Idaho State University Magazine - Fall 2010 by Idaho State University

The Puzzle of the Brain THROUGH TRAGEDY AND ILLNESS, ISU RESEARCHERS ARE DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT WHAT GOES ON IN OUR HEADS

Plus …

Volume 41 | Number 1 | Fall/Winter 2010

Helping the Deaf in Nepal • The ISU Foundation On the Frontier of a Nuclear Renaissance

… and more!

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From the President Beverly B. Bistline passes away. Glenn Thackray discovers a fault in the Sawtooth Mountains. Researchers from across the University work together to create a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;smarterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hand. Grant helps keep local doctors in Idaho after completing residency. Fulbright scholar Bethany Hundley travels to Nepal studying deaf education.

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Jean Pfau studies the effect of asbestos exposure. Students who participate in the Early College program get a jump on high education. Bonds formed for all involved on both sides of a recent ACCORD study on diabetes. A medical mission to Peru with Idaho Condor is documented through photos. Idaho State University leads the way on a nuclear frontier.

Mind Matters: Four glimpses into brains, injuries and treatment.

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Care and generosity. The ISU Foundation Board is made up of people committed to seeing the University thrive. The Preparatory Piano Program provides a great opportunity for ISU students and young piano players. In 2010, the homecoming celebration was all about The Year of the Tiger.

A Gift and a Hug. President Arthur C. Vailas gets a hug from the Marshall-Spreier family during the filming of ABCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which aired Nov. 7. On behalf of the University, President Vailas presented the children with scholarships to Idaho State University. Check online for a multimedia presentation on this story.

Brightest and Best profiles students, faculty and alumni who are making an impact.

the brain by Joey Gifford. The background image is a view of a skull, by a much-more-famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci.

ISU Photographic Services/Julie Hillebrant

Cover Helping to give a look inside of our heads is an illustration of Image from the public domain

Check Trackings to see what your former classmates are currently achieving. Remembering the lives of Cyril Okamoto and William Thomas Morgan.

Find more stories and news at www.isu.edu/magazine

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Idaho State University Progress Brings World Progress There is little doubt that the faces of universities across the country are changing. Along with being an institution of learning, Idaho State University is an institution of research. Just as our predecessors were pioneers in creating Idaho State University, today our researchers are pioneers in their fields. We are on the frontier of brain research, both in the laboratory and in the field. In this issue of Idaho State University magazine, you’ll read about Dr. Alok Bhushan, who is making groundbreaking discoveries studying new possibilities for treatment of aggressive brain tumors. You’ll also read about Dr. Russell Spearman, who is helping veterans and others with traumatic President Arthur Vailas brain injuries live more normal lives and get the support they need. Dr. Carolyn Fauré is helping high school coaches learn about the effects of concussion so that future athletes will not be victims of traumatic brain injuries themselves. We are on the frontier of energy research, from creating nanoparticles that could change the way we gather solar energy, to bringing promising new researchers to the field of nuclear engineering. We are exploring the complexities of our environment, and bringing new knowledge to the world.

We are on the frontier of health care research. Inside this issue, you’ll learn about Idaho State University’s Family Practice program’s research on diabetes medications that received national recognition and has big implications for diabetic patients everywhere. With their research, our talented faculty are bringing a sense of excitement to our students, and creating a dynamic place of learning. Our students are doing research themselves, and bringing international recognition to our institution. Student Bethany Hundley, who is partially deaf, is in Nepal on a Fulbright scholarship, teaching deaf students and studying what life is like for deaf people in different cultures. Being pioneers in the fields of health care, energy and the environment is part of our core mission. To help us, we have a group of talented and dedicated men and women serving on the Idaho State University Foundation Board of Directors and the Alumni Board of Directors. These are people who have accomplished much in their fields, and many have earned national and international recognition. Now, they are dedicating their time and talent to the university, to ensure that future generations have the same opportunities they have been afforded. I am proud of our University and what we have accomplished together. Our future is bright as we help the next generation of scientists, artists, educators and health care workers reach their potential.

www.isu.edu 921 South 8th Ave., Stop 8265 Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8265 (208) 282-3620 Arthur C. Vailas, Ph.D. University President Kent M. Tingey, D.A. ’97 Vice President, University Advancement Mark Levine levimark@isu.edu Director, Marketing and Communications K.C. Felt feltkc@isu.edu Director, Alumni Relations Idaho State University Magazine welcomes letters, comments and story ideas. Direct them to the postal address below, or send an e-mail to franemil@isu.edu. Idaho State University Magazine staff Editor Emily Frandsen Contributors Chris Gabettas Nancy Lovgren - ’79 Andrew Gauss Andrew Taylor Casey Thompson - ’86 Designer Joey Gifford - ’03 Photo Services Susan Duncan - ’95 Julie Hillebrant - ’00 Office of Alumni Relations Idaho State University 921 S. 8th Avenue, Stop 8033 Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8033 (208) 282-3755 or (800) 933-4781 or e-mail: alumni@isu.edu

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

Save The Date for CommUniversity Food, displays, exhibits, campus tours, something for everyone! The date is yet to be determined. ‘Like’ ISU on Facebook to keep up with CommUniversity and other news and events.

Freelance journalists are encouraged to submit queries for topical stories with an Idaho State University connection. Please send queries by e-mail to Emily Frandsen at franemil@isu.edu, or call (208) 282-3164.

Postmaster

ISU Magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Marketing and Communications at Idaho State University. Send address changes to the Office of Alumni Relations at 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8033, Pocatello, ID 83209-8033 or send an e-mail to alumni@isu.edu.

Fall/Winter 2010

The Loss of a Friend

Beverly Bistline, 88, of Pocatello, passed away Saturday, Oct. 23, at Quail Ridge Assisted Living in Pocatello. Beverly was born in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, on Aug. 28, 1922. While she was still a small child her mother, Anne Glindemann, from Coeur d’Alene, and her father, Francis M. Bistline, from Pocatello, moved to Pocatello. Beverly attended school in Pocatello and graduated from Pocatello High School in 1939. She then attended the University of Idaho, Southern Branch (now Idaho State University) for two years before moving to the University of Idaho, Moscow, from which she graduated in 1943 with a Bachelor of Arts. She was active in the Delta Gamma Sorority while a student at the University of Idaho. After graduation from University of Idaho, Beverly returned to Pocatello and worked in her father’s law office for about one year before accepting the call to service during World War II. Beverly joined the WAVES. Her poise, public presence and good spirits were quickly noticed and she was assigned to serve as flight attendant on flights out of Washington D.C. and Honolulu, Hawaii. After three years in the service she was discharged and returned to Pocatello where she again worked in her father’s office. She married A.R. Spaulding in 1948 but they were divorced a short time later. Her work in her father’s office and her exposure to his involvement in politics led to a decision to seek a license to practice law. She used her G.I. Bill benefits to attend the University of Utah where she was one of only a few women studying law. She graduated from the University of Utah with a juris doctorate in 1954 and returned to Pocatello where she entered politics as a Democratic candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives. After an unfavorable outcome to that campaign, she decided to go back to school to study tax law leading to a move to Los Angeles where she attended the University of Southern California. Armed with specialized training in tax law, she accepted a job with a large law firm in Los Angeles where she worked for about five years. During her time in L.A. she often visited family in the San Francisco area and spent a lot of time with her beloved Aunt Bert. Eventually she decided she liked the bay city more than L.A. She moved to San Francisco where she practiced for several years and relished the variety of lifestyles, philosophies and art in the Bay Area. In 1969, while she was visiting Pocatello, her father died suddenly while

participating in a court hearing. At that point she decided to move back to Pocatello to carry on the family law practice. She worked at the practice until her retirement in 1994. Beverly was active in several political campaigns, most notably those of former Governor Cecil B. Andrus, former Legislator Patricia McDermott, and at least five presidential campaigns. She was an alternate delegate at the Democratic convention in 1972. In 1974, she was elected to the Idaho legislature, where she served two years. Over the years Beverly served on many commissions, boards and councils, including the Idaho State Tax Commission, the Idaho State University Foundation Board, the Governor’s Advisory Council for Developmental Disabilities, the Pocatello Citizens Environmental Council, and the Citizens’ Advisory Committee to the City Council. She was also active in several local organizations including the P.E.O. Sisterhood, and the First Congregational United Church of Christ. She has provided substantial support to many others including the Pocatello Zoo, the Pocatello Salvation Army and the Pocatello Greenway Foundation. While she accomplished much in her life she was proudest of her significant role in the design and construction of the Stephens Performing Arts Center. Her commitment to the arts has long been demonstrated by the activities of the Bistline Family Foundation, which she started and funded. The foundation has supported a variety of art activities in Pocatello and the surrounding small towns. Bruce Bistline

Above: Beverly B. Bistline with Bruce Bistline before the 2005 Homecoming Parade. Below: Beverly with Bruce and former ISU President Richard Bowen at the grand opening of the Bistline Theatre in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Perfoming Arts Center. Far below: A view of a stage set in the Bistline Theatre

Photos by ISU Photographic Services/Susan Duncan

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FAULT IN SAWTOOTH MOUNTAIN RANGE

Big Discovery Because of a Line that ‘Stood Out’

While looking at a highly detailed new topographic image of Idaho’s Sawtooth Range, Idaho State University geosciences professor Glenn Thackray had an “eureka moment” when he discovered a previously unknown active earthquake fault about 65 miles, as the crow flies, from Boise. ISU researchers estimate the fault has been active twice in the last 10,000 years, about 4,100 and 7,000 years ago. The researchers examined a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) image. LIDAR is a remote sensing system used to collect topographic data with aircraft-mounted lasers capable of recording elevation measurements at a rate of 25,000 pulses per second and can have a vertical precision of about six inches. The images can be displayed so they don’t show an area’s vegetation. Four years ago while doing some research on glaciers in the Sawtooth Range, Thackray was examining a high-resolution, “bare-earth” LIDAR image of the mountains: this is when he noticed a line running through the image in the vicinity of Redfish Lake. “The black line stood out and I thought that it had to be an earthquake fault,” Thackray said. “It was long suspected that there was an active fault in the Sawtooths, but without the LIDAR technology it would have been exceptionally hard to find.” Since that time, ISU researchers have been on the ground documenting the fault that is at least 25 miles long and could be as long as 40 miles. It is located on the eastern edge of the range and comes within five miles from the town of Stanley. A portion of it runs through the upper end of Redfish Lake. It runs along the range from near Stanley Lake to at least as far south as Petitt Lake. “The reason this discovery is so important is that it is within the heavily visited areas of the Sawtooth National Recreation area, very close to the town of Stanley, and within 65 miles of Idaho’s largest city, Boise, and the most populated area in the state,” Thackray said. “We would like to know how big the earthquakes are along this fault and how active it is.” Thackray emphasized that the fault is cause for concern, but not alarm, for visitors to and residents of the Stanley-Sawtooth area, and to the residents of the Wood River or Boise valleys. The discovery may have implications for land-use and emergency planning, and perhaps building codes. Depending on the magnitude of a potential earthquake, it could do damage to surrounding areas. There are few major, active faults in Idaho. Idaho’s three other major faults run along the base of the Lost River Range (where the famous Borah Peak magnitude 7.3 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Idaho, occurred in 1983), the Lemhi Range and the Beaverhead Range.

Geosciences professor Glenn Thackray Photo by ISU Photographic Services

ISU Campus Named One of Nation’s Safest Idaho State University has been ranked the seventh safest campus in the United States by The Daily Beast, a national news website.

This is the second consecutive year that ISU was ranked as one of the 10 safest campuses in the nation. This is the Daily Beast’s secondannual ranking of the safest and most dangerous colleges in the U.S. It used the “three most recent calendar years of campus security and crime data (20062008) compiled by the U.S. Department of Education, as well as the FBI and the Secret Service, in conjunction with the Clery Act, the federal mandate requiring all schools that receive federal funding to disclose crime information annually.” The report reflects incidents

reported to campus or local police, not convictions. Different crimes were weighted against each other. For example, murder carried more importance than burglary. Incidents both on-campus and nearby were considered. “We have great support and assistance from the Pocatello Police Department, their officers and their Neighborhood Watch program,” said Stephen Chatterton, ISU director of public safety. “Our Public Safety staff is dedicated and works hard at keeping the campus safe. Our students, staff and faculty are the best. Their support and attitude toward campus safety makes the difference in the quality of our campus atmosphere.”

Photos by ISU Photographic Services

Fall/Winter 2010

Anish Sebastian (PhD student in Engineering), Dr. ChengHung Chen (PhD student in Biology), Parmod Kumar (PhD student in Engineering), and Amir Fassih (PhD student in Engineering) are working to create the next generation in prosthetic hands.

Building a ‘Smarter’ Hand A multi-disciplinary group of Idaho State University researchers has received an additional $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new type of prosthetic hand under Phase II of the project. “The prosthetic hand we are building is very different from other artificial hands that are out there,” said Subbaram Naidu, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and the grant’s principal investigator. “Our artificial hand will not be preprogrammed. Instead, our hand will allow users to control in real time a much broader range of motions.” This eclectic group of ISU researchers includes five faculty from the School of Engineering: Professor Subbaram Naidu, electrical engineering; Professor Marco Schoen and Assistant Professor Alba Perez, mechanical engineering; Associate Professor Steve Chiu, computer science; and Professor Solomon Leung, civil and environmental engineering. They are in collaboration with Professor Alex Urfer and Associate Professor Jim Creelman, from the School of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences, and Professor James Lai from the College of Pharmacy. The group has completed Phase I of their research during the last two years and is moving on to Phase II of the collaborative project to develop a “smart” prosthetic hand. Total funding on this multi-phase grant is now more than $2.2 million. The hand uses nerve signals measured at the surface of the skin to fully simulate natural grasping, lifting and twisting motions. In brief, ISU researchers will use skin sensors for measuring electromyographic (EMG) signals, recording the electrical activity in skeletal muscle. The researchers will then try to identify and classify which EMG signals correspond to intended hand motions. Next, they will try to develop

an embedded “intelligent” control for prosthetics using a variety of sophisticated control techniques. After developing a robotic hand, the group will test its sensing and transmission systems. The researchers will also test the biocompatibility of the hand and biosignaling. Current prosthetics are made of materials that can cause inflammatory reactions to the limb where they are attached. ISU researchers are exploring how to create artificial hands and implants that can be made of materials that will cause

fewer inflammatory reactions. The new Phase II grant is a boon for ISU graduate students, providing funding to employ eight doctoral students, plus several master’s students in various disciplines. On the engineering side of the project, much of research work is done at the ISU Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC) in the ISU Engineering Research Complex located at 1040 South Second Avenue in Pocatello. Most of the biomedical research is being done in the ISU College of Pharmacy research laboratories. This study is an effort to rehabilitate military personnel. However, the proposed work can also be used for people in civilian life who have lost their limbs due to accidents or birth defects. “This is a worthwhile project not only because of the benefits it can potentially provide the military, but the civilian population as well,” said Dr. Schoen. “We want to make the hand as affordable as possible.”

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First Monday: Idaho State University Forum, a public affairs program, debuted on KISU FM 91.1, Oct. 4. Hosted by longtime southeastern Idaho radio personality Jerry Miller, the interview program examines a wide array of contemporary subjects. The inaugural broadcast featured Chung Park, assistant professor of music at Idaho State University and director of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, discussing the current Idaho Civic Symphony season. Executive producer Mark Levine, who has previously produced two awardwinning public affairs radio programs, including “Medical House Call,” notes, “KISU’s signal and its listener demographic provides a truly unique opportunity to present faculty and student research, service and accomplishments to a regional audience. The program provides a forum for our outstanding faculty and students to inform our various publics about occurrences that directly impact their lives.” First Monday: Idaho State University Forum airs at 7 p.m. the first Monday of the month. To hear the program, tune in or visit www.isu.edu/firstmonday.

University Reorganizes In July, Idaho State University implemented a campuswide reorganization. The new university structure includes a newly created Division of Health Sciences, which includes the Kasiska School of Health Professions and the College of Pharmacy, the College of Science and Engineering, the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College of Technology and the College of Education. Associate Vice President for Health Education Linda Hatzenbuehler serves as interim head of the newly formed Division of Health Sciences; Kandi TurleyAmes, previously associate vice president for academic affairs, serves as interim dean of the newly formed College of Arts and Letters; and George Imel, previous chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering, serves as the interim dean of the College of Science and Engineering. Laura Woodworth-Ney, previous chair of the Department of History, serves as associate vice president for academic affairs.

Photo by ISU Photographic Services

Radio Show Premieres

Pharmacist Kim VanWyk and Family Practice resident Jacob Forke discuss patient needs.

THE MEDICAL MISSION

Bringing More Doctors to Idaho There will be more family doctors in Idaho due to a $960,000 grant awarded this fall to the Idaho State University Family Medicine Residency program. The ISU program received the five-year grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant is part of the federal Affordable Care Act, which was part of the new national health care legislation passed earlier this year. “This grant is designed to increase the number of primary care physicians in the state and will allow us to increase the total number of medical residents in our program from 18 to 21 over the next five years,” said William Woodhouse, associate director of the ISU Family Medicine Residency. “By the end of the grant it will pay for the training of a total of five additional residents.” Woodhouse noted that Idaho residences are ranked eighth in the nation for keeping residency graduates in the state and each of those graduates generate $800,000 annually in economic activity in the community they choose to set up a medical practice. A medical residency program is a period of formal graduate medical education that consists of on-the-job training of medical school graduates. Completion of a residency program is required for board certification in a medical or surgical specialty. Idaho ranks 47th in the nation for its ratio of primary care physicians to the population, according to Woodhouse.

Health experts predict that by the year 2025 an additional 2,000 doctors will be needed in Idaho to maintain its current doctor/patient ratios because of an expanded population and a greater number of elderly patients requiring more health care. “This grant helped us jump start the expansion of our Family Residency program at Idaho State University,” Woodhouse said. “We will continue to offer the seven resident positions per year after the grant funds expire. In order to qualify for this funding we had to show that ISU and the state of Idaho were committed to continuing to fund all seven slots.” The grant proposal was very much a collaborative effort. The proposal received support from Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, other leaders in state government and the ISU administration. The ISU Family Medicine Residency worked with the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho in Boise to muster this support and both Residencies were successful in obtaining funding. Dave Harris, in ISU’s Office of Sponsored Programs, was instrumental in assembling and submitting the proposal. “This grant has helped us create new residency positions in a time of great economic distress,” Woodhouse said. “Without this grant we would have been unable to expand the program at this time, and Idaho needs all the primary care providers it can get.”

Fall/Winter 2010

ISU Fulbright scholar Bethany Hundley is detailing her experience on her blog Idaho State University Fulbright Scholar Bethany Hundley has had inspiring days in Nepal — and difficult ones as well. Hundley, who is 80 percent deaf and often relies on lip-reading for communication, shared the details of getting lost within her first few days in the country on her blog, “Live, Love, Laugh & Sign.” “My saviors yesterday appeared as I was walking back towards the Fulbright office and were in the form of a group of young men from the local secondary (deaf) school who were signing. I walked over to ask them where to find the federation and they were so excited to find a signing American that they grabbed my hand and led me to the office (which in my defense was down an alley with a few twists and turns). It was a huge point of amusement to them that they had seen me wandering earlier and not known I was deaf or looking for the deaf federation. “ Hundley, who received a Fulbright Full Research Scholarship, is completing a twopart study on the deaf and deaf literacy in Nepal during the 2010-11 academic school year. She is currently working at a deaf school outside Kathmandu for a few months, after which she will continue traveling and visiting other deaf schools around the country. She hopes to conduct a community study of deafness in a rural community as well. “The purpose of my two-part study is to discover the way in which literacy is taught to deaf students in academic settings in Nepal, as well as how this education translates back to the rural villages from which the student comes,” Hundley said. A few of her early blog entries – with titles such as “Stepping Out of My Comfort

Bethany Hundley Zone and Into Festivities,” “A Very Nepali Sort of Day,” “Dance of the Signs,” and “Nepali Sign Language, Free WI-FI, Great Food = New Favorite Place in Nepal!” – detail her early experiences in Nepal and she’ll continue to post to the blog for the duration of her trip, Internet connections willing. Hundley, 25, graduated from Idaho State University in August with an interdisciplinary master’s degree in deaf education and literacy, from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Education of the Deaf in the Division of Health Sciences, and the Department of School Psychology Literacy and Special Education in the ISU College of Education. In Nepal, she has learned to communicate in four languages. Hundley, who is fluent in American Sign Language, has also studied Nepali sign language in the United States as much as possible with limited resources and is studying Nepalese sign language by immersion while working at the deaf school there and through conversations with other deaf individuals. She will

be working in affiliation with The Rose International Fund for Children. “One of the challenges in Nepal and other countries as well, is that the Nepali Sign Language that the students learn in a government funded school may be different than the ‘home’ sign language they use in the village or region they come from. I’ll be exploring that in my research.” said Hundley. The Idaho State University student will be doing more than mastering an oral and sign foreign language. She will also potentially be dealing with and trying to change some negative cultural viewpoints of deafness that can exist in some areas of Nepal. “I think this will be a wonderful opportunity to work there to change the perception of this disability in Nepal,” Hundley said. “I will be working to make a positive perception of ‘differently-abled’ people.” Hundley, who attended high school in Delaware, came to Idaho State University two years ago to attend school closer to her family, who had moved to Great Falls, Mont. Hundley earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in philosophy from Roanoke College in Virginia, and has worked as a case manager for a home for boys in Covington, Va., and as a pre-school teacher for the Head Start Program in Virginia. She was assisted in her efforts at receiving a Fulbright by Sharon Sieber, ISU professor of Spanish and ISU Campus Fulbright Program Advisor, and a previous recipient of a faculty Fulbright combined lecturer and research award to Colombia in 1999. Hundley also received help in completing her Fulbright application from her two primary advisors at ISU, professors David Mercaldo and Beverly Klug. Hundley is ISU’s fifth student Fulbright scholar in recent years. “Bethany’s grant is proof that the Fulbright is possible for anyone who has a dream and can pursue it with intensity and focus,” Sieber said. The Fulbright program, named for the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, is the U.S. government’s flagship program in international educational exchange. Andrew Taylor

Excerpts from the blog www.livelovelaughsign.blogspot.com • “Yesterday was a festival-filled day here in Nepal, the main day of the Teej Festival. The Teej Festival is predominantly Hindu and is specifically for women. It involves feasting, fasting, ritual bathing, dancing and special blessings at the temples. The women dress up in all of their finery (typically red and gold), and pray for marital success and the longevity of their husbands as well as happiness and success for their children.“ • “Swetha, Marissa and I walked back home afterwards, and decided to stop by a small park near our apartments because there was loud music and lots of dancing. We were curious, and figured we could get good pictures. Our plans were foiled (mine in particular!) when a Nepali lady grabbed my hand and pulled me into the dance area! She began to teach me the hand motions of Nepali dance, and then other ladies and girls grabbed my hands to dance with me (or more likely, to show me how!).”

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Fall/Winter 2010 Photo by ISU Photographic Services

RESEARCH

Asbestos Exposure and the Immune System Idaho State University’s Jean Pfau, assistant professor of biological sciences, is working on two important grants to study the adverse health effects of asbestos exposure. Her newest asbestos-related grant is a $191,962 U.S. National Institutes of Health grant she received last spring to explore the health effects of asbestos at the cellular level. “We’re trying to understand the way asbestos affects the immune system leading to systemic autoimmune disorders, such as lupus,” Pfau said. Understanding this, researchers may eventually be able to reduce the negative effects of asbestos exposure or better treat autoimmune diseases caused by asbestos exposure. Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus have been found to occur more frequently in people who have been exposed to asbestos, particularly the type of asbestos produced from the vermiculite mines near Libby, Mont. The grant will last two years and funds Pfau and three ISU undergraduate researchers. Pfau and her colleagues will look at the possibility that glutamate amino acid is a signaling molecule in the immune system. The cells that first encounter asbestos after exposure are white blood cells called macrophages. Pfau believes that macrophages may use glutamate to signal the immune system to react, driving the immune system. However, after exposure to asbestos, Pfau theorizes that the macrophages engage in mistaken signaling, causing the immune system to become overactive and produce excessive antibodies, creating diseases such as lupus – a disease that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack healthy cells and tissues. She will also look at how different forms of asbestos affect the immune system. Building asbestos, for example, is not known to dramatically increase the risk of autoimmune disorders, but can increase cancer rates. Specific types of asbestos, such as those that are byproducts of mining activities, appear to be much more toxic to the immune system. Pfau, who has finished several previous studies on asbestos, is also currently working on another grant she received last fall, working with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, the University of Montana, the Libby, Mont.-based Center

Dr. Jean Pfau displays test samples from her research studying the effects of asbestos exposure. for Asbestos Related Disease and a national scientific advisory group. This research project, known as the Libby Epidemiology Research Program, is supported by a grant of more than $4.8 million from the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Pfau’s part in this program will be comparing the production of blood serum antibodies among Libby residents who were exposed to asbestos only in their environment with antibodies seen in workers with historically long-term, heavy exposure to common commercial forms of asbestos. Residents and workers in Libby, Mont., have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore for over nine decades. Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus have been found to occur more frequently in Libby than would normally be expected, and antibody levels to the body’s own tissues are found in Libby residents more frequently and at higher concentrations. It is not known whether these outcomes are specific to the Libby asbestos or common to all asbestos exposures. The study should help determine how much asbestos exposure is necessary to cause autoimmune signs and symptoms.

Fall/Winter 2010

By the time Pocatello High School Senior Courtney Young graduates next spring she will have already earned 15 college credits while still in high school taking classes at her own school with its own teachers. So far she’s earned credits in government, history, chemistry and English and has more college credits set in her sights before graduating. Young rattled off the benefits of Idaho State University’s Early College Program. “It is a better setting because everyone is there to learn.” “The teachers like the classes, too, because the students are more focused.” “The credits are cheaper than going to college for them.” These types of efforts pay off for students throughout Southeast Idaho who are earning colleges credits from ISU through this program. High school students who are ambitious enough can be a high school junior or senior and a college freshman at the same time. “I took the English course and it was so helpful to me for being able to understand how I should write and present papers at the college level and what to expect when given assignments,” said Maria Pacioretty, a current ISU junior in zoology who participated in the program in high school. “It also put me ahead when I started attending college because it gave me scheduling space for other required classes that I needed, allowing me to finish my general requirements earlier than other students and get a head start on the requirements for my major.” “The classes aren’t too bad,” said Jennifer Johnson, from Idaho Falls, a senior at Hillcrest High School this fall who has earned 14 college credits so far and is

Photo by ISU Photographic Services

Getting a Jump in Higher Education

Maria Pacioretty, currently a junior at Idaho State University, participated in the Early College program. taking more this semester. “But you have to do your homework and listen to your teacher. It gets you into studying and doing everything you have to do later.” Students in area high schools can take approved high school classes and earn high school and college credit at the same time. Eligibility to enroll requires that students be 16 and have a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Dual credit classes taught on the high school campus offer college credits at a reduced tuition rate, $65 per credit, compared with more than $230 per credit at the state’s three largest public universities, and significantly more than that at private institutions.

The popularity of dual credit/early college classes has grown dramatically in recent years. For example, Idaho State University offered 95 sections of dual credit classes in fall 2005 throughout Southeast Idaho, but offered more than 150 during fall 2009. The number of credit hours it has offered during the same period has grown from the 3,492 offered in fall 2005 to 5,328 credit hours last fall. These Early College credits are transferable to universities throughout the state and to many outside of it. “We really recommend that area students check out the Early College Program and earn some dual credit hours during their junior and senior year of high school,” said Barbara Bishop, Director of ISU’s Early College Program. “Students and their parents save money but the greatest advantage is the opportunity for an extra challenge. The program gives students more awareness of what it takes to be successful at college-level work. Taking dual credit can help one to avoid the all-too-common pitfall of students who enter college unaware of the extra dedication, work, and personal responsibility needed to succeed and persist to graduation.” For prep students, the classes may require more effort, but that doesn’t necessarily make them harder, according to at least one participant. “The classes really weren’t that much harder, they just made you think harder,” Young said. “They get you into the subject and get you thinking about it at a deeper level.” For more information on ISU’s Early College program visit http:// earlycollege.isu.edu or call (208) 2826067.

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Fall/Winter 2010

ACCORD STUDY WILL CHANGE THE WAY DIABETES IS TREATED

The Human Side of … Researchers, Study Participants Build Strong Bonds Last winter, Idaho State University finished its participation in a national landmark ACCORD diabetes study. On the broad scale, ISU helped discover how to reduce cardiovascular disease risks for people with diabetes. But, on a local and nonscientific level, the study also forged long-term bonds between researchers and patients. Eight years is a long time. When ISU co-principal investigator Cara Liday, an associate professor of pharmacy, started the study she was recently married. Three kids later, the study ended. “The fact that I had three children between the time the study started and ended drives home the point to me that this was a long study,” Liday said. “We got to know the study participants very well during that time.” During the length of the study researchers and study participants interacted regularly. Patients came in for full medical exams annually. Every four months they had to have lab work done. The patients took their blood-sugar readings and other measurements daily, and monthly provided that data to researchers. Participants also met with dieticians, learned about proper food care and took “food exams” given by the researchers. Researchers also checked up on patients frequently, either in person or over the phone. Pharmacists completed exams on the study participants, prescribed and adjusted their medications and interpreted lab results. And the patients had the opportunity to network with other patients and learn more about their disease “We were really stepping into the person’s life, not just taking data about their blood sugar, “ said Mimi McDonald, study coordinator. “We changed their diet, how they

exercised and how they understood their disease. We had a big impact on their daily lives and got to know them well, and we miss them now.” Study participants came from a broad region, from throughout Southeast Idaho as far away as Twin Falls, Mackay, northern Utah and Island Park. One participant lived in San Diego and managed to fully participate. Stein Simonsen, 66, a retired Simplot engineer from Pocatello, was one participant in the study. “Rex Force (ACCORD study director) is a really nice guy and Mimi is just excellent. It was fun to work with them,” Simonsen said. “We had a good time

when we met. Rex and I talked fishing and Mimi, of course, was just a pleasant person to be around.” Simonsen detailed other aspects of participating in the study. “I am a science person myself. I am an engineer, so I was kind of curious about helping out in a major scientific study,” Simonsen said. “I did learn a lot about my disease that I wouldn’t have otherwise. When you go to a doctor, they say, ‘well, you have diabetes, so take this,’ but you don’t learn much about the disease.” “By participating in the study we received a lot of extra help,” Simonsen continued, “They had dieticians there to help teach us about foods and how the

Idaho State University Participates in Landmark Diabetes Study The results of an eight-year national study involving about 10,000 patients on how to reduce cardiovascular disease risks for people with diabetes, carried out in part at Idaho State University, has major treatment implications. “The results of the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) study will influence the health of not only Idahoans, but people around the world, for years to come,” said Rex Force, Pharm.D., director of the Idaho State University Family Medicine Clinical Research Center and ACCORD study director at ISU. “There are 20 million people in the United States with diabetes and that number is increasing. We really need to know how to best treat these people.”

Idaho State University was one of 77 sites in the United States and Canada that was studying how to reduce the number of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular risks associated with type 2 (sometimes referred to as “adult onset”) diabetes. This was a giant scientific research effort, funded with around $300 million nationwide from a variety of government agencies with support from pharmaceutical companies. The ACCORD study was finished in 2009 and the results of two major facets of it, one focusing on cholesterol control and the other on blood-pressure control, were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine (http://content.nejm.org/). The study examined if the incidence of strokes, heart attacks and other cardio-

Fall/Winter 2010

More on the Web

Photos courtesy of A Day to Adore Photography

team spoke with residents in two Andean villages Moreand ongathered information about their diet and nutritional needs. the Web When they return next year, Erickson and her team will be building greenhouses, supported by a grant her professor, More on Dr. Bernadette Howlett, received for the the Web project.

16 Idaho State University Magazine

Fall/Winter 2010

Nuclear Frontiers

By Andrew Taylor There has been a renaissance in nuclear science nationally and the manifestation of that is pronounced at Idaho State University. ISU’s nuclear science and engineering programs and research are gaining prominence on three fronts. Those fronts are: • A physics department that largely specializes in applied nuclear physics; • The Idaho Accelerator Center research center that provides a wide assortment of research opportunities for a variety of scientific disciplines and attracts funding for those ventures; • A growing undergraduate and graduate nuclear engineering program. All facets of ISU’s nuclear programs are bolstered by the University’s relationship with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) and relationships with other national laboratories, including the Jefferson Lab in Newport, Virginia.

Nuclear Engineering Idaho State University’s nuclear engineering program has boomed in recent years for both undergraduate and graduate students. ISU has had a master’s level nuclear engineering program since 1966 and has offered a Ph.D. in the field since 1991. It wasn’t until 2005, however, that ISU offered an undergraduate degree solely in nuclear engineering, although it did previously offer nuclear engineering as an emphasis in its mechanical engineering program. ISU’s efforts to create the undergraduate program were encouraged by the nuclear energy office in the Department of Energy, and its Idaho National Laboratory, the lab with the major mission involving utilization of nuclear energy. There are now about 90 undergraduate students at ISU who have declared nuclear engineering as their major and there are about 35 graduate students pursing nuclear engineering degrees at ISU. “It has been a great ride the last five or six years,” said Michael Lineberry, director of the ISU Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering. “We’ve built enrollments and dramatically increased research funding.”

“Students are aware of the revival in nuclear engineering and are expressing much interest in it,” said Jay Kunze, interim chair of the ISU nuclear engineering department. “It is a good thing we started the program because there is a lot of demand for graduates with a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering and our students have had no problem getting jobs. Nuclear engineers are also among the highest paid engineers upon graduation.” The job market is up for nuclear engineering for several reasons. There was a lull in the nuclear industry for about 25 years. During that time many universities eliminated or downsized their nuclear engineering curriculum. Now many engineers, nuclear plant operators, technicians and administrators are at or are nearing retirement age so there is high demand for those types of jobs. There is also a broad spectrum of new jobs, such as designing and testing new reactors, due to the revived interest in nuclear power. “Right now nuclear is in vogue and very popular and our graduates are doing very well in the job market and we are very proud of that,” Lineberry said. “We’re in the process

of building a nuclear engineering program that will take us over the highs and lows. We’ll continue to bring in research money and win competitive grants that will fund the graduate program. We’ve also been very successful, and it has been very important to us, to have a lot of undergraduate scholarships available to our students.” One of those students, senior Amanda Finkes from St. Louis, Mo., touted ISU’s nuclear engineering program. “It is a growing program, our professors are doing impressive research and we have great connections with the INL,” Finkes said. “But the program is still small enough that our professors are able to know us and help us individually, whereas at larger schools you’re more easily lost in the crowd.” Finkes, who is scheduled to graduate in December after just 3-1/2 years at ISU, has been remarkably active and is in her third year as secretary of the ISU chapter of the American Nuclear Society, was president last year of the ISU chapter of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society, and is current president of the ISU chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. “The opportunities and mentorship I have received here are just so much larger than anywhere else I looked at,” Finkes said. “The first year I was here I was able to work in the physics department on a Ph.D.’s research and after that I was offered an internship with a subcontractor at the INL, where I currently work.” The relationship between the INL and ISU is an important one. “It doesn’t take a lot for our graduate students to understand the opportunities at the INL, which is designed to become the premier U.S. civilian nuclear energy research and development lab in the country, ” Lineberry said. “We intend to make the most of our charter with the INL through our partnership with the Center for Advanced Energy Studies.”

Fall/Winter 2010

Physics Department Career fields are varied for graduates, including jobs in the nuclear power industry, medical isotope production, homeland security, and material science. Research opportunities, and the ability to fund them, are key to the physics department’s success. Physics department and Idaho Accelerator Center faculty have pulled in about $8 million in research funding in the last year and expect to do about the same in the upcoming year. “If you look at the external funding we’re receiving, we must be doing something right,” Dale said. “External agencies continue to fund us, and we’d like to think that is because we produce.” The Idaho State University physics department and the IAC now employ five

researchers – Dale, Tony Forest, Dustin McNulty, Philip Cole and Yujong Kim – who also do research at the prestigious Jefferson Lab in Virginia. The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab, www.jlab.org), primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is, according to Dale, one of the best places in the world to study fundamental particle physics and for developing applications for nuclear accelerators. “Despite all the research we do and are involved in, we are still an educational institution and our students are very important to us,” Dale said. “We include students in our research and our research bolsters their education. We are not a research institute.” Many of ISU’s research opportunities come through the Idaho Accelerator Center.

Photos by ISU Photographic Services

“The opportunities provided to us through the physics department and the Idaho Accelerator Center were amazing,” said Scott Thompson, a former physics graduate student who now works at the INL. “These are opportunities that really aren’t provided anywhere else at other facilities. We received hands-on opportunities with machinery and all kinds of electronics that grad students usually don’t get.” In the last five years the number of graduate students in the ISU physics department has doubled to more than 70 students and the number of undergraduate students has increased 2-1/2 times to about 100. The department offers a variety of degrees in nuclear physics and in health physics. About 75 percent of students in physics are in the nuclear physics programs, the other 25 percent in health physics, although the latter discipline incorporates nuclear physics into its curriculum and there are common research projects between the two emphases of the department. “Most physics programs cover a broad spectrum,” said Douglas Wells, physics professor and director of the Idaho Accelerator Center. “We don’t do that. We specialize in nuclear, and that makes us fundamentally different than most (physics) departments in the country.” Furthermore, ISU’s physics program is geared more towards applications and offers students experience in research, another reason it is popular. “Our department emphasizes hands-on experience and we offer great research experience for both our graduate and undergraduate students,” said Daniel Dale, ISU professor of physics. “Our students learn to run accelerators, build particle detectors, analyze data and put together sophisticated electronics. Students find that interesting and there are a lot of good job opportunities.”

Above: Wade Scates and Charles Taylor work on a beam line. Left: The nuclear engineering department offered tours of their facilities last spring.

Idaho Accelerator Center The subject of an Idaho State University Magazine (then called ISU Outlook) story in fall 2004, the Idaho Accelerator has continued to grow. At that time its funding was about $5 million annually; now it attracts $7 to $8 million in research dollars annually, according to Accelerator Director Doug Wells. The IAC supports the research work of about 30 undergraduate students and 50 graduate students, from a variety of disciplines including physics, nuclear engineering, biological sciences, anthropology and chemistry. The IAC is almost entirely funded by external grant funding. Nuclear accelerators are machines that speed up sub-atomic particles and elementary particles such as electrons and protons. The ones at the IAC can deliver as much as 44 million volts, and are used for basic scientific and applied research, as well as for development of a variety of high-tech

industrial applications. The IAC has its main laboratories at its large research center off of Alvin Ricken Drive in Pocatello, at the Pocatello Regional Airport and at the ISU Physical Science Building. ISU researchers have used the IAC’s accelerators for everything from dating prehistoric spear points to studying radiation resistant microbes. There are, however, five major areas of study currently taking place at the IAC: • Medical isotope production. The IAC received about $1 million in funding for medical isotope production in fiscal year 2009; about $1.5 million in 2010; and hopes to receive about $2 million in 2011. Medical isotopes are used for a variety of medical imaging and treatment procedures in the United States. Traditionally most have been produced with nuclear reactors, but the IAC is experimenting with producing them with nuclear accelerators.

• National security. The IAC is testing the use of accelerators to detect nuclear, chemical and biological materials. “We’re now focusing more on basic research of new technologies that could be used for detection,” Wells said. • Nondestructive materials testing. Accelerators are being used to test the integrity of a variety of materials such as commercial aircraft wings, to see if they are sound and safe. “Lives are lost and billions of dollars are lost because of structural failure and the failure to detect it,” said Wells. • Fundamental particle physics. ISU researchers are using accelerators to help understand fundamental physics. • Pulse power. ISU researchers are examining high energy density physics. Pulse power has applications in space electronics (“NASA kind of stuff,” according to Wells), fusion power, medical imaging and medical treatments.

18 Idaho State University Magazine

Fall/Winter 2010

Mind Matters

Institute of Rural Health Changing Lives of TBI Survivors

Photo by Chris Gabettas, ISU Marketing and Communications

hen you look at 44-year old DeWayne Mayer, he seems fine. He smiles and makes small talk as he sips on a pumpkin-spice latte on a cool September afternoon at the Idaho State University-Meridian Health Science Center. He’s a little tired, but that’s understandable after a day of doctor appointments in downtown Boise, about 45 minutes from his home in the rural Idaho community of New Plymouth. Then suddenly, his hand starts to shake. He has trouble putting words together. His wife, Jeannette, gently takes the cup from his hand so he doesn’t drop it. “He has tremors,” she explains later.

DeWayne is one of 35,000 Idahoans living with a severe traumatic brain injury or TBI, caused by a blow to the skull or a penetrating head wound that disrupts brain function. Symptoms include tremors, seizures, memory and speech loss, inability to concentrate, changes in personality, and extreme fatigue, according to Russell Spearman, director of the Traumatic Brain Injury Program at Idaho State University’s Institute of Rural Health. Many of Idaho’s TBI survivors are war veterans like DeWayne, who’ve survived bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others are people who’ve sustained head injuries in traffic and sports-related accidents or experienced falls, strokes and brain aneurysms.

he emotional ordeal of dealing with a TBI can often be as traumatic as the injury itself, especially in rural states, like Idaho, where community resources and support systems are limited. “Sometimes you just need people to talk to … people who understand what you’re going through,” says Jeanette. DeWayne, a staff sergeant with the Oregon Army National Guard, was deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq, in 2004. A year later, he had experienced a combat accident, helicopter explosion and three roadside bomb blasts—one so serious he was sent back to the United States to recuperate. As the physical wounds began to heal, Jeannette noticed changes in her husband — short-term memory loss, inability to concentrate, outbursts of anger. DeWayne noticed the changes too. “People would say, ‘hey, you look good,’

but it’s what’s going on inside of you that people don’t understand,” he says. Army doctors initially told the Mayers nothing was wrong with DeWayne. Frustrated, the couple contacted Idaho lawmakers and veteran’s groups, who referred him to the Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital in Boise, where he was diagnosed with a TBI in 2007. “It’s been tough,” says Jeannette. “I would often cry myself to sleep.”

pearman understands the heartache of families dealing with a TBI. His 18-year-old daughter sustained a moderate traumatic brain injury in 1993 in a car accident in Boise. “It was hard to find the community resources and health professionals to diagnose the injury and treat it,” he said. The challenges his family faced sparked his interest in TBI research, which brought him to ISU in 2000. In the last decade, the Institute of Rural Health has secured more than $2.1 million in federal grants to assist TBI survivors and their families, including a $1 million grant awarded to Idaho State University in 2009. Spearman is this grant’s principal investigator. The money is from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, which has designated Idaho State University as the state’s lead agency for TBI education and research. With HRSA funds, the Institute of Rural Health has created the ISU Traumatic Brain Injury Virtual Program Center, a website that provides comprehensive information about TBI resources and services in Idaho. Users are able to tailor

ISU Researcher Russell Spearman is working to help those with Traumatic Brain Injury live better lives.

Fall/Winter 2010

DeWayne Mayer and his wife Jeanette

the information to fit their individual needs and participate in online chats. The grant money has also paid for videocasts, hosted by national TBI experts, medical professionals, survivors and caregivers, and available to people all over the world via the Internet. Topics have included discussions of personality changes in TBI survivors, coping with loss, helping caregivers avoid fatigue, and strengthening the support network for Idaho soldiers returning from active duty and their families. The Mayers, who presented their own story in one videocast, say Spearman is a lifeline to rural families dealing with TBI. “He’s like a social network for TBI,” Jeanette. “He knows how to connect the right people together to fit everyone’s needs.” The HRSA grant will run through 2013. By then, Spearman and his team hope to establish a trust fund to assist TBI survivors who are making the transition from critical care to independent living.

“Our intent is to provide financial assistance after they’ve exhausted their insurance benefits and other community resources,” says Spearman. He and his research team are currently exploring public funding sources, which must be approved by the Idaho Legislature before the trust fund becomes a reality. Some 24 states currently have similar trust funds in place.

t’s been more than three years since DeWayne’s TBI diagnosis, and the Mayers’ lives are forever changed.

At home in New Plymouth, notes are posted around the house, reminding DeWayne to lock his truck or turn off the lights—tasks he often forgets. There are notes for Jeannette too— telling her to take a deep breath, relax and to not sweat the small stuff. “People ask us how we get through every day, and then I realize that I am one of the lucky ones,” she says. “The lucky spouse whose husband came home alive.” Chris Gabettas

Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that drew much media attention in 2009 when it took the life of Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been the interest of research in the labs of the Idaho State University College of Pharmacy for about 18 years. Dr. Alok Bhushan, a professor with the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been studying the malignant tumor in an effort to hopefully some day find a cure. “It is a very devastating disease and there is no cure for it right now,” Bhushan said. “In our research, we are aiming to interact with neurosurgeons, and it is very important that we do some work which may help.” Kennedy was diagnosed with the tumor following a seizure in 2008. He underwent surgery to have most of it removed followed by radiation treatments. Glioblastoma, which accounts for about half of the cases of brain cancer, is very aggressive and patients usually don’t survive more than a couple of years, he said. “When a patient has that disease, they have a tumor in the brain,” Bhushan said. “So we remove the tumor, if we can, but then face the problem that these tumors have micro-inSen. Edward Kennedy sufvasions. The cells fered from Glioblastoma. infiltrate or spread in the brain and it is difficult to remove them.” Bhushan and his colleagues have found a natural compound found in soy beans that blocks invasion and infiltration of these diseased cells into areas occupied by normal brain tissue. “We are looking at new agents to block the invasion of these brain tumors into normal tissue,” Bhushan said. ‘We are trying to attach it to a molecule that will drag the natural agents into the brain of the patients.” Bhushan said that it’s difficult to get the genestein into the brain due to the blood-brain barrier. He is researching various ways to overcome this problem. Ultimately, these research efforts will lead to discovery of new and improved treatment for this devastating disease. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Senate

Photo by Chris Gabettas, ISU Marketing and Communications

Fighting Brain Cancer Through Pharmacy

Andrew Gauss

20 Idaho State University Magazine

Fall/Winter 2010

Caroline Fauré works in many venues to help educate athletes about potential impact of concussions.

ISU Professor Works to Educate High School Coaches and Athletes about the Danger of Concussions

n the fall of 2005, high school senior Kort Breckenridge was looking towards a bright future. He was a foursport standout at Teton High School in Driggs, and had lots of friends and a talent for singing. And he was tough. He convinced his skeptical father that he could take the field and play football, despite previous head injuries. After all, he had followed doctor’s orders. “It‘s a guilt thing I still have today,” Kort’s father Ray said. “I never dreamed something would happen of this magnitude.” On Senior Night that October, Kort took the field. After a routine tackle, he struggled to stand up. Within a few minutes he was seizing — unconscious and unresponsive. Ray, a registered nurse, immediately called for Life Flight, and watched as his son got worse, gasping for each breath. “I honestly didn’t think he’d leave Driggs,” Breckenridge said. Kort was rushed to the nearest trauma facility. He remained in the hospital for three months. At one point, doctors removed the entire right side of his skull in an effort to relieve cranial pressure. Many times, no one, not even his family, thought he would live. “It wasn’t day by day or hour by hour,” Ray Breckenridge said. “It was

literally minute by minute.” Kort did live, and has since made steady progress. He still loves to laugh and inspire others to do the same. He likes to tell stories of playing jokes on playing jokes on children in the hospital, and in a lot of ways, he’s a typical young man. He walks with a slight limp. His short-term memory is gone, Ray said. Sometimes, he doesn’t remember an event that happened 15 minutes prior. For Kort and his family, it is beyond frustrating. “He’s destroyed by it,” Ray said. “Some days he’s perky, happy, funny. Some days the light switch never goes on.”

evastating injuries such as Kort’s are the scenario Dr. Caroline Fauré, Idaho State University sports science professor, wants to avoid through her research and educational programs.

“(Concussion) is a serious injury. This is a very serious injury,” she says. “I don’t want players to have catastrophic outcomes.” In addition to her role at Idaho State University, Fauré and her husband Brent, are owners of Tri-Med, a company that provides athletic training services to sporting events and teams. She also worked for years as an athletic trainer for

high school sports including football. For her doctoral dissertation, Fauré studied what coaches knew about concussion. What she learned was that many times, although they wanted to keep their players safe, they knew very little. “They were going on almost archaic information,” she said. “Coaches want to do the right thing. They want to keep their kids safe. They want to know what the right thing is.” So Fauré created an outreach educational program for coaches and parents, creating objective-based measurements to help coaches and parents better gauge an athlete’s recovery. “It’s taking the guesswork out of concussion management,” she said. “To me, the concussion isn’t the scary part. It’s the return to play.” For teens and children with concussions, total rest is important because the developing brain heals more slowly and can sustain a concussion more easily. Returning to play too soon and sustaining another concussion before the first has healed can lead to Second Impact Syndrome, Fauré said. The syndrome causes rapid swelling of the brain, with little hope for recovery. At her website, knowconcussion.org, coaches can download sheets with quick measurements to help them deal with concussions, rest periods and return to play.

Fall/Winter 2010

ISU-Meridian Professor Studies Brain Waves to Help Children with Cochlear Implants Learn to Speak

She also hopes to give more people access to neurocognitive testing through a software-based testing program that can give medical professionals, trainers and coaches a way to measure injury from concussion without relying on players relaying symptoms. She is starting the Center for Sports Concussion, a place where athletes can come to be tested. During the 2010 Idaho legislative session, Fauré lobbied for a bill that would have required coaches to perform concussion testing. Legislators opted not to require testing, but passed a bill that required coaches to receive information about concussion treatment. Fauré plans to return to the legislature again next session, but she is happy about the strides Idaho has made in concussion education. Idaho is the fourth state to address the issue. “What it has done has been monumental in the state of Idaho,” she said. “This time we’re driving the bandwagon.”

ay Breckenridge worked with Fauré in the legislature, and he now talks to student athletes and parents about the importance of concussion awareness. Many athletes, like Kort, don’t want to seem weak, and don’t relay symptoms, he said. Breckenridge encourages parents to look for subtle signs of head injuries, such as lowered grades and forgetfulness. “You have to get through to them that this Superman attitude doesn’t work,” he said. “Get to know your kids. Get to know what’s normal for them. I look back now on some of the subtle hints.”

Emily Frandsen

Dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and a dinosaur shirt, 5-year-old Samuel Fish sits on a chair in the Speech and Language Laboratory at the Idaho State University– Meridian Health Science Center. Crinkling his nose and squinting his eyes, he does his best to hold still as Dr. Jeanne Johnson and graduate assistant Elizabeth Subasic stretch a cap—called an electrode sensor net—over the top of his head. The cap is a maze of wires connecting 128 electrodes that correspond to various regions of the brain. “Good job Sam. We’re ready to go,” says Johnson, Ph.D., an associate professor of speech-language pathology and associate chair of ISU’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Johnson, who joined the ISU-Meridian faculty in 2009 after spending 21 years at Washington State University, is building on research she first conducted in 2007 while on sabbatical at the University of Louisville Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory. She’s studying brain waves to determine spoken language development patterns in children who have cochlear implants. Cochlear implants are complex devices that, when surgically implanted in the inner ear, can help the severely or profoundly deaf distinguish sounds. Through extensive speech therapy and auditory training, they often learn to speak. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, young children and toddlers are some of the best candidates for cochlear implants because youngsters tend to be more flexible in learning spoken language than adults. Samuel, who is not deaf, is playing a key role in Johnson’s research by helping her build a database of brain waves made up of children who hear normally. Johnson will then compare their waves to the brain waves of children with cochlear implants to see if the brain waves are similar. “Ultimately, I’m trying to determine why some children with cochlear implants do well (with understanding and using spoken language) and others do not,” says Johnson. With the electrode net connected to a computer, Samuel watches a silent cartoon of “Sylvester and Tweety Bird” to hold his attention as Johnson instructs him to listen to three syllables—Ba/Da/Ga. When Johnson administered the same Ba/Da/Ga exercise to the 30 children in her 2007 research at University of Louisville—15 with cochlear implants and 15 without—she found both groups were processing sound similarly. The brain waves were different, though, when she presented sentences that had unexpected words at the end, such as “dogs like to dark” instead of the expected “bark.” The brain waves of children with cochlear implants indicated they did not realize there was an unexpected word. “Why were some of the children with cochlear implants not catching this?” Johnson asks. She hopes her research at ISU will help her answer that question and help identify deaf children who are likely to have more difficulty learning spoken language than their peers. “With that knowledge, we can then tailor the way we teach spoken language to fit a child’s individual needs,” Johnson says. “For instance, some children may need more visual cues to accompany the spoken language they are hearing while others may do well with listening alone.”

Chris Gabettas

Samuel Fish squirms as he is fitted with the electrode-sensor net that measures brain activity. Photo by ISU Photographic Services

22 Idaho State University Magazine

Fall/Winter 2010

A BASE FOR THE FUTURE HOW THE ISU FOUNDATION SUPPORTS THE UNIVERSITY

For exiting Idaho State University Foundation President Michael Byrne, giving to Idaho State University is a way to give to those who have helped him. The retired partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers has enjoyed extraordinary success in life and has made large gifts to the University, but speaks with an air of humility. “To the extent that I have had success, Idaho State University gets a large share of credit for that success. I think it’s critical that people recognize that and do everything they can to repay the University and enable others to have that same opportunity,” he said. “I love Southeast Idaho and the entire state of Idaho, and there is no better way to make an investment in the future success of the region than to invest in education.” It’s an idea that Dr. Kent Tingey, vice president for University Advancement, says permeates through all members of the Idaho State University Foundation Board, present and past, and those who have given generously of their time, talents and means throughout the University’s history. “What each of these remarkable individuals brings is an affection for and

commitment to Idaho State University and a desire to help Idaho State University achieve greatness,” he said. “They are good, kind-hearted alumni and friends who care and want to make the University and the world better, not for themselves, but for others.” The Idaho State University Foundation, and its 20-some member board of directors are tasked with helping the University meet its goals in several areas, ISU President Arthur Vailas said. “The Foundation is a supportive arm of the University,” Vailas said. “These are well-networked people. It’s important that word gets out to the world about Idaho State University, and the Foundation facilitates that.” Vailas sees the Foundation members as stewards of Idaho State University. Along with helping increase donations so important to the continued growth and development of the University, they work on legislative issues, network, and support a vision of economic development to benefit both Idaho State University and the entire region. “They provide an outside perspective,” he said. “We share with them just about

IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS JOSEPH C. JENSEN, New York, Board chairman emeritus and lifetime Board member, is retired as President of Pfizer Inc., Animal Health Group Europe/AfME Region. The Grand Concert Hall in the Stephens Performing Arts Center bears the name of he and his late wife, Cheryl. Jensen earned his bachelor’s degree in French and economics at Idaho State University. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree in finance at Dartmouth College. MICHAEL J. BYRNE, Rigby, Idaho, Phoenix, Puerto Penasco, Mexico, is past president of the Board and current chairman of the Board. He is retired as senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Byrne was lead accountant over huge multi-national corporations such as Nike, Inc., working in locations such as Portland, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Orange County, Calif., San Diego and Salt Lake City. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business at Idaho State University.

everything we do.” Newly installed Foundation President, William Eames, also sees great opportunity to assist the University in its growth and development. “For Idaho State University to continue to press forward and meet its state-assigned mission, the Idaho State University Foundation will have an ever-increasing role,” said Eames, whose career has included ownership of many pharmacies and extensive involvement in the banking industry. “As state funding becomes more challenging, private philanthropy becomes critical. Truly, the friends and alumni of Idaho State University will make a substantial impact in the future of this outstanding University.” As Idaho State University’s funding structure changes to reflect less state funding, the role of the Foundation becomes even more important, Board Chairman Joseph Jensen said. “That’s a reality we’ve all had to come to grips with,” Jensen said. “The way universities are funded is changing. It’s going to continue to change.” Rather than rely on state funding, continued on Page 24

WILLIAM M. EAMES, Lafayette, Calif., president of the Board, is president of William Eames and Associates. He is a graduate of Idaho State University’s College of Pharmacy with additional management programs from Stanford University, Harvard University and Oxford University. He has been a director of several banks including Central California Bank, Western Sierra Bancorp, East County Bank and Sunrise Bancorp. ARLO D. LUKE, Pocatello, Idaho, assistant treasurer of the Board, is president and CEO of Varsity Contractors. He joined the company in 1978 when the company was generating $8 million in sales with an employee force of several hundred. Today, company revenues exceed $250 million with more than 5,000 employees in 48 states. Luke is a graduate of Idaho State University’s College of Pharmacy. CARL K. DAVIS, Bend, Ore., secretary of the Board, retired as Vice President for Columbia Sportswear in Portland, Ore. Previously, Davis served as Vice President/Council for Nike, Inc. Davis is a graduate of Idaho State University.

Fall/Winter 2010

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Photo by ISU Photographic Services/Julie Hillebrant

Throughout Idaho State University’s history, countless alumni and friends have changed history through their support of the university, in talent, time and donations. Below are just a few of the hundreds who have made a remarkable difference: BARBARA J. MARSHALL “Barbara Marshall became involved at a critical time in the Stephens Performing Arts Center planning,” Vice President for Advancement Dr. Kent Tingey said. Tingey and James E. Rogers, who was chairman of the Capital Campaign raising money for the Stephens Performing Arts Center, met with Marshall in Sun City West, Ariz. Marshall, a University of Washington graduate, had a fondness for Idaho State University and a love of the arts. When she heard that her gift was needed for construction of the Stephens Center to continue, she offered a sizeable donation, and her family was able to secure another donation from a foundation that they were involved with. Marshall passed away in 2008, but the Barbara J. Marshall Rotunda was named in her honor. “The university will be forever indebted to the Marshall family,” Tingey said. “Barbara was an incredible woman — very dignified, very classy, extremely kind. She was a special soul.”

BEVERLY B. BISTLINE The Bistline family moved to Pocatello from the Midwest. Beverly attended University of Idaho, Southern Branch (later named Idaho State University), where she was involved in drama. She later graduated from University of Idaho and was one of the first female law school graduates at the University of Utah. She joined the Navy during World War II, and had a successful law career in San Francisco before coming home to Pocatello to work at her father’s firm. Bistline was an extraordinary donor to the University. She endowed scholarships for students who plan to become lawyers, served as a member of the Foundation Board, and was instrumental in the construction of the Stephens Performing Arts Center. The Beverly B. Bistline Thrust Theatre bears her name. “Beverly always cared deeply for Idaho State University,” Tingey said. “She had a deep love for the arts and for theater. In a remarkable way, Beverly made a gift that changed the University’s history. Her kindness and giving to the University is unsurpassed.” As noted on Page 5, Bistline passed away on October 23.

SANDRA J. ALLEN, Chicago, is director of Public Relations Studies in the Marketing Communications department at Columbia College in Chicago. She is founder of S. Allen Communications. Previously, Allen was an executive with American Airlines. She holds advanced degrees from University of Rochester and Pepperdine University. Allen graduated from Idaho State University with a secondary education degree. SUSIE BALUKOFF, Boise, Idaho, is an active community volunteer. She is past chair of Zoo Boise board. Balukoff is an active member of the board of The ALSAM (L.S. Skaggs family) Foundation, through which she participates in her family’s philanthropic activities. BRUCE BISTLINE, Boise, Idaho, is an attorney at Gordon Law Offices and a prominent advocate for social justice and excellence in education. He has taken a leadership position in supporting the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center and chairs the development board for the ISU Foundation.

JOSEPH C. AND CHERYL H. JENSEN Joseph Jensen, chairman emeritus of the ISU Foundation, graduated from ISU with an undergraduate degree in French and economics, then later went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration in finance at Dartmouth College. In 2002 he retired as president of Pfizer’s Animal Health Group Europe, Canada and Africa Region after a long career with the company. Jensen was extremely involved and served as president of the Foundation board during a good portion of the University’s capital campaign, which raised $152 million for the University and Stephens Center. Jensen and his late wife, Cheryl, were at a media event held in the concrete foundation of what would someday be the concert hall of the Stephens Performing Arts Center, when he and Cheryl decided to make a generous gift to make the Performing Arts Center a reality. The Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall is named in their honor. “I’ll never forget when the Stephens Performing Arts Center was dedicated,” Tingey said. “Joe walked onto the stage with tears in his eyes. He had given his heart and soul to see the success of this.”

JULIE M. BOYLE, Salt Lake City, Utah, is the president of Woodlands Commercial Bank. Previously, she worked as vice president and chief operating officer of American Express Centurion Bank, and president and CEO of American Express Bank. She held similar positions with GE Capital Financial and Advanta National Financial Corp. Boyle is a graduate of Idaho State University’s College of Business. GARY D. CAMPBELL, Houston, is vice president of Capital Markets for Midway Companies. Campbell has more than 30 years of banking, investing, and capital markets experience. He brings his finance and investment experience to the Foundation, and also serves on the advisory board for the College of Business and is a graduate of the College. JOHN V. EVANS, JR., Burley, Idaho, is chief executive officer at D.L. Evans Bank, one of the largest banks in Idaho, headquartered in Burley. Evans is the son of former governor John V. Evans, Sr., and the Evans family members are longtime supporters of Idaho State University. This is Evans’s second term on the Board. He also serves on the advisory board for the College of Business and is a graduate of the College of Business. continued on Page 24

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continued from Page 22 Jensen and others say, university foundations are helping to fund programs and scholarships through generous donations and partnerships. In Idaho Falls, for example, Foundation Board members have worked with the Idaho National Laboratory to offer unprecedented joint research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, the Board is studying different models of fostering research. The Board is dedicated to raising funds and supporting programs that would encourage commercial and university partnerships, and allow more creativity in faculty, Byrne said. “We need to be an engine for economic development in Idaho,” Byrne said. Studying the possibility of ways to

enhance research is one of the next steps for an organization that has made great gains in professionalism and success in recent years. Without the work of the Foundation and generous donors, there would be no L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center, Tingey said. “These are outstanding men and women,” he said. Jensen, who has given generously to the University, most recently in a large donation that helped to build the Stephens Performing Arts Center and the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall, said that giving is his way of making a difference. Jensen, who is also a graduate of Dartmouth College, says he supports Idaho

State University because he knows what his gift means to the University. “I want to make a difference. I want my life to make a difference,” he said. “At Idaho State, because of the needs that are here, there is great opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. If anything, I wish I could do more.” Everyone can benefit when people give to higher education, Jensen said. Even small donations make a difference, he said. “A lot of people don’t understand the benefit to the community. There is kind of the feeling that someone else is taking care of it,” he said. “Students often think their tuition pays for their education. Part of what (students) are getting here is because of what someone else has done.”

DR. H. GENE HOGE, Pocatello, Idaho, retired from a very successful dental practice to focus on promoting a new Oral Health Institute at Idaho State University. In 2008, he led 40 Rotary Clubs in southern Idaho as district governor. Gene and his wife Sue Ann are Paul Harris Fellows. He currently lectures and consults with dentists on wealth management.

JAMES E. ROGERS, Las Vegas, an attorney, is chairman of the board for Sunbelt Communications Company in Las Vegas. Sunbelt owns and operates 10 NBC or Fox-affiliated television stations in the West. Rogers also served as chancellor for the Nevada System of Education. His gift of $25 million to Idaho State University is the institution’s largest gift.

DR. JAMES M. KELLY, Boise, Idaho, is a former dean of the ISU College of Business. He joined the ISU faculty in 1967 and was dean from 1969 to 1982. Under Kelly’s guidance the College of Business became the first in Idaho to receive full accreditation through the AACSB. Kelly also served as dean of the College of Business at College of Idaho and St. Cloud State University. He also served as Chairman of the audit committee for Intermountain Gas.

DOUGLAS A. SAYER, Blackfoot, Idaho, is president and founder of Premier Technology, Inc. in Blackfoot. Since its beginning in 1996, Premier Technology has grown from three to nearly 370 employees, and ranks among the top 75 private companies in Idaho. Premier Technology is one of the leading custom manufacturers in the nation.

WALLY C. KELLY, Phoenix, is president and partner at Viacom Outdoor. Kelly is a Pocatello native, who was a football standout at Idaho State University and is a strong supporter of ISU Athletics. PAMELA K. LEMLEY, Boise, Idaho, is the co-owner and CEO of Lemley International, a project and management firm encompassing a broad cross section of engineering and construction work on mega-projects worldwide. Lemley International specializes in building tunnels and is known for its work on the Channel Tunnel (the Chunnel) between England and France. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Boise Art Museum. SYLVIA MEDINA, Idaho Falls, Idaho, is the president and founder of Northwind, Inc. in Idaho Falls. In 2005, she was named one of the top five outstanding entrepreneurs by the Small Business Administration. Medina also designs children’s television programming addressing environmental issues. DENNIS C. MOODIE, Boise, Idaho, is president and former owner of Valley Truss Co. Inc. in Boise. He has been active in the Idaho State University’s Alumni Association, both as a board member and in his support of the future Alumni and Visitor’s Center. Moodie is a graduate of Idaho State University. DOUGLAS R. PITMAN, Jackson, Wyoming, is a co-founder of Micron Technologies, one of the world’s leading semiconductor companies. He graduated from the ISU College of Technology and has been a longtime supporter of that college through the Douglas R. Pitman Endowment.

RON STEPHENSON, Boise, Idaho, retired as the Big Sky Conference Commissioner in 1995. After that time, he worked in commercial real estate for a number of years. Stephenson served as an assistant athletic director for two years at the University of Idaho and at Boise State University for 10 years. Stephenson is also a former president of the Alumni Association, and is a graduate of Idaho State University. JIM TROUNSON, Boise, Idaho, secured the job as the CEO of Steele Memorial Hospital in Salmon at age 25. Shortly thereafter Trounson started America’s first medical practice management company. Medical Management, Inc. — or MedMan as it came to be known — is an innovation to better manage physician practices and hospitals using shared resources and experts. They have expanded to supporting medical practices and hospitals in six states. Trounson is a graduate of Idaho State University. ALAN K. VAN ORDEN, treasurer of the Board, is a partner at Jordan & Company Chartered in Pocatello. He is also a member of the board of the Idaho State University Tax Institute. Van Orden is a graduate of Idaho State University. ANNE S. VOILLEQUÉ, Idaho Falls, Idaho, is an active community supporter and philanthropist. She and her partner, Louise S. Nelson, recently endowed a professorship to establish the Native American Business Administration program in the College of Business. Voillequé and Nelson are very active in the Idaho Falls arts community, including the Idaho Falls Symphony and Idaho Falls Arts Council. They are also active supporters of the Museum of Idaho and Idaho Public Television. Voillequé is a graduate of Idaho State University.

Piano Program Tickles Keys and Excitement Fall 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of Idaho State University’s Preparatory Piano Program, which has received rave reviews by both its students and instructors, offering an invaluable internship for piano majors and a service much appreciated by the community. “This incredible program, led by Dr. Kori Bond and assisted by Abbi Clark, is an ISU highlight, providing quality piano instruction to a large number of community children at a very affordable cost,” said Herbert Maschner, an ISU’s director of the Idaho Museum of Natural History, whose 8-year-old son Alexander participated in the program during the 2009-10 academic year. The program uses ISU piano students as instructors to teach piano to the public, from preschoolers to seniors. It is an arrangement that has worked well for both parties. Although most aspiring pianists participating in the program are school age, there are students as young as 5 and as old as 70. Students in the Preparatory Piano Program have a recital at the end of each semester and they can be invited to a master class, taught by Bond or a guest clinician. The program has taught approximately 500 students in the last 10 years, and now it has grown to where it teaches 60 to 80 students per semester. Individual teachers, depending on their experience, will teach from two to 20 students per semester in private, one-on-one lessons. But the Preparatory Piano Program is about much more than the experience and enrichment it gives its students: ISU music students, who are the program’s teachers, also benefit. Bond said that it is very important for pianists to learn good teaching skills because teaching piano is a necessary part of their careers. “Needing to have experience teaching is more true of pianists than most other instrumentalists, and there is a huge market for people wanting to take lessons,” Bond said. “Many ISU piano students will make part of their living teaching piano. Students need the experience and skills they learn from this program.” “For me it has been a good time and a wonderful opportunity to learn to teach with other ISU students,” said Evan Heath, a piano performance major who has taught in the program for five years. “It allows me to share ideas and experiences with the other teachers and I feel like it has allowed me to greatly improve my teaching.” Heath also noted that it has benefited him financially and that the money he has earned from teaching the piano lessons has

Photo by ISU Photographic Services

Fall/Winter 2010

Instructor Abbi Clark offers musical advice to Allysa Watt. helped him pay for his college education. Also, it has allowed him to earn money doing something he loves and that is his vocation. “I’ve really enjoyed it,” Heath said. “Teaching in the program offers me a direct link to the music community and to opportunities I wouldn’t have had, such as judging musical competitions.” To help celebrate the 10th year, the program purchased a new Steinway piano, which will be used for teaching lessons or for practice. The Steinway piano was purchased with assistance from the Bistline Foundation, which provided a $7,000 grant. The other half of the cost was covered by fees collected by the teachers in the Preparatory Piano Program. Bond expressed appreciation to both parties. “The Bistline Foundation has regularly and annually supported the ISU Summer Piano Institute, and now it came through with a timely and generous grant when we had the opportunity to buy the piano,” Bond said. “This is just one of many ways the Bistline Foundation and the family have supported the arts and music in our community.” The cost of the program is $156 per semester for weekly halfhour lessons, and students have the option for taking 45-minute or hour lessons. The program accepts new students at the beginning of each semester, but is usually full within a few weeks. For more information on the program contact Bond at (208) 282-2551 or bondkori@isu.edu.

(208) 282-2150 • www.isu.edu/graduate

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Homecoming 2010 – Year of the Tiger Homecoming 2010 started with a bang at the traditional Thursday evening Alumni Kickoff Event at Pinehurst Nursery in Pocatello. Alumni and friends enjoyed a relaxed social gathering with music, entertainment and fantastic food. The evening was filled with laughter of old friends reconnecting and sharing college memories. The ISU Women’s Basketball team and coaches assisted event chairs Gail Siemen and Jim Liday with the traditional raffle. The “Sugarfoot Dancers” entertained the crowd, and were later joined by members of the Women’s Basketball team. The ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors held their fall meeting. Six new members, Gail Siemen, Jim Liday, Cathy Conley, Jason Scott, Rod Tucker and Alan Jones, were welcomed to the board. Retiring members Bob Myers, Brent Berrey, Geoff Ranere, Sandee Moore Gehrke, Paul Ronan and Stephen Stokes were thanked for their commitment and years of service. The Founder’s Luncheon had pleasant surprises for attendees. Guests were just taking their seats when the ISU Marching Band made their presence known with the

ISU Fight Song. Band members and their upbeat performance started the luncheon off with a real bang. Class of ’60 graduates were honored as this year’s Golden Bengals. As on tradiMore tion dictates, these specialthe gradsWeb were introduced by two classmates. Sharing the emcee duties were brothers Mike Holmes and Col. Garth Holmes. Mike and on Garth both graduated fromMore Idaho State the Web College in 1960. Fifteen members of the Class of ’60 received their Golden Bengal More on pins from Dr. Laura I. the Web Vailas. Beloved ISU icon, Babe Caccia was posthumously inducted on into the State of Idaho HallMore of Fame the Web at the luncheon. The presentation was made by Bill Vaughn, also a 2010 Golden Bengal and member of the Hall of Fame on committee. Bill worked atMore ISU as Campus Architect during the time Babe was leadthe Web ing ISU Athletics. Making the event even more special More on was the attendance of many of Babe’s theChampionWeb former players from the 1963 ship football team who held their reunion during Homecoming and many friends of

More on the Web

knowledge. I am excited to graduate and pursue my passions of business and music. I am grateful that ISU – with its wonderful students, staff, faculty, and administration – has helped me succeed in ways that I never knew I could. I have definitely enjoyed my ISU ‘college experience’ and have learned so much about myself in the process thus far.

More Brightest and Best profiles are on the Web at www.isu.edu/magazine

More on Sarah Carson the Web HOMETOWN: Loveland, Colorado HIGH SCHOOL: View High School MoreMountain on CLASS YEAR: Senior the Web MAJOR: Dietetics (Nutritional Sciences) HOBBIES: Volleyball; skiing; hiking; More on exploring thethe outdoors; Weblearning about different cultures. Sports have provided me the opportunity to travel and expand my world. More on CAREER GOALS: planning on going the I’m Web on to graduate school and earning my master’s degree in nutritional sciences with an emphasis in sports. My career goal is to work with colleges or professional athletic teams in educating athletes how nutritional science relates to athletic performance. WHY ISU? I was fortunate to receive an athletic scholarship. In addition to feel-

ing comfortable with the people I visited with as I was considering ISU, Pocatello and the surrounding community felt like a great place to call home. ISU EXPERIENCE: My college experience has provided so many opportunities to get involved, not only on campus, but within the local community. These opportunities have enabled me to greatly expand my knowledge outside of the realm of being an intercollegiate athlete. I’ve truly developed as a complete person in large part because of my ISU experience.

FACT: Nationally, the amount of student debt following graduation continues to increase. For information on how you can help educate the next generation of great Idaho State University students, contact the ISU Foundation at (208) 282-3470.

Fall/Winter 2010

Ruth Schneider EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science, Food and Nutrition, University of Idaho Dietetic Internship, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri Master of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley Registered Dietitian, State of Idaho AGE: 57 PROFESSION: Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences; Clinical Coordinator of the Dietetic Internship at ISU-Meridian Health Science Center HOBBIES: I enjoy backcountry skiing, bicycling, hiking, gardening, travel and reading. A book recommendation? Joel Berg’s “All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America,” which explores hunger and poverty in the United States. LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: I was named Idaho’s 2010 Outstanding Registered Dietitian of the Year by the Idaho Dietetic Association. The organization honored me for my efforts in helping fight hunger in Idaho. I’m also extremely proud of my children and consider them an accomplishment. My daughter is completing her family practice medical residency in Boise and my son works as a river guide in summer and at a Utah ski resort in winter. WHY I DO WHAT I DO: I started working on hunger issues about 15 years ago by coordinating monthly meals for the homeless in Boise for my congregation, Ahavath Beth Israel. We are part of a larger community that provides weekly meals in the downtown area at various churches. However, this type of direct service cannot address the long-term

issue of hunger in Idaho and the U.S. About five years ago, I joined the Idaho Interfaith Roundtable Against Hunger (IIRAH) to collaborate with others on policy issues to end hunger. My congregation and the Idaho Dietetic Association both signed on to IIRAH as endorser organizations. When I joined IIRAH, Idaho was the eighth hungriest state in the nation. Currently, Idaho ranks 15th worst for seniors at risk for hunger, and in 2009, we had a child poverty rate of 19.7 percent. IIRAH’s main focus is to advocate for improved access to food for those in need, and to educate others about the issues that cause hunger in Idaho. LIFE EXPERIENCES: As a registered dietitian, I understand that people must first have enough food and feel secure in their ability to continue to provide enough food for their families before they can worry about the quality of their diets to prevent or treat disease. ISU EXPERIENCE: I enjoy the independence, creativity and freedom of my job. During my nine years at ISU, I’ve had

the pleasure of working closely with many dietitians in the area who precept dietetic interns. They are incredibly supportive of the ISU internship, and continue to amaze me with their positive energy and depth of knowledge. WHY I TEACH: It’s the thrill of seeing students experience that “aha” moment— where they discuss, collaborate and share knowledge as a group. It’s also exciting to watch them grow as health professionals, completing clinical, community, and food systems management rotations and applying their classroom studies to the real world. On a personal note, teaching affords me the opportunity to learn … to continue to master subjects I can share with my students.

Chung Park EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University Master of Music, University of Illinois and Western Michigan University Doctor of Musical Arts, University of Miami AGE: 36 PROFESSION: Assistant Professor of Music, Division of Music, Theatre and Dance Music Director, Idaho State-Civic Symphony HOBBIES: I love to cook, particularly whatever I can’t get where I’m living. Trying to make different pizza crusts like you can get at Grimaldi’s or Di Fara’s in Brooklyn has become a bit of an obsession. I enjoy road cycling and I particularly enjoy observing human behavior and the forces that drive it. If I weren’t already doing what I love I would want to be a behavioral economist. LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: I recently concluded the most successful, to date, Town & Gown String Tech-

nique Camp. When I initially started the camp three years ago we had 15 students. This year we had 60 students enrolled. WHY I DO WHAT I DO: Music makes people happy. As a musician I can positively influence people’s lives, both through performances and as an educator. LIFE EXPERIENCE: Warren Buffet ex-

pressed it best: “Intensity is the price of excellence.” ISU EXPERIENCE: I am continually amazed at the connection between our University and the community; it’s truly a wonderful marriage. I conduct an orchestra of about 95 musicians, evenly split between University faculty, students and community members. Regardless of background, the orchestra is a closeknit family. Everyone is a Bengal!

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For a complete list of Trackings, visit www.isu.edu/magazine Editor’s note: Send Trackings information to the Office of Alumni Relations, Idaho State University, 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8033, Pocatello, ID 83209-8033; or e-mail to lovgnanc@isu.edu; or fax to (208) 282-2541. Or call (208) 2823755 locally, or toll-free (800) 933-4781.

Gail Siemen, BA phys ed ’58/MPE phys ed ’67/EDS ed admin ’77, is the recipient of the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He spent his career in education and worked as a coach, teacher and administrator at multiple Pocatello schools. He serves on the Youth Endowment Activities Foundation, the Idaho Community Foundation, Salvation Army and the Portneuf Health Care Foundation. He is also serving a four-year term on the ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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Ernest P. Sutton, alumnus ’69, who practiced at Sutton Family Dentistry the past four years, retired in April, 2010. Previously, he practiced at Pocatello Dental Group for 30 years.

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Blaine Nisson, BBA mktg ’73/MED stu pers work ’77, will retire as president of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., on

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December 1, 2010. He served in this position for six years and has 38 years’ experience in higher education administration. Nisson graduated with a doctorate of education in community college leadership from Oregon State University. Mary Lu Barry, BA ed/soc sci ’74, has retired from the Twin Falls School District. Her 34-year career included teaching and advising student journalists at Twin Falls High School, serving as director of secondary education for four years, and teaching at Murtaugh High School for two years. Barry will teach an English course through the Idaho Digital Learning Academy and consult on a part-time basis through an Idaho State Department of Education program that will have her working with Burley High School. Dave McIsaac, alumnus ’74, has released Clean Livin’, an album he recorded, mixed, and mastered at his home in Pocatello. McIsaac’s composition, “The Devil,” was

chosen to be featured on the anti-drunk driving campaign CD Idaho Rockers 2010. He has performed professionally for much of his life, including 15 years performing classical music for both the Idaho State and Idaho Falls civic symphonies. Jim Pappas, BA pol sci ’74, bankruptcy judge of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho, was named chief judge of the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. He received his law degree from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1977. Jerry Johnson, BA govt ’78/MPA pol sci ’82/DA pol sci ’84, edited “Knowing Yellowstone: Science in America’s First National Park,” which features 10 chapters written by scientists working in the park. Johnson is chairman of the political science department at Montana State University in Bozeman; his own research projects have involved ecology, agriculture and business. He hopes to expand on work found in the book and write another book about science in the park. David Lemire, EDS couns ’79, works as a school psychologist and behavior consultant for Klamath Falls City Schools in Klamath Falls, Ore. He is also the student counselor and graduate advisor at the American College of Applied Science, a virtual college located in Crescent City, Fla. He was invited to sit on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Association of Talented and Gifted Children, representing kids and parents in the southwest region of the state. He is also a regular contributor to the Master’s Advocate, the journal of the North American Masters in psychology. Marta Coleman, BA ed/Engl ’80, is president of her own company, CAPER, Inc., (Coleman Assessment Program Evaluation and Research). She has been teaching for more than 30 years and currently teaches at her alma mater, Gunnison High School in Gunnison, Colo. Coleman earned a master of arts degree in communication arts from Western State College of Colorado and a doctor of philosophy degree in quantitative methods in education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Gerald Mosbrucker, alumnus ’80, is the manager for the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Pocatello. It features donated building materials which when resold help build affordable Habitat for Humanity homes. Mosbrucker is a retired construction worker and has worked there for two years. Stephanie Palagi, AAS mktg tech ’88/BS corp trn ’02/BS voc tchr ed ’02, is the re-

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cipient of the Minnie Howard Award, which is given annually by the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce to a woman in the community who inspires or supports other local women. She is the executive director at Old Town Pocatello, Inc. and is the 2008 recipient of the ISU Professional Achievement Award for the College of Technology. Debra St. John, BA elem ed ’81, was named Blackfoot Teacher on the Year. She has taught for six years and is a kindergarten teacher at Irving Elementary School. Susan Delana Walker, BBA finance ’81, of Bellingham, Wash., was awarded U.S. Bank’s annual Pinnacle Award, the company’s highest consumer banking employee honor. She is vice president and commercial team lead, and has worked for U.S. Bank for 30 years. Phillip H. Eastman, II, BBA mgt & org ’82, who is a partner with Leadership Advisors Group in Boise, has written a book, “The Character of Leadership, An Ancient Model for a Quantum Age.” Previously, Eastman spent 17 years in the banking industry; he graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington and also earned a Master of Arts degree in theological studies from Bethel Seminary. Pamela McKinley, BA ed/phys ed ’82/MPA pol sci ’96, a realtor with Home Specialists, was awarded the Accredited Buyer’s Representative and the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource designations by the National Association of Realtors. She currently sits on the board of directors for the Greater Pocatello Association of Realtors and is the past charter president of the Portneuf Rotary Club of Pocatello. Cindy Bateman, BBA finance’83, is executive vice president and chief credit officer at Home Federal Bank at bank headquarters in Nampa. She has 25 years’ experience in commercial banking and most recently served as senior vice president and chief credit officer at Home Federal Bank. She graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s degree in business administration. Nancy Espeseth, BA psych ’85, was named manager of Community Corrections Division District 6 by the Idaho Department of Corrections. She is based in Pocatello and oversees the supervision of probationers and parolees in Bannock, Bear Lake, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida and Power counties. Espeseth joined the department as a correctional officer at the Twin Falls Community Work Center in 1999. She was promoted to a probation and parole officer in 2000 and to section supervisor in 2008. Dwight D. Richins, BS ed/gen sci ’85/Med ed admin emph ’98, is serving a one year logistics mission in the Middle East. He joined the military 28 years ago and is currently a lieutenant colonel. Richins has been the football coach at Shelley High School

Hatch Graham EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science, Engineering, Idaho State University AGE: 50 PROFESSION: Founder and Managing Director, ATA Ventures Redwood City, California HOBBIES: My 17 year old son is a high school sports star in both football and baseball – my favorite hobby is supporting him. Other hobbies include Idaho fishing, particularly in Hell’s Canyon, along the Snake River. LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Caught a 10 foot sturgeon this summer (the tape measure indicated 9 feet, but I’m sure the fish was larger than that). WHY I DO WHAT I DO: I’ve enjoyed a career of pursuing technology-related innovations from several perspectives, with my positions ranging from scientific to executive management roles in leading businesses. Currently, my investments in technology startups provide me the opportunity to enjoy all of the favorable aspects of developing conceptual “possibilities” into profitable, growing businesses. Besides the obvious financial motives, the constant interaction with brilliant entrepreneurs and technologists is an everyday inspiration. WORDS OF WISDOM: When I was playing football in high school, there was a quiet, autistic kid who followed the team. The day before our final playoff game, I jokingly asked him for advice on how to win the championship. He answered with the most profound advice I’ve ever received. He simply said, “Run fast, jump high, win.” I’ve tried to profile my life and career after those words ever since. ISU RECOLLECTION: When I first came to ISU, several of the freshman football players were interviewed and asked what we intended to choose as a curriculum major. For some reason it seemed like nearly all of the other players intended to major in physical education. Although I knew absolutely nothing about technology, I responded with nuclear science technology as my preferred major – it sounded

impressive. Word got out, and as a result, I received a note from the College of Engineering dean, Dr. Albert Wilson, saying “welcome aboard! We haven’t had a ball player in quite some time.” Four (and a half) years later, I graduated with an engineering degree. Little did I know, but that one offthe-cuff comment in the Mini-dome (Holt Arena) locker room would determine my life’s career. ISU EXPERIENCE: I think one of the University’s great strengths is the small campus environment and all that entails. During my senior year in high school, I had accepted a football scholarship to the University of Washington. Having developed some questionable study habits, I wasn’t able to attend because of a sub-standard high school GPA. I turned to ISU, who had also been recruiting me, and after reviewing my situation, they agreed to consider more than the GPA alone. My other academic scores and achievements were enough to allow me entrance. ISU’s level of flexibility and understanding was an attribute that stills lives within the campus environment today.

the past three years. Doug Moratzka, BS elem ed ’86, is the boys basketball coach at Cheyenne Central High School in Cheyenne, Wyo. He was the assistant head coach at Hillcrest High School in Ammon and also coached at Rigby High School. Moratzka was on the ISU varsity basketball team from 1982-85. Dawn Keller, BS elem ed ’87, who taught fifth grade at Tendoy Elementary School in Pocatello for 20 years, has retired. She taught for a total of 22 years and is the recipient of the Simplot Inspirational Teacher Award.

Anne LoPiccalo, MED ed admin ’87, who has worked for School District No. 25 for 30 years, was named the 2010 Outstanding Administrator by the Idaho American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. She has served as the Professional Technical Education coordinator for three years. She oversees more than 40 career and technical programs offered in the district and also supervises Perkins IV grants. Tim O’Brien, MPE athl admin ’88, is head football coach and a physical education teacher at La Salle Catholic College Prepatory in Milwaukee, Ore. He was assistant

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professor of health and physical education and an assistant football coach at Western Oregon University from 1995 to 2008. He has coached football for 26 years and also coached at ISU, Willamette University, and several Oregon high schools. Garry Swindell, MPE athl admin ’88, retired after serving nearly 40 years in education. After moving to Idaho, he taught and coached in Challis for 19 years and then went into administration. He was the principal at Timberline Junior/Senior High School in Weippe for six years and the principal at Fruitland High School for the past four years. His future plans include a lot of fishing and some travel. Bart May, cert law enf ’89, was appointed sheriff of Clark County in August, 2010. He spent 16 years with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and has also worked in law enforcement in Bonneville County. Karon Hapke, BA soc work ’90, retired as clinician for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Region 6 in September 2010. Her most recent responsibilities have been working as a clinician on the forensic team and working with the Sixth District Bannock County Drug Court. She was also a case manager and administered federal grant paths and the shelter plus housing program for more than 20 years. Andrew Akers, BBA mgt ’91, of Pocatello, was named the incoming western region vice president-elect by the National Association of Electrical Distributors. Akers is vice president of D&S Electrical Supply

90s

Company and has worked in the industry for 25 years. He is on the National Association of Electrical Distributors Western Regional Council and Western Region Wind and Solar Energy Task Force. Caroline Fauré, BA gen stu ’91/MPE athl admin ’94/EDD ed ldrshp ’06, is an honoree in the 2010 Health Care Heroes program sponsored by the Idaho Business Review. She was profiled in the newspaper’s annual Health Care Heroes magazine on Oct. 11, 2010. Fauré, an assistant professor of sport science at ISU, was also selected by Rotary Club of Pocatello as its Teacher of the Year. Martin Calder, BA ed/soc sci ’92/MPE athl admin ’94, is program manager with Center Developmental Disabilities Agency in Chubbuck. He has 10 years’ experience serving people with disabilities, especially those diagnosed along the autism spectrum. Chris Hatch, BA ed/Engl ’92, who served as the first executive director of The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, retired Oct.1. She joined the museum in 2002 and received the Governor’s Award in Excellence in Arts Administration for her accomplishments with the museum. Previously, Hatch taught English at Hillcrest High School. Eldon Owens, cert auto coll repair ’92, became the first collision repair technician in Idaho to complete the I-CAR Structural Steel Welding qualification in June, 2010. He also completed an I-CAR Instructor Qualification Workshop in Chicago and is employed at J & J Auto Body in Pocatello. Stacie Shouse, BA mass comm ’92, was selected as Salesperson of the Year by the Pocatello Rotary Club of Pocatello. She has worked at Pioneer Title for 15 years and is

the business development supervisor. Brett Acor, BA soc ’93, of Idaho Falls, is director of sales with the Post Register where he heads a consolidated circulation, advertising, and commercial printing sales department. Acor joined the newspaper in 1998, working as an outside sales executive for eight years, and as advertising sales manager the past two years. Jeff Brandt, BS hlth ed ’93/MED ed admin emph ’00, is the principal at Teton High School in Driggs. He has previous experience at middle school, high school alternative school and district levels of administration, including serving as assistant principal at Highland High School in Pocatello. Kristy Christensen, BS psych ’93/MS psych ’96/MCOU, has joined the staff of Life Change Associates in Pocatello. She provides therapy to adolescents, adults and couples dealing with issues relating to common mental health disorders, addiction, and relationship issues. Samantha Damron, BBA finance ’93, serves on the Eastern Idaho Regional Advisory Board of Zion’s Bank. She is the executive director of Eastern Idaho Development Corporation. Damron was previously the branch manager for Citifinancial in Pocatello. Todd Dawson, alumnus ’93, is assistant principal at Snow Canyon Middle School in St. George, Utah. He taught language arts in Idaho, Nevada and Utah. Most recently, he taught at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Utah, for five years. Lance Kolbet, alumnus ’93, president and chief executive officer of University Finan-

Fall/Winter 2010

cial Group, was awarded a $42,500 Quality of Life Grant by the Million-Dollar Round Table Foundation for outstanding community on behalf of Family Services Alliance of Southeast Idaho. Brian Underwood, AA crim just ’93/BS pol sci ’98, was sworn in as the United States Marshal for the District of Idaho in May, 2010. He joined the Idaho Department of Corrections in 1992 and most recently served as a warden at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center from 20022010. He also served on the Pocatello City Council for 10 years. Michael Fica, BS pol sci ’94, earned the Idaho State Bar’s Service Award for his volunteer work for the legal profession. He served on the Law-Related Education Committee the past 13 years, aiding the Mock Trial program as a coach and judge. He also assisted in several bar grading sessions. Currently, Fica is assigned to the Department of Justice Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force working on several regional drug prosecutions. Natalie Markowski, BS dent hyg ’94, completed her first Ironman competition in Coeur d’Alene in June with a time of 13 hours and 36 minutes. She is a dental hygienist with Coeur d’Alene Dental Clinic and hopes to compete in the 2012 Ironman in Coeur d’Alene. Manuel Sierra, M.D., BS zoology ’95, is a psychiatrist with Center Counseling Services in Pocatello. He received his medical degree from the University of Washington in 2002. He also completed a residency in psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. John Pearce, BS sec ed/chem ’96, has served as principal of Maumelle Middle School in Maumelle, Ark., since fall 2009. He previously worked for a total of 10 years in the Pulaski County Special School Dis-

trict and most recently worked four years as principal at Robinson Middle School. Mike Fitch, BA sec ed/sci ’97, was named principal of Fruitland High School. He taught U.S. history and western civilization at Fruitland High School the past 12 years; he has been the boys’ basketball coach. Fitch earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Northwest Nazarene University. Ryan Hancock, BS econ ’97, a senior financial consultant at D. A. Davidson and Company, has earned the Certified Wealth Strategist® designation. He joined the Pocatello firm in November, 2001, and has prior experience with Merrill Lynch. Dr. Bret C. Davis, alumnus ’98, has opened his practice in Pocatello, Davis Dental Studio. He was voted one of America’s Top Dentists by the Consumer’s Research Council and is ranked in the top 1 to 2 percent of dentists nationwide. Davis is an adjunct faculty member at Idaho State University in the Advanced Education General Dental Residency Program in Boise. He received his doctorate of dental surgery from Oregon Health Sciences University. Cara Shockley, alumna ’98, has joined Boise’s HB Ventures as a principal and is involved with acquisition activities and the HB Ventures Consulting business. Shockley brings 22 years of Fortune 500 experience in both high-tech and insurance industries. Most recently she was the marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard’s $400 million North America Graphic Solutions Business. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington State University. Aaron Florence, BS biology ’99, has joined Estes Park Medical Center in Estes Park, Colo., in the practice of general orthopedics

and sports medicine. He obtained his doctor of osteopathic medicine from A.T. Still University, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Mo. Rose Stevens, alumna ’99, is a realtor at ERA The Brokerage, Inc., in Pocatello. She is a co-owner of Evolve2ART, which features functional handbags and other items made from recycled rubber inner tubes. She has been a featured artist during the Art Walk. John P. Young, AAS graphic arts/print tech/elec imaging ’99/BA mass comm ’06, is creative director/new media at Steele and Associates of Pocatello. Traysa Smith, BS phys asst ’02, is a physician assistant with the Ogden Clinic. She earned her master’s of medical science in physician assistant studies from the University of Nebraska. Smith has worked in both family practice and women’s health for eight years. Army Capt. Jay A. Taylor, BA Engl ’02, received the Army Commendation Medal. He is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Field Artillery at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla., and has 21 years of military service. Taylor received a master’s degree from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo., in 2008. Douglas Wood, BA pol sci ’02, is an associate with the Pocatello law firm, Service and Spinner. His practice focuses on estate planning, elder law, municipal and commercial law. Wood earned his juris doctorate from Southern Illinois University in 2007. Jared Allen, alumnus ’03, an All-Pro defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings, is producing his own hunting show, “Relentless Pursuit,” and recently released The Quarterback Killer’s Cookbook. Darren West, alumnus ’03, has co-au-

00s

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thored How the Fierce Handle Fear: Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times; the book draws on his experiences after being laid off from Apria Healthcare where he worked in medical sales. West is a co-owner and founder of Caring Hearts Senior Care in Pocatello. Monte R. Woolstenhulme, MED ed admin emph ’03/EDS ed admin ’08, is superintendent of Teton School District No.401 in Driggs. He has worked in public education for 13 years and was the superintendent/

principal in Swan Valley the past two years. He also worked at Teton Middle School for ten years. Adam Matthews, BS zoology ’05, earned a doctorate of podiatric medicine from the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Ill. He is currently serving a two year residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. Matthews was a member of several clubs including the American Podiatric Medical Association and the American

IN MEMORIAM

Cyril Okamoto Cyril Okamoto (BA Elementary Education 1957), an NCAA boxing champion and member of the ISU Sports Hall of Fame, died May 15 in Hawaii. He was 79. Okamoto boxed at Idaho State College for only one season, but he made it count. He transferred to ISU from the University of Hawaii for the 1956-57 season and won the NCAA 125-pound individual title. The ISC team was 7-0 in dual matches, won seven of the 10

weights contested at the NCAA championships, and was generally considered the best collegiate boxing team ever, up to that time. The Honolulu native was a U.S. Army veteran and had retired as viceprincipal of Honolulu’s Farrington High School. He is survived by his wife, Jane S. Okamoto, sons Lance A. and Ethan H. Okamoto, daughter Betsy S. Miyata, brother Russell N. Okamoto, and one grandchild.

William Thomas Morgan ISU lost a remarkable friend with the death of William Thomas Morgan on April 14, 2010. Know familiarly as “Morg,” he studied secondary education in speech and drama before exiting in 1973. He exited as a student, but he used what he learned in speech and drama to become a gifted videographer, producer and director with public television in both Idaho and Alaska. While on the ISU campus, he stayed close to the Bengal athletic teams. He was an especially close friend of Jeff Cook, starting forward on ISU’s great 1977 basketball team and ISU Sports Hall of Fame member. One of the more memorable

images from ISU’s landmark win over UCLA was the huge postgame bear hug Morg and Cook shared at center court. Morg worked out of KISU-TV until 1979, then joined Alaska Public TV until 1995, when health issues forced his retirement and a move to live with his sole surviving relative, sister Katherine Morgan Northcutt, in Vallejo, Calif. Northcutt said Morg stayed active with volunteer work for VCAT, his local public access television, and on the board of directors for handicapped public transportation. “He continued to be a character right up until his fatal illness,” Northcutt said.

College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Lara Wabrek, alumnus ’05, was selected as a recipient of the Boren Award. She will spend spring semester 2011 in Valdivia, Chile, as a Boren Scholar. She will receive an award of $10,000 to study at Austral University in Valdivia and hopes to perform an internship in the community. Wabrek is enrolled at Montana State University majoring in mechanical engineering. Vicki L. Chase, MED sec ed emph ’06, the gifted and talented facilitator for the Blackfoot School District for students in the sixth-eighth grades, received the Patricia National History Day Teacher of the Year Award. She was also the recipient of $10,000 at the National History Day held in College Park, Md. Chase has been a teacher for 19 years and has been involved with National History Day for 16 years. Ericka Christensen, BS pol sci ’06/MA pol sci ’08, was appointed to the Washington State University Board of Regents on July 1, 2010. She is the first doctoral student to hold the position at Washington State University and is currently pursuing a doctorate of philosophy in political science. Christensen served as president of the Graduate Student Association for the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, and as a member of the Graduate Student Council from 20092010; she also continues to serve as a reader for the Writing Program at the university. Tamara Goddard, alumna ’06, who taught first grade at Syringa Elementary School for 31 years, has retired. She taught for a total of 43 years and earned her teaching degree from Utah State University in 1967. Miki Goodwin, MS nurs ’06, clinical assistant professor and coordinator of fast-track nursing program at ISU–Meridian Health Science Center, is an honoree in the 2010 Health Care Heroes program sponsored by the Idaho Business Review. She was featured in the newspaper’s annual Health Care Heroes Magazine on Oct. 11, 2010. Todd Orr, BA hist ’06, joined the Idaho State Police Region 5 in March, 2010. Previously, he was a police officer with the Chubbuck Police Department. Zeb Sion, MPE athl admin ’07, is associate head track and field coach at the University of Chicago. He was named the Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S.Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in May. In his third year at Chicago as throws coach, Sion guided three of his athletes to NCAA qualification this season. Colin Watts, BA anthro ’07, has been a volunteer affiliated with Family Services Alliance in Pocatello the past year. In an effort to prevent domestic violence, he staffs the crisis line several times a month, and also facilitates a 52-week non-violence program. Watts is also active in the local chapter of Men Today, Men Tomorrow, a

Fall/Winter 2010

program spearheaded by the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. Watts is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health from ISU. Heidi Albano, BS ecology ’08/MS biology ’10, volunteers with the Sagebrush Steppe Regional Land Trust working to protect public lands. She has helped staff events such as Riverfest and the Community Environmental Fair but has also inspected the Land Trusts’ easements by helping with species identification and building species lists. She is working on her own book to identify local plant life, including those plants considered invasive species. J. Robert Polk, MD, MPH pub hlth ’08, is the chief quality officer for Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise. For the past 12 years, Polk held a variety of senior administration roles at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, most recently as chief medical officer and vice president of quality, physician, and clinical services. Derek Stephens, alumnus ’08, has opened his business, BCSC Dogs, in Pocatello. Stephens is a street vendor in Pocatello offering a variety of drinks, hot dogs, beef foot longs, Polish foot longs and brats. The business is named in honor of his younger brother, Blake Christopher Stevens, who was killed in Iraq in 2007. Stephens has extensive culinary expertise as he worked as a sous chef in Seattle. Betsy Rooney, BS nurs ’08, has joined the Central District Health department of Idaho Health District Four; she works as a tuberculosis nurse in the Communicable Disease Control section. Previously, she worked at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Rooney earned a master of science degree in speech communication and hearing from Portland State University in 2000. Holli Brookshier, BA Engl ’09, graduated from the Army ROTC Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky. 2nd Lt. Matthew S. Mraz, BS pol sci ’10, graduated from the U.S.Army Air Assault School for Fort Knox, Ky., in August, 2010. Brian Weiderman, DPT phys ther ’10, is a physical therapist with Therapeutic Associates Physical Therapy and sees patients at both Nampa and Parkcenter locations. His areas of specialty include orthopedic injuries, pelvic and sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and post-surgical rehabilitation. He is also interested in treating sports-related injuries, men’s health disorders, and developing programs to optimize performance for extreme athletes. Editor’s note: Send Trackings information to the Office of Alumni Relations, Idaho State University, 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8033, Pocatello, ID 83209-8033; or e-mail to alumni@ isu.edu; or fax to (208) 282-2541. Or call (208) 282-3755 locally, or toll-free (800) 933-4781.

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