ISU Magazine, Fall17 by Idaho State University

IDAHO STATE U N I V E R S I T Y

Volume 47 | Number 2 | Fall 2017

PRESIDENT ARTHUR C. VAILAS More than a Decade of Service

We believe there is a place in Idaho where Bengals growl.

The pioneer spirit of Idaho endures. We are proud to serve our members who have made us the #1 credit union in the country. Find out how you can become a member at ICCU.com or visit a branch near you.

WE BELIEVE in Idaho. We grew up here.

IDAHO STATE U N I V E R S I T Y

FROM THE PRESIDENT

921 South 8th Ave., Stop 8265 Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8265 (208) 282-3620 isu.edu Dr. Arthur C. Vailas President Dr. Kent M. Tingey, ’97 Vice President University Advancement Stuart Summers, ’10 Associate Vice President Marketing and Communications COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

franemil@isu.edu IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE STAFF

Editor Contributors Design Photography Web

Emily Frandsen Kirsten Cooper Chris Gabettas Melissa Lee, ’14 Andrew Taylor Joey Gifford, ’03 Eric Gordon Joe Marley, ’04

OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Ryan Sargent, ’09 Associate Director of Alumni Relations (208) 282-3755 alumni@isu.edu IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

Pauline Thiros, ’94 and ’99 Associate Vice President for Development (208) 282-3470 isufound@isu.edu

OUR COMMITMENT

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Seasons of Change A lot has changed at Idaho State University since I arrived on campus more than a decade ago. Thanks to the tremendous generosity of the Wheatley family, our campus in Pocatello has transformed, with new trees, flowers, landscaping and beautiful areas for sitting or studying. Students in Meridian now study at the ISU–Meridian Health Science Center, with a state-of-the-art Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory. Today, more than 1,000 students study in 25 different programs in the Treasure Valley. Our Idaho Falls campus has expanded, and will soon be home to a polytechnic institute. We have worked to enhance services for our veterans, and we’ve opened Benny’s Pantry, a service focused on ensuring students do not go hungry. Our Career Path Internship program, which offers paid work experience in a student’s field of interest, has grown greatly, today serving more than 900 students. Some things, however, will always remain the same at ISU. Laura and I have had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of wonderful, hard-working students who have come to the University with big dreams. We’ve also been fortunate to rub shoulders with scores of alumni Bengals who are out making a difference in the world. I’ve had the pleasure of working with great researchers, faculty and staff, individuals spending their days in the pursuit of new knowledge and teaching and advising the next generation of leaders. In June, I will retire, but I know ISU’s legacy of learning and excellence will continue, as it has for more than 115 years. I’m grateful for the time I’ve spent with all of you, and I look forward to seeing our University’s exciting future. Thank you for continuing to support our great Bengal community. Go Bengals!

POSTMASTER

ISU Magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Marketing and Communications at Idaho State University.

Arthur C. Vailas, Ph.D. President, Idaho State University

Send address changes to the Office of Alumni Relations at 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8033, Pocatello, ID 83209-8033

FALL 2017

IN THIS ISSUE 3 6 7 8

13 Construction has begun for Idaho’s First Medical School.

9 10 11 13 14 16

President’s Message ISU Named Among America’s Best Employers Holt Arena Receives Lighting Upgrade Teaming Up to Strengthen Hockey Equipment Using the Seafloor to Represent a Jupiter Moon Vice President for Student Affairs Retires The Legacy of Howard Schmidt Construction Begins for Idaho’s First Medical School Portneuf Medical Center’s Commitment to a Healthy Future Meridian Lab Helps HATCH a Child’s Potential

18 20 24 26 28 30 32 31 34 36 37 38

Connecting Patients to Resources Cover: A Decade of Leadership Without Hard Work, There is No Reward Building Strong Bonds with Irish Language, Culture and Community For ISU Football, Everything Matters Homecoming Parade Marches Up the Block Letter from the Alumni Association Alumni Association and 1901 Club Provide Bengal Fans Fun with Bengal-themed Trailer College of Technology’s New Home Pioneering Studies Leads to International Award Grad Focuses on Healthy Hearing Alumni News

President Arthur C. Vailas has announced his retirement for June 2018.

Farewell: ISU will bid a fond farewell to President Arthur Vailas this coming summer.

2017 Eclipse: The ISU community was witness to a solar eclipse Aug. 21. Students and faculty traveled throughout Southeast Idaho to find the best spot to view the total eclipse.

Photos by Brandon Ohmie (right) and Donald Van Etten (below)

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FALL 2017

ISU Named Among America’s Best Employers Forbes ranked Idaho State University one of “America’s Best Midsize Employers 2017,” a list that annually ranks the top U.S. employers. Of U.S.-based employers with at least 1,000 employees, ISU was ranked No. 103 on the list. Only 35 educational institutions made the list, and ISU was ranked 17th overall in the education category. “This recognition solidifies what many of us already knew about Idaho State,” said ISU President Arthur Vailas. “Our University is a great place to work, and our faculty and staff are our most valuable resource in accomplishing our mission, which focuses on student success.” The list, compiled by Statista Inc. in partnership with Forbes, includes the best 300 midsized employers across 25 industry sectors. More than 30,000 employees were asked to rate their employers based on 30 work-related attributes, including atmosphere for development, working conditions, diversity, image and compensation. The most weighted question asked of survey respondents was whether they would recommend their employer to others, on a scale of zero to 10. Respondents were also asked to divulge which other companies they either would or would not recommend.

Admissions staff Zane McClish, Ross Knight and Stephanie Prokschl Participation in the survey was voluntary and anonymous, and respondents were recruited from thousands of sources to maximize reach and representation. According to Forbes, to ensure credibility, respondents were not contacted through their employers, and participants were unaware of the survey’s intent.

“I’m excited to see ISU stand out as one of the best employers of its size in the country. This recognition reflects on all of those in the University community who strive to make ISU an excellent place to work,” said Brian Sagendorf, director of Human Resources.

SERVING THE MAGIC VALLEY • 22 programs available without leaving the Magic Valley • 9 online graduate programs • Six full-time staff members serve students completing programs in Twin Falls as well as those transferring or commuting to Pocatello Pocatello | Idaho Falls | Meridian | Twin Falls

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For more information: Student Services Office Hepworth Building, Room 144, CSI Campus isu.edu/twin • (208) 736-2101

Discover your future at isu.edu

Twin Falls

Holt Arena Receives Lighting Upgrade Idaho State University’s Holt Arena received a $536,000 lighting upgrade, replacing two older lighting systems with 85 LED lighting fixtures. “The new lights will reduce electricity and maintenance costs and improve the quality of lighting for athletics and spectators,” said George Casper, ISU director of events. “It’s a win-win situation.” The new Euphasus LED Stadium Pro Sports Lighter fixtures will require 62 percent less electricity than the old metal halide fixtures. The estimated return on investment is roughly five years. These new fixtures will increase the light quality to achieve lumen output levels required to meet NCAA requirements for televising football. The lighting will also be more even throughout the facility. “There is more light and more even lighting,” Casper said. “Lighting adjustments will be instantaneous and we can better adjust lighting for different areas of the facility. The lights are dimmable and we can have multiple light settings.” With the new system, ISU will be eligible for an estimated $183,000 Idaho Power Incentive Rebate. Funding for the new system is coming from parking and facilities fee money and from University Funds.

Photo by Brandon Ohmie

There are many other pluses with the new system, including: • The new lights will produce less heat than the previous metal halide fixtures. The heat from the old fixtures caused electrical maintenance issues such as burned up wiring and faulty breakers.

• The estimated maintenance cycle of the new fixtures is more than 30 years. This will significantly reduce annual maintenance replacement costs. • The new system will bring Holt Arena lighting up to current electrical codes. The project includes replacing old electrical panels to meet code requirements.

Become an Engineering Technician isu.edu/ctech | (208) 282-2800

FALL 2017

Teaming Up to Strengthen Hockey Equipment Researchers at Idaho State University are building a machine to fire hockey pucks at 100 miles per hour at hockey skate protective gear to test a product designed by Fi-Ber Sports, Inc. in Boise. Fi-Ber Sports has created a product called HOPlite Skate Armor™ that incorporates a patented design to protect amateur and professional hockey players from catastrophic injury. The research is funded by an Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission grant from the Idaho Department of Commerce, a program designed to facilitate research partnerships between Idaho higher education institutions and the technology-based startup companies in the state. “Idaho State University is pleased and proud to be working in collaboration with the Department of Commerce and Fi-Ber Sports on this unique project,” said Dr. Cornelis Van Der Schyf, ISU vice president for research. “This type of collaboration between a public research institution, a state department and the private sector is essential in growing Idaho’s economy. The really exciting part of this particular project is that College of Technology investigators are leading this research, contributing to the generation of new knowledge in the discipline of sports dynamics.” Researchers and engineers from the ISU Department of Robotics and Commu-

Shane Slack and Geran Call nications Systems Engineering Technology will build the advanced testing apparatus and sensors that accurately replicate and measure the impact of a fast-moving hockey puck and evaluate exactly how the HOPlite Skate Armor™ system functions. “We are going to be measuring these forces on the hockey skate with and without the new HOPlite Skate Armor™ gear as well as complete comparative testing on other similar products in the market,” said Shane Slack, director of the ISU robotics

department and principal investigator. The testing will be completed in the research area of the ISU Eames Advanced Technical Education and Innovations Complex. ISU researchers hope to build the machine to fire and test the hockey pucks by mid-September and then run tests through the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 2018. Geran Call, ISU robotics instructor, is the co-principal investigator on the project.

WE WERE BORN TO

PERFORM FOR TICKET INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Stephens Performing Arts Center Box Office | (208) 282-3595 8

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School of Performing Arts

Department of Theatre and Dance

Using the Seafloor to Represent a Jupiter Moon Idaho State University geosciences Assistant Professor Shannon Kobs Nawotniak is joining a NASA and NOAA study of underwater volcanoes that has implications for searching for life on a distant moon. She joins as a co-investigator and will be working as the geologist and volcanologist on the three-year study. “We are studying volcanoes on the Pacific Ocean seafloor using unmanned submersibles as an analog for other planets in the solar system, actually moons in the solar system,” Nawotniak said. “In particular, the one we are targeting is Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons that right now is NASA’s top pick for hosting other life in solar system.” The title of the study is “Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog (SUBSEA).” Its focus is to understand the habitability potential of ocean worlds in our solar system. Enceladus is entirely covered in ice and there is a liquid ocean of water under that ice. There is also evidence that inside of these two layers it has a rocky interior, she said. Similarly earth is layered with a crust of rock, then its mantle and core. “It could have hotspot volcanoes there underneath the water, which means it could feature heat and water, two really critical things in our understanding of what it takes to support life,” Nawotniak said. “We are

Shannon Kobs Nawotniak interested in looking at similar situations on the Pacific sea floor in which we have isolated hotspot volcanoes interacting with water.” The study will focus on the chemical reactions going on between the rock and water, to examine how they facilitate microbial communities and are building blocks for them. Samples collected from the ocean floor will be sent to Nawotniak’s ISU lab for preparation and analyses. The study will focus on two volcanoes, Lo`ihi near Hawaii and Teahitia near Tahiti, because they are a better possible match

for the type of underwater volcanoes that could be present on Enceladus. But Nawotniak and ISU students active on the study won’t be packing their scientific equipment and swimsuits to head to either Hawaii or Tahiti to complete their investigations. “We are not even on the boat,” Nawotniak said. “Part of what we are doing is practicing this type of mission that might be conducted in space, as if we were a science team back on Earth stuck in mission control.”

TWO-YEAR ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAM

MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING* Are you interested in a teaching career? Do you have a degree in a secondary education content area, but are not certified to teach? If so, a Master of Arts in Teaching* is for you! You could earn a teaching certificate and a master’s degree at the same time.

Contact: Mark Neill, Ed.D., neilmark@isu.edu, (208) 282-5646 *Placement on an Alternative Route to Certification is required for admission

Pocatello | Idaho Falls | Meridian | Twin Falls

FALL 2017

Vice President for Student Affairs Terrell Retires Idaho State University Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia S. Terrell retired in June. Terrell came to ISU in 2011. A native of Kentucky, she earned an Ed.D. at the University of Kentucky, where she also served as Vice President for Student Affairs. “I had a wonderful career at five universities and ISU has been an amazing capstone,” Terrell said. “President Vailas’ understanding of, appreciation for and unwavering support of our students has made my job enviable among my colleagues.” In her role, Terrell was responsible for most out-of-class and co-curricular activities including Housing, Veteran Student Services, Counseling and Testing, Career Center, Student Unions, Early Learning Center, Disability Services, Campus Recre-

ation and Student Clubs and Organizations. During Terrell’s service at ISU, the Career Path Internship Program, which provides students with paid work experience in their fields, grew, today benefitting more than 900 students. Veteran Student Services, Counseling and Testing, and Disability Services departments were expanded in outreach and scope. Terrell was also instrumental in creating a special Student Support fund to help students with needs that might be barriers to continuing their education. During her tenure, the Student Global Leadership Program was launched and Benny’s Pantry opened on the Pocatello and Idaho Falls campuses.

“Dr. Terrell was a great asset to our University,” said President Arthur Vailas. “Her focus has always been the well-being of our students, and she has touched thousands through the services she and her staff provide. She will be missed.” Terrell said she appreciated her time at ISU. “I want to thank President Vailas and Executive Vice President and Provost Laura Woodworth-Ney for their confidence in me and the opportunity to serve this institution. It has truly been an honor and a privilege. I leave with great memories of my colleagues and our students,” she said. Following Terrell’s retirement, ISU Associate Vice President Lowell Richards was made interim vice president while a national search is conducted for the position.

CO L L A B O R AT I O N I N S P I R I N G I N N O VAT I O N The Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) is a consortium of five partners – Idaho National Laboratory, Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming. 10

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Our goal is to be a regional resource for solving critical technical challenges, educating the next generation of scientific researchers, and providing industry assistance to fuel economic growth.

WHAT ENERGIZES YOU? Come find out at caesenergy.org

The Legacy of ISU Research Professor Howard Schmidt Internationally, Howard Schmidt was a superhero in the world of cybersecurity, serving as a special assistant to two U.S. presidents. But friend and peer Corey Schou remembers him not only as an expert in the field, but as a devoted mentor to his students at Idaho State University’s Informatics Research Institute. More than 100 students had Schmidt’s cell phone number, Schou said. As he traveled around the world sharing his expertise, he always took the time to conference with his students, who he referred to as “our kids.” “He would talk with students and instill them with a desire to serve and grow,” Schou said. “We would enter long discussions with the students about best practice and the business realities of the world. He was modest about his role, but he made a real difference to hundreds of cyber security students in the National Information Assurance Training and Education Center (NIATEC) here at ISU.” It’s a surprising legacy for a man who wasn’t sure he wanted to enter the world of academia. “More than 10 years ago, I asked him if he would be interested in being a research professor in the Informatics Research Institute,” Schou said. “He said he was not an academician, he would not fit in. I persisted, he agreed, the students were overjoyed, and Howard began his legacy, his gift.” Schmidt, who passed away March 2 after a battle of cancer in his Wisconsin home, was nearly as prominent nationally and internationally as he was unknown as an Idaho State University faculty member in the Informatics Research Institute. Schmidt served as special assistant to two presidents. In 2001, President George W. Bush recruited him from Microsoft after Sept. 11 to serve as the Chair of the Critical Information Protection board. After returning to the private sector, he was invited by President Barack Obama to be his Cybersecurity advisor. From 2009 to 2012 he developed the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace program.

Howard Schmidt with former President of the United States Barack Obama His career spanned decades in information technology and cybersecurity. His last position was as a partner with RidgeSchmidt Cyber. He served on the boards of Microsoft, eBay, (ISC)² and the Information Security Forum. Schmidt also founded R&H Security Consulting and was president of the Information Systems Security Association. Schmidt’s government service also included time in the Air Force and the Arizona Air National Guard, as a SWAT police officer, head of the FBI’s Computer Exploitation Team, and then as a member of the Computer Crime Investigations Unit in the U.S. Army Reserves. He served as chief security strategist for the Department

Endowment to Honor Howard Schmidt To honor Schmidt, the Idaho State University Foundation has established the Howard A. Schmidt Scholarship and Professorate Endowment. For more information, or to give, call the Foundation at (208) 282-3470.

of Homeland Security’s US-CERT Partners Program. Richard Clarke, former special advisor to the U.S. president for cybersecurity, commented on Schmidt at the time of his death. “Howard gave up a lucrative position at Microsoft at my request to join the government as my deputy in the White House,” Clarke wrote. “As a member of the U.S. military, as a police officer, as a corporate official, as an educator, as a White House official, and as a strong voice for cyber security throughout the world, Howard was a selfless patriot. He shall be sorely missed.” Schou said that he met Schmidt more than 20 years ago and they immediately struck up a friendship and a bond. Both Schmidt and Schou were recipients of the prestigious (ISC)² Tipton Lifetime Achievement Award. “He was on a mission – to make the information world safe for everyone,” Schou said of Schmidt. “Every time we would meet, we would eagerly exchange opinions and plans. We came from different worlds but had a common objective – security and safety for future generations.”

FALL 2017

All together better

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Construction Begins for Idaho’s First Medical School Construction of a three-story building that will house the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine is expected to wrap up next summer with classes starting in August 2018. Crews broke ground on the $34 million building this spring, 15 months after Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter announced plans to bring the privately funded medical school to Idaho. ICOM will sit on 2.5 acres of land adjacent to the Idaho State University-Meridian Health Science Center. An affiliation agreement approved by the Idaho State Board of Education allows ICOM to lease the land from ISU. “This is a diamond day in the Gem State,” said ICOM Founding Dean Robert Hasty at the May 17 groundbreaking. Close to 200 people attended, including Gov. Otter, ISU President Arthur Vailas, Meridian

Mayor Tammy de Weerd and Dan Burrell, ICOM founder and trustee. Architectural plans for the 94,000-square-foot building call for a large open courtyard, outdoor seating areas, fountains and signage. Colors will complement Bengal orange and black, say ICOM leaders. Hasty said Idaho ranks 50th in the nation for the number of primary care physicians per capita. “ICOM will change that,” he added, predicting 50 percent of ICOM graduates will go into primary care with many serving Idaho’s rural communities. ISU President Arthur Vailas told the crowd the creation of ICOM was “truly a great moment in the history of Idaho, a great moment for Idaho education.”

Vailas said ISU’s partnership with ICOM will enhance research opportunities for students and faculty at both institutions and improve access to medical care for patients in underserved regions of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. The medical school plans to admit up to 150 students a year with preferential admission given to qualified Idaho students. ICOM leaders say they’ve secured affiliations with 28 hospitals, medical centers and health care organizations for student rotations which will begin in 2020 and plan to spend $5 million to develop residency programs over the next 10 years. Chris Gabettas

FALL 2017

Portneuf Medical Center’s Commitment to a Healthy Future When you ask Dr. William Woodhouse about the importance of Portneuf Medical Center to the Idaho State University Family Medicine Residency, he’s quick to respond.

“We could not exist without the commitment of our local hospital,” said Woodhouse, a family physician, faculty member and the residency’s external affairs director. The 187-bed Portneuf Medical Center, or PMC, and its staff of specialty physicians provide much of the hands-on training required of ISU family medicine residents before they become certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. Seven physician residents are admitted to the three-year program each year and complete rotations in emergency, rural and internal medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, surgery, orthopedics and sports medicine. “Portneuf Medical Center is an excellent teaching hospital,” said Woodhouse. The hospital provides family physicians with some of the nation’s best training in pregnancy care, deliveries and caesarian section. Portneuf Medical Center contributes an average of $2.5 million annually to the ISU Family Medicine Residency—which includes covering the residency’s operating expenses, says Pauline Thiros, ISU associate vice president for development.

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ISU Family Medicine residents Brian Hansen, Amber Nielsen, Austin Bills, Mark Allen, Zack Buck, Andrew Lewis, Tayna Lawrence

“We’re extremely grateful for PMC’s support of the residency as it advances the health sciences not only at ISU, but it helps address the health care crisis in Idaho,” she said. “PMC also benefits from the residency,” says Todd Blackinton, hospital marketing and public relations director. Not only do the resident physicians help ease the hospital workload, they also reinforce PMC’s commitment “to train and educate Idaho’s next generation of health care providers,’’ said Blackinton. Since its creation more than two decades ago, the ISU Family Medicine Residency has graduated 123 doctors with 50 percent staying in Idaho to practice, says Woodhouse. Many residents apply to the residency because of its focus on rural care and expertise in obstetrics. “This is one of the best places in the United States to teach family physicians how to take care of pregnancies and deliver babies, including by caesarian section,” Woodhouse said. Rural medicine and obstetrics are what attracted Dr. Michael Barker to the residency. Barker majored in biochemistry at Utah State University and earned his medical degree at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri. When it came time for residency training, he applied to the ISU

Michael Barker, M.D., at Portneuf Medical Center Family Medicine Residency program. “It was close to home and I love Idaho,” said Barker, who grew up on a farm outside of Soda Springs. He’d also heard good things about the ISU program, particularly the fact it provided training in rural medicine and obstetrics—areas not offered by other family medicine residencies around the country. Barker said he enjoyed his hospital medicine rotations at PMC so much he decided to become a hospital physician instead of pursuing rural medicine or obstetrics. “I think it speaks to ISU’s strong training that I could become a hospitalist even when the ISU residency training isn’t

geared specifically for that,” he said. “I was impressed by the faculty and impressed by their interest in our education. You could tell they really wanted you to succeed,” Barker said. And the 34-year-old doctor is paying it forward. In addition to practicing at PMC, Barker teaches in the residency program, where he supervises residents during night rotations at the hospital. “Medicine is a tradition of teaching. Some of the great physicians I can think of were also great teachers. I feel teaching has made me a better physician,” said Barker. Chris Gabettas

Chris Collins & Boulder Canyon’s Tribute to John Denver October 5, 2017 Bellamy Brothers

October 28, 2017

Opera Idaho Presents Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore November 3, 2017 David Archuleta

November 18, 2017

Collin Raye Christmas December 16, 2017 isu.edu/stephens (208) 282-3595

FALL 2017

Meridan Lab Helps HATCH a Child’s Potential Parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing must make the most of those waking hours if they want their toddlers to grow up and communicate at the same level as hearing youngsters.

On a shelf in the HATCH Lab at Idaho State University-Meridian, there’s a jar of M & M candies—366 pieces, representing the number of hours a child spends awake each month.

“If you don’t intervene early, it can affect a child’s ability to succeed,” says Kristina Blaiser, HATCH Lab founder and associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Blaiser founded the HATCH Lab—which stands for Helping Adults Talk to Children— two years ago to provide early intervention services for families of children with hearing loss regardless of their geographic location. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, as many as three of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a hearing loss, and 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents.

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Thanks to telehealth technology, Blaiser is able to provide services and education via videoconferencing. All a parent needs is a computer or mobile device with a camera and broadband internet service. But telehealth is more than a therapist behind a laptop—that wouldn’t fly with Blaiser, an accomplished researcher, speech language pathologist and communication scientist with a doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

Telehealth Study Blaiser is in the second year of a two-year study funded by the Philadelphia-based Oberkotter Foundation to compare the effectiveness of telehealth delivery and in-person sessions. Using the curriculum of the globally renowned Hanen Program, Blaiser guides parents through 13 weeks of lessons and strategies designed to develop vocabulary, vocal responses and overcome language delays. Sessions consist of video coaching, PowerPoint presentations, group interactions and one-on-one discussions. Her goal

is to work with 100 families by the study’s end. “We need to make parents feel empowered and engaged, to make them feel they are the best person to help their child,” says Blaiser. Boise mom Kari Baker and her 3-yearold daughter Hattie, who lost her hearing at 18 months after contracting bacterial meningitis, completed their 13-week session this past spring. Hattie is learning to listen and speak using bilateral cochlear implants, electronic devices that stimulate the cochlea and auditory nerve, enabling her to perceive sound. “We are in a really tight window for her to have success with the implants, and we’re trying to do everything we can so that she is successful,” Baker says, noting she appreciated the flexibility and convenience of the telehealth sessions. She found Blaiser’s coaching sessions invaluable, including role playing scenarios and breakout sessions with other parents. “This is another avenue to educate parents. It’s great to have the resources without traveling to another location,” Baker says.

“Hatching” Potential In her office at ISU-Meridian, Blaiser reviews a video from an earlier session with Baker and Hattie. The two are working on listening and language development strategies.

Above: Kari Baker with daughter Hattie. Opposite: Associate professor Kristina Blaiser in HATCH Lab at ISU-Meridian. Photo courtesty of Kari Baker

Hattie, prompted by Baker, picks up small items and places them in a basket as Baker, appearing in the video split screen, watches closely. She then suggests Baker call each item by name to increase Hattie’s vocabulary and vocal response—a communication strategy Baker can use every day with her daughter. Hattie is scheduled to enter preschool this fall, and Baker looks forward to elementary school when Hattie is mainstreamed into a regular classroom with her hearing peers. “I am excited to see what this next year brings. Hattie has gained so much in this

last year,” says Baker. Blaiser believes telehealth puts parents firmly in the “driver’s seat,” giving them the confidence and skills to work independently with their child, and make the most of those 366 waking hours each month. “We want to give them the tools to succeed with their child,” she says. The official HATCH logo painted on a wall in the lab illustrates her point perfectly. It’s a drawing of chicken and an egg about to crack open, symbolizing the growth and potential of a child with hearing loss. Chris Gabettas

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FALL 2017

In an examination room at the Genesis Community Clinic in Garden City, Johnny Farrell reviews notes on a clipboard as he talks to patient Pamela Berner. He wants to know how she’s faring since her last visit. Is there anything going on in her life she’d like to talk about? Farrell is a community health worker. He may not possess the advanced medical skills of a doctor or nurse, but he’s an equally valued member of the Genesis health-care team. After medical issues are addressed, Farrell meets with patients privately, screening them for socioeconomic factors that impact their lives. “Community health workers address the social determinants that affect a patient’s health and well-being,” says Josh Campbell, Genesis programs director and a 2012 graduate of Idaho State University’s Master of Public Health program. Those determinants include factors, such as access to nutritious food, transportation, adequate housing, employment and healthy relationships. “They can impact how long you live and how well you live,” he says.

ISU and CHWs Since fall 2016, Idaho State University’s Institute of Emergency Management, based in Meridian, has provided training for community health workers through a grant from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Bureau of Rural Health and Primary Care. The goal of the community health worker program is to “improve access (to health care) in our rural and underserved areas,” says Bureau Chief Mary Sheridan, noting that much of Idaho falls into that category. The 16-week, online class is free to students participating in Idaho’s State

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Healthcare Innovation Plan—a $40 million, federally-funded initiative to improve health outcomes and patient care statewide while lowering health care costs for all Idahoans. ISU was selected to do the training—a curriculum developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and tweaked to fit Idaho’s needs—because of the university’s expertise in delivering online and health care education, says Sheridan. ISU and Sheridan’s team would like to train 200 community health workers before SHIP’s federal funding ends in January 2019. As of this spring, 36 students had gone through the training, representing most every region of the state. They’re schooled in how to communicate effectively, build community trust, the importance of early intervention, and how to link people to resources that can improve health. “Resources can include transportation to the doctor’s office, linking a person to a primary-care doctor, or helping a person make an appointment for a health screening or test,” says Mike Mikitish, director of ISU’s Emergency Management Institute. The medical and public health communities see community health workers as an effective way to link people to preventive care before becoming so ill they’re forced to seek treatment in hospital emergency

intervention, can improve health outcomes. “It’s been shown that community health workers are very effective in cultivating trust”—a key factor in successful community outreach, says Ryan Lindsay, an ISU assistant professor of public health and an instructor in the community health worker program. Farrell, who took the ISU course a year ago, appreciated the insight and public health expertise—from both instructors and students. “It was very collaborative. There were people doing similar things, but coming at it from different perspectives,” says Farrell, who coordinates the community health worker program at Genesis.

rooms, driving up the cost of health care. Idaho has yet to determine the impact of the community health worker program on health care costs, but advocates point to global research that shows communities using community health workers report increases in screening rates for diseases or disabilities—which, coupled with early

Genesis Sees Success Over a recent 11-month period, Genesis community health workers had interactions with 913 patients and made 1,829 successful referrals, says programs director Campbell. And 64-year-old Pamela Berner is one of them. Back in the examination room,

she and Farrell are wrapping up their discussion. She tells him she’s doing well—walking more than two miles a day and watching her diet. Berner then shares a situation that’s causing her great concern. A contractor owes her thousands of dollars for home repair work he has failed to complete and she doesn’t know what to do. “I’ve run out of resources,” says Berner, a customer service contract worker for a Boise company. Farrell gives her the address and phone number of Idaho Legal Aid, a non-profit law firm that provides free civil legal assistance to low-income citizens. It’s connections like this that make community health workers a valuable member of a health care team, thanks to their ability to build trust and connect people to community resources than can help them. Berner is grateful for the impact on her own life. “My health has improved drastically. It’s made me a more informed and better member of our community,” she says. Chris Gabettas

Genesis Community Health Worker Coordinator Johnny Farrell meets with patient Pamela Berner.

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A Deca It’s August 22, the first day of fall semester, and the Quad has sprung to life after a sleepy summer. Campus is bustling with wide-eyed freshmen hurrying to class, energetic student ambassadors offering assistance, and seasoned academics comparing notes and catching up. These days are the ones President Arthur Vailas is going to miss the most when he retires in June. “I’ve always liked the students, no matter where I’ve been,” he said. “They’re excited. They’re embarking on a new adventure.” It’s an adventure that Vailas was the first in his family to make. The son of hard-working Greek immigrants, Vailas was the first in

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cade of Leadership his family to go to college. He understood the value of hard work, but his love for education and science came later. Vailas attended the University of New Hampshire on a football scholarship. His plans after college were not setâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; until a professor invited him to work in his laboratory over the summer. After that summer, Vailas was hooked on research. Vailas graduated magna cum laude, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in physical education from the University of Iowa in 1979, with emphasis on exercise and connective tissue physiology. He also completed a three-year National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship in orthopedic surgery and biochemistry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine before joining the faculty of the University of California-Los Angeles. He later joined the faculty at University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was also director of the Biomechanics Laboratory. In 1992 and 1995, he received Outstanding Science Achievement Awards from NASA for his work on the U.S.-Russian Space Program. In 1996, Vailas relocated to the University of Houston as vice-provost for graduate studies, and professor and distinguished chair in biology and biochemistry. He later

became vice president for research for the University of Houston and vice chancellor for research and intellectual property management for the University of Houston system. When he was named president of Idaho State University in 2006, he brought his love of research and medicine with him. Under his watch, ISU expanded its reach in the Treasure Valley, with the creation of the ISU-Meridian Health Science Center in 2009. This year, workers broke ground on the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first medical school,

FALL 2017

“Over the past decade, President Vailas has been at the forefront of many of the remarkable and positive changes, not only at Idaho State University but also throughout our higher education system,” said Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter. “Through Dr. Vailas’ vision and leadership, ISU has championed numerous programs and opportunities including one that holds great promise for the future, the creation of Idaho’s first medical school. By any measure, Dr. Vailas’ many accomplishments secure his legacy as not only a great educational leader, but also a builder of a great university.”

the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. The private institution is located at ISU-Meridian, and is partnering with Idaho State University. ISU’s rural health clinics have also expanded in recent years. Most recently, ISU has opened Bengal Pharmacy locations in Arco, Council and Challis, Idaho, with another location set to open in Kendrick.

July 1, 2006: Arthur C. Vailas becomes president of Idaho State University.

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February 20, 2007: Ground is broken on the new Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls, a partnership between ISU, other state institutions and the Idaho National Laboratory.

August 2009: ISU-Meridian Health Science Center opens for students. Today, the location serves more than 1,000 students and working professionals and houses a full-service dental clinic, a speech and language clinic and a counseling clinic.

When Vailas came to ISU in 2006, the nation was poised for recession. Some of his greatest accomplishments, Vailas said, were building the university’s reserves, growing scholarship opportunities, and ensuring that every employee at ISU had an income above the poverty line. In March 2016, Vailas joined Otter in unveiling a pilot program to lock base tuition rates for degree-seeking Idaho freshmen enrolled at ISU for four continuous academic years. The goal was to make higher education more affordable and encourage students to

2010: President Vailas creates the Career Path Internship program to give students the opportunity to work in their fields as they complete their degrees and give them a leg up when seeking employment after graduation. The number of CPI students participating in the paid internship program has increased each year with 245 students the first year to 904 today.

January 2014: Benny’s Pantry, a food pantry for students, faculty and staff, opens for the first time. A year later, an Idaho Falls location opened.

Lowell Richards, Brooke Barber and Laura Vailas celebrate the opening of Benny’s Pantry.

complete their degrees in a timely manner. The tuition lock program is now entering its second year. “These things were important to me,” Vailas said. “We had to figure out a way to do them with limited resources.” To meet the needs of students from all backgrounds, Vailas and his wife, Laura helped to establish the Veterans Sanctuary, now called Veterans Student Services, to offer a welcoming environment and needed services for veteran students. For struggling

August 2015: The Treasure Valley Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory opens with a cadaver lab and bioskills learning center. The complex is the first of its kind in the state. In Pocatello, the Gale Life Sciences received a $1 million renovation, including a 3-D virtual anatomy table to enhance student experiences.

students, the pair worked to open Benny’s Pantry, a food pantry serving ISU students and families. The idea for the pantry was conceived by Laura Vailas, who is also a registered dietician. For the Vailases, removing barriers to a quality education is always at the forefront of their minds. “Hunger and food insecurity are often invisible,” Vailas said at the pantry opening in 2014. “But we know there are students and staff who could use the help Benny’s Pantry will provide. We don’t want parents

March 2016: Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and President Vailas unveiled a pilot program to lock base tuition rates for degree-seeking Idaho freshmen enrolled at ISU for four continuous academic years. The program began in fall 2016 and is now in its second year of implementation.

May 2017: Construction begins on the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, a private institution partnering with Vailas and ISU to create Idaho’s first medical school. The school will be located on the ISU-Meridian campus.

going hungry so their children can eat or anyone lacking adequate, wholesome food.” When he completes his final year at ISU in June, Vailas says he will miss working with the faculty, staff, legislators and state officials who helped bring his ideas for the University into reality. “I’m going to miss the friendliness of everyone,” he said. “It’s been a real pleasure.” Emily Frandsen

2017: President Vailas secures $10 million in funding for upgrades to the Gale Life Sciences building.

2017: Vailas and ISU secure $1.8 million for the proposed Polytechnic Institute at ISU-Idaho Falls, a collaboration with the Idaho National Laboratory. The Institute will offer degree programs and graduate-level classes centered around science and engineering.

FALL 2017

“Non sine pulvere palmam” Without hard work, there is no reward

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This is the motto that 24-year-old Idaho State University international student Damara Marshall lives by as she begins to pursue an audiology doctoral degree this fall. When she graduates, she will fill a dire need in her home country of Trinidad and Tobago, a dual island nation located off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. The country is home to 1.6 million people and currently only has three audiologists. Marshall has met two of them. Marshall earned her Bachelor of Science degree in communications sciences and disorders with an emphasis in audiology this spring. Her nearly 4,000-mile sojourn from a tropical island to the Snake River plain began when, as a teen YMCA counselor, she was introduced to a deaf boy.

in an environment where I could have a lot of one-on-one time with my professors to help me understand concepts that I couldn’t grasp in class.” The communication science program at ISU has been a good fit for Marshall. It gave her great exposure to an abundance of information and many opportunities for observing professionals in her field.

culture shock, necessarily, but there were many little things I had to get use to such as the American pronunciation of words and the different lingo, and everything here starts on time.”

“The professors are people who definitely want you to succeed and are always willing to put aside extra time in order for you to grasp concepts,” she said. “In

One of the things she liked the most about ISU is meeting people from all over the United States and the world. She said she has “been blessed” to now have so many friends from different cultures. She has also been able to educate people about her home country where her father, Claude, formerly a professor at South Carolina State

addition, they are so passionate about what they do that they make you excited to learn and get involved as well as crave to know what they know.”

University, is now an entrepreneur. She also has a younger brother Sule, 22, who attends Vassar University and is an intern at Google.

She is excited about fulfilling a critical health need in her home country.

Despite the challenges of being an international student, Marshall finished her undergraduate degree in 3-1/2 years and made time to be an Associated Students of ISU senator, Turner Hall president and ISU International Student Association secretary. She is also the founding member of the ISU Women of Color Association, was on the ISU Student Conduct Board and performed cultural songs at ISU events whenever she was asked.

“This opened up a whole new world for me,” Marshall said. “I watched him interact with other campers and realized the difficulties he had, so I looked at ways I could communicate more with him and help more with activities he was doing. I looked up sign language and it made me want to know more about deaf culture.” Her interest in the deaf continued to grow from this point on and was encouraged by her mother, Marisa, who is a resilience coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross in Trinidad and Tobago. “I would always tell my mother about my love for deaf people and their culture so she kept an eye out for interesting articles and recent developments in that area,” Marshall said. “One day, she called me and told me about the communication science and disorders degree which she felt would give me a wide exposure to people that communicate differently to what people deem as ‘normal.’ She advised me to do an emphasis in audiology since I was always interested in not only deaf people but also the reasons why they may be deaf and how to assist them in their day-to-day activities.” Marshall learned about ISU through a recruiter in her home country. She was attracted to ISU because, among other reasons, it had a strong audiology program and was affordable. “I liked the size of the school,” she said. “My mother and I knew that I could thrive

“Because of a lack of resources in Trinidad and Tobago people often have to go abroad for audiology treatment,” Marshall said. “I will save people money and reduce costs for people who used to have to go outside the country to pursue treatment.” As an international student, Marshall found living in Pocatello an adjustment. “I slowly fell in love with Pocatello,” Marshall said. “I think I love that it has a perfect balance. Enough to do so that I am not bored out of my mind, but not enough to get overly distracted. I didn’t have a

“I basically take one day at a time and plan ahead a lot so that I can prevent events and assignments from clashing,” Marshall said. “I am always prepared for long days and long nights.”

FALL 2017

Spending a summer in a tiny hamlet in Ireland isn’t a typical academic experience for a biology student. But this summer, Lathan O’Neil found himself in the Dingle Peninsula in a village of 80 people, taking classes and learning traditional folklore and dances. In his free time, he put his new language skills to use immersing himself in the culture. “There was a beach close to us that was really nice and we could walk around the countryside, or practice dancing or have a little party. The trip to Ireland was one of the best experiences that I have ever had,” he said. O’Neil said his experience was made better by the language and cultural skills he had learned through Irish language classes, the ISU Irish Club and the Friends of Irish Studies community. It’s part of a larger connection between Idaho and Ireland, bringing faculty and students from across the ocean together.

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ISU alumnus and doctoral student Garth Lambson was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2011 as a master’s student to study the Irish language and folklore at the National University of Ireland in Galway. Lambson, who works in emergency management at the Idaho National Laboratory, is now working on his doctorate in English from ISU. “I had a fantastic time in Ireland so when I came back in 2011 working on my master’s degree I started an Irish Club at ISU,” Lambson said. “We got the student group up and running and it kept going. Then Sharon (Sieber) and I put in for a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant group scholarship as a university program, and we received funding for students to go.” ISU is now one of only nine universities nationwide and the only one in Idaho that participates in the Irish language Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) program. Other schools partic-

ipating in the Irish language FLTA program include the University of Montana, which ISU partners with, Notre Dame and New York University. This Fulbright program connection has allowed ISU to host two FLTA Irish teachers, with a third coming this fall. Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin taught Irish language classes at ISU during the 2015-16 academic year and Aine Ni Shuilleabhain taught them during the 2016-17 academic year. But the travel to and from Ireland goes both ways. In 2016, ISU, in cooperation with the University of Montana, sent five students during the summer of 2016 and three students this year to participate in a three-week Fulbright study program in Ireland. ISU and Fulbright funded part of the cost of the trips. The ISU students also receive funding from the efforts of the ISU Irish Club – Misneach and Friends of Irish studies, a related community group founded by Lambson.

immersed in the culture. Most students at ISU think a Fulbright is out of reach, but this is a great opportunity for students to participate in an Irish immersion program. I think it changes their lives and gets them interested in international travel and understanding of other cultures, which is a goal of the Fulbright program.” “Taking the Irish courses at ISU was very interesting because Aine knows Irish so well because she was from there,” O’Neil said. “It was easier for her to explain it to us because she knows both Irish and English so well. It gave us a full experience and it was a good environment to learn it.” The interchange between ISU and Ireland is having a ripple effect in Pocatello.

The ISU Irish Club – Misneach and Friends of Irish Studies now hold Irish-themed events throughout the year. Those activities include an Irish Hooley, a community festival in the spring that features a five-course meal in Irish cuisine, Irish music and dancing. This year’s Pocatello Hooley sold out its 140 tickets so organizers are considering a larger venue next year. These events help share the Irish culture and also help ISU students fundraise to visit Ireland. “I think it is great that we try to give genuine Irish experiences in Pocatello,” O’Neil said. “Comparing our hooley to what we had in Ireland, I’d say they were very similar. It is a great experience. Andrew Taylor

To be eligible to go on these trips the students need to have taken Irish language classes that, coincidentally, are offered at ISU in the fall and spring by the visiting Irish instructors. Those language classes will again be offered this academic year. “Obviously, it is a fantastic, oncein-a-lifetime opportunity for students,” ISU Fulbright Program Director Sharon Sieber said. “They get to travel to Ireland and spend three weeks being completely

FALL 2017

After five years of playing professional baseball, Mitch Gueller stepped onto the football field as a wide receiver for the Idaho State football team in 2016. The freshman made an immediate impact, catching 36 passes for 509 yards and three touchdowns. A big reason for his early success can be attributed to the coaching of Head Coach Rob Phenicie. “I tried to be a student of his and listen to everything and absorb as much as I could,” Gueller said. “I was pretty fresh in knowing anything about football. Anything that was a coaching point was something I was trying to take in and soak it up as much as possible.” Phenicie was named head coach of the Bengal football program on March 30, and Gueller and the rest of the ISU football players have taken to his leadership and management of the team. “Coach Phen has made the effort to put a lot more faith into the guys on the team and believe that we can do it,” Gueller said. “With us being the competitors that we all are nobody wants to lose and let each other

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down. By putting it on us to take care of business and entrusting us to do it, he is getting more out of us.” Gueller added, “Guys are more willing to work to do what it takes to get where we need to go instead of just expecting us to do it without following up. He trusts what we are doing and believes we can win.” Gueller said Phenicie’s attention to detail has been big for the players. “Everything he does has a purpose,” Gueller said. “I want to do more every time he tells me to do something because I know it’s going to help me win on Saturdays.” That purpose Phenicie has instilled in his players didn’t happen overnight. The Bengal head coach has had 26 years of being mentored by nationally-renowned coaches to prepare him for his current post. Phenicie credits his high school coach, Bill Workman, for teaching him how to be competitive. “We were so competitive,” Phenicie said. “We tried to win summer passing leagues and dominate whatever phase we were in.”

During Phenicie’s first job as a graduate assistant at Memphis State he learned the importance of a valuable work ethic from Chuck Stobart. “I learned the hours it takes to do this job,” he said. Phenicie then spent time at UCLA as a graduate assistant under Terry Donahue and offensive coordinator Homer Smith learning offenses and how to attack defenses. “I thought I was going to learn all this amazing offense from UCLA and the first day I get there Homer hands me a packet of defenses and said, ‘Here learn these.’ I learned defense in addition to the offense. I learned about technique and how to treat people from Rick Neuheisel. Neuheisel was on the cutting edge of all the fun stuff people do now. He was doing it back in the ’90s.” When it comes to learning how to handle all the duties a head coach carries, Phenicie credits former Montana and UNLV coach Bobby Hauck. Phenicie spent 12 years with Hauck in Missoula and Las Vegas.

“I learned toughness and detail,” he said. “He has shaped me as a head coach now more than anybody in terms of that. I retained a lot more than I thought.” “Everything Matters is the theme for this year. This is going to be who we are and what we are,” Phenicie said. “Everything you do from school, study hall and behavior in public. You could get into the finite details of steps on a play. Everything you do matters in terms of moving our program forward. This a real detailed statement that I like.” The Everything Matters slogan was evident with the players from day one. In the first team meeting Phenicie detailed the team’s schedule for the next several months and set expectations. Instead of just sending the team out for its first spring practice they had a walkthrough of what practice was going to be like. “We practiced a practice before we ever went out there so on the first day people weren’t running around crazy,” Phenicie said. “I think the team appreciated that. Showing the kids that you have a plan is important. That is what I did.” As Phenicie takes his program into his first fall as head coach he wants to see his team continue to establish a level of toughness, not flinch on things and be competitive. “The kids have bought into it,” he said. “Competiveness isn’t something you turn on just on Saturday. You have to be ready

to go all week. As long as we compete we are going to put ourselves in a position to win games.” Phenicie has also made sure his program has made a difference in the community. He and his players have been seen at libraries, schools and other local events.

After an elementary school visit in Idaho Falls in May, wide receiver Scooby Reynolds sent his coach a text saying, “Wow, those kids really look up to us don’t they?” Phenicie responded with a text of, “That is why I preach to you about doing things right because they do look up to you.”

“The people appreciate seeing that you are a normal person,” he said.

Reynolds response was, “That fires me up for the season even more.” Steve Schaack

Everything Matters

Campaign In the trenches to raisE Funds for Idaho State University Football

When you make a gift designated to ISU Football, you are pledging your support to our coaches and their visions for how to successfully elevate Idaho State Football to a new level of excellence. Whether it is invested in team travel throughout the season, training equipment upgrades, nutrition or recruiting enhancements, your gift will go directly to supporting your team. Our team depends on your gift and we are truly grateful for your continued support. Invest in our team today, because Everything Matters!

isu.edu/everythingmatters FALL 2017

Marchin’ Up the Block Where else can you see a donkey riding inside a van? It’s one of the highlights of the Idaho State University Homecoming Parade, where more than 170 floats, bands, dance studios, donkeys and even the occasional unicyclist can be seen heading down the streets of Pocatello. The Homecoming Parade has been held annually since 1930, and besides being one of the oldest ISU traditions, it is the most popular. It is also one of Southeast Idaho’s largest community events.

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“It is the biggest parade in Pocatello and the single biggest alumni event we have,” said Ryan Sargent, ISU Office of Alumni Relations associate director. “It is amazing how many people line the streets.” The parade attracts hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators along its current 1.5-mile route from First Avenue and Center Street to Memorial Drive, ending at Terry Street/Martin Luther King Jr. Way on the ISU campus by Reed Gymnasium. The excitement begins at 6 a.m., when volunteers begin arriving to manage the “organized chaos” that comes with lining up for the parade. “The parade feels like Christmas morning, because kids are so excited about the parade,” said Heidi Oliver, ISU event services coordinator and parade organizer. “It’s like a giant dance street party even before the parade begins,” Oliver said. “It’s a ton of fun and the enthusiasm carries over into the Homecoming game, too.” Matt Hunter, president and CEO of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce, said he’s big fan of the parade. “I love it. It’s awesome,” Hunter said. “It is a great opportunity for the business community in the region to show their support for Idaho State University. The entire Homecoming week is one of the biggest events in this community. We love ISU.” The sometimes unpredictable fall weather in Southeast Idaho isn’t a deterrent to annual parade-goers, Oliver said.

“It’s an incredible event, where people bring their families out to have really good time and people come out during rain, snow or whatever. I’ve worked setting it up during rains storms and snow storms and the streets are still full of people,” Oliver said. “I think is an important event to the community and it is a great way for the community to show support for ISU and for ISU to support the community. ISU alumni, ISU students and the community all come together.” There is a new addition to the tradition this year for ISU alumni. “We have an ‘Alumni Alley’ at the beginning of the parade,” Sargent said. “We set up two or three bleachers in front of Racine Olson Law Firm (located at 201 E. Center Street). It is a lot of fun.” The parade is long and has so many entries that floats at the beginning of the parade are done before those near the back of the line have started, but many families and kids stay for the duration, packing home bags of candy passed out along the route. “I love watching the kids getting excited, the dance groups performing, bands playing, but my favorites are the student organizations that get excited and hyped,” said Val Davids, coordinator for the ISU Student Organizations in the Involvement Center, who has been involved with organizing and volunteering at the parade for more than 30 years. “The Kappa Alpha Psi, for example, rent a semi every year and make it into a ship. I just enjoy watching them have fun.” Andrew Taylor

FALL 2017

Ryan Sargent and Blake Benson, president of the 1901 Student Alumni Association, in front of the new Bengal Trailer.

Loyalty, Progress and Ambition – Common Among Bengals Shortly after the first American universities were established, graduates from these schools began a rich tradition of giving back to their Alma Maters. Alumni associations exist to ensure academic success continues and campus traditions are preserved. Bengal alumni are passionate about supporting our University and creating future opportunities for students. Idaho State University’s faculty and students continue to solve increasingly complex issues facing the world. Our scholarships provide financial support for the next generation of students seeking to continue the Bengal tradition of greatness. Graduates leave campus well prepared for life’s challenges. This past summer, I’ve had the opportunity to meet hundreds of Bengal alumni at dozens of ISU Alumni Association gatherings. I’m reminded that Idaho State doesn’t just have a large alumni base in terms of sheer numbers (we have over

85,000 living alumni), but that Bengals are deeply loyal to ISU. I’ve heard the same sentiment repeated often: “I’m proud of the degree I earned from Idaho State University;” “Everyone in my family bleeds Bengal orange and black;” “The education I received at ISU is second to none.”

scend our differences with a unified experience. We are grateful for our time spent at ISU, and as Bengals, we feel the companionship and camaraderie of this priceless treasure. We can continue to share our love for Idaho State by meaningfully connecting through the Alumni Association.

This fierce commitment to Idaho State is why the Alumni Association is growing and making an increasingly larger impact. If you are already a card-carrying member of the Alumni Association, we are grateful for your support and welcome your feedback. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, we hope you will.

Having this passion manifests itself in other ways, too. For example, our support helps the University gain prestige. Committed and enthusiastic alumni help to guarantee Idaho State’s long-term success. This support improves our reputation as industry leaders recognize the quality of the Bengal experience. No matter where you are, we hope you will become involved in the Alumni Association. On behalf of the thousands of alumni I represent, thank you for your support of our Alma Mater.

Our Alumni Association membership benefits are discussed online at isu.edu/ alumni. However, one of the greatest membership rewards is difficult to express in writing. Our community shares in the experience of curiosity and goodwill. We collectively benefit from wide ranging backgrounds and perspectives, but we tran-

As always, Bengals – Veritas Vos Liberabit,

Ryan Sargent, ’09

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ISU Alumni Association, 1901 Club Provide Bengal Fans Fun with Bengal-themed Trailer Anybody for some tasty BBQ to go along with your Bengal tailgate? Idaho State University football, volleyball and soccer tailgates, and other alumni and student events are becoming a lot more fun due to the ISU Alumni Associations’ new Bengal trailer. The Bengal-decorated trailer is filled with a smoker, barbeque grills, tables, chairs, audio speakers and other equipment that can be set up quickly. It has been well received so far this fall. “It’s a party machine, all right,” said Ryan Sargent, associate director of the ISU Alumni Association. “I think it has elevated our ability to put on a really good event. We took it down to Utah State and have taken it over to Boise State. It has gone all over the place already.” The trailer came about through a project by the 1901 Student Alumni Association, which annually devotes itself to an ISU project. Two years ago, the 1901 Student Alumni Association donated the giant pair of Bengal eyes that decorate the Rendezvous Complex that look at the traffic on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Last year, the 1901 club spearheaded the effort to get the Bengal trailer. “The 1901 Student Alumni Association worked to raise money for this trailer and

we worked with them,” Sargent said. “The trailer was donated pretty close to cost from Bear Lake Trailer Supplies, and Connections Credit Union paid for the wrap and trailer.” “We are super excited because I think it is foundation for creating student atmosphere around tailgates,” said Blake Benson, 1901 club president. “If you look at larger universities they have an awesome tailgating environment and that is what the priority is for the trailer, but is a functional gift as well. It can be used to promote the 1901 club, promote ISU and get a sense of pride going around.” “The trailer design is innovative and it is a good design for us,” Sargent said. “We were stopped in Twin Falls filling it up with gas and a couple of guys came over and told us how much they liked the design and said they’d wished they gone to ISU after seeing it. Other people said they wished

their schools had a trailer like this.” Potentially, the trailer may feature more bells and whistles. “We are in the idea phase about what we can add to it,” Benson said. “We might get surround-sound speakers or some kind of projector that we could broadcast games on, but haven’t decided anything else, yet.” Besides the fun it is bringing to ISU events, Sargent said he loves the trailer and its equipment for another reason. “I love smoking meat. It is just a hobby of mine,” said Ryan, who has been custom smoking meats – such as pulled pork, tri-tip and brats – for some of the trailers’ events. “I could do it all day long every day. It has been fun.” Keep your eyes and noses on the look out for the Bengal trailer and the fun it helps provide.

FALL 2017

William and Karin Eames

College of Technology’s New Home When William Eames talks about Idaho State University College of Technology students, his enthusiasm is palpable. “It’s exciting,” he said. “They’re ready to go, and people really want them. They’re going to come out and make $50-$60,000 per year. We need these people in Idaho.” Every few months, Eames, a retired pharmacist, tours the College of Technology and talks to students. Stuck in his memory are people like a woman in her mid-30s, who returned to college while raising a family and earned a job with Western Machinery before she even graduated. “She wanted to work with her handsshe gets to work with her hands,” he said. He has met a man who retired from IBM, and returned to school to learn how to repair airplane engines. He’s met welders who graduated from the program, but still return after-hours to hone their skills and learn new techniques. Helping students like these has always been a goal of Eames. When he came to

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ISU from Chico, California. In 1953, Eames felt like ISU was taking a chance on him. Eames said he chose pharmacy as a career because he wanted a good standard of living, the same reason many College of Technology students choose their careers. “I just want to give back to the state that gave so much to me,” Eames said. “I wanted the opportunity to help others.” Beginning this year, students from the College of Technology will be honing their skills at the newly named William M. and Karin A. Eames Advanced Technical Education and Innovation Complex. A number of College of Technology programs are moving into the former RISE facility. The move will allow the College space needed to expand programs, while providing opportunities for research. Eames, who has supported student scholarships for more than 25 years, pledged a $2.5 million gift to support enhancements at the facility, and has helped secure an additional commitment

of $250,000 for the university’s $5 million campaign. “We are honored to have Bill and Karin’s name on our building. The Eames family has been longtime benefactors and friends to the College of Technology, and they truly believe in Career and Technical Education. Bill has also been very instrumental in helping our college raise funds to enhance student opportunities. He has spent many long hours traveling with our team to meet with donors and business and industry partners, which has resulted in a number of significant gifts to the College of Technology. We are delighted to have the Eames family name be identified with this wonderful facility,” said Scott Rasmussen, dean of the ISU College of Technology. Eames said he is thrilled to be able to make a difference. “It is an honor,” he said. “It’s satisfying to know I can help someone on their journey through life.” Emily Frandsen

FUTURE BENGALS

STUDENT REFERRAL PROGRAM

Do you know a high school student who would make a great future Bengal? They could be a relative, neighbor or colleagueĘźs child. Refer them today! After receiving your referral, your future Bengal will be contacted personally by an ISU Ambassador.

Tell us who you know that will make a great Bengal at isu.edu/alumni FALL 2017

Pioneering Studies Lead to International Award Idaho State University alum Rafi Ahmed will receive the 2017 Robert Koch Award on November 3 at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin. Ahmed will also be receiving 120,000 euros, approximately $135,379, in prize money. Ahmed, who is currently the Vaccine Center Director and a professor at Emory University, will receive the award for his pioneering studies on immunological memory and T cell exhaustion. His research centered on how memory cells can store an immune response for a practically unlimited time, once learned. Ahmed’s research has marked a radical departure from dogmas previously presumed to be reliable. For example, this is true of his proof that virus-specific memory CD8 T cells do not require a permanent stimulus with low quantities of corresponding antigens, as was believed until the mid-1990s. On the contrary, it is a property inherent in these cells themselves, which permits them to respond faster and more effectively on re-infection. Ahmed’s studies also defined long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow that are responsible for maintaining antibody responses after infection or vaccination.

Rafi Ahmed Ahmed graduated from ISU with both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in microbiology in 1972 and 1974. The Robert Koch Foundation, founded in 1907, is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of medical progress. The Foundation is based in Berlin, and promotes basic scientific research in the field of infectious diseases, as well as

exemplary projects that address medical and hygienic issues. Robert Koch (1843 – 1910), after whom the award is named, was the founder of modern-day bacteriology, for which he was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology. From 1891 until his retirement in 1904, Koch was Head of the Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin.

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Grad Focuses on Healthy Hearing Idaho State University graduate Spencer Lifferth and the company Motes Audio have launched Kadence headphones, the first headphones specifically designed with the needs of school-age children in mind. Lifferth, ’12, a clinical audiologist began research and development on his new company, Motes Audio, two years ago. “My business partners and I saw a huge need in the headphone industry to help stop the hearing loss problem in youth from loud music,” Lifferth said. According to a study by Harvard Medical School Associate Professor Gary Curhan, one in five students suffer permanent hearing loss, most likely due to high-volume sounds. In addition to the Kadence headphones, Motes Audio’s product line includes a lolli, which is an adapter that limits the volume on your current wired headphone, and a volume-limiting cord to replace regular auxiliary cords.

as wireless speakers.

The Kadence headphones are designed with the main purpose in mind of making listening to music safer.

Lifferth said that his education at Idaho State University helped prepare him for his career by creating his love of hearing.

“We had to make sure that the quality of the sound was not compromised,” Lifferth said. “After much testing, we were able to find the right balance of keeping sound safe and maintaining great sound quality.”

“I know it sounds strange to love hearing, but when getting my doctorate, my professors helped me realize the importance of protecting, maintaining and managing hearing,” Lifferth said.

The Kadence headphones also block out a lot of background noise to eliminate the need to turn up the volume to drown it out. “Our initial focus when developing the headphones was on students as much of their homework and free time is spent on computers, tablets and phones,” Lifferth said. “Our headphones are designed to fit both children and adults, so anybody will be able to use them and enjoy great sound without worrying about damaging their hearing.” Eventually, Lifferth and his partners plan to expand their product line to include general hearing protection at home as well

Spencer Lifferth

He said that although there are many audiology programs in the country, he feels that ISU shows a level of detail and care toward its students that is not found in other programs. “At Idaho State, I never felt like I was a burden to my professors,” Lifferth said. “They have an open-door policy so we could come to them for information and help whenever it was needed. I wouldn’t trade my education at ISU for anything.” For more information on Motes Audio or to pre-order any of their products, visit motesaudio.com. Kirsten Cooper

Based in Pocatello, the new MTax program is designed to offer students a more specified accounting degree in the taxation field. The program inherits our unique course structure designed specifically around the four parts of the CPA exam which has resulted in the College’s Master of Accountancy students earning a successful 88% first-time pass rate on the exam.

ISU . E DU /C O B/MTAX.S HTML | MBA@IS U.EDU | 2 0 8 .2 8 2 .2 5 0 4

FALL 2017

ALUMNI NEWS 1970s Chloe Ryan Winston, ‘70, has released the book “Peru Paradox” by Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc.

1980s Robert L. Chapman, ‘80, has been appointed vice president of administration for eCobalt Solution’s U.S. operations. He comes to the company with more than 35 years experience in senior positions in the mining industry. Randy Jensen, ‘85, was recently named superintendent at American Falls School District. Jensen was previously principal of William Thomas Middle School. Laura McKnight, ’87, ’99, director of Idaho State University’s dietetics program, has been selected as the 2017 Outstanding Dietetic Educator for a Didactic Program in Dietetics in her region. The award recognizes the teaching, mentoring and leadership activities of faculty and preceptors in dietetics education programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. McKnight was selected by a committee of her peers in recognition of her years of service preparing students to become dietitians. In the past year, McKnight has also received the 2016 June Yerrington Award from the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as the Phi Upsilon Omicron 2016 National Bachtel-Holbrook Collegiate Advisor Award. Helen Keezer Burton, ’89, a former English teacher in School District 25, has completed her first novel, “Shakespeare’s True Love.”

1990s Rick Magnuson, ’92, the co-owner and managing partner of MSVM Group in Pocatello, has been awarded the 2017 American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award by the Idaho Advertising Federation. Steven Carlsen, ’94, has been named superintendent of the Box Elder School District in Box Elder County, Utah. Carlsen has been

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a superintendent for Utah’s Carbon School District since 2011. Prior to that he was the North Summit School District superintendent in Coalville, Utah. Jeffery Mansfield, ’95, was recently named the City of Pocatello Public Works Director and City Engineer. Mansfield is tasked with overseeing operation of the Water, Water Pollution Control (WPC), Sanitation, Streets, Engineering and Science/Environmental Departments. Dan Heiner, ’95, senior credit officer, Citizens Community Bank, Division of Glacier Bank in Boise was recently elected as the 2017/18 Chair of the Board of Directors for the Idaho Bankers Association at its annual business meeting. Molly Swallow, ’96, was hired by Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho to serve as manager of investor relations and advocacy. Swallow has served in commercial banking since 2002. She will be responsible for facilitating REDI’s growing investor relations and advocacy efforts. Swallow sits on the Idaho State University Bengal Athletic Booster Board. Rosie Maloney, ’96, and Regina Calcaterra’s memoir, “Girl Unbroken,” has been published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The story is the second book for Calcaterra, and documents the sisters’ struggles, courage and triumph through a difficult childhood. Matt Lucas, ‘96, is the next chancellor of Indiana Wesleyan University National and Global Campus, the campus that oversees all non-residential services at IWU. Amy Weimer, ‘99, an associate professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, received the University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. She is one of four UTRGV faculty members who received the 2017 recognition.

2000s Ryan Bowman, ‘00, former Buhl High School principal, is the Twin Falls School District’s new director of operations. Bowman started his career in education in 2000 in Buhl where he taught high school government and history. Bowman has also worked as the principal of Raft River Junior/Senior High School and principal of Jerome High School. Brad Gamett, ’01, was recently named University of Idaho’s new Butte County Extension educator. Previously, Gamett served as the county weed superintendent. Dr. Olav Sorensen, ’05, has joined the Willamette Dental Group after several years of military service. Idaho State Police Lt. Col. Kedrick “Ked” Wills, ’05, ‘09, has been named the next director of the Idaho State Police, to succeed Col. Ralph Powell. Whitney Poleki, ‘06, has been selected as Mrs. Pocatello in the Mrs. Idaho America Pageant. Bryan Wheat, ‘08, is the new Eastern Idaho Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, working out of the Pocatello U.S. Federal Courthouse. His caseload focuses on gun and gang violence, drug trafficking, and immigration offenses affecting eastern Idaho.

2010s Lisa Moravec, ‘11, an assistant professor in the department of dental hygiene at the UNMC College of Dentistry, received the 2017 Dental Hygienist of the Year Award at the Nebraska Dental Hygiene Association (NDHA) Annual Session on April 28. Chelsea Schoenfelder, ‘12, has been elected to a two-year term as secretary of the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics board of directors. A health and wellness manager at the Idaho Dairy Council, Schoenfelder oversees curriculum and materials provided to health and school professionals, coordinates health and wellness content, enhances partner programs, and promotes the nutritional benefits of dairy foods.

Give Back Wear Orange and Black When you buy officially licensed Bengal gear, your purchase supports student scholarships. For a complete list of official Idaho State retailers, go to isu.edu/bengalgear

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