It’s a season of change at the University of Idaho as we prepare for a presidential transition. It has been a great honor to lead this institution and serve the state of Idaho for five years. U of I has focused on its mission to serve Idaho students, to conduct research and scholarship that impacts our state, and to engage with our communities to promote health and prosperity. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I know the university is well-positioned to continue its success. | | Go Vandals! Chuck Staben President | | | Land Purchase Paves Way for U of I Research Dairy A plan to create the nation’s largest research dairy advanced in February with the Idaho State Board of Education’s vote to allow the University of Idaho to buy land for the $45 million project. The U of I and Idaho dairy industry-led effort will create the Idaho Center for Agriculture Food and the Environment, commonly referred to as CAFE. U of I and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association will jointly purchase 540 acres in Minidoka County, near Rupert, from members of the Whitesides family, who will in turn donate another parcel of land. The university will pay $2.5 million and IDA will pay $2 million toward the purchase. | | JFAC Approves $7 Million Scholarship Boost From March 5 in Idaho Education News: The Opportunity Scholarship is in line for a $7 million increase. The new money, approved unanimously by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, would fund at least 2,000 additional college scholarships next year — and cut into unmet demand. The need- and merit-based Opportunity Scholarship is the state’s centerpiece financial aid award, and part of a multimillion-dollar campaign to convince high school graduates to continue their education. This year, Idaho is awarding $13.5 million in scholarships. Boosting the program to $20.5 million is one of Gov. Brad Little’s top budget priorities. | | | ICCU Arena Moves to Bid and Construction Phase after Board Approval On March 14, the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE) unanimously approved the University of Idaho’s request to proceed with the bidding and construction phase of the signature 4,200-capacity Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) Arena project, contingent upon approval by the SBOE executive director after consultation with the new president for the University of Idaho, once named by the board. The project is out for bid, with groundbreaking anticipated soon. Building completion is expected for fall 2021. ICCU, the arena naming sponsor, donated $10 million to the innovative mass-timber facility. | | Two U of I Faculty Members Earn National Recognition Two University of Idaho assistant professors, Michael Strickland and Elizabeth Cassel, have earned a combined $1.38 million in funding through the prestigious, national Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Strickland, assistant professor of soil and water systems, will use his $651,698, five-year award to determine the effects agricultural antibiotics have on soil food webs and the ecosystem. Cassel, assistant professor of geology, will use her $729,932, five-year award to develop a new method for more accurately measuring elevation and terrain changes in the North American Cordillera. NSF CAREER awards fund the activities of early career faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through the integration of education and research. | | National Academy of Sciences Member to Join U of I Faculty National Academy of Sciences (NAS) member Jim Bull will join the University of Idaho faculty in fall 2019 – the first NAS member affiliated with an Idaho university. The NAS is charged by Congress to provide the nation objective and independent council on scientific and technological matters. Bull is an evolutionary biologist who has specialized in the evolution of viruses and sex determination. He joins the College of Science Department of Biological Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin. At U of I, Bull plans to offer a course that instructs students on how to think scientifically, collaborate to use computer modeling to investigate the effectiveness of genetic engineering technology, and study the potential for designing more efficient vaccines. | | | University House Opens in Moscow In March, U of I unveiled University House in the heart of its Moscow campus. The house will provide space to entertain university groups, community organizations and other partners for the institution. The house also offers privacy and practicality to the next U of I leader and his or her family. The $1.95 million design-build project, completed with private support and university funds, has 6,000 square feet of living space plus a three-bay garage. The modern house includes nods to tradition such as the reused fireplace, black locust harvested on site, flooring made from larch from the U of I Experimental Forest and cut by the university’s student logging crew. | | Dopke Earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Former soccer student-athlete Kelly Dopke has been named one of the recipients of the 2018-19 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. The scholarship, worth $10,000, is awarded to former student-athletes based on academic and athletic success, as well as other factors including community service and standing within the institution. In all, 21 men and 21 women participating in fall sports are awarded the scholarship. Dopke will use the funds to jump-start her medical career. Earlier this year, she became the first Vandal soccer player and the third female Vandal ever to earn Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team honors, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She boasts a 4.0 GPA in the medical sciences. | | Snapshots: U of I in the News From the March 14 Idaho Falls Post Register: Twice a month, the doctors click the link and tune into the conversation. They call in from tablets at home and from computers in their hospital offices, representing Moscow, Coeur d’Alene, Shoshone, Hailey. [...] Lachelle Smith manages the meetings through Project ECHO, the only version of the international digital medical program currently operating in the state, through the University of Idaho’s Boise office to address opioid addiction and treatment. From Jan. 25 at CNBC: Tom Mueller started life in Idaho, the son of a logger; he himself worked summers logging when he was a student. But today, Mueller is a rocket scientist and co-founder of Elon Musk's SpaceX. Mueller isn't famous like Musk, but he is a linchpin in the story of SpaceX — as chief technology officer of propulsion, he leads the team that makes sure the rockets lift off. From Feb. 5 on MagicValley.com: Rock Creek Ranch embraces 10,400 acres in a series of succulent meadows surrounded by miles upon miles of quality rangeland below the shadow of the Smoky Mountains in Blaine County. [...] Because of its dual qualities as a working ranch with strong conservation values, the Wood River Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy, in a unique partnership with the University of Idaho, purchased Rock Creek Ranch from the Rinker Family. Under the partnership, the university provides a cow-calf cattle herd from its Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center in Salmon for rangeland research. | | | | | |