Questions? Contact Dulce Kersting-Lark, Head of Special Collections and Archives, at dulce@uidaho.edu.

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Call for Applications

In partnership with the family of Ben J. Plastino, a lifelong Idahoan and prolific local journalist, the University of Idaho Library is pleased to offer one graduate student a paid fellowship opportunity during the summer of 2025.

Plastino graduated from the University of Idaho in 1932 with a degree in journalism and went on to have a distinguished career that lasted more than fifty years. In 2024, his daughters Diane and Paula donated a curated collection of his writings and photographs to the Library’s Special Collections and Archives to benefit researchers studying Idaho’s history. Plastino’s connections with policy makers in Idaho make the collection particularly valuable to scholars of the state’s political history.

The Ben J. Plastino Collection is comprised of more than 1,000 news articles and opinion columns he contributed to Idaho newspapers, several dozen letters written between Plastino and various figures in Idaho politics, as well as approximately 40 photographs he took while working as a journalist. A basic catalogue of the collection can be found at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv470833.

A digital collection of Plastino’s writings will make access easier to researchers throughout Idaho and beyond. It will launch in mid-2025. To complement the individual articles and other materials, the intention of the Ben J. Plastino Collection Fellowship is to produce one or more essays which contextualize and highlight his contributions to Idaho’s written history.

Applicants with an interest in political science, journalism, or the history of Idaho should propose a project that will serve to advise researchers on the collection’s value. The exact parameters of the fellowship are flexible and intended to support the recipient’s educational goals. Proposals that seek to illuminate the Ben J. Plastino Collection and define the scope and depth of the materials, for the benefit of future researchers and scholars, will be evaluated most favorably.

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Potential Projects:

Potential areas of focus might include, but are not limited to,

• Explore one or more specific topics on which Plastino reported extensively, such as tax policy, public school funding, higher education, or political philosophies in Idaho, and how ideas embedded in those topics endured or changed over time

• Consider the qualities that effective leaders employed to craft public policy and legislation, as reflected in Plastino’s observations

• Evaluate how Plastino viewed the political careers and public policy impacts of various Idaho leaders like Governors Andrus, Evans, and Batt, or Idaho’s Congressional delegation

• Describe how the main issues and political philosophies covered in the collection are or are not relevant to Idahoans today

• Investigate how Federal policies impacted Idaho projects and legislation, in areas like wilderness management or nuclear energy, using Plastino’s writings as a vantage point

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Fellowship Mechanics

• Open to any University of Idaho graduate student enrolled in Spring 2025 and planning to return in Fall 2025

• $4,500 award; $4,000 distributed at start of project and $500 distributed upon completion

• Produce one or more essays for the Ben Plastino digital collection that enhance user understanding of materials within the collection; total word count of writings should be between 4,000 and 5,000

• Project will be completed between May 15 and August 15, 2025, under the direction of department head of Special Collections and Archives

• Work may be completed remotely, though some in-person work in Special Collections and Archives department may be required

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Application Process

Applicants must submit:

1. A letter of no more than 500 words that addresses each of the following questions:

   • What interests you in this fellowship?

   • How will you pursue contextualizing the collection of articles and other materials to enhance use of the collection?

   • What previous experience, education, and/or training do you have that will contribute to the success of this project?

   • How will you accomplish the work of the fellowship during 6 to 8 weeks over the summer? What timeline would you follow?

   • What learning outcomes do you hope to gain through this fellowship?

2. A current resume or CV.

3. A letter of support from a U of I faculty member.

Applications are due Friday, March 21st by the end of the day and a decision will be announced within two weeks of the deadline.

Interested students are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposals with the Head of Special Collections and Archives, Dulce Kersting-Lark, as they are developing their application materials. Dulce can be reached at dulce@uidaho.edu.

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Information about Ben J. Plastino

More information about Ben J. Plastino, provided by his family:

Ben J. Plastino, the son of Italian immigrants who were early pioneers of Market Lake, Idaho, made his mark on Idaho as a newspaperman and community leader for over fifty years.

A native of southeastern Idaho, Ben returned to Idaho Falls after graduating from the University of Idaho in 1932 in journalism, when it was very challenging to achieve a college degree during the height of the Great Depression, and then having spent nine years as a reporter at the Lewiston Morning Tribune.

He joined the Idaho Falls Post Register in 1942 where he remained for forty-one years, first as a reporter and city editor, and then rising to managing editor, political editor, and executive editor.

Ben fully embraced his life as a journalist, and his devotion to that profession was evident in his five decades of coverage of the Idaho Legislature; his interviews with every United States President since Franklin Roosevelt, except for Eisenhower; and nearly all presidential, vice presidential, Idaho congressional, State and local officials and candidates. He provided ringside coverage of such regional events as the establishment and maturation of the Idaho National Laboratory, the Yellowstone earthquake, the Teton Dam failure, and of every major political and environmental issue affecting Idaho.

Ben was a prolific writer, producing tens of thousands of straight news and opinion pieces, and typing them all on his trusty manual Underwood typewriter, until computers were introduced into the newsroom; and he usually took his own photographs.

To commemorate his retirement, the Idaho Legislature passed a resolution in 1982 honoring his fifty years of reporting. In part, it states,

“…we recognize the contributions of Ben Plastino to the vigorous free press in the state of Idaho. We recognize the unique perspective he brings to reports, giving the reader benefit of his experience and insight, providing the background which makes today’s events comprehensible in the historical perspective. Ben Plastino has consistently respected the role of journalists, and maintained a healthy adversary relationship with personalities making news. His commitment to the concepts of a free press has contributed to the maintenance of freedom in our society. On the occasion of his forthieth [sic] anniversary with the Post Register, and over fifty years reporting politics in Idaho, we acknowledge the contributions of Ben Plastino and commend him for a job well done.”

Ben took his obligation to newspaper readers very seriously, believing readers were smart and that his job was to present the news fairly and completely so his readers could make up their own minds about the important issues of the day. Yet, he also relished stating his own views and the reasons for them in thousands of twice-weekly opinion pieces.

Ben had an excellent record predicting the outcome of Idaho political races through the decades, because he, each election year, did what he called the “Valley Swing”, driving up and down the Upper Snake River Valley interviewing farmers in the field, barbers and clients in the shop, buyers in the grocery stores, and others of every station in life to understand the issues that were important to them, and how that translated to their vote.

Ben felt very lucky to have the opportunity to devote his work life to something he professionally believed in and enthusiastically loved. He maintained an abundant zest for life and a great enjoyment of people. He felt it paramount to treat people fairly and with respect.

Ben loved Idaho, and especially his home in southeastern Idaho. He felt it was an obligation for every citizen to contribute to their community. He was a member of many organizations in Idaho, receiving significant awards and honors for his incisive yet fair work. Among them were the Seventh Judicial District Liberty Bell Award, which now permanently bears his name; and the Idaho Statesman’s Distinguished Citizen Award.

Ben met his future wife, Margaret St. Clair, at the Bonneville County Courthouse in 1948, when, as a Registered Nurse, Margaret was the only full-time employee of the County public health system. She also had a very long and storied career, attending to those without other options for medical care in the County, and vaccinating thousands of citizens. Upon her death at almost 104, she was the oldest Registered Nurse in Idaho, having received her nurses’ cap in 1939. She was a wise and engaged observer of the political scene, as well. They had three daughters: Donna, Diane and Paula. Ben died in 1995 in Idaho Falls, at the age of 86.