah Carpenter, president and CEO of United Way Treasure Valley, was similarly honored in 2016. This year’s awards and the selection of the 2018 Woman of the Year will occur March 8, and all women will be profiled in a March 9 magazine published by Idaho Business Review. | | | Computer Science Program Grows in Coeur d’Alene The pipeline of students in the four-year computer science bachelor’s program between North Idaho College and the University of Idaho has grown. For spring 2018, the program has more than 100 students enrolled as freshmen or sophomores in Coeur d’Alene. Another 15 students have progressed to junior year, where U of I picks up from the first two years offered by NIC. U of I estimates that at least 35 students will be juniors or seniors in fall 2018, with at least 115 students in their first two years through NIC. A computer science-trained workforce is critical for the technology-focused industries emerging in northern Idaho and eastern Washington. In fall 2017 the computer science department moved into the downtown Innovation Den, a technology incubator home to regional innovators and entrepreneurs. Additionally, the fall 2017 installation of three classrooms with state-of-the-art video technology in Coeur d’Alene, Moscow and Idaho Falls offers versatility and options for statewide educational delivery. | | | Online Paths to Success In December 2017, 11 students received degrees newly delivered online from the University of Idaho, many never having set foot on campus. The first class of graduates to receive bachelor’s degrees through newly established online programs in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. The online graduates were from Washington and five counties in Idaho. This year’s graduates included transfer students and students returning to finish previously started U of I degrees. During the fall 2017 semester, U of I offered more than 179 undergraduate-level online classes. Across colleges, the university offers 31 online degree programs — nine undergraduate and 22 graduate — and six online certificates. There are about 150 students in CLASS’s seven online programs, with psychology and organizational sciences among the most popular options. The courses’ formatting and flexibility allow each student to customize their learning experience. | | | | | |