Here We Have Idaho | Winter 2009

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university of idaho magazine | winter 2009

Here We Have

100 years of

winter 2009

Legal Education

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idaho Here we have

university of idaho magazine | winter 2009

Cover Story

I AM MORE THAN A N

8 College of Law Centennial

OVER ACHIEVER

On the Cover: Collage celebrating the College of Law Centennial by Julene Ewert

Features 1 6 Mixing Research and Undergraduates Professor Tom Bitterwolf is the first Dyess Faculty Fellow. 19 Opening Doors

Departments

From the President 2 Campus News 3 Quest 7 Class Notes 26 Events Upcoming 45

Legal education in Idaho enters its second century of distinction.

University Gala celebrates $21.2 million in private giving in 2008.

20 How Do You Recycle Enriched Uranium?

Chemist Chien Wai develops process that could reduce stockpiles of spent uranium.

38 The Tale of Three Pennies

The Found Money Fund of Idaho tops $250,000.

Sports 41 Appreciating and Honoring Our Vandal Families

The Vital family is recognized on Military Appreciation Day.

42 Idaho Punter T. J. Conley

winter 2009

He led his family to Idaho, then led the nation in punting.

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News Campus

The University of Idaho Magazine winter 2009 • Volume 26, Number 1 University President

Steven B. Daley-Laursen ’79, ’84

Vice President for Advancement Christopher D. Murray

Senior Director of Marketing Christopher S. Cooney

University of Idaho Alumni Director Steven C. Johnson ’71

Alumni Association President Thomas E. Limbaugh ’79

University of Idaho Foundation Chairman Frances T. Ellsworth ’83

Editor

Jeff Olson

Magazine Design Julene Ewert ’91

Class Notes Editor Annis Shea

Writers and Contributors Hugh Cooke ’74, ’77, ’02 Tina Deines Cheryl Dudley Leslie Einhaus Donna Emert Marlene Fritz Cheryl Haas Brandi Hayes ’08 Tim Helmke ’95 Ken Kingery Joni Kirk Sandy Larsen Bill Loftus ’81 Becky Paull ’79 Tania Thompson Josh Wright Pamela Yenser

Photographs

Joe Pallen ’96 Kelly Weaver and as credited

www.uidaho.edu/herewehaveidaho

The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer and educational institution. © 2009, University of Idaho Here We Have Idaho magazine is published three times a year, in January, April and August. The magazine is free to alumni and friends of the University. Send address changes to: P.O. Box 443147, Moscow, ID 83844-3147. Send editorial correspondence to: University Communications and Marketing, P.O. Box 443221, Moscow, ID 83844-3221; phone (208) 885-6291; fax (208) 885-5841; e-mail: uinews@uidaho.edu.

Letters Policy

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his year, the University of Idaho marks several notable milestones. It is the 120th anniversary of the Idaho Legislature’s creation of the University, and 2009 also marks the centennial for our College of Law. On Sept. 20, 1909, the law school opened its doors for the fall semester. There were 18 full-time, first-year law students, and four additional students from the University took one or two courses on an elective basis. Fees were $25 per year. Completion of four years of high school with the proper units was the minimum requirement for admission. While the times have changed, the demand for legal education in the state has not. For 100 years, the College of Law has been the sole provider of legal education in Idaho. More than 3,000 students have received their law degree here, and many have gone on to be leaders in the state’s legal and judicial communities and as legal experts across the professions. As the college enters its second century of distinction, it is a more diverse institution and has adapted its programs to address the changing legal issues that face our state. The college enters its second century with a strategic plan in place which will guide a bold and innovative course, keeping our law programs vital and vibrant – as are the University and the state we serve. This issue of Here We Have Idaho celebrates the college’s centennial and much more. You’ll also meet professor of chemistry Tom Bitterwolf, the first Dyess Faculty Fellow in the College of Science, who is a champion of providing research opportunities to our undergraduate students. Professor Chien Wai has a four-decade association with the University, and his research in recycling nuclear waste is leading the way in addressing that worldwide concern. You’ll also meet several great Vandal families who have made remarkable contributions to the University and the nation. Throughout our 120-year history, our University of Idaho has displayed its ability to lead and to produce leaders. Dean of the College of Law, Don Burnett, in his memorable Commencement remarks of December 2006, reminded us that our University is known as the “beacon for mountain and plain…. Phenomenal people and programs, and all of their good works, vouch for this extraordinary place.” I recently had the opportunity to remind key state legislators of our University’s legacy of leading and assure them of our promise of leadership in the future – a promise that will certainly help our state emerge prosperous and wellpositioned from our current economic condition. I am proud and appreciative that you, our alumni and friends, are fully engaged with us as we launch a next century of service and impact at the University of Idaho.

For more on these stories and for daily University of Idaho news, go to www.today.uidaho.edu. Donald M. Blackketter, professor of mechanical engineering and department chair, has been selected to serve an appointment as dean of the University of Idaho’s College of Engineering through the 2009-10 academic year. Presidential Search – As we go to press, candidates for University of Idaho president are visiting campus. For more information and the latest news, visit the Presidential Search Web page, www.uidaho.edu/ presidentialsearch.aspx. The University is taking the next step to enhance its ability to alert the institution’s statewide community in time of emergency. The University has installed a new electronic emergency message system capable of simultaneously issuing emergency alerts by e-mail, telephone, cell phone, voice mail, instant messaging (IM) and text messaging to students, faculty and staff statewide. The system is a new part of the University’s comprehensive emergency plan. Life safety improvements to the ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center are expected to begin this spring. Work tentatively scheduled includes replacement of the east and west end walls with translucent panels, building code improvements, installation of aisle hand rails and improvements to egress to the west from the field level.

r 110 Years milestone The Vandal Voicneewfo aut, celebrated a spaper, The Argon st issue of the

e fir Idaho’s student ing the news. Th 0 years of report ber 1898. 11 em – ov r N be in em ed ov in N t was publish au on rg other student A d o an ah t Id then-titled n for Argonau io at br le ce n io A three-day reun er. e staff includes ok place in Octob ed m ia alumni to the “Arg” is still going strong. Th rs and sales staff. After 110 years, raphers, writers, editors, designe otog ors, “but we get 50-75 student ph nalism and public relations maj resources – it’s a l ur ra jo tu nce, na They’re mostly board – law, scie e th ss udent Media. ro St ac of r om ager/advise students fr an m l, ea ’N O n aw k and distributes real mix,” said Sh aff puts a paper out twice a wee mmunity. The Argonaut st and mpus and the co ca nd ou ’s great training, ar es pi 6,000 co ” said O’Neal. “It n to detail.” n, ru t en ud st y “It’s completel racy and attentio portance of accu they learn the im

Vandal Shuttle Gets a Move On The Vandal Access Shuttle has made its debut. The van provides a way for the disabled and elderly to traverse campus quickly and is averaging nearly 180 riders a week. Plans for the shuttle were in the works for nearly four years, and a grant from the Idaho Department of Transportation assisted the University in purchasing the van. A number of units on campus are helping to fund the van’s operation. That effort got a boost when Charley Jones ’75 of Boise, the owner of Stinker Stores, granted an unlimited gas card to the shuttle for an entire year. The grant will significantly cut operational expenses for the shuttle during its first year. His fuel gift was made as a part of the Operation Education Scholarship Program. As a former ROTC member of the University, Jones takes pride in helping wounded veterans re-enter civilian life. “As an Idaho graduate I felt compelled to show my gratitude by reinvesting in its current students,” Jones said. “Operation Education, along with the University’s research in biofuels, made it a good fit.” The van currently runs on a 5 percent biofuel mixture.

winter 2009

Steven B. Daley-Laursen President

TODAY@IDAHO

idaho

We welcome letters to the editor. Correspondence should include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for purposes of clarity or space.

From the President

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News Campus

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Tina Deines

The campus residence halls are a little greener this year, as University Housing launches a single-stream recycling program in all of its communities. Single-stream is a recycling method that allows recyclers to throw all of their recyclables into just one bin without separating different types of materials. The recyclables are then collected and taken to a recycling facility. The program affects more than 1,600 students in McConnell Hall, Wallace Residence Complex, Theophilus Tower, the Living Learning Communities and Targhee Hall. Interior recycling bins are provided to students as part of the program. University Housing introduced the single-stream recycling program last year to family apartments on campus, and now has collected more than 9.6 tons of single-stream recycling. Ryan Hutten, Nicole Hardin and Lizabeth Harbert get excited about recycling. The students are residents of French Hall in Theophilus Tower.

AP PHOTO/CAROLYN KASTER

Vandals Leading the Way

Kristin Armstrong ’95

Gen. James Amos ’70

Gov. Sarah Palin ’87

She may be Vandal silver and gold, but Kristin Armstrong ‘95 also is Olympic gold. She is the gold medal winner for the women’s cycling time trial at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. How great was that? “Since winning the gold medal, my life has become a whirlwind. I sign autographs all the time and I had someone come up to me recently and ask me to sign my name and ‘Go Broncos.’ I said to him, ‘Do you realize what you’re asking me? I’m a Vandal!’” Armstrong earned a bachelor’s degree in sports physiology and has great memories of her time on campus. “I was at Idaho when the Vandals were on their 12-year winning streak. We were proud.” And there’s a final twist to her story. Armstrong was featured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box before she won the Olympic gold medal.

General James F. Amos ’70 became assistant commandant of the Marine Corps in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in July 2008 and now is the second highest-ranking U.S. Marine. A Naval aviator by trade, Amos previously commanded the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in combat during Operations Iraqi Freedom I and II, followed by command of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Amos is known to display a University of Idaho banner in his office, and has been a strong supporter of the Operation Education Scholarship Program at the University of Idaho since the program launch in 2006. He worked with the program to successfully transition a Marine Corps sergeant from the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp LeJuene, N.C., to an Operation Education Scholar at the University of Idaho.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ’87 has set a pretty lofty mark when it comes to Vandals who have gained national exposure. In the Winter 2008 issue of “Here We Have Idaho,” we featured Palin and called her “a rising star in national politics.” Eight months later, Sen. John McCain selected Palin as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election. She became the first woman nominee for vice president on the Republican ticket, and only the second woman to be on a major political party’s ballot for vice president. At Idaho, Palin combined her curiosity with her love of writing to earn a degree in journalism. “I was always asking everyone the questions, and I still am today,” Palin said. Many University of Idaho alumni have gone on to distinguish themselves in public service, but the demands of campaigning for national office may have brought Palin an added distinction. She appears to be the first Vandal to be a guest on “Saturday Night Live.”

winter 2009

Everybody Recycle Now

Worldwide Newsmakers

Lance Cpl. Jacob H. Harrer

The University’s Sustainability Center has released the first inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the University of Idaho. The report found that the carbon footprint of the University for the years 2005-07 was 39,123 tons, or 3.5 tons per student per year.

“We aren’t the best in the nation, but we are toward the front of the pack. After the $35 million worth of energy conservation projects scheduled over the next three years, we will be doing even better,” Saul said. The University of Idaho's carbon footprint is relatively small for several reasons. The main campus uses wood waste, a renewable fuel, as its main fuel source in the central steam plant, with natural gas as a backup fuel. The University also is positioned in the Northwest Power Pool, and almost half of the electricity is generated from hydropower. Another contributing factor is an active energy conservation program implemented by the university’s Facilities Services that has reduced annual heating energy use and has maintained a flat electric energy use profile.

AP PHOTO/RICARDO MAZALAN

Taking Steps to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

“A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gasses produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalent,” said Darin Saul, director of the University of Idaho Sustainability Center. The GHG inventory includes emissions from natural gas, vehicle fuel, electricity, student, staff and faculty commuting, air travel, and emissions related to waste disposal and livestock. “This is just a first cut at an emissions profile and included sources for which we were able to find or collect data,” Saul said. “The methodologies for conducting greenhouse gas inventories are evolving rapidly and we will be adding additional sources to the inventory as data and new methods are developed.” He said overall, the University of Idaho is in pretty good shape compared to many other institutions of higher education.

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Quest research news

Mark LaMoreaux

Nothing calls attention to the University’s roots in agriculture like the barns on the western perimeter of campus. Built between 1918 and 1922, the three barns recently underwent a restoration project. “They’ve lasted 90 years, so far. This should keep them in good shape for another 90,” said Donn Thill, Palouse Research, Extension and Education Center superintendent. The buildings received basic repairs, and new windows, siding and paint. The prominent barns stand atop a hill west of Sixth Street and support horse, cattle and sheep research programs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The barns still stand straight, a testament to the quality of construction, Thill said. “These barns are icons, and we want them to remain in good condition and serve as attractive features welcoming visitors at the western entry to campus.”

Gardeners Go Native

Genetics Saving Frogs Front row: Ben Weyland, a senior from Boise; Chris Meyer, a sophomore from Spokane, Wash.; and Michael Frye, a senior from Culbertson, Mont. Back row: Greg Wagner, a freshman from Vancouver, Wash.; Cole Mize, interim director of the Idaho PGM program; and Edgar Leano, a senior from Reno, Nev.

Learning the Job Means Playing the Game Idaho's PGA Golf Management (PGM) students took on the nation and won first place in the PGA Jones Cup in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in November. To become certified in the profession, PGM students must meet rigorous qualifications that encompass their knowledge of golf instruction and golf business. They also need to play a mean game of golf. The University of Idaho team rallied from a two-stroke, first-round deficit to grab the title with a two-day winning total of 615 in the 36-hole event. The on-the-course competition was challenging for the Idaho team since 14 of the 20 PGM-certified schools are based in the southern U.S. “Most PGM students at other schools have the opportunity to play all year because of the warmer climates in which they’re based,” said Ben Weyland, a senior from Boise. “Due to the snow we receive in Idaho, we’re limited in the time we have on the course, which makes this win feel pretty good.” The University’s Golf Management program is the only PGA-accredited golf management program in the Northwest. Students earn a marketing degree with a PGM option.

A killer has been running rampant for the past decade, but it’s not on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a “chytrid” fungus that has been decimating frog populations around the world. Though the fungus is at least half a billion years old, it only recently began killing frogs, and scientists have no idea why. But Erica Bree Rosenblum, assistant professor of biological sciences, is applying modern genetics to the problem. She’s looking at which genes are turned on when the fungus is young and harmless versus when it is mature and feeding on their skin. She has uncovered some likely culprits, though more work remains. “One of the amazing things about this genetic technology is that we can take something we don’t know anything about, sequence its whole genome, and learn a tremendous amount about the organism,” said Rosenblum.

Password recall has become a daily ritual for most Americans, but so has stealing them. User-generated passwords are often easily guessed, randomly generated ones forgotten and biometric passwords – such as fingerprints – replicated. Stephen Werner, professor of psychology, has developed a password system that uses pictures instead of characters because people remember images easier than letters and numbers. It randomly generates a picture containing nine distinct image elements. The images include a background, man, woman and vehicle among others. Users must separately identify each of the elements out of 36 choices for each. “Tests have shown nearly 90 percent of users can successfully use the graphical password three to six weeks after its creation,” said Werner. “This is much higher than the traditional alphanumeric password, which only about 25 percent could remember.”

Crosswalk Safety for the Visually Impaired Crosswalks can be deadly, especially for the visually impaired. Safety signs can be hidden, irregular crosswalks are confusing and darkness presents an added danger. But crossing the street is about to become safer for the millions of visually impaired Americans navigating these treacherous intersections. Richard Wall, professor of electrical and computer engineering, has developed a system to warn pedestrians of impending doom by using a device most already carry – their cell phone. Specially distributed software and new crosswalk hardware can alert pedestrians when they begin to stray from safety zones and even stop traffic should they become endangered. “These devices can actually go into the field and work today,” said Wall. “We’re using existing infrastructure and communicating intelligence over it. It’s cost-effective, it simplifies the connection to involve only two wires and it can be installed immediately in all the existing crosswalks in the country.”

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As winter slowly moves toward spring, gardeners are looking out their windows and imagining a blizzard of blooms beneath the snowdrifts. Steve Love, University of Idaho Extension horticulturist, has developed a list of more than 100 trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials that are native to the Intermountain West and garden-worthy throughout Idaho. He has posted this list of his favorite native plants – along with 45 vendors – on Extension’s popular Idaho Landscapes and Gardens Web site. According to Love, interest in native plants is increasing nationally and for very good reasons: the plants are adapted to local conditions and thereby remain healthy and beautiful with less water, fertilizer and pesticides. “They can be used to create landscape themes that are in harmony with their surroundings, and they lessen the chance of importing invasive and destructive exotic species,” he said. To get some gardening ideas, visit www.extension.uidaho.edu/idahogardens.

Ray Graham/PGA of America

Barn Again

Picture Perfect Passwords

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News Campus

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illustrations by Nate Nielson

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The First Four Faculty

John Forney, lecturer in law, 1909-10

The Early Years

Mock trial. 1928. 1-203-1. UI Special Collections

100 years of

Legal Education By Pamela Yenser

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he light of 100 years will shine on the College of Law as it celebrates its centennial this year. Special events are on the docket for nearly every month of 2009, including a visit by the Chief Justice of the United States in March and a September birthday party complete with cake and candles. For 100 years, the College of Law in Moscow has been the sole provider of legal education in Idaho. More than 3,000 students have received their law degrees – the juris doctorate – and many have gone on to form the core of the state’s legal community. The College has survived the best of times and the worst of times, to become, in the words of its present dean, Donald L. Burnett Jr., “a law school with no equal in the country when measured by the collegiality of its faculty, students and staff, or by its dedication to delivering a broad curriculum while maintaining impressive scholarly productivity and full service to the state.”

In September 1909, the University of Idaho started a law school on the third floor and in the basement of the Administration Building. Legislative funding included $5,000 in operating expenses and $2,000 for books. The first law department in Idaho attracted 18 first-year full-time law students and four part-time students to take classes in a three-year curriculum based on the case method of teaching law popularized by Harvard’s Dean Christopher Columbus Langdell early in the 19th century, a system used with some modifications by most law schools today. In 1910, the law department was designated a college, with Professor John F. MacLane as its dean. During this time, anyone with the right credentials from a four-year high school could be admitted to the law department. Idaho needed lawyers, and MacLane was determined to build a professional school to meet the growing legal needs of the young state. Within two years he had created a curriculum, hired friends and local attorneys to teach and then moved on to a state judicial post. Law Professor and Dean Emeritus Albert R. Menard Jr. documented the College’s early years in his “Highlights in the History of the University of Idaho College of Law,” published in 1990. The history, with updates by then Dean Sheldon Vincenti, described an institution coping with the demands of roller coaster enrollments. “War always takes its toll on law schools,” noted Menard in his account of the World War I years. The toll was great: only 10 students graduated in 1917 and nobody received a law degree in 1918. Causes for the slowdown went beyond the draft. As World War I ended, a flu epidemic ravaged the world, claiming more than 500,000 U.S. lives. As the epidemic slowed and the postwar economy grew, law school enrollments soared nationwide. The University of Idaho produced 12 law graduates in 1921. “A great class it was, too,” noted Menard. Graduates included A. J. Priest, who went on to become a senior partner in the leading Wall Street law firm of Reed & Priest, and William H. Langroise, who served as Deputy U.S. Attorney in Idaho and was a founding partner of Langroise, Sullivan and Smylie in Boise. The College of Law, was one of the first institutions to become part of the Association of American

Edgar N. Durfee, faculty, 1910-11

Charles H. Wilbur, faculty, 1910-13

Law Schools in 1914 and earned accreditation from the American Bar Association in 1925 – the 46th law school out of 200 that are accredited today. The stock market crash of October 29, 1929, and the Great Depression affected budgets as well as student pocketbooks. Bad economic times stimulated interest in professional programs, however, and the College attracted students seeking new occupations and degrees. The names of at least two College of Law graduates during this period stand out: Burton French Ellis ’33, whose service as a chief investigator during the Nazi War Trials can be documented through 50 boxes of memorabilia in the Law Library’s Special Collections, and L. Weldon Schimke ’31, who worked as an adjunct professor and later as University of Idaho counsel from 1948 to 1970. The Moscow Daily News ran a story about Schimke, calling him “the ‘Secrets Keeper’ for the University of Idaho’s closets.” As counsel, he kept the institution’s issues under lock and key. Schimke’s two key rings were recently discovered in the College of Law archives. Mary Shelton ’23 was the first woman to graduate from the College of Law. In the early 40s, three other women earned their degrees: Alberta Morton Phillips ’41, Bernice Bacharach ’42 and Rei Kihara Osaki ’43, who was also the first Japanese-American student at the law school. World War II disrupted the college. Menard later reported that 1944 saw “only eight students enrolled and only one graduated.” In 1945, there were two graduates,

L. Weldon Schimke ’31

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John F. MacLane, dean, College of Law, 1909-11

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Edward Stimson, dean, 1947-62

gem of the mountains

Alberta Morton Phillips ’41

Albert Menard Jr., dean, 1967-78

both female. Career-minded women of that era made the best of the situation and applied for educational opportunities vacated by men called into military service. Acting Dean W. J. Brockelbank noted that the addition of females at the College of Law “proved the factor which kept it open in 1944 and 1945.” Phillips was not only the second woman to graduate, but also the first female faculty member. In a gesture quaintly characteristic of the times, Dean Brockelbank invited Phillips to teach in 1945 upon one stipulation: President Harrison Dale said Phillips could not teach criminal law “because it was improper for a woman to address male students about rape cases.” Phillips made that concession and taught for one year. Though she was asked to stay on the faculty, she chose to rejoin her husband, back from the war. Throughout her busy family and professional life in Pocatello, she was compelled to speak out on social and gender issues such as the gender specific language used to describe lawyers as males. Times were changing, and the language of law was changing with them.

The First Golden Age

at the College of Law, enrollment swelled, and a new crowding crisis ensued. The arrival of energetic new faculty brought increased faculty publications in law reviews, books and documents; the new faculty drafted tax legislation for the Idaho legislature and helped revise the state judicial system. “It had been, in many respects,” said Menard, a ‘golden age’ for the College of Law.” The 50s and 60s produced graduates that would become notable public figures: U.S. Senator James A. “Jim” McClure ’50; former Idaho Governor and Lieutenant Governor and current U.S. Senator James E. “Jim” Risch ’68; and Frank A. Shrontz ’54, former chairman and CEO of the Boeing Company. A second golden age would follow…or perhaps one age was silver and the other gold.

The Second Golden Age

The crisis in the law school was finally resolved when the overcrowding was acknowledged, and appropriations for planning and site preparation were approved by the legislature for the new law building on the Moscow campus. In 1971, funds were appropriated for construction of a new building. When a shortfall was reported, students came to the rescue by tacking on and paying a special fee. In 1973, another appropriation for furnishings facilitated the final move to the new building during Thanksgiving of 1973. The good timing was not lost on Menard: “It was truly a day of Thanksgiving.” Even so, the basement level of the law library was not completely finished until 2006, when private giving and student fees that included a dedicated professional fee foresightfully created during the deanship of Sheldon Vincenti made upgrades of the library possible. The new facility, eventually named for Dean Menard, proved a beacon for new faculty who were needed to fill the loss of such faculty legends as Herbert Berman, W. J. Brockelbank, Edward Stimson and Thomas Walenta. New faculty members Sheldon Vincenti and Art Smith came on board just as a second “golden age” was unfolding. Hires in 1975 included four noteworthy figures who would serve the College of Law for three decades or longer: Professor Joann Henderson, who retired in 2005; Professor James Macdonald, who is still active; and Professors Dennis Colson and Craig Lewis, both of whom retired in 2007. With this remarkable “class of 1975” Dean Burnett later wrote, Dean Menard overcame the challenge posed by faculty retirements and “changed tribulation into triumph.” Macdonald, now the College of Law’s longest-serving current faculty member, recently reflected on the changes during this period. “What changed most of all are the students,” he said. “The variety of students in the 70s and 80s was remarkable. Men returning from service across the world in Vietnam and the Gulf seemed rather worldly, and a variety of backgrounds and cultures were represented. And many women were entering the profession.” Do these students now seem more diverse? Statistically, they are. Women were seldom seen in the classroom for much of the law school’s history, but today the student

body is nearly 50 percent female. Racial and ethnic minorities currently comprise 18 percent of the student body; that’s an increase of more than 400 percent from as recently as 2000. And while the majority of students continue to come from Idaho, the law school attracts a significant number of outstanding out-of-state students who bring a multitude of backgrounds and experiences to the classroom. Diversity is reflected as well in nearly 30 active student organizations at the College. Yet, the College also has retained a sense of belonging. “Students almost seem more unified now,” says Macdonald, “and we see many more couples, families and multigenerational law students.” Many students carry on a family tradition by attending the school their mother or father attended. On the alumni rolls, there are several threegeneration families and at least one four-generational law family. Their support of the College has grown, along with their families. The curriculum available to students is a product of innovative work by faculty from the 1970s to the present. During this time, faculty have opened new avenues into natural resources and environmental law, notably an interdisciplinary “Waters of the West” program and Indian law, as well as new courses in business and family law, and mediation along with other forms of dispute resolution, including specialized training in the Northwest Institute for Dispute Resolution founded by Professor Maureen Laflin. The curriculum also has been transformed by clinical education. Professor Neil Franklin was hired in 1978 as the first full-time director of the College’s clinical programs that allowed third-year students the opportunity to work in the community and provide pro bono work for clients in need. Today the clinic encompasses appellate advocacy, assistance to crime victims and victims of domestic violence; representation of low-income taxpayers in IRS matters; and selected tribal and immigration matters. In 2008, the College was ranked in the nation’s top 20 percent for the ratio of clinical opportunities to the size of the student body. winter 2009

In 1967, Dean Menard was hired at a pivotal moment in the law school’s history. A graduate of Columbia University Law School and faculty member of the School of Law at the University of Colorado, the new dean met the challenge of replacing faculty and fitting the new class of 62 students into an overcrowded facility. A 1967 committee report from the Boise Chamber of Commerce had recommended moving the College of Law to Boise. Menard summarized the public reaction succinctly: “A storm of controversy immediately arose.”

The new law building under construction, 1973.

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Edward Stimson became dean in 1948. Under his leadership, the College increased admission requirements to three years of college pre-law studies, while the College endured a long period of fluctuating enrollments and facilities crises. The years between World War II and Vietnam are affectionately remembered as “the fire escape era” – a reference to the fact that the College of Law and University Library were located in the Administration Building. Menard described how students worked late into the night, even though the library was “officially” closed: “Those returning after a late hamburger or other sustenance at the Spruce, the Alley or Rathaus were technically locked out, but there were always the fire escapes on the west end.” And the fire escape windows? “If custodial or security personnel locked them, somehow they were unlocked by 11 p.m.” The University Library moved to its own building in 1958, and the College of Law gained new space for classrooms, offices, a law library and courtroom in the Administration Building. The push for elbow room was short-lived. As Vietnam veterans on GI benefits arrived

Published: October 27, 1901 Copyright © The New York Times

Dean Edward Stimson and students at the College of Law entrance to the Administration Building, 1960. UI Special Collections 101-0953.

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The four-generational Stellmon family of College of Law graduates includes John Michael Stellmon ’84, Tanner Stellmon ’06 and William A. Stellmon ’60.

Four Generations of Graduates

Elbert A. Stellmon ’28

A Second Century of Distinction

The College of Law today: Professor D. Benjamin Beard and students.

This poses an historic opportunity and challenge to the University of Idaho, which has been assigned the statewide mission in legal education by the Idaho State Board of Education. “In order to provide the fullest opportunities for our students,” Burnett says, “and in order to enrich our teaching and scholarship with the advantages of both a land-grant campus and a metropolitan location, we should invest in Boise as well as Moscow in the 21st century.” Burnett adds: “We cannot fall short of our statewide mission and allow another institution to gain hegemony over the state’s principal center of government, commerce and population. We must think statewide in order to protect the future quality and vitality of our 100-year investment in Moscow.” Thinking strategically about the future is not new. In 1999, during the deanship of John A. “Jack” Miller, the College undertook a study that resulted in the establishment of an office in Boise where externships, a semester-in-practice program, and a small business legal clinic are now administered. From 2006 to the present, the College has engaged in a “second century” planning process that included a three-day conclave on legal education, co-sponsored with the Idaho State Bar. From that process emerged a proposal to establish a branch extension of the College in Boise. In 2008, the Board of Regents directed the College to give the

proposal more study and to return to the Board for further discussion. The Board approved, however, going forward as soon as possible with a full-third year program in Boise and with collaborative planning with the Idaho Supreme Court of an “Idaho Law Learning Center.” Concurrently, the College is focusing on Moscow. Inside the Menard Law Building, the courtroom has been completely renovated and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, as has the largest classroom. Other classrooms are in the queue for similar upgrades. The Legal Aid Clinic has been expanded and refurbished, the student lounge has been improved and attractive new student carrels have been installed throughout the library. Plans are being developed for a modest increase in the Menard “footprint” in order to provide more faculty and staff offices, as well as more seminar rooms, consistent with modern approaches to legal education. The College’s emphasis upon enhancing its assets in Moscow, while also investing in a statewide legal education initiative, is indicative of the challenges ahead and of “the active spirit in which we will meet them,” Burnett says. “This place has always outperformed its resources. Like the broader University, the College of Law is a product of Idaho’s needs, its unique geography and its history. As the state changes, the College will adapt – and grow stronger.” I

College of Law Centennial Celebration Bellwood Lecture presented by Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. March 13 • 4 p.m. • Student Union Building Ballroom Free and open to the public

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Once the candles are counted and blown out at September’s birthday bash, and the centennial observance concludes at the end of the 2009-10 academic year, what will the next century bring? Probably more students and faculty, reflecting a fuller statewide presence. The total student enrollment at the College of Law, which is approximately 300, has not changed substantially since the Menard Law Building was completed in 1973; yet the state has roughly doubled in population and the state’s economy and the demands for government services have grown at even faster rates. Growth in Idaho’s Treasure Valley has been especially remarkable, causing Boise to become America’s largest city that contains a state capitol but lacks a legal education program within the metropolitan area or nearby. The establishment of such a program by some institution is “inevitable and imminent,” according to Dean Burnett. Dean Donald L. Burnett Jr.

The face of the College of Law • 18 percent minorities • 68 percent Idaho residents and 32 percent non-residents • 59 percent male and 41 percent female

idaho

It’s more than their last name that ties the Stellmon family together: there’s also a seamless tie to the College of Law. Four generations of the family have earned their law degree at Idaho. Tanner Stellmon ’06 represents the fourth generation, and he says he had no trouble carrying on the family tradition. “I grew up a Vandal and it all kind of made sense,” said Tanner. The College of Law was a good fit for me.” However, he does recall a conversation with his grandfather where he was jokingly advised that maybe he should make a break with tradition and think about becoming a dentist. The family roots are in Lewiston where Tanner’s greatgrandfather, Elbert ’28, and grandfather, William ’60, practiced law. His father, John ’84, is president and CEO of Regence Blue Shield of Idaho. “My dad always talked about how getting an education at Idaho opened so many doors for him,” said Tanner, who works in Boise for the Ada County Prosecutor's Office as a deputy prosecutor. Marlene Stellmon may be the best person to comment on the changes in legal education; she’s seen a husband, son and grandson attend the College of Law. “It used to be, when Bill went to school, the faculty seemed more distant,” said Marlene. “Even when Bill played golf with a faculty member and they both wore golfing attire, by the time they arrived in class the professor had changed into a suit and tie. Now the professors are very relaxed and informal.” Will the family tradition continue? Will there be a fifth generation Stellmon with an Idaho law degree, or will the family finally produce a dentist? We’ll have to wait and see. “I would certainly encourage my children to go to the University of Idaho,” said Tanner. “It’s such a great school.”

In 2003, the College made professionalism the theme of every student’s first day in law school by engaging the students in small-group discussions of ethics and civility with distinguished judges and lawyers who traveled to Moscow from all parts of the state. The “day one” program is now an annual tradition, maintained in collaboration with the Idaho State Bar. In 2006, the College made what Dean Burnett calls “an even more fundamental statement on the importance of professional values” by adopting a mandatory pro bono service program, in which all law students complete a substantial work of law-related public service, under professional supervision, before graduating. Approximately 10 percent of American law schools have a similar program. Notable graduates of the College’s second golden age include: • Lucinda Weiss ’73, who became the youngest prosecutor in the country and the first female lawyer in the tire industry when she joined The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. • Daniel T. Eismann ’76, current chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court. • David Nevin ’78, who served as counsel in a number of cases involving protection of civil rights and government overreaching, including the 1993 Ruby Ridge case and the more recent “terrorism” prosecution of a University of Idaho student who was acquitted. • Linda Copple Trout ’77, who was appointed as the first woman justice on the Idaho Supreme Court and later served as chief justice. • Candy Wagahoff Dale ’82, who is the first woman in Idaho history to sit on a federal bench; she was sworn in as a federal magistrate judge in 2008.

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Why Idaho? The number of top students selecting Idaho continues to grow.

National Merit Scholars 2004-09

idaho

University of Washington

14

201

University of Idaho

67

University of Oregon

52

Montana State University

39

Oregon State University

34

University of Montana

29

Washington State University

22

Boise State University

9

Idaho State University

1

Michael Andrews

Michael Andrews By Joni Kirk

M

ichael Andrews, a National Merit Finalist, is a member of the freshman class who adds some diversity to the classroom culture: at age 48, Andrews already has had a full life. A National Merit Finalist in 1978 with an interest in engineering and writing, he chose to enter the workforce immediately after high school. He joined the family's wholesale plumbing distribution company, putting his educational plans on hold. “Life got in the way of a college career,” Andrews admitted. He married his high school sweetheart and had children. His parents sold him the company, and he successfully grew the business over the next 14 years and later sold it to a major West Coast company. Now, with life settling down around him, Andrews made good on his 30-year-old plans: to pursue a college education. Both of his daughters had attended Idaho, and his eldest daughter, Leah, earned a journalism degree in 2002. She was working for the University as director of marketing for Student Housing when she visited home one weekend. “Leah mentioned a scholarship program the University had for National Merit students and how the University was second in the Northwest in National Merit student enrollment. My wife and I looked at each other and said something to the effect of, ‘Wow. Wouldn’t our lives have taken a different path if that program had existed 30 years ago.’” “What do you mean?” asked Leah.

Emily Brookhart My wife responded, “Well, your Dad was a National Merit Finalist.” “You’re kidding!” Leah said, “I knew you did well in school, but I had no idea! Dad, I think I’m going to recruit you for Idaho.” And she did. “Being associated with the University, Leah had ready statistics on the success rate of engineering graduates and how that puts Idaho students among the best in the nation,” recalled Andrews. In August 2008, Andrews attended his 30th high school reunion and started his freshman year in college. He’s now pursuing a computer engineering degree with a creative writing minor – his original collegiate goals. “I’ve taken a nontraditional path,” he says. “Even though there’s been the passage of time, my interests have remained the same.” But not everything has remained the same. After one semester, he says the highlights have come in the way of innovations and insights. “Today, a laptop with Wi-Fi is not a luxury but, rather, an essential,” said Andrews. “The increasing use of online study videos and quizzes are a great learning tool and convenient for both students and teachers. It’s also nice to be able contact teachers and turn in homework via e-mail, although not so nice that teachers can e-mail homework back, especially over the weekend. Accessories such as “clickers” in class where you can anonymously vote on an opinion or answer are also, pick your generation: cool, rad, gnarly or sick.” Andrews also finds the University to be a stimulating environment. “One of the goals of the instructors is to find out what you think,” said Andrews. “I love this, because in the ‘real world,’ people are usually too busy to care what anyone else thinks. In college, we get to do this every day and don’t even realize what a healthy thing this can be.”

Emily Brookhart

By Ariel Roop

E

mily Brookhart has a passion for learning. She earned a 3.99 GPA in high school and scored in the 100th percentile nationwide on her ACTs. Even more impressive, the Idaho Falls native was selected as a National Merit Scholar, an honor only 8,200 high school students – or the top one percent – across the country can claim. There’s a lot to consider before selecting a college or university. National Merit Scholars can choose to attend just about any higher education institution. When the time came to choose a university, Emily took a week to tour multiple college campuses. One look at the University of Idaho and she knew it was the place for her. “The University of Idaho was the last school I visited. When I arrived on campus, it just felt like coming home,” said Brookhart. “The campus and the people got me hooked.” Now that she has settled into the college life, Brookhart is exploring all the opportunities the University of Idaho has to offer. She’s an international studies and political science major with a minor in German. She says the highlight of her first semester was taking the Core Discovery course, War and Our World, led by English Professor Gary Williams. She also plans to be a part of the Alternative Service Break project sponsored by the University Honors Program this spring. “I’m simply excited every time I attend class. The curriculum is forcing me to pull knowledge and skills from multiple different departments and requiring me to do something fun with it,” she said. “I am quite impressed with the University. The resources available to me are astounding, and my classes are fascinating,” said Brookhart. “My professors encourage contact, and I believe my largest class last semester had roughly 40 students in it.” I

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The University of Idaho set a record for quality this year when 26 new National Merit Scholars enrolled. That's nearly double the number who enrolled last year. The University now boasts 67 students from the National Merit Scholarship Program and ranks second in the Northwest among public universities for attracting these high achieving students. What makes Idaho attractive to these students? Here are stories of two members of the freshman class and what they feel the University of Idaho offers them in terms of quality, distinctiveness and long-term benefits.

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“Fun”

Professor Tom Bitterwolf is inaugural Dyess Faculty Fellow

i n M x g i Research

idaho

and Undergraduates

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is not necessarily the first word that one would associate with the study of college chemistry, but clearly it is an essential ingredient in Professor Tom Bitterwolf’s undergraduate research labs. And it is a word that comes up repeatedly in serious conversation with both Bitterwolf and his students. “We have fun and that’s important,” laughed Bitterwolf. “Good science is all about energy and fun!” “Tom is an awesome teacher!” enthused Chris Roske, a junior chemistry major who is engaged with Bitterwolf in nanomaterials research for biomedical delivery. “He is always willing to go the extra mile to help, and he spreads his enthusiasm on a subject in an engaging way – like spice on a dish!” “I can’t say enough about Tom,” commented Rick Henderson, who is earning a doctoral degree in chemistry. “He is one of the happiest people I’ve ever seen. He puts everything into what he’s teaching, which makes the classroom setting fun and the lectures enjoyable.” Undergraduate research is a rarity, especially among top research universities where plum research opportunities usually are reserved for graduate students. However, Bitterwolf makes it a priority to ensure that his young students are exposed to the excitement and rigors of the lab early in their academic careers.

“Tom’s contribution is most conspicuous at the intersection of research and teaching, especially undergraduate research,” said Professor Ray von Wandruszka, chair of the Chemistry Department in the College of Science, who nominated Bitterwolf. “He involves his students in ‘real research’ – not just ‘cookbook stuff’ – and makes them part of the actual process. His end of the hallway is always abuzz with undergrads who are part of his research

“If you want to recruit and retain science majors, then give them an excuse to get into a lab, because it will be fun for them.” —Tom Bitterwolf friends?’ They have doubts about whether they want to invest their time and energy in science. So how do you win them back? “I discovered years ago that the secret is to bring them into the research lab and give them the opportunity to do real science. As their interest and skills progress, I give them more responsibility, and then they bond with their classmates and their graduate students.” Tom Bitterwolf’s obvious joy in teaching and his dedication to undergraduate research are two of the reasons he was awarded the new Dyess Faculty Fellowship.

group. He counsels them way beyond chemistry: he teaches them how to succeed, and he teaches them how to deal with failure. Tom embodies the ideal of excellence in teaching and research.” Bitterwolf considers mentoring his young charges a critical part of his job, one that keeps the students engaged as they overcome, what he terms, “the frustration barrier.” “The thing I truly love is watching these kids mature,” Bitterwolf said. “It’s probably the most fun thing you can do! They come in as insecure freshmen, not sure if they have what it takes, and I help them make the transformation into responsible adults. I may be the first adult outside their families to listen to these kids and

take them seriously. I say to them, ‘Tell me about yourself, what are you doing, who are you.’ That kind of dialogue helps me learn who they are and creates a richness of experience. By the time they graduate, I have quite a personal relationship with these kids.” Currently, Bitterwolf is involved in a variety of research projects in which undergraduate students are involved. They include the targeted delivery of drugs to diseased cells through nanomaterials, vitrification of nuclear waste at the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina, and collaboration with national labs such as the Pacific Northwest Lab in Richland, Wash., where students make compounds that are used in other labs. Bitterwolf plans to use the money from the Dyess Faculty Fellowship to support additional students in research. “If you want to recruit and retain science majors,” he continued, “then give them an excuse to get into a lab because it will be fun for them. In creating this fellowship, the Dyesses have made it possible for undergraduate research to be more visible on campus and it allows a broader community to have a sense of what we’re doing on campus. As an advocate for undergraduate research and teaching, this is most important to me.” winter 2009

By Cheryl Haas

“I love undergrads and I’m passionate about the importance of bringing undergraduates into research labs as soon as possible,” said Bitterwolf. “The sciences are difficult, and it’s hard for young people to go into science. To them, science looks like a vertical climbing wall: there are multiple demands and courses they must take, and a huge body of material we expect them to master. “When kids are in their sophomore or junior year, they’re sitting in their dorm room on a Saturday night doing their differential equations homework and they have an out-of-body revelation: ‘Why am I not out having fun with my

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“The best faculty have one foot in teaching and are really good at bringing the subject alive for students, but can also provide realworld examples on how things work.”

UniversityGala A Celebration of Inspiration and Appreciation

Celebrates Opening Doors to Opportunity

—Kirby Dyess

Carl and Kirby Dyess

The Dyess Faculty Fellowship

K

the Faculty Fellowship because they believe in the importance of supporting outstanding faculty. “I have long said that the heart and soul of an institution is its faculty,” said Kirby. “The best faculty have one foot in teaching and are really good at bringing the subject alive for students, but can also provide real-world examples on how things work.” “It’s important to get the word out that public schools are in need of funds from alumni,” stated

Carl. “Historically, public universities have been looked at as an entity that other people pay for. This is not a good model, because states are not in a position to fund public schools to the extent required to keep them competitive. The slack needs to be taken up by folks who benefited from that public education.” Summed up Kirby: “For us, providing funding for faculty is important, because we believe leadership gifts set the tone for excellence.” I

Top-notch teachers are at the heart of our quality education. Support our outstanding faculty. Be bold and give today.

E

ach year, the University of Idaho and the University of Idaho Foundation, Inc. recognizes University supporters for their legacy of leading … and giving. The 2008 University Gala, held Oct. 23, was the largest ever, with more than 200 guests honored for their significant efforts on behalf of the University of Idaho. Alumna Shannon Paterson ’98 served as mistress of ceremonies. “An open door symbolizes opportunity,” said President Steven Daley-Laursen. “The opportunity for our students to improve themselves and the world around them; the opportunity for our faculty members to conduct groundbreaking research; and the countless opportunities made possible by the generosity of our donors. By working together, we ensure that our rich legacy of leading continues to build and grow.” Private giving to the University for Fiscal Year 2008 totaled more than $21.2 million to support students, faculty, programs and facilities.

Outgoing Foundation Chairman Bill Gilbert reported to the gathering that in FY 2008, the Foundation made distributions to the University of more than $7.9 million for scholarships – an increase of more than $1 million from the previous year. When combined with other types of financial aid, the funds resulted in students at the University of Idaho receiving total scholarship support of more than $23 million. Janet DeVlieg Pope and Jim Pope, representing the DeVlieg Foundation, were acknowledged as one of the newest members of the Gem Society for a lifetime giving total of more than $1 million. Other Gem Society inductees were Richard ’73 and Sharon ’73, ’04 Allen, the estate of John Fred Cook ’58 and the estate of Fred Gleave. The University of Idaho Alumni Association was honored as one of the newest members of the Syringa Society for reaching a cumulative giving total of $500,000. I

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acquisitions. Both credit their education as their foundation. “I believe that higher education is critical, especially for first generation students like I was,” said Kirby, who completed her postgraduate work at the University of Portland in chemistry and at Stanford in management. “I can’t imagine trying to do the things I’ve been able to do without what I received at Idaho.” Carl, who received his law degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., and also is a certified public accountant, agreed. “I would not have achieved the success I’ve had without higher education. The University of Idaho provided an excellent foundation and allowed me to get started in the business world.” The Dyesses established

idaho

irby Noland Dyess ’68 and Carl Dyess ’68, the generous benefactors behind the Dyess Faculty Fellowship, are fervent about the importance of higher education. They met at Clyde’s IGA grocery store in Moscow during their junior year at the University of Idaho. Kirby was a checker and Carl was a box boy. Both worked during the evenings to finance their schooling. Kirby graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physics and Carl graduated with a degree in economics. By dint of hard work and determination, the two rose to the top of their professions: Kirby retired in 2003 as corporate vice president of Intel Corporation and Carl, a member of the Oregon State Bar, was an entrepreneur who specialized in start-ups and

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19


How Do You Recycle E Enriched Uranium?

Chemist Chien Wai knows it’s as easy as taking the caffeine out of coffee. Figuring it out was the tough part.

ven though he’s a professor of nuclear chemistry, Chien Wai is a living example of a theory born from biology. Darwinism asserts that organisms capable of adapting are the ones that thrive and reproduce. Whether adapting from an undergraduate life in Taiwan to a graduate program in rural Kansas, or tweaking research interests from nuclear chemistry to dissolving toxic metals, Wai has certainly learned to adapt.

idaho

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by Ken Kingery

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The first nuclear recycling facility to use the new extraction technology will open later this year at Richland, Wash. Kim Fetrow/ImageWorks

idaho 22

Wai has also reproduced. He has mentored more than From China to Moscow 60 doctoral and master’s students during his four decades Wai was born in Nanjing, which literally translates of research at the University of Idaho. However, the best to “southern capital.” Nanjing has been the capital of example of his Darwinistic characteristics may be his latest China on several occasions and was home to more than and greatest success: the application of his research to 2.5 million people when Wai was a boy. His time in the build a nuclear waste recycling center. metropolis was short-lived, however, and his family moved “Nuclear waste is a big problem facing the United to Taiwan by the time he was 10. States and the entire world,” said Wai. “We need new, The reason for the move was his father’s position innovative technology, and I think this technology will play as a professor of chemical engineering at the National a very important role in the very near future.” Taiwan University. Several years later, Chien attended the Wai attributes poor public perception of the hazards of same university and – unsurprisingly – earned a degree nuclear waste to the stagnant nuclear industry in America. in chemistry. Eager to continue his education in the But he believes his technology – which recycles radioactive specialty of nuclear chemistry, Wai again incinerator ash – could turn the tide, moved: this time, to one of the premier especially if it can be applied to the “Many techniques extract universities studying the emerging recycling of spent nuclear fuel. technology, located in Lawrence, Kan. During the normal operations of the toxic metals but create “I came to the University of Kansas nuclear facilities, many items become to study from one of the most famous contaminated and are treated as lowother forms of hazardous nuclear chemists in the world, Professor level nuclear waste. The list includes waste,” said Wai. “When F. Sherwood Rowland,” said Wai of the filters, rags, paper wipes and gloves. man who would eventually win the Besides nuclear fuel production you solved one problem, Nobel Prize in 1995. facilities, low-level nuclear waste also One can only imagine Wai’s culture is created by hospitals, laboratories you created another. So I shock from moving from Nanjing, a city and other industries, together totaling of 2.5 million people, to Taipei City, turned to a technique used roughly 10 million cubic feet of waste Taiwan, which reached 1 million in the per year. to extract caffeine from early 1960’s, only to find himself in a One option to deal with the waste mere town of 35,000 in the heart of is to burn it. That reduces its volume coffee beans and acids America’s breadbasket. up to 5,000 percent and concentrates Or not. the radioactive elements to make them from hops for brewing.” “Chien had no problem making easier to recover. friends throughout the department, —Chien Wai A nuclear fuel production plant in even though a lot of the international Richland, Wash., now burns low-level students clung together,” said Adolf radioactive waste, and it will be the Beyerlein, who recently retired as chair of Clemson first site to use the new extraction technique. It will take University’s Chemistry Department and was Wai’s about a year to recycle the 32 tons of contaminated ash roommate during his years at the University of Kansas. currently sitting at the site. The ash contains nearly 3.2 “He loves a good joke, has always had a lot of fun and is an tons of usable enriched uranium, worth about $5 million outstanding cook.” on today’s market. Besides decontaminating the low-level “I fit into the university environment in the United waste to make it easier to dispose of, the project will be a States very well,” said Wai of his trans-Pacific move. “I new source of income for the plant’s owner, AREVA, and didn’t have any difficulties adjusting.” the University of Idaho. After three years in Kansas, Wai followed his mentor, Through the licensing of Wai’s patents to AREVA, Professor Rowland, to the University of California, Irvine. and the codevelopment of the extraction technique The school had just opened and Rowland went to create with the same company, the University of Idaho will a chemistry department on the campus, then consisting of receive a percentage of the proceeds from all uranium little more than a small, temporary group of agricultural recovered using the technique – a number sure to buildings. Wai graduated two years later in 1967 as part of remain steady once the plant begins accepting waste the first class of Ph.D. students to graduate from UC Irvine. from other facilities. If all goes well, future recycling After two years of postdoctoral work at UCLA, Wai plants are not out of the question, and the growing was lured to Moscow by Idaho’s “Mr. Chemistry,” Professor amount of low-level nuclear waste may become Malcolm Renfrew. Not only was Wai attracted by the much less of a problem than previously believed. prospect of working under the famous chemist, he also was The technology was not developed overnight. Wai has seeking some peace and quiet. been working toward this achievement for nearly 40 years “By the late 1960s, I was a little tired of the unrest at the University of Idaho, and even well before he arrived and interruptions happening at the time in much of in Moscow. California, so I was looking for a peaceful place where I could concentrate on my research and teaching,” said Wai. “I came here only on a one-year appointment, but I ended up coming back year after year. After nearly 40 years, Idaho seems to suit me very well.”

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idaho

A Case of Need

24

Professor Wai came to Moscow as a “hot atom” nuclear chemist, a field that quickly was losing both funding and public support. A list of American professors in the field that was once dozens of pages long when Wai began was fast shrinking to today’s list containing only a few dozen names. Once again adapting, this time to a culture shrinking away from nuclear technologies, Wai shifted his focus to toxic metals. The environmental movement was just beginning, and Wai decided to tackle the problem of toxic metals in northern Idaho. Because of the history of mining along today’s I-90 corridor, much of the soil and water in northern Idaho contains trace amounts of toxic metals. After sending teams of graduate students to mining towns throughout

Because supercritical carbon dioxide cannot directly dissolve metals, the key to making the process work was to find the correct ligand to first apply to the metal. A ligand is an atom or molecule that bonds to a metal to form a new compound. Wai was searching for a certain molecule that could be dissolved by supercritical carbon dioxide and could also bond to the toxic metal in question. After the ligand was applied, the supercritical fluid would only “see” the resulting metal complex and dissolve both the ligand and the metal bound to it. To dissolve and extract any desired metal simply required finding a binding agent that worked. Not long after he began filing patents, a fortunate coincidence brought Wai’s technology to bear on radioactive uranium. Professor Jean’ne Shreeve, then vice president for research for the University of Idaho, was at an international meeting on fluorine chemistry in London, England. There, she met scientists who worked for British Nuclear Fuel (BNFL). They were beginning to look into using supercritical fluids to dissolve radioactive materials. Shreeve told them about Wai’s research, and less than a year later, BNFL had sent a scientist to work with Wai to learn how to extract uranium from nuclear waste. “Chien has an amazing ability to reach out, find common interests and work with others,” said Shreeve of her colleague of nearly four decades. “He has been doing collaborative, interdisciplinary research for his entire life. When there’s a new opportunity, he usually finds it.”

University of Idaho Chemistry Professor Chien Wai and Sydney Koegler ’72, AREVA engineer, teamed up to refine the supercritical fluid technology to reclaim spent uranium.

After several years of research funding and collaboration, BNFL jumped ship on the technology’s development. The future of Wai’s project was in jeopardy until five years ago, when Sydney Koegler ’72, an engineer for the worldwide nuclear energy behemoth AREVA and graduate from the University of Idaho’s chemistry program, took notice of Wai’s technology.

Success In August 2008, the University of Idaho and AREVA signed a contract to allow the construction of a new nuclear recycling plant near the nuclear fuel production facility in Richland, Wash. There, Wai and Koegler’s supercritical fluid technology will be applied to the ashes of objects contaminated by the normal operations of the plant. “This agreement and technology is something of which Idaho should be very proud,” said Wai of the supercritical fluid technology transfer. “We have developed something special. And to me, that something is important to Idaho and to the entire United States, particularly as we look for alternate energy sources in the future.” However, the agreement is not the only way to measure Wai’s success in Moscow. He has overseen the completion of degrees for more than 30 Ph.D. students and 30 master’s students. In a classic example of the students becoming the teacher, four of his former students are currently professors at Taiwan universities, as well as one in Hong Kong. And, it is to Wai that these professors now send their students.

“Professor Wai is a superb teacher who always receives the highest ratings from his students,” said Shreeve, who is the only chemistry professor with a longer tenure at the University of Idaho than Wai. “He’s so enthusiastic that the hairs of his mustache jump up and down when he’s talking chemistry.” “He genuinely cares about his students,” said former student Laintz. “His students aren’t just there to do the work and leave. He wants to know what’s going on in their lives. I’m not surprised he’s still there cranking away.” Wai realizes that his work would not be where it is today without his graduate and undergraduate students, and he treats them with the respect he knows they deserve. But besides technical help, he attributes his recent success mainly to Koegler, the AREVA engineer who took notice of his work. “I think the biggest challenge was to make people believe in this technology,” said Wai. “Scientifically, I didn’t have many problems. But to make people believe in your technology, and to use your technology, is not easy. One of the reasons this has succeeded is because of Sydney Koegler. He believes in me and in my technology. This three-phase project started five years ago, and every step, every year, every month, he got more and more excited and said, ‘You’re going to do it!’” Now that he has done it, he’s not finished. Wai is charging ahead to collaborate with scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California to refine his technology to be even more environmentally friendly. He hopes to discover an extractant that is completely organic and that can be disposed of easily. He also sees the technology being applied to reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to effectively recycle the most dangerous forms of nuclear waste. “I hope I get to do that research!” Wai says laughing all the while. “I believe a very important thing we all have to do is inspire young people to think about new technologies. This is an example. You can use carbon dioxide, a gas, as a solvent to treat nuclear waste, and maybe even reprocess spent fuel. I think this kind of story makes young people excited and makes them think about new ideas and new technologies that will shape all of our futures.” I

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Much of the contaminated material generated by nuclear facilities, hospitals, laboratories and other industries is incinerated to reduce volume. The remaining ash is low-level nuclear waste. The ash contains usable enriched uranium that now can be recycled.

Kim Fetrow/ImageWorks

How it works

AREVA

the ’70s, Wai realized a completely new, clean technology was needed. “Many techniques extract the toxic metals but create other forms of hazardous waste,” said Wai. “When you solved one problem, you created another. So I turned to a technique used to extract caffeine from coffee beans and acids from hops for brewing.” The technique uses supercritical fluids to dissolve compounds directly from solid objects. Because of its relatively high pressure and temperature, the substance exhibits properties of both a liquid and a gas. Like a gas, a supercritical fluid can move directly into a solid substance, and it dissolves compounds like a liquid. When the carbon dioxide’s pressure is returned to normal, it becomes a gas and evaporates, and leaves behind only the extracted substance. When he looked at the literature, Wai saw that nobody was using supercritical carbon dioxide on toxic metals. It was thought to be impossible. But, Wai believed if he could find the correct combination of compounds, it could be done. He soon roped his graduate student, Ken Laintz, into the project. “He was very passionate about the idea, and his passion was infectious,” said Laintz, who today works at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. “It was easy to work for someone who was as excited about what he was doing as Professor Wai was.” By 1994, Wai and Laintz had received their first patent for dissolving toxic metals with supercritical fluids.

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Class Notes

Alumni

Alumni Director Steve Johnson ’71 and Stacy Smith ’04, ’05.

I Want to Shake Your Hand When Stacy Smith ’04, ’05 visited campus last fall for the Idaho-Boise State football weekend, she dropped in to visit us at the Alumni Relations office. Stacy spent five years on campus and earned bachelor degrees in environmental science and Spanish and a master’s degree in environmental science. She also was active with the Student Alumni Relations Board (SArb) and served terms as secretary and president. Now, Stacy is a natural resources planner for the Whidbey Island, Wash., Conservation District. But there have been challenges in getting settled into her new life. “I’ve lived in three different places in the last three years,” said Stacy. Luckily for us in the Alumni Office, Stacy has updated her address after each move. The Alumni Association’s mission is to provide programs and services to help you stay connected with your alma mater and your classmates, friends and faculty. To do that, we need to know where you are. You can contact the Alumni Office by phone, (208) 885-6154, e-mail: alumni@uidaho.edu or Web: www. idahovandals.com. As an alumnus/alumna, you will receive news and updates from your respective college or department, and you can learn about various alumni social events around the country. You’ll also continue to receive this magazine. Remember, you are a Vandal for life, no matter where life’s adventures take you.

literature and writing, using a self-developed curriculum.

Irene McDermott Lovewell ’40 was named “Woman of the Year” by the California 38th Congressional District in acknowledgment of her 50 years as a volunteer with the American Red Cross. She began her volunteering with the Spokane, Wash., Red Cross Chapter during WWII and continued throughout her 35-year career as an administrator with California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. On her 90th birthday in June, she received citations from the White House and from other members of government.

John Norrish ’66 was the 12th member to be inducted into the Montana Builders “Hall of Fame.”

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Douglas ’68 and Marian ’62 Eier celebrated 50 years of marriage and partnership in August 2008. Marian was an elementary teacher for 34 years in Idaho, Alaska and Washington. Doug taught secondary education in Idaho and Washington for several years and was an assistant professor at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston for six years. They winter in Baja California Sur in a community of U.S. and Canadian expatriates. They invite friends and acquaintances to visit, and they can be reached at eier6665@yahoo.com.

John Drips ’53, former McCall Golf Course professional, was honored in Boise for his work with the Idaho Youth Ranch. He was presented the Mello Dee Thornton Memorial Award for outstanding fundraising volunteers by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Clinton Geiger ’58, an electrical engineer, has joined Art Anderson Associates, an engineering consulting firm in Bremerton, Wash. Geiger is a registered professional engineer in the state of Washington and has a strong background in Department of Defense facilities.

1960 James Marron ’63 is still a monk at Pecos Benedictine Monastery in Pecos, N.M. In August 2008, he celebrated his silver jubilee of making his simple vows there. He would like to reconnect with members of the ’63 forest management class. Karen Gormsen-Andrus Allwine ’66 earned her Ph.D. in education in 2006. She currently works as an educational consultant in the Spokane, Wash., area and teaches a multi-age, multi-ability class in history,

Cort Northrop ’66 is retiring from the University of Idaho after 31 years of service. He works in the University Library. Anne Hensley ’67 is associate director of the career services department at Saint Louis University College of Law in St. Louis, Mo. Ann Smart ’67 received the Warren Bakes Alumni Award for her distinguished service. The award acknowledges those who share Bakes’ spirit of dedication and service to the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene. Smart retired in May after 19 years of service.

Steve Granger ’68, ’70 of Olympia, Wash., retired from his position as safety and operations manager for Thurston County in October 2008 after 31 years of service. Leslie G. Murray ’68, ’84 joined Technology Law Group, PLLC of Boise as intellectual property counsel. He is a registered patent attorney and has been admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office since 1983. He also is a retired lieutenant commander of the U.S. Navy.

David K. Mansfield ’69 retired after 12-plus years with Bank of America as senior technology manager, to accept a position as an operations section manager with Citigroup in its Commercial Card Services Division. Arnold R. Oliver ’69 is the former president of Danville Community College (DCC) in Danville, Va., and chancellor emeritus of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). He served as DCCs president from 1987 until 1991. From 1979-86, he served as dean of instruction and student development at DCC. In 1992, he was named chancellor of the VCCS, a position he held until 2001, when he was named a distinguished professor of English at Eastern Shore Community College in Melfa, Va.

1970 Gayle Hatch ’71 retired from the Boise Public Schools in Boise where she has been a counselor for the last 13 years. She currently spends much time volunteering at the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, singing with the Biotzetik Basque Choir, enjoying grandchildren and traveling every chance she gets. R.L. “Dick” Wittman ’71, of Wittman Consulting in Culdesac, was the keynote speaker at the fifth annual HOLT CAT Symposium on Excellence in Ranch Management, held at Texas A&M University at Kingsville, Texas. Lou Woltering ’71 retired as the Lincoln National Forest supervisor in Alamogordo, N. M., after 33 years with the U.S. Forest Service. Debbie Maxwell Long ’72 received the Idaho National Distinguished Principal Award from the Idaho Association of Elementary School Principals for her work and leadership at the Betty Keifer Elementary School in Rathdrum. Michael Woodhead ’72 is the new director of outreach at Montana State UniversityGreat Falls College of

Technology. He oversees the Division of Outreach and Workforce Development, which provides training and educational opportunities through the centers of Extended Studies, Continuing Education and Customized Training. Michael Davidson ’73, professor of food microbiology and head of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Tennessee, was selected as a fellow of the 3,300-member International Association of Food Protection. IAFP honored Davidson both for his service to the organization and his research in the field of food safety. Alison Elgee ’73 has been appointed assistant commissioner for Finance Management Services with the Alaska Health and Social Services. Most recently, she was a legislative aide to Rep. Reggie Joule in the Alaska legislature, where she advised Joule on legislative and financial issues. Prem Kumar ’73 was honored in May 2008 by the University of Washington as one of 10 individuals who shared their stories of coming to the United States from South Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. He currently works as a technical editor for the Boeing Company, where he has worked for the past 20 years. Daniel Minkler ’74 was selected for the third year in a row to Best Lawyers in the specialty of mergers and acquisitions law. Tom Willome ’74, an art professor at San Antonio College in San Antonio, Texas, had his work displayed at the Museum for East Texas Culture in Palestine, Texas. Peggy Jo Jones ’75 was appointed as an outside director on the First Pioneer Farm Credit board of directors.

Vicki Schildmeyer ’75 has moved from Peachtree City, Ga., to Jefferson City, Mo., where she is the administrator for the Missouri Union Presbytery. Jim Valentino ’75 has been promoted to president of Tropical Smoothie Café, the 275-unit leader in real-fruit smoothies and gourmet sandwiches. He will maintain his current role as chief operating officer. Craig Leonard ’76 has joined Century 21 Real Estate as chief operating officer. He oversees the servicing and operations of the global real estate franchise system and works to develop and execute strategies for long-term growth and profitability of existing and new Century 21 franchises. Peter Wagner ’76 has been recognized by the U.S. Forest Service with top honors as the National Technical Engineer of the Year. In his 30 years with the Forest Service, he has been involved in the construction of more than 60 new road and trail bridges. In addition, he manages more than 200 existing road and trail bridges on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington. Bruce Cyr ’77 has been hired by Jacklin Land Company of Post Falls as property manager. Jeffrey Eisenbarth ’77 has been named treasurer and vice president for business and finance for Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. He previously served as vice president of financial affairs and treasurer for Willamette University in Salem, Ore.

Alan Kehew ’77 has been selected as a fellow of the Geological Society of America in recognition of his work on glacial geology and the glacial events that helped shape the northern Great Plains. In addition, Kehew was named Michigan’s 2007 Outstanding Geologist of the Year by the Michigan chapter of the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Brad Little ’77 became Idaho’s lieutenant governor in January of 2009. Little formerly served in the Idaho Legislature as a senator and was the majority caucus chairman. Shane Sorey ’77 completed his MBA at the University of Washington in 1980. After working for Apple Computer for 12 years, he decided to seek other adventures. He founded “computers for kids,” a nonprofit organization that takes old computers discarded from corporations and donates them to underprivileged children in the community. He also has conducted seminars throughout the U.S. on management and goal setting. In 2007, he completed his ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt Certification and in 2008 completed his Ph.D. in Quality Assurance Engineering. He currently is involved in consulting for corporations on quality control. Ronald E. Bush ’79 has been appointed as a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court in Boise. He previously served as a judge in Idaho’s 6th District. Judy Morbeck ’79, ’80 is the new executive director for Court Appointed Special Advocates of North Idaho where she oversees a program that gives voice to children who are abused and neglected.

winter 2009

Steve Johnson ’71 Executive Director University of Idaho Alumni Association

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AlUMNI Class Notes

idaho

To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.

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Alumni

Class Notes

1980 Tom Trotter ’80, ’82 retired from the Coeur d’Alene School District last spring. He has returned to teaching part time at the University of Idaho-Coeur d’Alene and at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. He also is researching ways to improve the methods that school psychologists and educators use to deliver services to students. Teri Willey ’80 is the chief executive of Cambridge Enterprise Ltd. (CE), a wholly owned affiliate of the University of Cambridge, which works with university academics to commercialize their inventions through new and existing companies, and to engage with industry through consultancy. Prior to CE, she was a managing partner of ARCH Development Partners (ADP), a seed and early stage venture fund. Howard Delaney ’81 has been named city attorney for the city of Spokane, Wash. Kim Zentz ’81 has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 YWCA Woman of Achievement Science Award. She is the executive director of Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute in Spokane, Wash. She also is the chair of the Spokane County United Way board of directors.

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Robert D. Zimmer ’81 is the CEO of Zimmer Associates International, an international architectural and design firm specializing in holistic resort and spa developments.

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Timothy D. Arnold ’82 has been appointed general manager of the Mt. Hope mine by General Moly, Inc., at Lakewood, Colo.

Randy Burkhardt ’82 was a member of a multinational officiating team for the alpine skiing competition at the 2009 International Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Boise in February 2009. The games involved more that 3,000 Special Olympic athletes and coaches from more than 100 countries. Jack Dawson ’82 retired as the dean of the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene in August 2008 after 26 years in the position. Michael R. Pawlowski ’82 has been appointed president and member of the board of directors for Continent Resources Inc., a mineral exploration company that focuses on the discovery of copper resources in Arizona and New Mexico. Susan Fisher Stevens ’82, formerly of the Billings, Mont. firm of Wright Tolliver Guthals, P.C., has been selected to cochair the annual meeting of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, to be held in New Orleans, La., in April. She recently completed three years as division chair of the forum’s In-House Counsel Division, and has also authored the Montana law chapter for the second edition of the ABA publication, “A State-By-State Guide to Construction and Design Law.” She is employed as the in-house construction law attorney for Sprint Nextel Corporation in Overland Park, Kan. Carol M. Stiff ’83, ’89, ’02 is the new president and executive director of Kitchen Culture Education Technologies (KCET) Inc. and its subsidiary, the Home Tissue Culture Group. KCET, based in Milton, Wis., is a nonprofit company dedicated to promoting plant science education. Alice C. Williams ’83 has been named the new Livermore site office manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The site office provides federal oversight over Lawrence Livermore

Music Educator of the Year in 2005 and Northwest Music Educator of the Year in 2006 by the Washington Music Educators Association. Recently, he was named the new artistic director of the Lewiston Civic Theatre in Lewiston.

National Security, LLC, which manages the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Andrew Artis ’84, assistant professor of marketing in the Division of Business at the University of South Florida Polytechnic, has received one of 12 universitywide 2007-08 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards. John Judge ’84 was appointed as magistrate judge for Latah County in Moscow. He has practiced law for 24 years in Moscow and is a partner in the firm of Landeck, Westberg, Judge & Graham. J. R. Romero ’84 is the founder and president of his own architectural firm, J. R. Romero, Architect, located in Reno, Nev. Jean Willey Scallon ’84 received a promotion to vice president of operations for Horizon Health/PSI. She currently resides in Galena, Ill. and has operational oversight for acute psychiatric units at 12 hospitals. Prior to becoming a vice president, she was a regional director of operations. She has worked for Horizon Health for 11 years. David Schweiger ’84 moved from San Diego to Pennsylvania to head up the hotel and restaurant management programs at Northampton Community College. He has extensive experience in hotel and restaurant managing and consulting, as well as in teaching, and held managerial positions with major hotel chains such as Hilton and Starwood. He also served as department coordinator for hospitality management programs at Cypress and Mira Costa Colleges in California.

Darby Stapp ’84 was honored as the 2008 Fitzner-Eberhardt Award recipient for his outstanding support to science education efforts with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. Todd Fryhover ’85 has been selected president of the Washington Apple Commission. Dave Gratton ’85 has been appointed by Idaho Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter to the Idaho Court of Appeals. Mario Alvarez ’86 was appointed as chief operating officer for China Tel Group Inc. in Irvine, Calif. He has held previous executive positions with Trussnet USA, Inc., which was recently acquired by China Tel, as both an executive director and principal architect. He previously was chairman and chief executive officer, a director and the cofounder of VelociTel, LLC. Buddy Levy ’86 has written a new book titled “Conquistador: Herman Cortes, King Montezuma and the Last Stand of the Aztecs.” The book tells the story of the fateful meeting of Montezuma and Cortes and the conquering of the Aztecs. Steven Barrett ’87 is an associate professor in the University of Wyoming Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The National Society of Professional Engineers presented him with its 2008 Engineering Education Excellence Award. Fred Dole ’87 retired from teaching band at Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Wash., in 2006. He was named Washington State

Sam Fraundorf ’87 has been named chief operating officer of Wilmington Trust Investment Management. He will work directly with the chairman and CEO of the company to oversee all aspects of the business. Steven R. Hagen ’87, ’92 has been promoted to vice president of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing for Albany Molecular Research Inc. in Albany, N.Y. He previously was vice president for quality and analytical chemistry. Lt. Col. Steve Leonard ’87 is an Army strategist and the chief of operational-level doctrine for the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate at the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He has served in various command and staff positions in the continental U.S., Europe and Iraq. Michael Tewes ’87, animal and wildlife sciences professor, is the newest Regents Professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He also is a researcher for the Ceasar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and director of the Feline Research Program that attracts students from all over the world. Erin Fanning ’88 has published “The Curse of Blackhawk Bay,” a collection of scary stories for young adults. She also is the author of “Mountain Biking Michigan” and numerous articles that have appeared in regional and national publications. For more information visit www. erinfanning.com. Paul Migchelbrink ’88 is an attorney with the Portland law firm of Farleigh Wada Witt and has been elected

president of the board of directors for the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP), America’s first youth orchestra. David Chehey ’89 was named High School Counselor of the Year for the Boise School District. He was a math teacher at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise for 12 years. Since earning his master’s degree and LPC, he has been a junior high counselor and currently is in his fifth year at Boise High School. He also is serving a three-year term on the Western Regional Council of the College Board. James N. Meek ’89 has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer of Romarco Minerals, Inc. Brad Smalldridge ’89 earned the position of vice president of operations for US Power Production, LLC. US Power provides technical and construction services to the energy industry in North America.

1990 Mitchell W. Brown ’90 has been appointed by Idaho Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter to fill a Sixth Judicial District vacancy. Brown, whose chambers will be in Soda Springs, has been a partner since 1998 in the law firm of Racine Olson Nye Budge & Bailey, Chartered, where he has practiced both civil and criminal law. Kathryn Alsop Craft ’90 is principal of Craft Architects in Seattle, Wash. Craft Architects has been named the 47th fastest growing privately held company in the state of Washington. Her firm, originally founded in 1999, also is a finalist for four design awards for the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Beth Markley ’90 has been named the 2008 Outstanding Professional Fundraiser by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Idaho Chapter. She has been a professional fundraiser for more than 15 years, and a fundraising consultant and president of

Markley Communication Services, LLC, since early 2005. John Osborn ’90, ’91 has been hired as director of transportation for the Portland office of WHPacific Inc. He previously spent two years as codirector of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Columbia River Crossing project. His 20-year career includes working with Indonesia’s largest mining company, BHP World Minerals. Jay L. Townsend ’90 is the assistant city manager for Tallahassee, Fla. He will be responsible for the city’s police; fire; economic and community development; parks, recreation and neighborhood affairs; emergency management; and solid waste departments. Frank Winters ’90 has been selected as a State University of New York at Plattsburgh Distinguished Visiting Alumnus and will give a talk on geographic information systems (GIS). He currently is a GIS manager for the New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination. Brent Askvig ’91 has been appointed executive director of the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD) at Minot State University in Minot, N.D. He previously was the associate director of NDCPD and a professor of special education. Douglas L. Gibson ’91 has opened his own architectural practice in Eagle. The firm, DG Group Architecture PLLC, specializes in multifamily, senior housing and retail development throughout the western U.S. Margaret King ’91 has been hired as an associate with Kenyon Disend, PLLC, one of the Puget Sound region’s leading municipal law firms. As part of her work with the firm, she serves as the city attorney for the town of Roslyn, Wash. She previously served as legal counsel to the Washington State Senate Water, Energy and Technology Committee.

AlUMNI Class Notes Don Moreaux ’91 has joined QualityLogic as director of operations. QualityLogic is a provider of leading-edge QA and QC test tools and services for the imaging and telecom industries located in California. Craig Anderson ’92, ’93 has been promoted to principal engineer of Murray, Smith & Associates, Inc. (MSA), a Pacific Northwest consulting engineering firm specializing in public infrastructure engineering. He currently is leading MSA’s Wastewater Facility planning work for the city of Idaho Falls. Karl S. Beus ’92, a partner at the Ohio law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, was recognized as being one of the top-ranking attorneys in his field by Chambers & Partners, in the “2008 Chambers USA Guide.” Ken Hart ’92, University of Idaho Extension educator for Lewis County, received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agriculture Agents in Greensboro, N.C. Hart was honored for 13 years of service as a county Extension educator. Martha Damon O’Neill ’92 teaches middle school band in Reno, Nev. She has taught all levels of band in the area for the past 25 years. She is the Western Division president of MENC, the national association for music education. She also served as the Nevada Music Educator president from 2001-03. Martha became a National Board Certified Teacher this past November in the area of music/early adolescence through young adulthood. In 2003, she was named one of School Band and Orchestra magazine’s “50 Directors Who Make a Difference.” In her spare time, she enjoys playing flute with various local ensembles. winter 2009

William (Bill) Willoughby ’79, ’85, ’90 has been appointed to the International Enexco Inc. board of directors. International Enexco is an advanced stage exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. Willoughby manages the contact project in Elko, Nev., as well as other Enexco precious and base metal properties regionally.

To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, PO Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.

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Alumni

Class Notes

Vanessa Bachman ’93 has been appointed to the board of directors for Premium Exploration, Inc. The company is a unique precious metals explorer focused on Mexico and the U.S. Bachman previously held the positions of corporate secretary and chief financial officer with the company. Luisa M. Havens ’93, ’99, ’08 completed her doctoral degree in education with an emphasis in higher education administration from the University of Idaho in 2008 and is currently serving as the executive director for enrollment services at the University of Texas at El Paso. Dan Kurtz ’93 has been promoted to senior associate with NAC Architecture. During his seven years with the firm’s healthcare group, he has been involved with hospital projects both in Spokane, Wash. and Coeur d’Alene. Erik Moeller ’93 has been hired by Next IT Corp. in Spokane, Wash., as an application analyst. He previously worked as a lender for IndyMac Bank.

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Brice Sloan ’93 is CFO of Sloan Security Fencing in Boise. He was named a 2008 Accomplished Under 40 honoree by the Idaho Business Review.

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Edwin L. Hofmann ’94 has been promoted to associate vice president of store design for Victoria’s Secret by Limited Brands, Inc. A resident of New York City, he serves as a member of the Mentors Circle for the Children's Aid Society of New York, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Interior Design Society.

Ian James ’94 lives in Baton Rouge, La., and has spent 10 years working as a financial adviser and top producer for Edward Jones. In January 2007, he started his own brokerage firm, Capital Financial Group, and is the CEO and senior financial adviser. He worked on his MBA at Louisiana State University and his CFP from the College of Financial Planning. Brant Kucera ’94 is the new borough manager for Kennett Square borough in Pennsylvania. Prior to this, he served as city manager for Gladstone, Mich. Hank Smith ’94 recently took command of Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in a ceremony at Fort Campbell, Ky. He has been a Special Forces team leader and was with the first teams to enter Afghanistan after the World Trade Center attacks. Kara Werschler ’94 has been hired by Northside Internal Medicine in Spokane, Wash., as a registered dietician. Richard Kline ’95 is employed by the U.S. Forest Service in Lowman as a law enforcement officer, where he works with a K-9 partner. Justin Cook ’96, ’98 has been promoted from senior project manager to associate for DCI Engineers, a civil and structural consulting engineering firm with five offices throughout the West Coast and headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. Christine Ermey ’96 has been hired as an account executive by KCYU-TV, the Yakima, Wash. FOX network affiliate. She has worked in print media and broadcast sales in several small markets throughout the western United States. Dawes Marlatt ’96, ’01 has been named the PGA of America’s director of education, based at the PGA Education Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He will be responsible for overseeing member and apprentice education.

Christine Pharr ’96 has been named vice president for academic affairs for the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb. She previously was dean of academic programs and a professor of chemistry at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. James Adams ’97 has been elected as assistant district chief of Station 1 at the Bellevue, Wash. Volunteer Fire Department. Eric C. Brown ’97 has returned to Idaho from Minneapolis and is an assistant professor in the Chemistry Department at Boise State University in Boise. Laura J. Koontz Buno ’97, ’01 has completed her Administrator’s Certification and has been promoted to assistant principal at Orchards and Sunset Elementary Schools in the Evergreen Public Schools at Vancouver, Wash. She has three children, Breann, age 8, Emma, age 5 and Jeydan, age 3. Craig Crowley ’97 has been promoted by DCI Engineers to principal for the company’s Spokane, Wash. office. Julie Kasper ’97 is activities director for Century High School in Hillsboro, Ore., and was named Oregon High School Adviser of the Year by the Oregon Association of Student Councils. She has been the adviser at Century for the past 10 years. She also teaches English and is the dance coach. Wendy Kays ’97 has written a book titled “Game Widow” which looks at living with a video game designer. Currently, she is a public speaker and media consultant on gaming culture and media addiction.

Yuehe Lin ’97 has been named laboratory fellow by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the highest rank that PNNL science and engineering staff can attain. Lin is a longtime contributor to the fields of chemical sensors and biosensors and biomedical nanotechnology. Anjan Majumder ’97 has contributed the chapter “Management of Safety Engineering Work – Regulatory Issues” to the twovolume American Society of Safety Engineers’ “The Safety Professionals Handbook.” He currently is a safety engineer with the Federal Aviation Administration. Amy Pence ’97 has returned to Idaho from Minneapolis and is now the associate curator at the Boise Art Museum in Boise. Eric Swenson ’97, ’03 is a business education teacher at Denton High School in Denton, Mont. He is serving as the president of the Montana Association for Career and Technical Education. Cindy Wood ’97 has been appointed as executive director of Family Promise of North Idaho in Coeur d’Alene. Family Promise assists families faced with homelessness by providing temporary shelter, employment and housing assistance, as well as individual and family counseling. Jerry (Jey) Dean Buno III ’98, ’01 has been promoted to Area III program coordinator of special services at the Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, Wash. He has three children, Breann, age 8, Emma, age 5 and Jeydan, age 3. Kristen Dieffenbach ’98 has published her first book, “Bike Racing for Juniors,” with coauthor Steve McCauley. The book is published by VeloPress. James Eric Holbrook ’99 won an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts

and Sciences in June 2008 in Seattle for his work on a promo for the weather team at the station in Boise where he works. Richard L. Miller ’99, ’03 has been named superintendent of the Riverside Unified School District in Riverside, Calif. Barbara Morgan ’99 is a new tenure-track faculty member at Boise State University. Shelley Michelson Weatherby ’99 is a licensed professional mechanical engineer and works for Musgrove Engineering in Boise. Sheree Willhite ’99 has passed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional exam.

2000 Christopher M. Banks ’00 has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. and is with the U.S. Army National Guard. Dominic Brown ’00 has been hired by Murray, Smith & Associates, Inc., a Pacific Northwest consulting engineering firm specializing in public infrastructure engineering. Brian Wallace ’00 is an archeologist for the Boise office of URS Corporation. Elizabeth Quesnell Kohtz ’01 is a veterinarian in Twin Falls. She practices both large and small animal medicine. Steven Kohtz ’01 completed his family medicine residency at Kaiser Permanente in Fontana, Calif. He now is employed at the Physician Center of St. Luke’s Magic Valley in Twin Falls. David S. Lindley ’01, ’07 accepted a fisheries biologist and habitat specialist position with the Yakama Nation. He’ll be coordinating restoration and fisheries habitat enhancement projects in the Klickitat River watershed in south-central Washington.

Nancy Robertson ’01, ’06 is a special education teacher in San Diego, Calif. Mahmood Sheikh ’01 has accepted a position as associate director of development for the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ryan White ’01 was hired as the campaign manager for the Jim Risch ’65, ’68 for U.S. Senate campaign. White previously worked for Risch as deputy chief of staff in the governor’s office. Amaya Eiguren ’02 graduated with a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Denver. She will be completing her postdoctoral work at the Warm Springs Counseling Center in Boise. Denise Hammrich ’02 is the principal at St. Stanislaus Tri-Parish School in Lewiston. She taught fourth grade for 16 years at the Tri-Parish school before taking the leap into administration. She now oversees 25 employees and 160 students. Michael Lortz ’02 has been promoted to senior manager of tax services with Geffen Mesher & Co. PC in Portland, Ore. Lortz specializes in assisting investors and business owners in managing their overall tax liability. Rusty Schatz ’02 has joined the firm of D.A. Davidson & Co.’s in the Moscow office as a financial consultant, where he will assist businesses and individual investors. Bob Stout ’02, ’04 is the director of development for the University of Idaho’s College of Art and Architecture. Austin C. Bonner ’03 was promoted to the rank of Marine Corps captain while serving with the Marine Air Support Squadron Two, Marine Air Control Group 18 in Okinawa, Japan. Diedra E. Case ’03 is a landscape architect in the Asheville, N.C. office of Design Workshop and was recently promoted to associate.

Gina Davis ’03 is the assistant winemaker for Koenig Distillery and Winery and just opened the Davis Creek Cellars tasting room this past summer in downtown Marsing. Kylene Lloyd ’03 has been promoted to associate director of operations and student services in eastern Washington for The University of Phoenix. She previously worked as operations manager and has been with the company since 2005. Mark Loaiza ’03 has been named first vice president of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce in Moscow. Dustin Miller ’03 is the environmental liaison for Idaho Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter in the Office of Species Conservation. Eric Riley ’03 is the river rescue coordinator for Desert Mountain Medicine in Leadville, Colo., and an American Canoe Association advanced swiftwater instructor. He teaches swiftwater river rescue classes and wilderness medicine courses. Eric is the Outdoor Studies coordinator at Colorado Mountain College and has spent time as a patroller for Copper Mountain Resort. Robert J. West ’03 is the partnership coordinator for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest with the USDA Forest Service in Vancouver, Wash. Alyssa Yensen ’03 earned her Idaho state license to practice landscape architecture. She joined the Boise-based firm CSHQA in 2005 and assists in providing services to major clients in the Salt Lake City area and nationwide. Jeffery Carlson ’04 has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base at San Antonio, Texas. He earned distinction as an honor graduate of the course.

AlUMNI Class Notes Amber Lee Upchurch ’04 graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in June 2008. She now is practicing at Orchard Animal Clinic and Mountain View Animal Hospital in Boise. Bryce Gersack ’05 is a school psychologist in San Diego, Calif. SeAnne Safaii-Fabiano ’05 has joined the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene faculty as an assistant professor of food and nutrition and teaches senior-level dietetics and nutrition courses. Jeffry Burchard ’06 has graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and received his post-professional masters in architecture with distinction. He is teaching, writing and practicing architecture in Cambridge, Mass. Mary Gustafik ’06 has been hired as coordinator of the North Idaho College Ponderay Center. She previously worked as a therapist and psychosocial rehabilitation specialist at A New Hope Social Services in Sandpoint. Justin Trinter ’06 joined San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Corporation’s technology company in Houston, Texas, a year and a half ago after completing an internship with the company. Cameron Wold ’06 has accepted a nomination to join the steering committee for the Center for Research in Adult Learning, which is headquartered at Indiana Wesleyan University. The center is an initiative by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) aimed at improving the knowledge base and methodologies in adult higher education among CCCU member institutions. Jennifer Founds ’07 spent the summer of 2008 at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., as a participant in the competitive NASA Academy.

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Chris Pfeiffer ’92 has teamed up with Coeur d’Alene native, Mary Skerrett, to start a new map company named Theme Two. Their first map was of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The collection now includes Lake Pend Oreille, Hayden Lake, Flathead Lake, Priest Lake, Lake Washington, Lake Chelan and Lake Tahoe.

To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.

31


Megan Godwin ’07 has joined the marketing, advertising and public relations agency of Drake Cooper in Boise as a public relations coordinator. Scott High ’07 works as a director at FOX12 in Boise. Ryan McNab ’07 is the work-based learning coordinator at Moscow High School in Moscow. April Preston ’07, director of employment services at the University of Idaho, has been appointed as interim human rights compliance officer. Gerri Sayler ’07 presented her first solo museum exhibition at the Boise Art Museum in Boise. Brett Walter ’07 is a staff member in the office of Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon of California. His duties include managing interns, assisting with military academy appointments and fielding constituent concerns. Michele Elizabeth Wilmonen ’07 started her own business, Wilmonen Copywriting, in Lewiston. Curt Booth ’08 worked in the aerospace technology field as an engineer for 13 years prior to becoming an instructor of Computer Aided Design Technology at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene.

idaho

Casey Cline ’08 is an assistant professor at Boise State University.

32

To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.

Marriages

Amanda Jen Helmer ’02 to Bartley James Ward

Michelle D. Pearson to Rodney J. Smith ’93

Kathryn Elizabeth Babb ’07 to Jonathan Michael Jacobs ’07

Annie Wetherell Hermann ’06 to John Tyler Popplewell ’06

Sunshine Phebus to Dan Whiting ’96

Aimee Barnes ’01 to Ryan Baerlocher

Monica Gayle Higgins ’03 to Corey Ray Garner ’06

Alisha Danielle Phillips to Travis Jacob Seubert ’08

Kelsey Beckner ’01 to Lance Woolverton

Kelly Lee Holt ’04 to Brian Nicholas Redmond ’04

Danielle Rainville ’05 to Michael Dressor

Dianne Beeson ’76 to Gary Chapton

Kelsey Hoskins to Joseph Plummer ’07

Nancy Robertson ’01, ’06 to Bryce Gersack ’05

June Bergquist to Gary Stevens ’86

Nicolle Lenna Jones ’01 to Brett Harris Gleason

Amber Saval ’08 to Ryan Gerulf ’05

Regan Boyd ’05, ’08 to John Jameson ’04, ’07

Nikki Keely ’98 to Robert Carlton

Cindy Marie Schneider ’05 to Kevin Russell Tower ’05

Miranda Lyn Butler to Casey Roy Watson ’04

Jenni Keller ’05 to Adam Kimball ’04

Jami Rae Silflow ’99 to Preston Anton Schram

Diedra E. Case ’03 to Jeff Zimmerman

Melissa Lane ’02 to Franklin Rogers ’95

Shari Summers to Chris Johnson ’94

Andrea Cernusak ’00 to Karina Keethe

Alyson Mai ’03 to Michal Kresser

Tara Talbott to Alexander Gibson ’99

Victoria Chiechi to Brant Hinze ’84

Ashley K. Mann ’07 to Ian G. Swanstrom ’08

Heather Tiel ’95 to Montgomery Nelson ’94

Faere Coats ’06 to Bradley Watson ’06

Brittany Mariotti to Brian Scopa ’00

Tracy Elizabeth Turner ’96 to Matthew Todd Vosika ’91

Kayla Constable ’06 to Joshua Lavigne ’04

Shelley Michelson ’99 to John Weatherby

Amber Lee Upchurch ’04 to Andrew Robert Craft ’03

Emily Davis ’07 to Joseph Walter Arthurs ’07

Julie Neff to David Burkhart ’97

Amity Vacura ’00 to Mahmood Sheikh ’01, ’07

Krissy Dennler ’03 to Shawn Ellis ’05

Lindsay Michelle Obray ’02 to Joshua Joseph Markegard

Stephanie Vaughn-Gray ’04 to Haskell Dwayne Gray Jr. ’03

Madison L. Dinning ’07 to Dylan R. Hill ’06

Erica Margaret Ohman to Christopher Thomas Worden ’06

Stephanie Worley ’88 to Scott Halama

Bridgette Anne Dyer ’98 to Kevin Craig Drysdale

Aldape

Carr

Carr

bartlett

Codd

lindley

cuthbert

McGuire

Rake

phillis

berrett

fatzinger

mcrae

shepard

Sorge

staples

redmond

Richey

wozniak

Alison Lea Folk ’05 to Jesse Weigley

Future Vandals

Alice Virginia, daughter of Eric C. Brown ’97 and Amy Pence ’97

Ellie Garcia ’08 to Matt Helbling

Josephine Lydia, daughter of John L. ’97 and Jennifer Enright ’99 Aldape, granddaughter of John R. ’67 and Juliana Jausora ’69 Aldape

Abigail Renae, daughter of Everett ’98 and Jennifer Burger

Jeff Fox ’08 has been named as executive vice president and chief academic officer for the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. He has taught English and Japanese at the college and also chaired CSI’s Academic Development Center and, most recently, its English department.

Katherine Golis-Kuck ’85 to Kenneth Rader

Patrick Sullivan ’08 has joined Giffin Bolte Jurgens Architecture in Portland, Ore. as an intern architect. He will be involved in various projects at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Wash.

Shanna Harmon ’04 to Bryan Wheeler

Traci Anne Goodrich to Nathan Duane Orton ’04

William and Madeline, son and daughter of Michael ’96 and Missy Butts ’93 Bartlett

Jessica Gruver ’08 to Mica Kofoed ’08 Stephanie Guerry to Logan Hudson ’03

Stevie Ann Heath ’06 to Jack Logan Hompland ’06 Jenn Heidt to Ryan White ’01

Keep Your Alma Mater Informed! Please notify the Alumni Office of your new address, e-mail address, marriage or career changes for our records. alumni@uidaho.edu or (208) 885-6154

Ella Marabelle, daughter of Thad ’04 and Becky Ternes ’05 Berrett Delaney Jo, daughter of Matthew ’02 and Stephanie Lierman ’02 Berry Jackson, son of Michael ’06 and Amy Bogart Reagan Kendall, daughter of Brent ’98 and Kelly Murphy ’99 Brooks

forster

newlan

Anna Faller ’05, ’08 to Benton O’Neil ’05, ’07 Shelly Femreite ’91 to Jim Robson ’70

bogart

Camryn and Kellen, daughter and son of Scott ’00 and Marae Carr Katherine Rose, daughter of Chris ’95 and Joy Schadel ’97 Codd Rowan, daughter of Michael Coupland ’98 and Laura Ashburn ’98 Henry Thomas, son of Thomas ’95 and Raina Cuthbert Broderick, son of Casey R. Fatzinger ’03 and Amanda D. Stewart ’03 Zach Stephen, son of Rob and Valerie Woodard ’99 Forster

AlUMNI Class Notes

brooks

brown

fuentes

harwood

olson

roberts

burger

hernandez

perkins

romano

schneider

Jocelyn Nadine, daughter of Raul Fuentes Jr. ’05 and Jessica Ellen Finch

David, Bethany and Elijah, sons and daughter of Joe and Allison Smith ’98 Phillis

Josephine Grace, daughter of Gary ’97 and Monica (Mickie) Bielenberg ’98 Harwood

Amelia, daughter of Brad ’96 and Holly Rake James Connor, son of Brian ’04 and Kelly Holt ’04 Redmond

Zakary Ty, son of Ramiro and Dacia Nelson ’97 Hernandez

Sloan, daughter of Craig ’91 and Pohley Hill ’99 Richey

Mackenzie Marie, daughter of Greg ’98 and Sherry Skawinski ’99 Hildebrand

Trent Scott, son of Frank ’92, ’97 and Susan Atwood ’96 Roberts

Kaelyn Isobel, daughter of Kenneth ’00 and Jennifer Gill ’00 Hosier

Silas Crucian, son of Bryan and Molly Morfitt ’01 Romano

Nora Frances, daughter of David Lindley ’01, ’07 and Amy Nielson ’01 Dublin Mack, son of Michael and Shaley Denler ’95 McGuire Afton Lynn, daughter of John and Laci Osburn ’01 McRae Brenna and Sadie, daughters of Nicholas ’03 and Joy Newlan Ethan and Aidan, sons of Brock ’04 and Lisa Olson Colby, son of Casey ’01 and Emily Perkins

Alice Gertrude, daughter of Ben and Laura Bettis ’03 Rydalch Kassidy Joy, daughter of Dylan ’01 and Erika Schneider Samantha Ryan, daughter of Sean and Lisa Broman ’99 Shepard Cade Brian, son of Brian ’98 and Shelby Mortensen ’98 Silflow Andrew, son of Jason ’00 and Beth Cobb Sorge, great-grandson of Elmer ’51 and Jeanne Stout, grandson of Jerry ’71 and Mary Stout ’70 Cobb, great-nephew of Jeff Cobb ’74, cousin of

Future Vandals continued on page 34

winter 2009

Alumni

Class Notes

33


To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.

Future Vandals, continued

In Memory

Elizabeth Bothwell Bowler ’39, Boise, July 6, 2008

Molly Stout ’08 and nephew of Matthew Sorge ’09

1920

Margaret Colburn Brown ’39, Yakima, Wash., Aug. 18, 2008

Dyllan, son of Kelsey and Jennifer Boller ’05 Southwick Sabrina May, daughter of Jared ’05 and Leeann Staples Naina, daughter of Shitij ’02 and Annette Henke ’03 Tejpal Addison Paige, daughter of Pete ’02 and Anna ’03 Tensmeyer Rowan, daughter of James ’98 and Dawn Hopp ’00 Teply Dean, son of Curt ’99 and Shannon Wozniak, grandson of Tim ’72 and Denise Thomson, great-grandson of Harry ’55 and Donnie DeWitt

Evelyn Kerns Davis ’25, Pocatello, April 4, 2008 Myra Shy Suchan ’28, Twin Falls, July 28, 2008

1930 Marguerite E. Anderson ’37, Lacey, Wash., March 24, 2008 Helen Hanson Arnold ’32, Clarkston, Wash., Sept. 20, 2008 Mildred Anderson Beckwith ’35, Boise, July 15, 2008 Jean Spooner Bowers ’39, Yakima, Wash., Nov. 29, 2008

Charles D. Crowther Jr. ’39, Snellville, Ga., Aug. 18, 2008 Frances W. Davis ’38, Boise, Aug. 5, 2008 Wesley A. Fails ’38, Caldwell, Nov. 8, 2008 Frederick W. Goenne ’36, Merced, Calif., Oct. 3, 2008 Jack I. Groom ’35, Lake Forest, Calif., May 9, 2008 Miriam E. Hatch ’32, Spokane, Wash., April 11, 2008 Robert C. Haynes ’38, ’57, Moscow, June 1, 2008 Waldo G. Hennen ’33, Des Moines, Wash., Aug. 9, 2008 Gretta J. Brossard Huff ’33, Boise, Aug. 24, 2008 Kenneth E. Hungerford ’38, Moscow, Oct. 22, 2008 Mark M. Kondo ’39, Spokane, Wash., Oct. 18, 2008 Mary Fattu Lamb ’38, Seattle, Wash., Oct. 23, 2008 Marian Smith Martin ’39, Moscow, May 29, 2008 Paul G. Morken ’39, Boise, Oct. 21, 2008 George F. Nordblom ’37, Rydal, Pa., May 22, 2008 John C. Owens ’37, Mesa, Ariz., Oct. 21, 2008 Mary Short Parry ’37, Spokane, Wash., June 21, 2007 Dorothy Hohnhorst Sedgwick ’37, Hanahan, S.C., July 17, 2008 Albert H. Tennyson ’38, Boise, Aug. 17, 2008 Minnie McCurry Thomas ’37, Boise, Oct. 23, 2008 Evelyn Shoemaker Walden ’33, Veradale, Wash., June 21, 2008

idaho

Ida Allen Weyermann ’37, Portland, Ore., Nov. 26, 2008

34

Thank you to US Bank for its generous support of home football pregame celebrations with Vandalville in 2008!

Alice Irene Fisher Wilson ’37, Sandpoint, Nov. 11, 2008

1940 Guandolyn Fowler Arnold ’49, New Bern, N.C., Feb. 5, 2008 Beverly B. Bacharach ’40, ’42, Wenatchee, Wash., Aug. 8, 2008 Ronald S. Baskett ’42, Yountville, Calif., Sept. 14, 2008 Katherine Colwell Belko ’40, Boise, Sept. 6, 2008 Arthur E. Berge ’41, Tacoma, Wash., March 29, 2008 Eleanor Axtell Bergsma ’41, Bremerton, Wash., Oct. 26, 2008 Boyd B. Brown ’42, Boise, Nov. 30, 2008 James W. Buttcane ’41, San Jose, Calif., Oct. 2, 2008 Lois Herrington Butterfield ’49, Moscow, June 16, 2008 Samuel Hale Butterfield ’46, Moscow, Oct. 31, 2008 Bill M. Chronic ’49, Boise, Aug. 4, 2008 Evelyn MacKay Colquhoun, Spokane, Wash., June 18, 2008 Harold R. Crawford Jr. ’49, Green Valley, Ariz., Nov. 24, 2008

Bob Hagbom ’49, Brookings, Ore., June 5, 2008 David W. Hanford ’44, Boise, July 10, 2008 Richard D. Harland ’46, Caldwell, Sept. 29, 2008 Mary Helen Harris ’41, Boise, May 30, 2008 William J. Hayes ’42, Edison, N.J., Oct. 18, 2008 Maynard Heien ’41, Seattle, Wash., June 23, 2008 Geneva Wortman Helmers ’41, Palmer, Alaska, Nov. 20, 2008 Mary McBride Hubbard ’44, Spokane, Wash., Aug. 2, 2008 Ferdinand G. Jaussi ’42, Provo, Utah, July 17, 2007 Majella Tyra Johnston ’40, Seattle, Wash., Oct. 30, 2008 Frank J. Kara ’42, Reseda, Calif., Aug. 15, 2008 Louis S. Karably Sr. ’42, Gainesville, Fla., Oct. 25, 2008 Clyde R. Keithly ’40, Nampa, Nov. 8, 2008 Darrell C. Kerby ’46, Lewiston, Nov. 5, 2008 Bill W. Kerr ’47, Idaho Falls, Sept. 22, 2008

Thomas J. Croney ’40, Los Alamos, N.M., Feb. 21, 2008

Kenneth H. Kinard ’44, Everett, Wash., Oct. 13, 2008

Kirk J. David ’41, Huntington, W.Va., July 31, 2008

Mary Shewnack Knox ’42, Redding, Calif., July 12, 2007

Dean Dinnison ’48, Spokane, Wash., Oct. 12, 2008 David E. Doane Jr. ’44, ’46, Boise, Oct. 8, 2008 Gerald H. Eide ’46, Sammamish, Wash., May 4, 2008

Betty Lou McBean Lawrence ’42, Spokane, Wash., May 21, 2008 John M. Marchi ’42, Spokane, Wash., Oct. 3, 2008

AlUMNI Class Notes

Ward T. Brookwell ’54, Medford, Ore., June 12, 2008

Edith Seyfert Kinucan ’52, Polson, Mont., Oct. 26, 2008

Mabel Merrell ’48, Pocatello, Sept. 10, 2008

Peggy Webb Bryant ’57, Fredericksburg, Va., June 15, 2008

Madelyn Johnson Lindquist ’59, Lewiston, Sept. 18, 2008

Anne Thomas Moe ’40, Blue Springs, Mo., July 15, 2008

Gerald L. Christensen ’55, Blackfoot, June 17, 2008

Mary Burch Nelson ’42, Sandpoint, July 13, 2008

Edward F. Churchman ’51, Twin Falls, Oct. 1, 2008

Edward Lawrence Noble ’42, Ogden, Utah, June 17, 2007

Beth Geaudreau Copenhaver ’50, Moses Lake, Wash., Oct. 23, 2008

Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Downing McQuade ’42, Boise, Sept. 5, 2008

John P. O’Connor ’49, Phoenix, Ariz., July 19, 2008 George Victor Olmstead ’46, Carson City, Nev., Sept. 15, 2007

David C. Coulter ’52, Nampa, July 31, 2008 Lee H. Dean ’50, Post Falls, July 26, 2008

Grace Nesbitt Pope ’46, Loveland, Colo., Oct. 22, 2008

Robert C. Drips ’57, Paskenta, Calif., Sept. 20, 2008

Richard J. Reichhard ’49, Jerome, Aug. 16, 2008

James P. Driscoll ’58, Keizer, Ore., July 10, 2008

Jerry F. Renfrow ’49, Mesquite, Nev., July 30, 2008

Patsy Nance Fine ’58, Amarillo, Texas, July 13, 2008

Robert V. Rieke ’40, Bellingham, Wash., Aug. 28, 2008

David M. Fitzgerald ’50, Seattle, Wash., Nov. 20, 2008

Margaret “Peg” Harris Scranton ’49, Tualatin, Ore., July 25, 2008 R J Tallent ’45, Weiser, April 8, 2008 Virginia Clark Temple ’40, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 1, 2008 Christi Clayton Vosen ’45, Sandpoint, June 30, 2008 Helen Brink Wilson ’44, San Jose, Calif., July 18, 2008 Vernon E. Woodman ’49, Nampa, Oct. 25, 2008

1950

Helen Douglas Graue ’56, Dallas, Texas, Feb. 29, 2008 Richard S. Gross ’56, Nampa, Nov. 18, 2008 James W. Grothaus ’51, Vancouver, Wash., Dec. 23, 2007 Don Hannah ’54, ’70, North Las Vegas, Nev., Oct. 19, 2008 Donal L. Hardy ’52, Boise, Feb. 10, 2008 Donald P. Harper ’51, Washington, Utah, Sept. 30, 2008

Jerry E. Love ’58, Idaho Falls, Nov. 14, 2008 Douglas M. Martin ’50, Nampa, June 23, 2008 Frank E. Mather ’51, Boise, May 24, 2008 Howard A. May ’55, ’66, Malad, Aug. 28, 2008 Norman R. McClure ’56, Coulee Dam, Wash., Oct. 25, 2008 Charles A. McManaman ’54, Buhl, June 24, 2008 Frederick W. Miranda ’54, Vancouver, Wash., Nov. 15, 2008 Jody DeBusk Mitchell ’54, Coeur d’Alene, March 31, 2008 Glenn F. Paine ’52, Tillamook, Ore., Aug. 13, 2008 James R. Pease ’50, Meridian, Oct. 15, 2008 Kermit N. Pierson ’58, Spokane, Wash., Oct. 5, 2008 Norma Soulen Rich ’56, Burley, July 25, 2008 Paul D. Schultz ’58, Milwaukie, Ore., Oct. 24, 2008 Peter R. Shawver ’57, Eden, Oct. 27, 2008 Barbara Gardner Sparks ’58, Nampa, June 3, 2008

Irvin G. Hillyer ’53, Murphysboro, Ill., May 5, 2008

Robert S. Staley ’59, Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 17, 2008

Robert A. Hooper ’52, Boise, Oct. 31, 2008

Mary J. Sterner ’53, Council, Dec. 1, 2008

Arlie Gaylord Masters ’40, University Place, Wash., Jan. 10, 2008

Wilbur J. Aldridge ’58, Chillicothe, Ohio, Nov. 1, 2008

Charles Henry McBride ’41, Fresno, Calif., Jan. 4, 2008

Reid W. Barney ’53, Yakima, Wash., June 12, 2008

Louis D. Hunt ’50, Colville, Wash., May 22, 2008

John Oscar Stimpson ’51, Syracuse, Utah, Oct. 13, 2008

Richard E. Fahrenwald ’48, Kailua, Hawaii, July 30, 2008

Keith Roy McCarthy ’44, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 23, 2007

Frank G. Beitia ’54, Elko, Nev., June 22, 2008

Betty Johnson Hutchison ’51, ’61, Sandpoint, Sept. 12, 2008

Chester T. Takatori ’52, Nampa, Sept. 19, 2008

William F. Gigray Jr. ’40, Nampa, Oct. 30, 2008

James A. McCluskey ’45, Spokane, Wash., May 4, 2008

Clair James Bellamy ’58, Coeur d’Alene, May 30, 2008

Nona Johnson Jackson ’55, Del Mar, Calif., Oct. 24, 2007

Dale Tanner ’50, Port Orchard, Wash., Oct. 7, 2008

Raymond D. Givens ’46, Boise, Oct. 14, 2008

Virginia McDonald ’46, Moscow, April 18, 2008

Ray E. Billman ’54, Las Cruces, N.M., Feb. 26, 2008

Keith C. Greaves ’41, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 9, 2008

Garry N. Blank ’59, Port Orchard, Wash., Aug. 26, 2008

Dale S. Thacker ’51, Stevensville, Mont., July 5, 2008

Maxine E. McGarrity ’41, Chehalis, Wash., Nov. 13, 2008

Joseph R. Jesseph ’57, San Luis Obispo, Calif., Oct. 18, 2008 Gladys Eastly Kidwell ’58, ’75, Post Falls, July 12, 2008

William B. Tracy ’52, Seattle, Wash., Aug. 1, 2008

Robert D. Eyestone ’48, Farmington, Utah, June 7, 2008

Lorraine VanSchravendyk Haecker ’40, Hope, Oct. 19, 2008

William W. Briggs ’50, Boise, Nov. 11, 2008

winter 2009

Alumni

Class Notes

35


Alumni

University of Idaho Alumni Association Chapters and Clubs Chapters: Ada County Coeur d’Alene Idaho Falls Southwest Idaho Spokane Puget Sound Portland Rocky Mountain Clubs: Sandpoint Magic Valley Pocatello Palouse Region Tri-Cities Los Angeles Bay Area San Diego Orange County New York Washington, DC Chicago Arizona Interested in starting a Native American alumni chapter? Contact Arthur Taylor, Native American Tribal Liaison (208) 885-7895 or ataylor@uidaho.edu

Warren R. Truesdell ’50, Coeur d’Alene, June 25, 2008

James M. Minas ’60, Boise, Oct. 8, 2008

Glenn L. Kofoed ’74, Middleton, July 10, 2008

Gerald L. Weston ’59, ’61, Caldwell, Aug. 20, 2008

Ronald H. Morton ’65, Moscow, Nov. 28, 2008

Erich Korte ’72, Boise, Sept. 13, 2008

Howard D. Wetzel ’51, Hayden, Sept. 17, 2008

Thomas L. Neal ’62, Moscow, Aug. 18, 2008

Paul F. Lawson ’76, Portland, Ore., Dec. 24, 2007

Jean Teutsch Wetzel ’57, Hayden, July 8, 2008

Raymond R. Olson ’61, Twin Falls, July 31, 2008

Susan Berry Martin ’73, ’76, Coeur d’Alene, Sept. 15, 2008

Bruce Wilhelmsen ’58, Provo, Utah, Aug. 4, 2008

Richard W. Renshaw ’62, Spilsbury, Utah, May 23, 2008

Gary J. Moore ’76, Anchorage, Alaska, July 13, 2008

Jon K. Woodall ’59, Boise, July 11, 2008

Sally E. Rutledge ’67, Boise, June 25, 2008

Karen Kinsfather Naylor ’74, Moscow, June 22, 2008

Patsy Pieser Yanci ’53, Woodland, Calif., Nov. 1, 2008

Gary R. Schmadeka ’69, Lewiston, May 29, 2008

Albert L. Pasquan ’71, Benson, Ariz., May 7, 2008

1960

Randall W. Stone ’69, Boise, May 29, 2008

Pamela Hawley Shorter ’72, Anderson, Calif., Nov. 20, 2008

Keith R. Alsager ’62, Weiser, July 2, 2008 Ken Brust ’60, Creswell, Ore., Oct. 21, 2008 Roger Chapin ’68, San Diego, Calif., Aug. 16, 2008 Robert C. Crenshaw ’63, Marysville, Wash., June 29, 2008 Wayne G. Crookston Jr. ’69, Boise, Nov. 8, 2008 Jane E. Decker ’67, Bonney Lake, Wash., Feb. 21, 2008

Linda Olson Taff ’64, ’97, Moscow, June 18, 2008 Vernon O. Thompson ’67, Council, Nov. 9, 2008

1970 Larry D. Bartlett ’74, Eagle River, Alaska, Aug. 11, 2008 Daniel C. Behrend ’71, Aberdeen, Sept. 1, 2008 Carolyn N. Berg ’71, Apache Junction, Ariz., Aug. 8, 2008

Charles W. South ’75, Chicago, Ill., June 12, 2008 Kenneth L. Stensland ’75, ’77, ’78, Idaho Falls, Sept. 3, 2008 Douglas B. Walter ’76, Lewiston, Sept. 29, 2008

Nadine Woodworth Chapman ’93, ’94, Spokane, Wash., July 27, 2008 Charles O. Christenson ’90, Moscow, Sept. 20, 2008 Marion Scoon Foster ’98, College Place, Wash., Aug. 2, 2008 Amanda Yensen Fritze ’95, Boise, Sept. 17, 2008

2008-09 Alumni Association Awards and Recognition UI Alumni Hall of Fame Alumni who have achieved national or international distinction by their accomplishments and leadership.

Raymond J. Heida ’91, Boise, July 20, 2008

Robert L. Bunting ’68 Bainbridge Island, Wash.

Susan M. Hill ’94, Batavia, Ohio, Sept. 12, 2008

Scott Green ’85 New York, N.Y.

Pat Cahill Kraut ’93, Moscow, June 2, 2008 Richard A. Kraut ’93, Moscow, Oct. 3, 2008 Phillip L. McCaleb ’99, Austin, Texas, Nov. 23, 2008 Jennifer L. Meyer ’97, Coeur d’Alene, June 5, 2008

1980

Christophe L. Shaver ’97, Enumclaw, Wash., July 11, 2007

Monica Butkovich Finan ’88, Coeur d’Alene, Nov. 6, 2008

Harmannus Stamhuis ’96, Yuma, Ariz., Dec. 6, 2007

Russell K. Haszier ’82, Fort Collins, Colo., May 27, 2008

Anthony David Vrh ’90, Modesto, Calif., Nov. 11, 2008

Larry O. Hunter ’83, Moscow, Aug. 22, 2008

2000

Alma H. Winward ’70 N. Ogden, Utah Alumni Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies are May 14-15.

Silver and Gold Award A distinguished record of achievement and/or service in their specialized area of endeavor, thus bringing honor and recognition to the University. Tim Greene ’61 Moscow Lawrence ’55 and Kathryn ’55 Knight Boise

John A. Dreps ’64, Reno, Nev., Sept. 22, 2008

Edward A. Brincken ’76, Aberdeen, Wash., Nov. 19, 2008

Tom Gannon ’69, Boise, June 24, 2008

Shirley Grossman Caldwell ’70, Moscow, Nov. 2, 2008

Foyoke A. Majekobaje ’81, Portland, Ore., Nov. 12, 2008

Allen E. Garrett ’60, Klamath Falls, Ore., Aug. 3, 2008

Rodney E. Chaney ’74, Boise, Feb. 28, 2008

Barrett J. Moffett ’85, Clarkston, Wash., Nov. 5, 2008

Joseph K. Haynes ’65, Boise, Nov. 11, 2008

Dolores J. Cooper ’71, ’73, Garfield, Wash., May 20, 2008

Kristian L. Nelson ’89, Moscow, July 9, 2008

Harold K. Hibbeln ’62, Bowling Green, Ohio, June 30, 2007

Thomas E. Dial ’76, Tumwater, Wash., June 7, 2008

Wacele Wooster Rhodes ’80, Coeur d’Alene, Aug. 28, 2008

William G. Gilbert, Jr. ’97 Boise

Orval H. Hilliard ’63, ’69, ’93, Spokane, Wash., July 19, 2008

Wesley J. Ebel ’79, Seattle, Wash., July 12, 2008

Heather Lynn Stone ’82, ’83, Christmas Valley, Ore., May 21, 2008

John Simko ’61 ’66 Boise

Nora Kyne Keesler ’69, ’73, Twin Falls, July 2, 2008

James R. Elston ’75, Portland, Ore., July 5, 2008

Helen Wilson Swim ’80, Melba, Nov. 5, 2008

Shirley Longeteig Strom ’52 Craigmont

Robert B. Logan ’68, Helena, Mont., Nov. 16, 2008

Kevin L. Frederiksen ’74, Kilgore, Nov. 4, 2008

Reed Wadley ’85, Columbia, Mo., June 28, 2008

Pat Sullivan ’73 Weiser

Richard W. Lyle ’62, Coeur d’Alene, Dec. 27, 2007

Lawrence W. Fryberg ’70, Sandpoint, July 5, 2008

1990

Dan D. Lysinger ’62, Boise, Sept. 1, 2008

Timothy Lee Holt ’70, Beaufort, S.C., May 29, 2008

Zena Dickinson Broughton ’98, Walla Walla, Wash., Nov. 24, 2008

Ming-Jen Lee ’74 Taiwan

Nancy DeCiantis Gardner ’02, ’04, Moscow, July 3, 2008

Jim Lyle Award

Paul D. Lusk ’06, Sugar City, Sept. 24, 2008

Long-term dedication and service to the University and/or Alumni Association through volunteerism.

Alumni, faculty and staff are reminded of the August 1 deadline for submission of alumni award nomination materials to the Alumni Office. For information or to nominate someone for an Alumni Association Award, contact the University of Idaho Alumni Office at (208) 885-6154 or alumni@idahovandals.com.

winter 2009

Alex A. Hudson ’73, Preston, Oct. 20, 2008

James M. Bianco ’94, Idaho Falls, Sept. 23, 2008

Tyler M. Chelone ’06, San Diego, Calif., Sept. 5, 2008

AlUMNI Class Notes

idaho

For additional information about the University of Idaho Alumni Association Chapter and Club system – check us out online at www.idahovandals.com. or contact Associate Alumni Director Tim Helmke, Helmke@uidaho.edu or (208) 885-7957.

To be profiled, mail information, including graduation year, to Annis Shea, Alumni Office, P.O. Box 443232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or e-mail information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be e-mailed in a .jpg format.

36

37


The Tale of Three Pennies Found Money Fund of Idaho Tops $250,000

I

n January 1981, while Professor of Education Terry Armstrong was walking to work, he stopped to pick up three pennies

laying on the sidewalk near the Alpha Gamma Delta house on Nez Perce Drive. When he got to his office, he dropped them into a jar in his desk drawer. He thought maybe he’d see just how much money he could find on campus

idaho

winter 2009

in a year.

He mentioned his plan to Carol was first created, it gave many Yenni, an interim secretary in faculty and staff an excuse to go President Richard Gibb’s office. into the President’s Office and “I just found a nickel,” she feel connected to the institution. responded and agreed it should I look for money all the time and join the three pennies in the have found money in many unique jar. Their plan was to have a places – sometimes embarrassing party when the jar held enough my family. I remember finding a $5 money to cover the costs. bill on the floor of the U.S. Capital Word spread, and others on Rotunda. Everyone was looking up campus began to contribute their at the beautiful ceiling and folks finds to the growing collection were walking all over this money of found money in hopes of an on the floor. I think I was the invitation to the proposed gala. only person looking down at that In April 1982, then financial moment. The Fund has definitely Vice President Dave McKinney been a creative way to get people responded to inappropriate petty to think about giving back to the cash dealings in a number of University.” University departments by telling Carol Yenni-Wilson, who now everyone they were not allowed lives in Coeur d’Alene, still receives to have cash in their offices. monthly reports from Armstrong Armstrong and Yenni were faced on finds. with a dilemma: what to do with “I have 27 years of monthly Found Money Fund contributor Bruce Pitman and their treasure, now valued at reports from him,” she said. “Each fund creator Terry Armstrong. $44.31? They decided to give it to find is recorded meticulously.” the University as a trust account. Wilson admits that it’s humbling Jokingly, they called it the Found to think that just a few pennies and the plan for a party Money Fund of Idaho. have grown to something so big. To their great chagrin, the University didn’t want it. “This has been such a positive thing for the University, The amount was just too small. But, they could invest the but really reflects back money in another fund and preserve the integrity of the on Terry, and what a fine, positive influence he’s been,” found money account. Armstrong and Yenni agreed, but Wilson said. with the provision that the Found Money Fund of Idaho Over the year’s, Armstrong watched as the fund hit (FMFI) was not be used in any way until the bicentennial monetary milestones: year of the University of Idaho – 2089. They were $1,000 in 1983 explicit; the fund’s interest, gains and principal were to be $10,000 in 1987 untouched until the University’s bicentennial. $100,000 in 1999 A local newspaper ran a story on the fund. It was picked This year, the Found Money Fund of Idaho reached up by the Associated Press and ran nationally. Money $250,000 – a quarter of a million dollars. began to come in from all over the country. How much will the fund be worth by 2089? Time will “I recall a dirty Velveeta Cheese box from some tell. But, there are lessons to be learned from the Found mechanic in Indiana who willingly gave us $32 he had Money Fund of Idaho. The most compelling is how, with been accumulating for years,” said Armstrong. persistence, little things can add up to something big. An NBC game show invited Armstrong and a student to “Long after we are gone, the Found Money Fund of “find” money by competing on the show. They came home Idaho will live on to help students pursue their dreams,” with $2,100 for the fund and even more national publicity. said Armstrong. I For a number of people in the campus community, finding money has become a way of life. No dropped coin Every penny counts. is passed by. Piggy banks decorate several campus offices – You can send found money to: all assigned to hold found money. Bruce Pitman, Dean of Students, has been a regular Terry Armstrong contributor to the FMFI since its inception. c/o College of Education “Bruce is the Zen Master contributor,” said Armstrong. University of Idaho “The Found Money Fund has been a source of great Moscow, ID 83844-3080 fun as well as a morale builder,” said Pitman. “When it

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Idaho Outlook

Univer sit y of Idaho | Financi al and Estate Pl anning News | win ter 2009

You invested some of the best years of your life at the University of Idaho‌ may be it's time to invest again.

"It is because of scholarship programs like Operation Education that veterans like me are given another opportunity to pursue our dreams in an environment that we can proudly call home. Because of donors like you, I have been given the chance to realize who I can become, and what I can achieve." I am Chase Clark. I am the University of Idaho.

I am more than a

veteran

Support a Veteran GIVE TODAY.

Dear Friends of Idaho, As we write this issue to our many friends and supporters of the University of Idaho, we find ourselves reflecting back on the past year, and we are truly impressed by the substantial impact that all of you have made here. What a better place this is, and what a better society we shall have, because of your support. In particular, we want to take a moment and focus on that support provided by those of you who left a gift through your final estate plan. During this past year, those gifts made through wills and living trusts made a very large impact here. Some gifts were large by any measure, but collectively, the smaller estate gifts made just as big an impact; and the numbers show it! The following pages are a snapshot of the level of impact your estate gifts made and also a plea from us to you. Please keep it up. We need your help! We value your support and will safe guard your gift with the highest level of trust.

Operation Education P.O. Box 443147

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A personalized scholarship program that offers much more than financial assistance to disabled veterans.

Moscow, ID 83844-3147

Robert Scholes Associate Director

Ed McBride Gift Planning Specialist

www.uidaho.edu/OperationEducation Phone: (208) 885-5304 E-mail: hlinehan@uidaho.edu

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idaho

Helping rebuild lives.

Pete Volk Director of Gift Planning Services

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Idaho Outlook

Financial and Estate Planning News

Now … and the Future

Programs Faculty Students Facilities Total estate gifts received in Fiscal Year 2008 (July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008)

$1,613,658.13 53,942.72 3,038,517.26 22,000.00 $4,728,118.11

Currently, you – our donors – are doing an excellent job of providing private dollars to fund scholarships for our students and supporting our academic programs. But, for the University to be able to compete on a national level, private giving needs to address faculty and facilities

support, as well. Our future strategic philanthropic goals are presented in the charts below. They clearly show that we currently do not have a balanced giving pattern from our donors that meets our strategic goals. We appreciate the generous contributions from all our donors. As a result of your gifts, we’ve been able to build our scholarship funding to impressive levels. The University provides more than $18 million each year in scholarships to students – that’s more than all the other public higher education institutions in Idaho combined. We’ve also been able to introduce and support many innovative academic, research and outreach programs that bring great distinction to the University. However, to maintain these programs and provide the quality of education to our students, we also need stronger support to retain and attract the highest quality faculty, as well as maintain and enhance the facilities that contribute to our residential campus learning environment. As you plan your giving priorities to the University, we ask you to consider the value and impact your gifts will have on the breadth and depth of the University of Idaho. The Gift Planning Services Office can assist you in identifying giving opportunities that fulfill your desires and meet the University’s critical needs.

Estate Gift Use in FY 2008 Faculty 1.14% Programs 34.13%

Gift Use Goals for the University of Idaho Future Gift Use With Your Help

Faculty 17%

Programs 16%

Facilities 0.47% Students 15%

idaho

Students 64.26%

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Facilities 52%

Programs

T

he University of Idaho has programs of regional, national and international distinction. These academic, research and outreach spires of excellence allow the University to enhance its reputation, attract faculty and students to these exceptional programs, secure extramural funding so important to research universities and provide handson learning opportunities for our students. There are a number of programs that are world-class and others have the ability to become world-class. These programs will seek investment capital to grow and succeed nationally. University of Idaho donor Lowell Farmer ’31 had a true passion for the College of Agriculture. He received his master’s degree in agriculture in May 1931. He met and married his college sweetheart, Elizabeth Coale. Their marriage took place in a Salt Lake City department store, and in those days, many stores sold caskets. Lowell always liked to say he was married with one hand on Elizabeth and the other hand on a casket! When Lowell died, he left his mark at the University by setting up The Lowell J. Farmer Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences Endowment to support two important programs in the department. It grants two monetary awards to graduate students – one master’s and one doctoral – to support the research and teaching assistantship program. In addition, the endowment funds an annual invited guest lecturer in entomology or related fields to share new insights and developments with students and faculty. The lecture plays an important role in the Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Science’s student retention and recruitment efforts. The 2007 lecture, “Bacterial Symbionts in Parasitoid-Host Interactions,” was presented by Professor Molly Hunter from the Department of Entomology at the University of Arizona.

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T

he University of Idaho has identified four key strategic areas for private investment that are necessary to all the University to build on its leadership position and are critical to its ability to continue to deliver a transformational educational experience. These cornerstones of our fundraising efforts are programs, faculty support, student support and facilities. In Fiscal Year 2008, donations to the University in estate gifts totaled nearly $5 million in those four key areas. (Also see chart below.)

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Idaho Outlook

Financial and Estate Planning News

Faculty recipient Professor Aaron Thomas, at left, with Joy Irving and this year’s student recipient of the Irving student scholarship, Cameron Joselyn.

Faculty Support The University of Idaho is home to many outstanding teachers and scholars committed to the success of their students. Each outstanding teacher adds to the University’s achievements and reputation, and enhances the entire institution. The University must provide competitive compensations to our faculty. It allows us to attract high-achieving new faculty and retain those who have demonstrated significant success in teaching, research and creative activity. Recent state appropriations have helped us to become more competitive in our faculty salaries, but we remain on the low end of that salary scale when compared to our peer institutions.

Student Support Already the state leader in institutional aid provided to students, the University of Idaho is committed to doing better. As the cost of attending college increases, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to providing the financial resources necessary to fulfill our mission as a land-grant institution. In addition to merit and need-based scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students, graduate fellowships are critical to fulfill our mission as the leading research university in Idaho.

winter 2009

University of Idaho donors, Fred and Janice Gleave, did not attend the University of Idaho. Through friends, they learned what a difference they could make to higher education, and before leaving this life, they set up a student scholarship fund to lend aid to future University of Idaho students. Scholarships from The Fred and Janice Gleave Scholarship Endowment are awarded annually to deserving students who are pursuing degrees from the University of Idaho. In the 2008 fall semester, 24 students were Gleave Scholarship recipients. The Gleaves chose not to be college-specific with their scholarship gift: the award goes to freshmen who received a high school grade point average of 3.0 or better, and the Gleave Scholarship is part of the University of Idaho Scholars Program, which recognizes “the best and brightest” high school seniors. One thing is for sure; their generosity has touched, and will continue to touch, so many lives here at the University of Idaho! One of the scholarship recipients, Ashley Williams, has proven to be an advocate for community service. She’s involved in various activities, including Operation Wish Book, The Beaux Arts Foundation and the Boise Architecture Project. Her goal is to receive degrees in political science, international studies and Spanish from the University of Idaho. Ashley also plans to attend graduate school in the hopes of becoming a foreign correspondent. In Ashley’s own words, “It is my hope to use my education to work as a foreign correspondent. This career will provide me with the opportunity to study many different cultures by being immersed in them. Also, during my college years, I hope to learn as much about the world’s issues and affairs as I can so it becomes inevitable that I will succeed at my job!”

idaho

University of Idaho donors George ’61 and Joy ’64 Irving are strong advocates for the importance of faculty support. George was a chemical engineer, and this Vandal duo lived all around the world, including Algeria, Libya, Jakarta and England. One thing is for certain, their Vandal roots continued to tug at their heartstrings. When George died, he left behind provisions not only for a scholarship endowment for students, but for faculty support in the College of Engineering. For Professor Aaron Thomas, The Chemical Engineering Faculty Seed Gift Fund provides aid to his ongoing research. According to Professor Thomas, “This research may allow humans to explore other planets or greater ocean depths where air needs to be recycled. Also, the biological studies element of our research would allow for the detection of various diseases or genetic problems onsite in rural areas in the U.S. and abroad, instead of sending blood samples to a laboratory for further testing that may take weeks. To the Irving family, thank you very much for the generous gift and the continuous support your family has provided for this department over the years. We continue to have excellent students, and it has been a joy working with them and with the faculty on chemical engineering challenges during my time with this department. Your support has enabled us to maintain an excellent program, and for that, we, as a department, are genuinely grateful.”

Gleave Scholarship recipient Ashley Williams

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Idaho Outlook

The quintessential small-town, residential campus experience is part of what makes the University of Idaho special. As such, facilities are an important part of who we are. A number of new facilities and renovation/retrofit projects are necessary if we are to provide our students a first-class, residential campus experience. Research facilities are equally important as they support the University’s research mission and allow us to be competitive in attracting the best researchers and scientists. These facilities are essential to the student learning experience.

Heritage Society – FY09

University of Idaho donor Dorothy Ross worked with the State 4-H Office at the University. She was kind and gentle, always volunteering her time with helping others. The University family lost a wonderful member when she died. Dorothy’s lasting philanthropy was set up to provide support in various areas on campus. One of those areas, The Dorothy S. Ross Arboretum Fund, will go toward beautifying the campus arboretum, and it may even help aid in the construction of an Asian pergola. The 63-acre Arboretum and Botanical Garden dramatically fills the valley south of the President’s residence on Nez Perce Drive against a backdrop of the tilled, rolling Palouse hills. It is organized into geographical groupings of Asian, European and eastern and western North American sections, and displays hundreds of planting species and cultivars of trees and shrubs. There are more than 120 donor-dedicated trees and groves, trails, water features and 27 granite benches for viewing, studying and contemplation. Students in the sciences, natural resources and landscape architecture use the arboretum as an outdoor laboratory. It truly is a treasured and tranquil spot.

idaho

“How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” -Anne Frank (1929-45)

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Heritage Society was founded in 1993 to recognize alumni and friends of the University of Idaho who have made a future commitment through planned gifts to support the strategic initiatives and goals of the University: student scholarships, faculty enhancements, classroom facilities and technology advancements. J. Robert and Sonja J. Alexander Richard W. and Sharon L. Allen Leona Ambrose Ethel K. Anderson Michael M. and Jeannie Anderson Phillip D. and Janell K. Anderson John Lee Armitage, Jr. Clen P. and Emma Atchley Steven A. and Patsy M. Atkinson John M. and Lois E. Ayers Evalyn I. Baker William P. Barnes Elbert M. and Elna M. Barton L. Lee Bath June Bauer Maxine C. Behrman Bill S. and Donna G. Belknap Melinda Ann Belt J. Burton Berlin Charles A. Berry Edith Betts Harvey T. and Myrna Bickett Edward and Barbara Bickford Kenton Bird and Gerri Lee Sayler Thomas E. and Caroline M. Bitterwolf Linda L. Blackwelder-Pall Clara R. Bleak Calvin W. and Doris Boice Roy M. Bowman, Jr. Michael L. Bozzini Ben L. and Annette Brooks James B. and Shellie A. Bronson Mark W. Brown Frederic H. Burrow Billy and Margery A. Bush C. Loren Butler William D. Butler E. Jack Byrne John S. Chapman Arthur W. Chiko Richard M. Childs, Jr. Linda E. Christenson Russell L. Chrysler Dave C. and Lisa M. Churchman Kathy D. Clark James E. Clovis Gregory C. and Melissa L. Coman Elwood E. and Dorothy E. Cone Mary Jean Craig Robert L. Culbertson Alan B. and Mary Ann Curtis Robert R. and Lynn M. Curtis Robert L. and Carol E. Dahlberg Glen W. and Bonnie J. Dahmen Paul W. and Dorothy J. Dale Richard H., Jr. and Cindy L. Darnell Brenda G. Dau Madeline David P. Michael and Linda S. Davidson

Emily P. Davis Martha I. Davis Michael F. and Joan W. Day James A. and Alice B. DeShazer Sandra D. Dunn Xavier E. Durant Ruth Parks Durham Gene D. and Marlene A. Easton Thomas L. and Helen J. Edmark Dorothy Ann Effertz Karen I. Elder Valerie R. Elliott Roy J. and Frances Tovey Ellsworth Matthew J. and Lori S. Espe Maryon E. Evans M. Eleanor Fahrenwald Virginia A. Farrell Robert M. Finlayson Bonnie J. Fisher Melville W. Fisher II John O. and June Fitzgerald Frank L., Jr. and Peggy Fletcher Ronald W. and Jo Ellen Force Bonnie Kuehl Ford Meta Foster Eloise Frank Richard E. Fredekind Sharlene F. Gage Matthew J. and Janna R. Galbraith Clinton J. and Eleanor R. Gardner Thomas R. and Bette J. Gates Jerald D. and Lois M. Gentry Alfred E. Giese Paul S. Giles Florence W. Gillette Larry L. Goins Harold E. Granlund Ronald N. and Diane Plastino Graves Robert C. Greeley Nancy L. Gregory Robert M. and Dolores A. Griffith Charles D. and Judith A. Gross Timothy D. and Joan M. Gutzwiller Garth D. Haddock Timothy J. and Christine M. Haener Glenna Hamilton Gail E. Hanninen Lucille M. Hardgrove Pauline W. Harris Michael B. Harrison Norbert and Eileen Potucek Hartmann F. Marshall and Sharon A. Hauck David H. and Bonnie J. Hawk Jack W. and Julie Holden Hawkins James V. and Gail R. Hawkins Mary Jane Hayes Harold F. Heady Eloise B. Helbling Thomas M. and Alice E. Hennessey Betty Jane Hervey Evan Berdett and D. Yvonne Hess Frances W. Hirschi Melva Hoffman Dennis Thayer Hopwood Larry G. and Nancy K. Huettig Bonnie J. Hultstrand Arthur E. and Sheila D. Humphrey Pauline D. Hunt Nancy B. Hutchins

Don and Stephanie Hutton J. Robert and Bonnie J. Jackson Richard W. and Trudy J. Jackson Ruth W. Jensen Erling J. and Amy L. Johannesen Alan B. and Kyle-Jean John Myron E. Johnston Kenneth M. and Jan Jones Robert T. and E. Jean Jones Roger L. Jones Richard A. and Jill H. Jurvelin Marion G. Kalbus Thomas A. and Lillian Keegan Norman D. Kimball Gregory L. Kimberling Taso C. Kinnas John M. Kirtland Barbara L. Kitchens George M. Klein Ruth Ann Knapp Lawrence L. and Kathryn A. Knight Barbara J. Langdon Carol Ann and Jerry Lange Margaret Larson Elsie E. Lathen Richard K. Lehlbach Duane J. and Phyllis LeTourneau David S. and Julie L. Levine J. Bradley and Jennifer Lee Lewis Edward G. and Susan Kay Lieser Grete Lindeborg Gregory D. and Heidi C. Linehan Randall G. and Jo Ann Litton Marjorie Logue Gregory W. and Pamela Lynch Maurice B. and Alice J. Lynch George and Mary Ann Macinko W. Don Mackin and Elisabeth A. Zinser Gene C. and Lila M. Maier Scott L. and Maria G. Mallory Martin J. and Linda A. Marler Kenneth B. and Dorene Marshall Olive Marshall Harold and Velma Martindale William H. Mason Elsie Krey Matthews Edward J. and Connie L. McBride F. Parker and Beverly S. McCreary Doris M. McGinty Eugene A. and Alice J. McHale Thomas A. and Corinne K. McKean Helen M. McKinney Elizabeth G. McKissick Marilyn Hammer Meechan M. Helena Meltesen Jan W. Merrill John A. and Margaret Ann Miller Laurie Ann Miller William Charles Miller Carlos E. Milner, Jr. John L. and Faith G. Milton Leland L. and Mary Margaret Mink Terry P. and Ann Mix Larry W. and Janice A. Moore William B. and Marilyn Moore Joseph W. Mrachek Sharon A. Murray Robert E. and Faye Sargent Mytinger Richard J. Naskali

Shirley A. Newcomb Glenn W. and Beckie A. Nichols John M. Nickerson William W. and Judy A. Nixon Bradford C. and Anne O’Connor Frederick M. and V. Gayle Oleksiak Jeffrey K. Olson Wayne L. and Annette T. Olson Richard H. Paris Lyle H. and Sharon K. Parks William A. and Beverly A. Parsons Richard A. and Marion J. Patterson Richard Q. Perry Hazel C. Peterson Julius E. Peterson Robert A. and Victoria E. Peterson Kenneth W. and Patricia Pober David A. and Mary Alice Poe Fred R. and Cherie B. Pond Cary D. Poston James I. and Judith M. Powers Stewart W. Pugh Edison K. Putman Leonard G. Pyne Brian Robert Raber Donald D. and Kathryn Daly Ramseyer Janet Orr Randall and Bruce MacEvoy Betty Lee Raymer Robert L. and Karla Reed Edgar E. Renfrew Malcolm M. and Carol C. Renfrew Laurie Retherford Marjorie D. Richardson Michael D. Roach Richard B. Roberts Susan B. Roberts Charles L. and Dianne H. Robertson G. Wayne Rodeback Ben R. and Anna M. Rolphe Elaine Ambrose Richard H. Ross George W. Rothweiler Editha W. Rowell Chris W. Rullman Gavin B. Rumble Joseph N. and Susan Rumble Lois E. Samuelson Marilyn Ruth Sargent Donald B. and Ann K. Schaechtel Richard A. and Linda G. Schellenger Rodney K. and Kathy L. Schenck F. Wayne Schultz Sidney J. Scribner Miriam Sellers Shirley K. Severn Donna K. Shepard Richard L. and Sally S. Shoup Victor H. and Ruth N. Skiles John R. Smiley Daryl L. and Deborah L. Smith Richard R. and Ruth A. Smith Gerald J. and Trini Snow Richard L. and Patty Sorensen Richard C. and Bertha Sorenson James A. and Janet Steele Herman F. Steger James D. Stephens Donald P. and H. Maxine Stewart Dr. Richard B. Stewart

J. Robert Stillinger W.G., Jr. and Laura J. Stover Shirley L. Strom J. Kirk and Elizabeth M. Sullivan Kathryn A. Supko Albert H. Suttmann Bruce L. and Marilyn M. Sweeney William A. and Dorothy S. Sylvies Richard K. and Kathryn M. Talbott Trevor S. and LeeAnn K. Tarter Richard E. Tavis Earlene J. Taylor Carolyn E. Terteling-Payne Richard E. Thatcher Wayne L. and Peggy J. Thiessen Richard D. and Lavonne M. Thomas Wayne W. and Wilma I. Thomas Eugene and JoAnn C. Thompson Jacqueline A. Thompson Marjorie R. Thompson D. John and Vikki Thornton Jon G. Trail Vincent J. and Lois J. Tretter Bryson D. and Shirley D. Trexler Harry B. Turner and Geraldine Hastings Raymond G. and Bonnie K. Turner Wayne H. Valentine Chien M. and Lily C. Wai Susan K. Waltner Jeff and Pearl Watts Lindarae P. Watts Elizabeth Ann Webb Garry R. and Linda I. Webb Lucinda Weiss L. Dean and E. Gay Welch Wayne L. Weseman Franklin K. Wheelock Darrell G. and Patricia C. Whitehead Marie H. Whitesel Daniel B. Whiting George D. and Kathleen D. Whitlock Craig A. and Linda B. Wiegman Claud R. And Diana Lynn Wilhite Larry D. and Winnie E. Williams Ronald M. and Ella Mae Winans Gaylen H. II and Mary M. Wood Kelly A. Wood Mary Lee Wood Parker G. and Myrna K. Woodall Elizabeth P. Woodcock Robert K. Woodhead Thomas C. Wright Theodore W. and Joan C. Yocom John R. and Helen K. Yuditsky Robert J. and Mary Kay Yuditsky John R. and JoAn W. Zanot Joe L. and Dorothy J. Zaring John Zbozen, Jr.

Emeriti For a complete listing please visit our website at: http://www.uidaho. edu/givetoidaho/donorrecognition/ heritagesocietymembers/ heritagesocietyemeriti.aspx

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Facilities

Financial and Estate Planning News

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Sports vandal

Idaho Outlook

Ways to Give Through Your Estate Plan There are many ways you can support the University of Idaho in addition to an outright gift. Below is a brief listing of how you can participate in this vital component of the University of Idaho’s mission. What are the tax benefits?

What is it?

What are some other benefits?

Bequest in Will or Revocable Living Trust

A gift you make by naming the University of Idaho in your will for a certain dollar amount, percentage or the residuary.

Reduces size of taxable estate.

Gives you flexibility in providing for family needs first. You become a member of our Heritage Society.

Charitable Gift Annuity

A contract in which the Foundation agrees to pay you back a percentage of your gift annually for your lifetime.

Immediate income tax deduction for part of gift’s value, capital gains spread out over life expectancy, a portion of the income is tax-exempt.

Gives you and/or another beneficiary a set income for life. Heritage Society membership.

Life Insurance Gift

A gift of an existing or new policy with the Foundation named as beneficiary and owner.

Immediate income tax deduction for gift’s value, plus possible estate tax savings.

Provides a way to make a significant gift with minimal capital outlay. Heritage Society membership.

Retirement Plan Gift

A gift made by naming the Foundation as remainder beneficiary after your death.

Heirs avoid income tax and possible estate tax.

Preserves 100 percent of plan’s value and allows you to leave heirs other, less costly bequests. Heritage Society membership.

Retained Life Estate

A donation of your home or farm, but with the right to remain there.

Immediate income tax deduction for the charitable value of the gift, plus no capital gains tax due.

Allows you to live in your home or farm and still receive charitable deduction; assures immediate passage of title on your death. Heritage Society membership.

Charitable Remainder Trust

A trust that pays a set or variable income to you or those you name before the University receives remainder.

Income tax savings from deduction, no capital gains tax liability, possible estate tax savings.

Provides guaranteed annual income that could increase if trust value increases. Heritage Society membership.

Charitable Lead Trust

A trust that pays the University an income for a period of years before you or heirs receive the trust remainder.

Gift or estate tax savings for value of payments made to a charity.

Allows you to pass assets to heirs intact at reduced or even no estate or gift tax. Heritage Society membership.

Wealth Replacement Trust

Life insurance for your heirs to replace the asset funding your charitable gift.

When properly established through a trust, the insurance passes to heirs estate-tax free.

Tax savings and cash flow from a life income plan may be enough to pay the premiums. Heritage Society membership.

Please let us know if you have remembered the University of Idaho in your estate plans.

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Idaho Outlook is published three times a year by Gift Planning Services in the University of Idaho, Office of Development. Coordinator/Writer: Barbara Wooten Designed by: Julene Ewert, Creative Services Photos: As credited • Contact: (208) 885-1201 or bwooten@uidaho.edu

Keith, Demita and Troy Vital.

Appreciating and Honoring Our Vandal Families by Josh Wright

T

he next time Demita Vital watches her son, Troy, play football for the University of Idaho, the 2009 season will be almost complete. And she’ll be back in the United States after another tour through Iraq. The Army first sergeant was honored Nov. 1 during Military Appreciation Day at the Kibbie Dome. She and her husband, Keith, who spent 20 years in the Army before retiring, joined their son at midfield for a ceremonial coin toss before the Vandals battled San Jose State. Six days later, she was set to be deployed for northern Iraq for a year of service. The Vitals live in Kempner, Texas, and Demita is stationed at Fort

Hood. She’s the leader of a group of information technology specialists who make sure computers and phone networks are provided and running. She has been to the Middle East twice before and to Korea, as well. Demita knew she would be shipped out for more than a year, so her goal was to make every Vandal game leading up to the team’s bye week. She missed two, but still enjoyed the experience of traveling to the Palouse several times. “This is a really great community,” Demita said. “This is a family here. When we came here our first time, it’s like everybody just loved us. It doesn’t matter if they knew who you were, because they didn’t know who we were. We walked through campus;

everybody’s so friendly here. You don’t see that everywhere.” Since she’s in a communications company, it won’t be a problem to stay in touch with her family when she’s in Iraq. While Troy, 19, is a freshman running back at Idaho, her 25-year-old daughter Lanecia lives in California. Demita has been overseas so many times that Troy, the Vandals’ thirdleading rusher, isn’t fazed by her yearlong stays. “I’m used to it by now,” he said. Seeing his parents honored by his school, however, was a memorable experience. “That was cool,” Troy said. “It was nice to see them recognized.”

Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame Pete Volk Director E-mail: pvolk@uidaho.edu Office: (208) 885-5760

Robert Scholes Associate Director E-mail: rscholes@uidaho.edu Office: (208) 885-5371

Ed McBride Gift Planning Specialist E-mail: mcbride@uidaho.edu Office: (208) 885-8996

Nominations for the 2010 class of the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame are due July 9. Please submit nominations – with supporting material – to Becky Paull via e-mail at bpaull@uidaho.edu or via mail at Kibbie Activity Center, Moscow, ID 83844-2302. Hall of Fame selection criteria are located under “Inside Athletics” at www.govandals.com.

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idaho

Office of Development Gift Planning Services P.O. Box 443201 Moscow, ID 83844-3201 Phone: (208) 885-1201 Toll-Free: (866) 671-7041 Fax: (208) 885-4483 www.uidaho.edu/givetoidaho

Bruce Mann

Type

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Sports vandal

vandal sports

The Impacts of Athletics

Idaho Punter T. J. Conley

Leading his family to Idaho led to leading the nation in punting By JOSH WRIGHT

idaho

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aturdays would come and go this fall, and the same routine would unfold in the Conley household. After T. J. would wrap up another week of punting duties for the University of Idaho football team, his mother, Laurie, made sure to provide him with a status check. Was her son still leading the NCAA’s top division in punting? How did he stack up to other elite punters in the nation, many of whom he’d met at off-season camps? These were the sorts of questions that were investigated on a weekly basis by “Idaho’s biggest fan,” as Tim Conley, Laurie’s husband, describes her. Or, in the words of Anna, the family’s firstborn, “She’s black and gold all the way through.”

The Conley family represents a variety of ways Idaho athletics can impact students and their families. Athletic scholarships – The Vandal Scholarship Fund raises private donations to support 237 scholarships for Idaho studentathletes. T. J. Conley has been the recipient of one of those scholarships. Walk-on opportunities – Not all studentathletes are athletic scholarship recipients. Many members of Vandal athletic teams, like Nick Conley, are walk-ons: they try out for teams, demonstrate they are talented enough to compete in college athletics, but pay their own way for their college education. There are nearly 100 non-scholarship student-athletes at Idaho. Internships and student job opportunities – The Idaho Department of Athletics provides opportunities for students studying disciplines from across the University. Students gain real-world experience through internships, and financial support through part-time job opportunities. Marion Conley works part-time for the Media Relations Department to compile game statistics for football and basketball games and volleyball matches. Supporting academic programs – Students pursuing degrees in fields associated with athletics have an opportunity to learn firsthand. The athletics training room in the Kibbie Dome is a learning laboratory for students, like Anna Conley, in the College of Education’s athletic training degree program. Economic impact – A recent economic impact study shows Vandal Athletics contributes $31 million annually to the local economy. The Conley family, along with the families of other student-athletes, help contribute to that total. winter 2009

The Conley family: front row, Jane, Claire, Anna and Marion. Back row: Tim, T. J., Nick and Laurie

Laurie and Tim happen to be the parents of four current Vandals: two football players, T. J. and Nick, a junior wide receiver; Anna, a soon-to-be full-fledged athletic trainer; and Marion, a stat-keeper for the athletic media relations department. T. J. just completed the finest season for a punter in Idaho history. The senior was first in punting average in the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division 1-A, with an average of 47.4 yards, easily outdistancing second-place finisher Ross Thevenot of Tulane. Plus, he obliterated the single-season school record of 44.8 yards set by Tom Sugg in 1991. His success on special teams, after starring at quarterback at DeSales High School in Walla Walla, Wash., only cemented what has become a tight bond between the University and the Conleys. The roots run so deep that Laurie has a Vandals sticker plastered on her dishwater, an Idaho flag waving outside the family home, and a voice mail message that mentions the Vandals at least three times. Yes, she’s an Idaho fan to the core. But the thing is, five or six years ago, Laurie would have laughed at that suggestion. “It’s just been a tremendous experience,” she says. “To have all our four kids up there is something I would have never predicted. It’s been really special.” Laurie graduated from Seattle University, while Tim went to the University of Puget Sound. After settling in Walla Walla – they both work at Providence St. Mary Medical Center – they eventually became entrenched in the athletics scene at DeSales. Their four older children – they have six altogether – played three sports apiece at the private school known for its powerhouse programs, and Tim manned the fields as an athletic trainer. When it came time for T. J. to pick a college, Idaho became the clear-cut choice, not because of past family ties, but because of the recruiting efforts of then-coach Nick Holt and a strong civil engineering program T. J. was interested in joining. Holt sold the versatile athlete on the chance to play right away at quarterback, and the similarities between the small-town, family atmospheres of Moscow and Walla Walla. In his first year on the Palouse, T. J. made an impression on the coaching staff while messing around with punting during practice. He was hurt after a brief foray playing safety in his first full year for the Vandals, then rose to prominence over the next three seasons as the Vandals’ starting punter. It wasn’t until his junior year, however, that he fully embraced his new gig.

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Sports

Upcoming EVENTS

vandal

T. J. Conley with his parents, Laurie and Tim.

Anna already graduated from the University of Portland, and now is working on a master’s degree in physical education in preparation for an athletic-training career. “It’s been just the college experience that I hoped my kids would be able to enjoy,” Laurie says. “They’re getting a great education, meeting wonderful people and building lifelong friendships.” With the way things have gone, it doesn’t seem too farfetched to picture the Conleys’ two youngest children – Claire, 13, and Jane, 10 – attending Idaho someday as well. For now, though, Tim and Laurie are content to let that decision play itself out. I

T. J. Conley University of Idaho punter • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Walter Camp first-team All-American Sporting News first-team All-American ESPN first-team All-American Associated Press second-team All-American Rivals.com third-team All-American ESPN The Magazine second-team Academic All-American First team All-Western Athletic Conference Phil Steele’s first-team All-WAC NCAA punting leader Set Idaho career record for total punting yards – 9,242 Set Idaho single-season record for punting yards – 2,751 Set Idaho single-season record for average per punt – 47.4 Set single-game punting average mark – 52.8 December 2008 graduate in civil engineering

March

April

May

june

13 Bellwood Lecture presented by Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr.

3 Vandal Transfer Day for transfer students

1 Engineering Design Expo

20 Vandal Picnic, Anne Morrison Park, Boise

26-27 Vandal Friday for high school seniors 28-29 Tutxinmepu Powwow

7 Alumni Silver and Gold Day tree planting 17-18 Moms’ Weekend 24-25 Vandal Innovation and Enterprise Works (VIEW) Business Plan Competition 25 Vandal Sneak Peek for high school sophomores and juniors

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6 University of Idaho Boise Commencement

Events are in Moscow unless stated as elsewhere. For more information on alumni events, go to www.supportui. uidaho.edu

7 University of Idaho Idaho Falls Commencement 11 University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene Commencement 14 Alumni Hall of Fame reception 15 Alumni Hall of Fame luncheon

Vandal Scholarship Fund Special Events April 3 Alumni/VSF Golf at the Coeur d’Alene Resort April 24 Spring football game and postgame event at the University Inn April 25 Golf tournament, barbecue and auction, Moscow May 2 Vandalfest, Spokane, Wash. May 15 Ada County Scholarship Auction, Boise May 16 Ada County Vandal Scramble, Banbury Golf Club, Eagle June 12 Canyon County Scramble, Purple Sage, Caldwell June 20 Buhl Pig Out, Clear Lake Country Club, Buhl June 27 McCall Golf Tournament, McCall July 23 VSF Governor’s Gala, Boise For more information, contact the Vandal Scholarship Fund at (208) 364-4073 or vsf@uidaho.edu.

1-3 Golden I Reunion

16 University of Idaho Moscow Commencement

Golden Reunion Weekend

May 1-3, 2009 A Golden I is anyone who graduated from the University 50 or more years ago. For Reunion information visit www.idahovandals.com or call (208) 885-6154

winter 2009

“I definitely wanted to stick with the quarterback stuff,” T. J. says, “just because you can affect the game so much more. (The switch) worked out pretty good for me, I think, so I’m happy with how it all turned out.” The Conleys hope T. J.’s stellar final season will vault him onto an NFL roster next fall. Only one or two punters get drafted each year, so his best chance will probably be to land a free agent contract once the draft is complete this spring. It’s likely that T. J. has caught the eye of at least a few scouts with his high-arching, booming kicks over returners’ heads. He averaged more than 50 yards in punting yardage in five games this past season, and he set the Idaho all-time career record with 9,242 punting yards. “He’s capable of launching some beauties and he has this year,” Idaho Coach Robb Akey said before the season finale at Hawaii, in which T. J. solidified the nation’s No. 1 spot with 203 yards on four boots. His senior campaign was all the more memorable with three of his siblings in Moscow. In fact, T. J. lives with Anna and Nick in a six-bedroom house that Tim and Laurie purchased two years ago. They share the home on the east side of town with tight end Peter Bjorvik, soccer player Britta Rustad and Nathan Barry, who works with the athletic department’s strength and conditioning staff. Marion, a sophomore, is set to move in at the start of the next school year. “Since we had so many kids there, we figured it would be cheaper to buy a house,” says Tim. “I think it will be well-used for the next three or four years.” Tim and Laurie use the house as a spot to cook for players’ families before and after home games. It’s also the hub for activity for the tight-knit family. “We play games, talk and tell stories,” Anna says. “We really have fun.” In many ways, Moscow has been an ideal landing spot for the Conleys. Not only does it offer a similar feel to Walla Walla, but it’s also home to a school that met the family’s criteria when it comes to athletic and educational opportunities. T. J. earned his bachelor’s degree in December after being part of “a great engineering program,” he says, while Nick will complete his biological sciences degree this spring and then pursue a dental career.

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Non-Profit Org.

Moscow, ID 83844-3232 Electronic Service Requested

US POSTAGE PAID University of Idaho

L i o n e l H a m p t o n I nternational J a z z F estival

It’s a leading arrangement. For more than 40 years, the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival has educated, inspired and entertained thousands of students and guests of all ages. With your generous support, the festival can continue its legacy as the largest, most exciting educational jazz festival in the world.

Education, Inspiration and Performance

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Give at www.jazz.uidaho.edu.

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