John and Karen Rosholt

Higher Ed Donations = Good Teachers

= Smarter Citizens = Less Crime

By Cheryl Reed-Dudley

John Rosholt (Law ’64) and Karen Rae Fisher Rosholt

(Education ’64) have been longtime loyal supporters of the University of Idaho. The couple has designated $25,000 to support elementary education students who are pursuing a degree at the University of Idaho. Their gift will be used to support students attending the University during the 20122013 school year, making their gift immediate and impactful.

“My wife and I were interested in supporting aspiring primary school teachers,” said John.

“If we have more money for good teachers, we wouldn’t need so many lawyers,” (referring to a well-known statistic that better-educated populations have fewer criminals).

Karen is a retired special education teacher and John is an attorney in Twin Falls. John was awarded the Idaho State Bar Association’s 2004 Distinguished Lawyer Award, and in 2008 was awarded the University of Idaho’s Faculty Award of Legal Merit. In addition to their ongoing financial support of the university, the couple established the John A. Rosholt Roundtable for Visiting Professionals in the University of Idaho College of Law.

A Vandal History

Karen’s father, Merle Fisher, was recruited from St. Martins in Tacoma to play basketball for coach Rich Fox at the University of Idaho in the 1930s. After graduation, he returned to Port Angeles, married, and raised Karen and her siblings there. At the University of Idaho, Karen lived at Gamma Phi Beta until she graduated in 1964. Karen was very active on campus and served as vice president of the Associated Women Students in her senior year.

After Karen and John were married in 1966, Karen taught special education in Twin Falls until 1985, when she retired to be home for their daughters during their senior year in high school. The couple’s three children are all University of Idaho graduates.

In 1966, John was made a partner in Parry, Robertson and Daly – then one of the larger firms in the state with nine lawyers. His clientele and interest eventually pulled him to a niche in water resources, where he has represented irrigation hydropower and other water interests almost exclusively for 30 years. He also served as Idaho’s director to the National Water Resources Association for 18 years, serving as president of the 18 western state group in 1976.

“One of the most overlooked obligations of those of us who attended UI is to pay back,” said John. “The University of Idaho and the State made it possible for our lifetime successes. While we’ve participated in University of Idaho support in the past, a flier from the College of Education got our attention. We decided that good teachers build better and smarter citizens, so we decided to help in a small way as part of payback.”

For information about making a gift to the College of Education, visit uidaho.edu/ed or contact Christina Randal at cdrandal@uidaho. edu (208) 885-7537.

Your Gift

We believe the community of friends, alumni and supporters of the College of Education are what make us special.

Through collaboration and commitment to excellence, our work will positively impact generations to come and afford to others the same life-changing opportunities many of us have had. By supporting our work here, you become part of our legacy and will positively impact future generations.

If you would like to give to the Dean’s Excellence Fund, which supports faculty and students’ research and outreach, or a student scholarship fund, contact:

Christina Randal cdrandal@uidaho.edu (208) 885-7537

Or visit our giving page online at www.uidaho.edu/giving