Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Tracy Kidder To Speak As Part Of Common Reading Program

Tracy Kidder, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, will speak at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Special Events Center. The event is free and open to the public and tickets are not required. Limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Free parking will be available in the Liberal Arts lot adjacent to the Special Events Center.

Freshmen have been reading Kidder’s book “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World” as part of the Common Reading Program. The students received their books before the start of the academic year, and the university has developed events around the book and is using it as a teaching tool. read more

Research Shows INL Operations Play Vital Role In State’s Economy

Combined research, cleanup and administrative operations at the Idaho National Laboratory site make INL Idaho’s third largest employer, pumping $85 million annually into the state’s tax coffers and accounting for 2.52 percent of personal income in the state, according to research recently completed at Boise State. 

INL contracted with the Center for Business and Economic Research at Boise State last June to measure and analyze INL’s impact on the state economy. The findings were presented earlier today as part of INL Day at the Legislature.

“Everyone knows how important Micron is to our economy,” said Geoff Black, chairman of the Economics Department at Boise State and one of the researchers on the project. “They might be surprised to know that the economic impact of INL is close to that of Micron.” read more

More than 6,500 students are involved in at least one club at Boise State. The number of recognized student clubs has grown significantly the past few years with more than 200 organizations.

click here for a campus calendar of events

HAVE LUNCH, BE HEARD

Ethnic and Under-represented Staff and Faculty Lunch

Provost Sona Andrews is hosting a lunch for staff and faculty of color and other under-represented groups. Founded last year, the lunch has proved to be a great opportunity to meet, network and socialize with faculty and staff from across the university, and a place to share valued opinions regarding issues on campus.

WHERE: SUB Lookout Room
WHEN: Wednesday, March 7
TIME: noon-1:30 p.m.

RSVP: RSVP to Gina Papini at ginapapini@boisestate.edu by March 2.

120 EMPLOYERS, ALL IN ONE PLACE

Career/Job Fair Slated for Wednesday

Faculty and staff are invited to attend the 2007 Boise State Career/Job Fair from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, in the Student Union Jordan Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Career Center.  Faculty and staff are asked to encourage all students to participate. 

This year 120 employers are registered to attend the fair. Students also will have an opportunity to interview with more than 25 different organizations that will be conducting on-campus interviews at the Student Union and Career Center during the days following the Career/Job Fair. 

In today’s competitive job market, networking and making contacts becomes even more important for students who are seeking employment opportunities. Students at all levels (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students) can learn about internships, full- and part-time jobs, summer jobs and career opportunities. They also can obtain first-hand information on how to prepare for their career (what extra classes, activities, club memberships, etc. will make them more employable). The fair also offers an opportunity for faculty to see the various career options available to students in their programs. 

For more information about the fair, including a list of participating organizations, visit the Career Center Web site at http://career.boisestate.edu/careerfair.htm, e-mail the Career Center at career@boisestate.edu, or call ext. 6-1747. 

NURSING WORKSHOP

March 16 Workshop Focuses on Environmentally Responsible Health Care

Health Care Without Harm, a consortium of local health care organizations, will present a free workshop for health care workers from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, in the Student Union Hatch Ballroom on the Boise State University campus. Free parking is available in the Student Union Visitor Lot.

Registrations are now being accepted at http://nursing.boisestate.edu (see “news” section). The workshop is part of the Idaho Environmental Health Association annual conference. Deadline to register is March 14.

Keynote speaker Barbara Sattler will address “Environmental exposure in our home, work, school and communities.” Sattler is an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and founding director of the Environmental Health Center, a multi-disciplinary center engaged in training, education, research and policy. 

Other topics addressed during the workshop include:

• Recognizing environmental exposures
• Better living through chemicals … or is it?
• Special vulnerabilities of children, the fetus and pregnant women taking environmental risks
• Toxicology, pharmacology and the nature of chemical policies
• Biomonitoring for environmental pollutants in the human body
• The application of environmental health science to nursing practice

This free workshop is funded by a grant from Health Care Without Harm: The Campaign for Environmentally Responsible Health Care. It is presented in partnership with Boise State’s departments of Nursing and Community & Environmental Health, the Idaho Public Health Association and the Idaho Environmental Health Association.

To learn more, contact Nancy Otterness at ext. 6-1652, nottern@boisestate.edu, or Patt Elison-Bowers at ext. 6-4119, pelison@boisestate.edu.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

On Campus Jobs That Make A Difference.

The BSU Volunteer Services Board (VSB) seeks your assistance in finding capable students to serve on the 2007-2008 board.

If you know any students who are passionate about community service and social issues education, please forward this information and encourage them to apply.

Benefits:
Students will receive stipends; develop lifelong leadership and project management skills; upgrade their resumes; and be able to make a difference on campus and in the community.

Positions:
1. Director
2. Assistant Director
3. Outreach Coordinator
4. Environmental Issues Coordinator
5. Health Care Issues Coordinator
6. Poverty Issues Coordinator
7. Youth Issues Coordinator

Applications and job descriptions are available at the Student Union Info Desk (first floor, Student Union) or may be sent via e-mail upon request.

Deadlines:
For director position, March 12
For all other positions, April 2

For more info or to recommend students, contact Mahi Takazawa at ext. 6-2877 mahitakazawa@boisestate.edu

To learn more about VSB, visit http://vsb.boisestate.edu

Upon review of applications, qualified candidates will be contacted to set up an interview.

Support Boise State Volunteers

The Volunteer Services Board has teamed with Project Re-cell to collect unused cell phones to help fund community service projects such as Service Saturday, Into the Streets, Volunteer Campus Coalition and BSU Volunteers, as well as social issues educational presentations about youth, health care, environment and poverty issues.

The VSB-Project Re-cell drop boxes are located at Albertsons Library, the Business Building, the Student Union, the ASBSU office, and the Student Organizational Complex on the second floor of the SUB.

For more information, contact the Volunteer Services Board at ext. 6-4248 or vsbdirector@boisestate.edu.

LDS Student Association Hosts Humanitarian Project

The Boise State LDS Student Association will host a humanitarian project from 4-9:30 p.m. March 9 at the LDS church on the corner of Juanita and Boise, and volunteers are needed to help complete the project. The group will assemble thousands of hygiene kits for third-world countries as well as for devastated parts of the United States. The group also will assemble thousands of kits for the Idaho State Penitentiary.

Volunteers will be asked to load and unload trucks and assemble kits. For more information, contact Shannon Grange at shannongrange@hotmail.com.

ASSOCIATION OF CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES

ACE Meeting Minutes Available Online

The Association of Classified Employees (ACE) meeting minutes from Feb. 20, are available online at the ACE Web site, http://www2.boisestate.edu/ace/index.html. Previous minutes also can be found at the site. Departments with classified staff who do not have access to the Internet or e-mail are asked to supply a copy of current minutes or post the minutes to a general bulletin board area for staff review.

ACE meetings are open to all Boise State classified staff. The monthly meeting schedule for the year can be found on the Web site. The next meeting will be held from 2-3 p.m. March 20 in the Student Union Gibson Room.

THE QUALITY OF OUR AIR

Boise State professor presents Idaho Lawmakers with recommendations to improve air quality

After a year’s worth of effort, the governor-appointed Treasure Valley Air Quality Council presented its comprehensive air quality plan to Idaho lawmakers on Friday, Feb. 23. Dale Stephenson, a professor of environmental health in the College of Health Sciences, serves as vice-chairman of this council. The final comprehensive plan is available in electronic form at www.treasurevalley.org. read more

LATEST DISPATCH FROM THE PARKING DESK

West Stadium Lot Parking Changes

As of Feb. 26, a row of RH2 spaces in the West Stadium Lot were changed to General Parking. This change added an additional 40 spaces of general parking to the West Stadium. The change will only be valid for this semester and will not affect the amount of RH2 spaces in the West Stadium lot in the fall.

NEW LIBRARY RESOURCE AVAILABLE

Morningstar.com Now Available Through the Library

Thanks to funding from the Department of Marketing and Finance in the College of Business and Economics, all of the Boise State community — including students, faculty, and staff — now have access to the Morningstar.com securities database in the Library, across campus, and by remote access to Boise State authenticated users.

Morninigstar.com Library Edition is an online investing resource. It comes from Morningstar, the national financial and investing publisher. Morningstar is highly respected for producing independent information and opinions on stocks and mutual funds.

Updated continuously throughout the day, Morningstar's data reports cover more than 20,000 stocks and funds. It takes students and other users through the entire investing process — finding stocks and funds, evaluating them, and seeing how they work together in a portfolio.

If you have any questions about this comprehensive research tool, please send them to the Library at http://library.boisestate.edu/AskUs/ or call the reference desk at ext. 6-3301.

NEW SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE

Boise State Offers New Frank Church Scholarship

Political science majors are encouraged to apply for a new scholarship offered by the Frank Church Institute and the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs. The new scholarship is named for the late Sen. Frank Church.

Under scholarship guidelines, the first $2,000 Frank Church Scholarship will be awarded for the fall 2007 semester to a student in the Department of Political Science, with preference given to students who have a demonstrated interest in public service. Interested students should apply to the Boise State Financial Aid Office by March 15.

Members of the Board of Directors of the Frank Church Institute have donated and pledged more than $100,000 to fund the new scholarship. The Institute also contributes funds to the Frank Church Professor, currently Dr. Greg Raymond, the Director of the Honors College, and sponsors the annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs on campus.

BLOOD DRIVE

Do You Have Bronco Blood?

The Volunteer Services Board and the American Red Cross will host a blood drive from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. March 15 in the Jordan D Ballroom. Make an appointment by calling ext. 6-4240 or e-mailing vsbpoverty@boisestate.edu. Refreshments will be provided. If you’re going to donate blood, bring a valid ID as proof of age, drink plenty of water and eat a high-protein meal.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Grocery Store Savvy Tours

Have you ever wished someone could take you grocery shopping and show you how to spend your money to create a healthy diet? Your wish has come true. Sign up now for the Grocery Store Savvy Tours offered by Health, Wellness and Counseling Services and Winco grocery stores. Join Hilary Horton-Brown, RD,LD, for a fun adventure as she teaches participants about smart grocery shopping on a tight budget. Three Opportunities.

When: Thursday, March 8, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. tour times available

Where: Winco, 110 East Myrtle Street, Boise

Fee: None

Registration: Each tour size is limited. Contact Wellness Services at ext. 6-5686 or wellness@boisestate.edu to register.

CAMPUS RECREATION

Sawtooth Mountain Film Festival

Boise State Campus Recreation will present an evening of cutting-edge adventure films during the 8th Sawtooth Mountain Film Festival, 7:30 p.m. March 2 at the Student Union Special Events Center. Tickets will be pre-sold for $5 until March 1 at the Outdoor Program Office. Event day tickets will be sold at the door for $8. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The festival features a collection of juried short films from international and local filmmakers, including “Southern Exposure” by Jay Gifford, “Class V After 5” by Rich Wensel, “Abducted by the Wind” by Clive Jordan, “Feeding the Dragon” by Sean Glaccum and more. Other events include a raffle.

For more information, contact Geoff Harrison at ext. 6-2628 or gharriso@boisestate.edu.

WOMENS'S HISTORY MONTH FILMS

The Boise State Women’s Center, TVTV and The Flicks Movie Theatres invite you to celebrate Women’s History Month at the exclusive Boise screening of two award-winning short films, “I Was a Teenage Feminist” and “Mohawk Girls.” The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Boise State sociology professor Ginna Husting, Marty Durand of the Idaho Women’s Network and Gloria Munoz of United Vision for Idaho.

The screenings are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4, at The Flicks, 646 Fulton St. Tickets are $11 and are available at TVTV or at The Flicks. Visit www.tvctvonline.org or call 343-1100 for more information. read more

CAMPUS CRIME REPORT

Weekly Crime Log

Boise City Police and Campus Security present the weekly crime report. read all about it

Charlotte Twight Professor of Economics and Brandt Professor of Free Enterprise Capitalism College of Business and Economics Ph.D. in 1983 and M.A. in 1980, both in economics, from the University of Washington; J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, 1973; B.A. in English and American literature from California State University at Fresno, 1965 Two books, including “Dependent on D.C.: The Rise of Federal Control Over the Lives of Ordinary Americans” 20 refereed journal articles, including “Limited Government: Ave Atque Vale,” for The Independent Review Several other articles, book reviews and book chapters, including “From Personal Autonomy to Dependence on Government,” for The Insider Current research includes public choice, institutional change and the growth of government As Brandt Professor of Free Enterprise Capitalism, has brought to campus several distinguished speakers for Brandt Foundation lecture series, including Nobel Laureate James Buchanan, journalist John Stossel, and William Niskanen of the Cato Institute

Kirsten Furlong, art, will teach a polyester plate lithography workshop at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology from June 15-17 on the Oregon Coast.

The Occupational Safety and Health Consultation (OSHCon) program at Boise State was featured in a story on the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Web site. The story was about Western Aircraft in Boise receiving Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) certification. The OSHCon program is housed in the Center for Excellence for Environmental Health and Safety in the College of Health Sciences.

A class project in Lisa Bostaph’s Contemporary Issues in American Policing class was the subject of a Feb. 25 Idaho Statesman story. Bostaph’s students are partnering with Ada County Sheriff’s deputies to reduce crime in West Ada County by analyzing recurring criminal problems and offering possible solutions.

Dale Stephenson, community and environmental health, was quoted in a Feb. 24 Idaho Statesman story on air quality recommendations made to the Idaho Legislature. Stephenson is vice chair of the Treasure Valley Air Quality Council.

Holly Gilchrist, fine arts program coordinator for Student Activities, was quoted in the Feb. 15 edition of The Idaho Statesman. The front-page Life story focused on the Veterans Memorial for the Student Union Building expansion and the final two proposals for the project.

Jan Zarr, director of the Morrison Center, wrote a Reader's View for the Feb. 16 Idaho Statesman about the importance of funding the arts. In the same edition, a story by Dana Oland quoted Zarr and Karen Stucker, education director for the Morrison Center. The story was about the selection of the Morrison Center and the Meridian School District by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for its Partners in Education Institute.

Greg Hampikian, biology, was quoted in the national online journal Law Crossing about the Idaho Innocence Project. Hampikian is director of the project. A copy of the article is available here. In addition, the book "Exit to Freedom" that Hampikian co-wrote with former inmate Calvin Johnson was featured today in a report on National Public Radio. The link is http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7567797

other news sources:
The Idaho Statesman - The Idaho Press Tribune - The Boise Weekly - The Arbiter - Boise State Radio