Guest Speakers

UniversiTy of idaho, 2020 gradUaTion Class

Blaine Eckles Blaine Eckles, Ph.D., came to the University of Idaho in 2015 into the Dean of Students role. He is now vice provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. He received his Ph.D. in Adult, Organizational Learning and Leadership in 2011 from the U of I. Prior to the Uof I, Eckles spent many years at Boise State University in various student services roles.

Born into and raised in an Air Force family, Eckles has moved frequently but considers Idaho home, and has lived in the state for the last 26 years. He is dedicated to providing access and education to our students. Eckles has worked on many programs and oversees many of the units and programs that directly provide support to our students including the Counseling and Testing Center, Recreation and Wellness, the Vandal Health Clinic, and Student Involvement which includes ASUI and our fraternities and sororities.

Whether he is advocating for our students or getting to know them by playing Mario Cart, he brings passion and commitment to everything he does. He is truly a champion for our students and fosters an environment of collaboration, respect and responsibility.

UniversiTy of idaho, College of engineering and College of naTUral resoUrCes Mark Peters, Ph.D., is the executive vice president for Global Laboratory Operations at Battelle Memorial Institute with responsibilities for governance and oversight of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security national laboratories for which Battelle has a significant lab management role. Previously, he was the director of Idaho National Laboratory and president of Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. He was responsible for management and integration of a large, multipurpose laboratory whose mission focuses on nuclear energy, national and homeland security, and energy and environmental science and technology. He managed this national laboratory of approximately 5,000 scientists, engineers, and support staff in multiple nuclear and nonnuclear experimental facilities, with an annual budget of more than $1.4 billion.

Peters was recently elected to The National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He served two years as chairman of the National Laboratory Directors’ Council, an independent body that coordinates initiatives and advises the DOE and other national laboratory stakeholders. Prior to joining Battelle, he served as the associate laboratory director for Energy and Global Security at Argonne National Laboratory. Peters serves as a senior adviser to the DOE on nuclear energy technologies, research and development programs, and nuclear waste policy. As an expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies and nuclear waste management, he is called upon to provide expert testimony to Congress and to advise in formulation of policies for nuclear fuel cycles, nonproliferation and nuclear waste disposal.

In 2015, he was honored as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) for outstanding accomplishments in the area of nuclear science and technology. He served on the ANS Public Policy Committee and the executive committee of the ANS Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division.

He received his doctorate in geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Auburn University. He has received extensive management and leadership education and training, including completion of the Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Mark Peters

UniversiTy of idaho, College of law and College of gradUaTe sTUdies

Jerry McMurtry Jerry McMurtry, Ph.D., is dean of the College of Graduate Studies at the University of Idaho. He has served as a faculty member at U of I since 1995, beginning as an assistant professor in the College of Education (now Education, Health and Human Sciences).

Throughout his career, McMurtry has been committed to excellence in education. After working as both a high school teacher and corporate trainer, he earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in Education from Colorado State University before joining the faculty at Montana State University-Bozeman for two years.

McMurtry was born in the mountains of Colorado and raised in both Colorado and Wyoming, which solidified his desire to stay in the West. He was a rafting guide for more than 15 years in four Western states, which is how he met his wife, Amy, who was also a guide. With rivers in their life, Idaho was the perfect place to settle down and launch a successful career and raise a family.

In his 26 years at U of I, McMurtry has mentored and graduated more than 100 master’s and doctoral students, while bringing over $3 million to U of I through service and competitive research projects. He continues to mentor graduate students and to facilitate experiences outside the classroom and laboratory that enhance their deep content expertise. In particular, McMurtry helps graduate students and postdoctoral scholars develop advanced skills in communication, writing and leadership.

Although McMurtry doesn’t have a degree from the University of Idaho, his wife, daughter and son are all Vandals.

UniversiTy of idaho, College of bUsiness and eConoMiCs and College of sCienCe Ginger E. Carney, Ph.D., was named dean of the College of Science and professor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho in 2017. Prior to arriving at the U of I, she was on the faculty at Texas A&M University for 13 years where she served in a variety of leadership and administrative roles, including associate dean in the College of Science. She ran a National Science Foundation-funded research program that focused on understanding how animal behaviors are controlled by the interplay between genetics, neurobiology and physiology. At Texas A&M, Carney received numerous recognitions, including the Women’s Faculty Network Outstanding Service and Leadership Award, the College of Science and Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Center for Teaching Excellence 25th Anniversary W Course Teaching Award. She was a Fellow of the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program for 2015-16 and a Fellow in the Western Academic Leadership Academy from 2018-19. Ginger E. Carney Carney has bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in genetics from the University of Georgia. She is now a proud University of Idaho Vandal and has wholeheartedly embraced the Vandal family as her own. She enjoys visiting with her college’s students and alumni and hearing their stories about how they were shaped by their U of I experiences.

UniversiTy of idaho, College of agriCUlTUral and life sCienCes, College of arT and arChiTeCTUre and College of edUCaTion, healTh and hUMan sCienCes

Shauna Corry Shauna Corry, Ph.D., is dean of the College of Art and Architecture at the University of Idaho. Before joining the U of I, Corry taught at North Dakota State University for 10 years serving as Interior Design and Facility Management Program coordinators. She joined the University of Idaho in 2001 and has served as term and interim dean, acting associate dean, a member of CAA’s core leadership team, coordinator and head of the Interior Design Program, Athena president and vice president, and director at large for the Interior Design Educators Council Foundation (IDECF) and has served as IDEC Pacific West regional chair. Corry chaired the Idaho Historic Site Review Board for the National Registrar of Historic Places, served on the Fair and Affordable Housing Commission for the city of Moscow, and has received the University of Idaho Hoffman Excellence in Teaching Award, Outreach and Engagement Award of Excellence, and eight Alumni Awards of Excellence for student mentorship from the University of Idaho. Currently, Corry is serving on the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora (IMID) board of directors.

Corry’s research focuses on social justice issues in the built environment, Universal Design, and placemaking. Her teaching interests include environment and behavior, community-based service-learning projects, design studios and history of interiors.

UniversiTy of idaho, College of leTTers, arTs and soCial sCienCes

Jerry Kramer overcame a series of childhood injuries to become an excellent football player at the University of Idaho. The guard was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round (39th player overall) of the 1958 NFL Draft. He starred for the Packers from 1958 to 1968 playing most of his 11-season career under the direction of Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi.

Upon his entry into the NFL, he soon was hailed as one of the best blockers in the game and earned his first All-NFL acclaim in 1960, the same year the Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL championship game. That game ended up as Kramer’s only career postseason loss.

He continued his high level of play all while overcoming several debilitating injuries. In 1961, he missed several games due to a broken ankle that required a permanent pin to heal. Then, in 1964, he missed most of the season due to intestinal infections from wood splinters in his abdomen that required eight surgeries to rectify. In each instance, he returned to All-NFL form.

Kramer played 130 games as the Packers guard and served as the team’s placekicker for several seasons. His leadership and talents helped the franchise capture five NFL championships and victories in Super Bowls I and II.

At the time of his retirement in 1968, he held the NFL Championship Game record for most field goal attempts in a single game (five against the New York Giants in 1962) and the Packers’ team record for most PATs in a season (43 in 1963).

He earned All-NFL acclaim five times (1960, 1962-63, 1966-67) and was voted to three Pro Bowls. Kramer was also named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1960s, the NFL’s 50th Anniversary Team in 1969 and the Super Bowl Silver Anniversary Team.

Kramer collaborated with Dick Schaap on his first book, the best-selling “Instant Replay,” a diary of the season which chronicled the life of a professional football offensive lineman. He wrote a second book, “Farewell to Football.” After retiring as a player in May 1969, Kramer briefly worked as a color commentator on CBS’ NFL telecasts. Following Lombardi’s death from cancer in 1970, Kramer edited Lombardi: “Winning Is the Only Thing,” a collection of reminiscences from coaches, players, friends, and family of Lombardi whom Kramer interviewed for the book. In 1985, Kramer wrote “Distant Replay,” which updated the whereabouts of the members of the Packers’ Super Bowl I championship team. In October 2005, he released “Inside the Locker Room,” a CD set that includes Lombardi’s final locker room address as the head coach of the Packers in January 1968, immediately after Super Bowl II. In September 2006, Kramer re-released his 1968 best seller, “Instant Replay.”

Kramer was inducted into the University of Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 and is being awarded a University of Idaho Alumni Association Distinguished Idahoan Award, their highest award, in 2021.

After retirement from the NFL, Kramer lived on a ranch near Parma in southwestern Idaho. He now resides in Boise.

Jerry Kramer

UniversiTy of idaho boise

John McCreedy, J.D., has been president and CEO of The Amalgamated Sugar Company, LLC, and president of Snake River Sugar Company since May 1, 2015.

McCreedy graduated from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1987. He previously served as deputy attorney general for the State of Idaho from 1988-92 and then ran a successful private law practice until 2004, when he joined Amalgamated Sugar.

He was awarded the University of Idaho Alumni Association Silver and Gold Award in 2021. The award recognizes living alumni who have a distinguished record of achievement and service in his/her specialized area of endeavor, thus bringing honor and recognition to the University.

McCreedy’s work at Amalgamated Sugar focuses primarily on the John McCreedy development and implementation of the company’s vision and strategy, and the acquisition and deployment of the talent necessary to implement that strategy. He is a member of the board of directors of The Sugar Association, Inc., and a trustee of the U.S. Beet Sugar Association, Inc. McCreedy served on the Idaho Board of Environmental Quality from July 2014 to July 2018.

UniversiTy of idaho, idaho falls

Toni Carter Toni L. Coleman Carter is the energetic chief inclusion and collaborator officer who strategically drives an inclusive future for Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls. She’s a change champion who collaborates with laboratory and community leaders to create environments which empower and engage others to achieve a competitive advantage, further leveraging talent platforms to enhance employee capabilities, build next generation leaders, and drive bottomline results. She also partners as a consultant to create, develop, and oversee inclusion and diversity initiatives, while increasing inclusion awareness and providing governance for INL’s inclusion leadership councils (ERGs).

Carter has nine years of combined governmental experience, which includes her time as the deputy mayor for the village of Hanover Park, Illinois. Prior to joining INL, she spent 23 years in corporate America working for Motorola Solutions in Chicago, an $8 billion technology organization. Carter also spent time in the pharmaceutical and food service industries. She worked for K&B (Katz and Besthoff, now Rite-Aid) and Phar-Mor Pharmacies as a pharmacy technician and as a manager for McDonald’s and Taco Bell corporations.

In April 2007, Carter was elected as Hanover Park’s first Black council member. Carter’s position at the village allowed her to assist with the recruitment, selection, and appointment of department heads and to help create policy operation strategies. During this time, Carter founded the village’s Cultural Inclusion and Diversity committee, the largest volunteer committee in the village. After two years of confronting challenging opportunities, she became the village’s first Black deputy mayor.

In her position, Carter created a homeless prevention task force that focused on providing solutions to reduce the impact of the 2008-10 economic crisis, preventing home foreclosures and providing transitional housing for residents. In 2008, she was appointed to Hanover Park’s Crime Prevention Task Force, a team that helped design crime prevention strategies and methodologies for the village. The same year, Hanover Park named her Inclusion and Diversity Champion, and she received an Outstanding Leadership Award from Motorola’s Women’s Business Council.

Carter has earned numerous awards for her humanitarian efforts. In 2020, she was named Idaho National Laboratory’s Community Award recipient. In 2019, she earned Idaho’s Hometown Hero Award Medal and was one of Idaho Business Review’s Women of the Year. In 2018, she was recognized as one of DiversityMBA’s Top 100 Executive Leaders Under 50. In 2015, the National Diversity Council honored Toni with the Leadership Excellence Award for corporate inclusion, and she was named Inclusion and Diversity Champion of the Year by Diversity MBA. In 2013, the Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations honored Carter with the Dr. King Workforce Inclusiveness and Community Activism award. The 2010 issue of Who’s Who in Black Chicago named her one of the most influential Blacks in government. She is a member of the National Society for Human Resource Management, and the Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business. She is a certified diversity practitioner and professional development coach. She is currently pursuing certifications as a change management and organizational development professional. She earned a bachelor and a master of science degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Carter dedicates part of her life to helping people who have been abused. Her memoir, “When Trouble Finds You,” is being used as a tool of hope, inspiration, and education for others who may have suffered the way she did as a child. When Carter is not spending time with her three wonderful children - Candes, John, and Taylor - she loves building community relationships and leveraging strategic partnerships.