From the DEAN’S DESK

Dear Friends and Alumni,

Today’s young people will determine our country’s future. As they enter college, students will have broad choices, and the choices they make will create lasting effect. That is much the same as it has always been, but they will face a world far different than the one that has gone before. Consider a few facts:

• Today’s young people will likely have at least five (and as many as 10) different careers across their lifespans.

• Today’s young people will be responsible for policies that impact an extraordinarily large and rapidly aging baby boom population.

• A post-secondary diploma is now considered the minimum entrée to a middle-class lifestyle.

• K-12 educational attainment, internationally, continues to rise, obligating the United States to put forth greater effort to ensure that its K-12 and university graduates will successfully compete in global markets.

• Environmental concerns (climate change, carbon footprints, etc.) will become ever more important as we seek sustainable ways to support a robust economy and comfortable lifestyles.

It is important, therefore, that we keep in mind that the skills and knowledge acquired by this generation’s students must apply to much more than a single profession or path. Learning how to learn, assuming that change will be frequent and significant, and gaining a sense of responsibility for the nation’s future are critical to our students’ (and our) successes.

In the pages that follow, you’ll see some of what your College of Education is doing to promote this kind of student success. We are getting students out of the classroom and into practicum and internship opportunities quickly and frequently. Our faculty members are working with diverse communities to maintain up-to-date understandings of issues that face professionals in these communities. We are creating opportunities for our students to study abroad, focusing on issues of international importance, broadening their understandings of health and wellness and deepening their knowledge of learning English as a new language.

We also are finishing the design of a totally renovated building, with our students’ futures in mind. The building will illustrate concepts of sustainability through design and signage; it will teach Idaho history, geography and geology through installations and graphics; and it will imbue flexibility, collaboration and entrepreneurial thinking through its use of collaboration spaces, flexible room and furniture configurations, and capacity to use the building’s multimedia writable surfaces and gathering spaces to consider bigger and bolder ideas.

We aim to make a difference in our students’ lives. Education alumni help us in crucial ways: they network with and encourage current students, recruit new students and visibly support the University of Idaho. Keep it up! Put bumper stickers on your cars, wear that Vandal cap with pride, talk to as many young people as you can about the incredible campus and programs that make UI so special.

Our current and future students will have a lasting and profound impact on the future of our state and the nation. We can have our own positive difference in their futures by recommending the UI as what we know it to be — a place from where they can truly go anywhere.

Sending you warm greetings,

Cori Mantle-Bromley, Dean