January 5, 2005

President's Spring Address Focuses on Economic Development and Academic Support At Boise State

President Bob Kustra focused on the role of Boise State University as an economic catalyst in the region and on a series of initiatives designed to strengthen its academic mission in his mid-year address on Wednesday at the Student Union.   Kustra spoke to Boise State faculty and staff as they prepare this week for the Jan. 10 start of the spring semester at Idaho’s largest university. His message emphasized Boise State’s organizational shift to identify how it can better serve new businesses moving to Idaho, support expansion and innovations for existing businesses and address work force needs.   In addition to its academic programs, Boise State operates a number of resource centers that offer free and low-cost information for new or expanding small businesses in the state. They include the Technology and Entrepreneurial Center (TECenter), a high-tech incubator on the BSU-West site in Nampa designed to help startups and early-phase businesses; the Center for Professional Development, which coordinates credit and non-credit educational and training programs offered or developed by the university for area businesses; and TechHelp, which provides technical assistance, training and information for Idaho manufacturers through product and process improvement.   “Boise State is a marvelous resource for policy makers and businesses in addressing the multitude of opportunities and challenges presented in the new economy,” Kustra said. “We have the resources in students, faculty and administrators to assist both the public and private sectors in meeting economic development needs.”   However, Kustra said, Boise State needs to do a better job of coordinating its own internal resources, from online resources to reallocated staff, to meet the needs of businesses that will ultimately employ the university’s graduates.    “I intend to send the message that Boise State means business,” Kustra said. “We will undertake steps in the next few months to identify and clarify our economic development resources. We will make it easy to get help. We will make it easy to ask questions, and we will provide the answers. Boise State will live up to its potential and responsibility as a key contributor to Idaho’s economy.”   Kustra also presented several initiatives designed to strengthen Boise State’s academic mission:   Graduate Residential Scholars Program: This new program will provide a two-year graduate assistantship where the scholar will live in campus housing and work within an academic unit as a teaching, research or service assistant. Twenty graduate residential scholars will be named in the spring 2005 semester to start in the fall 2005 semester. Based on current lodging fees, graduate school fee rates and stipends, the total annual value of each award will exceed $26,000.   Task Force On Freshman Success: A 14-member task force, including Idaho’s first lady Patricia Kempthorne, has been established to examine why students do or do not return for a second year, review current campus programs, and make recommendations on services to increase the likelihood of retaining first-year students. Boise State’s average freshman retention rate has been 59 percent for the last two years, meaning that 41 percent of the first-time, full-time academic freshmen that start a fall semester do not return to campus the following fall.   Capital Scholars Program: High school juniors in the state of Idaho will be honored on April 26 for academic achievements and will be eligible to receive a $1,000 college scholarship at Boise State with the new Capital Scholars Program. Selection is based on top 10 percent class rankings and college entrance examinations (higher than 27 points on ACT and 1,220 on SAT).   Freshman Book Program: The English Department has established a program that encourages all first-year students to read the same book for discussion groups during orientation and classes.   Recruitment of National Merit Scholars: Each February, about 15,000 high school seniors in the United States are designated as National Merit Scholars. Idaho produces about 80 National Merit Scholars with about 40 percent of them from the Treasure Valley. Boise State plans to recruit several of these students each year with scholarships to cover their full fees for four years of undergraduate work plus an annual stipend.   Other topics during Kustra’s address included establishing a campuswide tsunami relief fund, a community college initiative, new faculty hires and academic programs for 2005-2006 and the “Beyond The Blue” image campaign.   “This is clearly a very exciting time for the Boise State family,” Kustra said. “We seem to be writing a chapter in Boise State history that campus historians will look back on as the tipping point to our rise as a premier institution of higher learning in the nation. I’m sure skeptics will accuse me of hyperbole with statements such as that, but I am very serious.”                                                                       Media Contact: Frank Zang, (208) 426-5391, frankzang@boisestate.edu