idaho state university magazine, spring 2012

Plus …… and more!

Treating HIV in Southeast IdahoBig Sky Champs • ISU at the Metropolitan Opera

Volume 42 | Number 2 | Spring 2012

ISU Researchers Unlock Historical Mysteries

Carving Outa niCHE

The Hockey Tiger: Benny the Bengal slaps a shot prior to the Idaho Steelheads Brush with Greatness hockey game that Idaho State University and Delta Dental of Idaho sponsored.ISU Photographic Services/Bethany Baker

On The Cover: One piece of the Crabtree collection (item 211695b) courtesy of the Idaho Museum of Natural History. Photo was cropped with permission from the Idaho Museum of Natural History. On June 8, the Idaho Museum of Natural His-tory will open A Don Crabtree Retrospective highlighting his work as a flintknapper. Admission to the museum is free. For more information, visit imnh.isu.edu.

Find more stories and news at www.isu.edu/magazine

4 A message from President Arthur C. Vailas

5 Remembering Roger WilliamsPocatello store showing ISU spirit

6 A technology partnerNuclear pharmacy is growing

7 Introduction to the new vice president for student affairs

89

How the release of nitrogen may affect the Earth’s environment

Luck fell one student’s way when he won a car

10 The Hill family has strong roots at Idaho State University

11 The women’s basketball team earns the Big Sky Conference championship

12 ISU has an interesting connection to a unique craft

2 Idaho State University Magazine Spring 2012

14 David Hachey helps ISU gain a strong reputa-tion in treating AIDS

1618

Read about what ISU researchers can learn from ancient teeth

The Metropolitan Opera came calling, and ISU students answered

20 A Veterans’ Sanctuary employee takes pride in helping other veterans

23 Carol Moore teaches Treasure Valley students how the Boise River aids the water cycle

24 From proud New England roots, ISU’s first lady has ‘bloomed where she’s planted’

25 The passing of former ISU president Myron Coulter

263033

Vignettes of students and faculty that make Idaho State University great

Alumni news: summer concert; Boise events; new commencement tradition; Sports Hall of Fame; Homecoming 2012

Trackings

3Spring 2012

A Distinguished Past,A Promising Future

Check Out ISU Magazine

On The GoYou know the drill. Grab your mobile phone and take a picture of the QR code to visit the online edition of Idaho State University Magazine.

At Idaho State University, we are pleased not only to enjoy substantial success in many fields today, but we are proud of a distinguished past and look forward to a bright future.

In this issue of Idaho State Univer-sity Magazine, you will find stories of researchers making gains in nuclear pharmacy and biological anthropology. You’ll also find fond farewells to former Idaho State University presidents Myron

“Barney” Coulter and Donald Walker, who passed away this year. These men, and count-less other men and women have helped shape the institution we are a part of today.

You’ll find stories of students doing great

work today, all with bright futures ahead of them. Recent geosciences graduate Carol Moore is teaching children the importance of caring for water resources. Veteran and student Tomarra Byington is working hard to help other veterans have a successful Idaho State University experience. Music student Teaira Burge represented the institution well at audi-tions for the Metropolitan Opera this past winter. These students are making a difference today, and I am excited to see

President Arthur Vailas

the knowledge, skills and dedication they can continue to bring to our world in the future.

Our students, faculty, staff and alumni are also a part of the communi-ties where they live and work. On page 17, you can read about David Hachey, a pharmacist at the ISU Family Medicine Residency and a well-respected leader in HIV treatment in Southeast Idaho. Hachey was recently honored with a Breaking Boundaries Essence Award for his work.

While we work with the community, we are fortunate to also have members of the community work with us to make the educational experience even better for our students. Our I Love ISU campaign, where friends of ISU ask their friends and neighbors to give, raised more than $380,000 for students. Our community members have worked with Idaho State University to build the CommUniversity events in the spring and the fall. The fall event is hosted by the community, and the spring event was hosted here on campus, giving us an opportunity to see what we can accomplish together.

Partnerships such as these are key to the future of higher education. At Idaho State University, we are thankful and proud of the partnerships we are nurtur-ing to create a brighter future.

Arthur C. Vailas, Ph.D.President, Idaho State University


921 South 8th Ave., Stop 8265Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8265

(208) 282-3620

Arthur C. Vailas, Ph.D.University President

Kent M. Tingey, D.A. ’97Vice President, University Advancement

Mark [email protected]

Director, Marketing and Communications

K.C. [email protected]

Director, Alumni Relations

Idaho State University Magazine welcomes letters, comments and

story ideas. Direct them to the postal address below, or send an e-mail to

[email protected].

Idaho State University Magazine staff Editor Emily FrandsenContributors Nicole Blanchard Chris Gabettas Kim Khan - ’12 Mark Levine Julie Hillebrant - ’99 Andrew Taylor Casey Thompson - ’86Designer Joey Gifford - ’03Photo Services Susan Duncan - ’95 Bethany Baker

Office of Alumni RelationsIdaho State University

921 S. 8th Avenue, Stop 8033Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8033

(208) 282-3755 or (800) 933-4781 or e-mail: [email protected]

www.isu.edu

PostmasterISU Magazine is published twice a year by the Office of Marketing

and Communications at Idaho State University. Send address changes to

the Office of Alumni Relations at 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8033, Pocatello, ID

83209-8033 or send an e-mail [email protected].

Freelance journalists are encouraged to submit queries for topical stories with an Idaho State University connection. Please send queries by email to Emily Frandsen at [email protected], or call

(208) 282-3164.

Roger Williams, one of Idaho State University’s most famous alumni and the greatest-selling pianist of all time, was fondly recalled by the ISU community.

Williams died Oct. 8 in his home in Los Angeles, following complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 87.

“While most people knew Roger for his immense talent, beautiful music, and energetic on-stage showmanship, Art and I are very thankful that we knew him as both a friend of Idaho State University and as a personal friend,” said Laura Vailas, Idaho State University’s first lady and wife of ISU President Arthur C. Vailas. “We will remember Roger for his warmth, as well as his love of people, music, and life. We will miss him greatly.”

Williams was scheduled to perform a concert on Oct. 1 at Idaho State University as part of the “Season of Note” series, but had to cancel due to his illness. He was honored at this year’s ISU Homecoming with a President’s Medallion award.

He maintained contact with ISU even during his last days.

“I had the pleasure of visiting with Roger two weeks before his passing,” said K.C. Felt, director, ISU Alumni Relations. “He maintained that fighter mentality to the end.”

“We honored him at Homecoming with one of our President’s Medallion awards,” Felt continued. “He was thoroughly hon-ored yet disappointed he couldn’t join us for the celebration or his planned concert. He asked me to tell everyone how special this honor was to him and that he ‘abso-lutely loves ISU.’ He was a true friend of ISU and will be missed greatly.”

Williams attended ISU as Louis Weertz, and graduated from ISU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in general music. He also completed the V-12 College Navy Training program, a one-year officer training school. He later earned degrees from Drake Uni-versity and the Juilliard School of Music.

Williams had an astounding 18 gold and platinum albums to his credit. He has released more than 100 albums and played for nine U.S. presidents. Williams is the composer of “Autumn Leaves” – the greatest selling piano recording of all time.

He was honored as an ISU Distin-guished Alumnus in 1976. Williams, born Jan. 1, 1925, in Omaha, Neb., began playing the piano at age 3. He has performed in major venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and the White House. The latter has earned him the title of “pianist to the Presidents.”

Williams burst onto the popular music scene in 1955 when he recorded “Autumn Leaves,” the only piano instru-mental to ever reach “number one” on the Billboard singles charts. His version became an American classic. Williams followed with more million-selling records. “Born Free,” “The Impossible Dream,” “Til,” “Almost Paradise,” “Maria,” “Lara’s Theme from Dr. Zhivago” and the theme from “Somewhere in Time” are only some of the many hits he made dur-ing his long career.

For more information on Williams visit www.mrpianotoday.com.

Kim Khan

His Last SongReMeMbeRIng MR. PIano, RogeR WIllIaMS

Hometown SupportStoRe oPenS to HelP SHoW SPIRIt

Idaho State University Bengal fans will be seeing an array of new merchandise this year at the new Orange & Black Store. The store is being overseen by alumnus Terry Fredrickson who is also the executive direc-tor of New Day Products & Resources.

“There’s a need for this kind of store. The location is the perfect outlet for our apparel. This is a store for Bengal fans to gain the Bengal experience,” said Fredrick-son. “We carry everything from onesies to Flexfit fitted baseball caps to mugs. We are planning to carry Idaho State University flags in the future.”

Since the 1970s, Idaho State University has contracted with New Day Products & Resources to produce Bengal gear. This has benefited the local community tremen-dously.

“New Day gives back to the community by offering jobs to those with disabilities. When people purchase Bengal gear from us, not only are they supporting the University, they are also supporting the community and those who may not have had jobs otherwise,” said Fredrickson. “Our goal is to continue providing fans with quality products. We want to see what happens in Boise happen in Pocatello as Bengal Fever spreads.”

The Orange & Black Store is located at 123 South Main Street in Pocatello. Busi-ness hours are Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

ISU Photographic Services/Susan Duncan

Terry Fredrickson, executive director of New Day Products & Resources, is also a former student

body president at Idaho State University.

5Spring 2012

Nuclear Pharmacy Growingan InteReSt HelPed CatHy CaSHMoRe CReate a bUSIneSS In HeR fIeld

Graduating from the ISU College of Pharmacy in 1993, Cathy Cashmore never expected to be running a nuclear pharmacy. However, standing in the lab at Advanced Isotopes of Idaho surrounded by syringe pigs, lead-lined shielding, and Geiger coun-ters, “Here I am,” she said.

After graduation, Cashmore stayed in Pocatello, eventually becoming associate dean of the College of Pharmacy. After a six-month sabbatical to pursue a longtime interest in nuclear pharmacy, she came back to provide students with an opportunity to learn nuclear pharmacy, and it became a business.

She is now pharmacist-in-charge and part owner with Nicole Chopski at Ad-vanced Isotopes of Idaho in Chubbuck. It is one of the few independent nuclear phar-macies in the country. Opened in February, 2006, “it provides all of the radiopharma-ceuticals for nuclear medicine facilities from Logan, Utah, Pocatello and Idaho Falls locally, as far north as Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and as far west as Minidoka and Cassia counties,” Cashmore said.

The vast majority of all the doses that the pharmacy provides are for medical diagnostic testing, although the pharmacy does provide I-131 and Y-90 doses for treat-ment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism.

Recently, the pharmacy began treating felines with hyperthyroidism. Veterinarian Walter Rowntree was riding his bike in the area and noticed the Advanced Isotopes of Idaho sign. He stopped in and asked if they could supply I-131 and Y-90. Ever since, Rowntree has offered it as a treatment option for cats with hyperthyroidism. Ac-cording to Cashmore, the cats are brought in on a Friday, receive their injection and are isolated for three days because they are “hot” with radiation.

“Radioactive iodine has always been the gold standard treatment for this disease,” Rowntree said. “In the past, a cat owner would have to travel to Utah, Washington or Colorado for the treatment.”

According to Rowntree, I-131 treatment is also safe for the cat, and the prognosis is excellent. The two other treatment op-

tions are surgery or two to three doses of medication every day. So far, three cats have been treated with I-131 through the partnership, and “so far, all worked beauti-fully as expected,” Rowntree said. “We are grateful to Cathy for being willing to help.”

Advanced Isotopes of Idaho has also been a great opportunity for students to learn radiopharmacy. The College of Phar-macy not only offers an elective in nuclear pharmacy but a rotation opportunity for P4’s through the lab. “After a single rota-tion, students earn approximately half of their hours to become an ANP (Authorized Nuclear Pharmacist),” Cashmore said.

In fact, Micah Rydman, one of Cash-more’s first students at Advanced Isotopes, opted to complete his certification in nuclear pharmacy and began work after graduation at Cardinal Nuclear in Boise. He quickly rose to manager and is currently a preceptor offering Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience and Advanced Phar-macy Practice Experience opportunities for pharmacy students.

Julie Hillebrant

In October, Idaho State University and radiation technology company ScanTech announced a partnership that will create a test-ing ground for the latest in national security technology.

The company is providing Eric Burgett, ISU assistant professor in the School of Engineering, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics, with the use of a high-quality accelerator that can scan and view the insides of large land and sea cargo contain-ers. There are currently only two such accelerators in use in the world.

Unlike an X-ray, these scanners can tell what round packages contain. Being able to see what has been put in cargo containers from overseas could have implications for national security. Products tested at ISU will go to border crossings and ports-of-entry.

“It gives us the ability to image not only cargo containers, but we’ll be able to take the same accelerator and use it for nuclear energy research,” Burgett said.

The high-tech imaging accelerator may also enable ISU research-ers to implement new, cost-effective techniques in irradiating fruits and produce.

A third possible application of the innovative technology is the ir-radiation of medical equipment, specifically surgical instruments. Cur-rently instruments have to be shipped out of the area, which is costly.

Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas said ScanTech is just the first company to announce a partnership with ISU to use the RISE (Research and Innovation in Science and Engineering) Complex. The facility was designed to host research partnerships with both the private and public sector.

ScanTech President and CEO Dolan Falconer, whose company is based in Georgia, said he is excited to build opportunities for students, and a relationship with businesses in the community. ScanTech also partners with Premier Technologies in Blackfoot.

“This will grow into commercial, long-term strategic partnerships for manufacturers to actually help us in manufacturing and assem-bling for deployment of our product around the world for sale and income,” he said.

Falconer and Vailas also noted how these types of partnerships create unique learning opportunities for ISU students.

ISU, ScanTech Partner for TestingteCHnology booStS fUtURe of SeCURIty and eneRgy

Left to right: Dolan Falconer, George Imel, President Arthur Vailas and Eric Burgett at the press conference announcing the new partnership.



(208) 373-1700 • www.isu.edu/meridian

Meridian Health Science Center

LEADINGIDAHO

Educating health professionalsWe offer more than 20 graduate and undergraduate programs in the health sciences and provide dental,

counseling, and speech language services for underserved populations at our clinics.

Patricia Terrell, a native of eastern Kentucky, has recently come on board with Idaho State University as the new vice president of student affairs. Ter-rell is a “country girl” who grew up on a Kentucky farm that has been in her family for five generations. She graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in college student personnel. After realizing how much she loved working with students, she decided to pursue a doctorate in higher educa-tion administration from the University of Kentucky.

Terrell, who started at ISU last June, began her career working as a student worker in industrial education and the dean of University College’s office. Nine months after graduating with her bach-elor’s degree, she returned to the university to work with the dean for the University of Louisville Foundation.

“I found myself drawn to students who needed help and started serving more and more as an all-purpose unofficial ombuds-man,” Terrell said. “Within a few months I ran into a professor on campus who asked me what I liked about what I did and I said, ‘working with students.’ He said, ‘Do you know you can get a degree in that?’ I thought he was pulling my leg. He said, ‘Yes, it is called college student personnel, and I am the chair of the department.’ The next thing I knew, I was enrolled in the master’s program.”

Terrell lived in Logan, Utah, for five and a half years and was familiar with the environment and quality of life in the In-termountain West along with the cultural focus on integrity, hard work and family. During her interview on the ISU campus, she was impressed with the faculty and staff’s obvious dedication to the University and students. She felt that Idaho State University was the right place for her.

“ISU is small enough to get to know and assist so many students on an in-dividual level, yet large enough to offer all the advantages of a bigger university without all the disadvantages,” Terrell said. “It has been such a pleasure to work with so many student affairs colleagues who have such a great sense of humor and are so devoted to student development.”

Terrell believes her mission is to en-hance student learning and engagement, with the realization that a lot of learning goes on outside the classroom. She and

her team would like to see ISU become more of a residential campus because liv-ing on campus correlates with “academic success, understanding and appreciating diversity and retention.” At the same time, Terrell and her colleagues consider that the average age of undergraduates is 26, and providing programs, services and activities that appeal to and support non-traditional students is essential.

“Recruitment and admission is also a part of student affairs, so our goals include increasing our enrollment to capacity while enhancing the academic profile of admit-ted students and expanding the number of students from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented populations,” Terrell said.

In addition to the student affairs team, Terrell works closely with Provost Barbara Adamcik and Vice President for Finance and Administration Jim Fletcher to accom-plish goals for students.

“There is so much potential for change but right now our focus is on gathering data and information to support evidence

Terrell leads student affairs at ISU

Patricia Terrell

natIve KentUCKIan, Self-PRoClaIMed ‘CoUntRy gIRl’ taKeS HelM

based decision making,” Terrell said. “We need a lot of baseline data as a starting point for implementing plans, so we can achieve our goals.”

Kim Khan


7Spring 2012

Studying Nitrogen ReleaseHoW a CHange In nItRogen-ReleaSe levelS Can IMPaCt tHe envIRonMent

Two Idaho State University scientists – biological and geosciences professor Bruce Finney and geosciences post-doctoral re-searcher Mark Shapley – are among a team of 19 researchers who have documented the signature of increased human nitrogen emissions across the Northern Hemisphere in study that has been published in the prestigious journal Science.

Plenty has been written about the increase of carbon released in the environ-ment by humans, but this is a major study documenting the release of nitrogen, which also has the potential for dramatic environ-mental effects, into remote watersheds in Idaho, the western United States, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Norway.

The lead author on the study “A Coher-ent Signature of Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition to Watersheds of the Northern Hemisphere” was Gordon Holtgrieve, from the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. He worked with colleagues from around the globe on the study published Dec. 16.

“Unlike carbon, nitrogen is generally distributed more closely to its human-caused sources, but we found evidence of its distribution in places far away from its sources,” Finney said. “The release of nitrogen from human sources really starts to pick up about 100 years ago (this paper analyzes nitrogen sources going back 400 years) and it has increased exponentially to the present.”

Finney and Shapley have been taking sediment core samples from remotes lakes in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. They extract sediment samples from lakebed mud, and – similar to analyzing tree rings – inter-pret layers of sediment using a sophisticated instrument called a mass spectrometer.

The researchers measured recent chang-es in the ratio of nitrogen isotopes, which are distinct forms of the element, which identifies input from human activities.

“Nitrogen coming from humans has a signature that is different from nitrogen from other sources,” notes Finney.

The new study appearing in Science is an expansion of an earlier study of lakes in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska that was co-led by Finney and three other principal investigators who are authors on this study.

“This is probably the first good evidence that watersheds in these remote areas of the world are having their nitrogen budgets changed in ways we can detect over the last century,” Shapley said. “Changes in nitro-

gen levels really tend to have widespread and significant changes on the ecosystems supported by those lakes.

“Organisms in these lakes,” continued Shapley, “are sensitive to nitrogen in those watersheds. Human loading of nitrogen in the atmosphere is having a hemispheric, and possibly global impact. It’s possible that widespread changes in the ecosystems may not be far behind.”

Humans release nitrogen into the envi-ronment through a wide variety of means, including burning fossil-based and other fuels and applying fertilizers.

“The studies on nitrogen have implica-tions for carbon cycles in the environment as well,” Finney said. “People studying the global carbon cycle know it does not work separately from nitrogen. You have to think of the cycles of both nitrogen and carbon to understand how they will change in the future.”

Other co-authors are Daniel Schindler, Peter Lisi and Lauren Rogers with the University of Washington, Alexander Wolfe

with the University of Alberta, William Hobbs with Science Museum of Minnesota, Eric Ward with National Marine Fisheries Service, Lynda Bunting and Peter Leavitt with University of Regina; Guangjie Chen with McGill University and Yunnan Normal University, Irene Gregory-Eaves with McGill University, Sofia Holmgren with Lund University, Mark Lisac and Patrick Walsh with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Koren Nydick with Mountain Studies Institute, Colorado, Jasmine Saros with University of Maine, and Daniel Selbie with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Funding came from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alberta Water Research Institute, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the National Science Foundation, and Canada Founda-tion for Innovation.

Science is produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Andrew Taylor


This is the type of drilling rig that Professor Bruce Finney and geosciences post-doctoral researcher Mark Shapley use to obtain sediment core samples for their nitrogen emission studies.


They See Me Rollin’CoMMUnIveRSIty event SCoReS StUdent neW WHeelS

Since last August, something wild has been prowling the streets of Pocatello. Many people have caught glimpses of the orange-and-black striped beast as it makes its way through the city streets, leaving both bewilderment and amusement in its wake.

Luckily this entity isn’t an escaped ani-mal — it’s Idaho State University freshman Zach Entenman in his orange-and-black 1988 Lincoln Town Car, otherwise known as the Bengal Car.

Since winning the jazzed-up car in August at Pocatello’s annual Welcome Back Orange and Black event, the 18-year-old music major has been turning quite a few heads with his unusual ride.

“I mostly get stares,” said Entenman of the usual reactions to his vibrant vehicle. “One time I was driving out in the country and this van pulled up next to me. The people inside took pictures of my car.”

The Lincoln Town Car was donated by Jim Rogers, owner of NBC News Channel 6, and the special Bengal paint job was donated by local dealership Cole Chevrolet.

Entenman was thrilled when his name was drawn at the Welcome Back event, which is organized by the CommUniver-sity Committee, a group of local business leaders and university officials dedicated to expanding the relationship between the university and community.

Though to some all the attention might seem like a perk, for Entenman one of the biggest benefits of winning the Bengal Car was the ability to transport his upright bass, which he plays in the Idaho State Civic Symphony.

“I can take it to rehearsals with very little effort,” he said. “My family car was very small, there’s no way my bass would fit in there. Transporting my bass in the Bengal Car is certainly a lot easier than carrying it.”

The Bengal Car, Entenman’s first vehicle, offers him much more than just an interesting ride. In addition to serving the function of instrument transport, the car has also made it possible for Entenman to easily return to his hometown of Meridian as he pleases.

“The car allows me to have a little more independence,” said Entenman. “I can just get in my car and go.”

The Bengal Car has added more than just a feeling of independence to Enten-man’s life. He said his Idaho State Univer-sity school spirit received quite a boost as a result of winning the car and essentially becoming a travelling mascot.

“When I’m driving that car around Boise I’m kind of representing ISU,” Enten-man said. “That makes me feel good.”

Former Alumni Director and CommUni-versity Committee Co-Chair Valorie Watkins

said that attitude plays right into the goal she and fellow organizers were hoping for: pride in Idaho State University and the Pocatello community.

“With the car giveaway we were hoping to get large numbers of students to come down to Welcome Back and see what Po-catello’s all about,” she said. “We’re trying to strengthen the bond between ISU and Pocatello and make Pocatello a real college town.”

Entenman is grateful for the opportuni-ties he has had at ISU. “I was lucky to win because I would have had a much harder time at ISU without it,” he explained.

Entenman’s experience is one that Wat-kins said she hopes goes a long way toward improving both school and community spirit.

“I hope events like this make the entire campus understand and realize that there’s a whole community here,” Watkins said. “We’re all one entity working for the better-ment of ourselves and our community.”

Nicole Blanchard

ISU Photographic Services/Bethany Baker

Zach Entenman poses with his bass and the Bengal Car which makes it much easier to transport his bass.

9Spring 2012

It Runs in the Family

fatHeR, daUgHteR exUde PRIde foR PoCatello and IdaHo State UnIveRSItyIf there is an Idaho State University Dis-

tinguished Scholar gene, scientists might want to examine the DNA of Pocatello’s Hill family for some clues and ISU administrators may want to learn to clone it.

Richard and Cynthia Hill are a rare father-daughter team in higher education. They have worked at Idaho State University for a combined 60 years; this spring Richard is finishing his 45th year, Cindy her 15th.

As unusual as it is for this pair to teach at the same institution, it is possibly unheard of that such a duo has been honored with its in-stitution’s highest academic awards. Both Hills have been honored with ISU Distinguished Faculty Awards. Richard, a math professor, was honored as Distinguished Researcher in 1990, and Cindy, an economics professor and current director of the ISU Student Success Center, was honored with the Distinguished Public Service Award in 2009. Cindy was fur-ther honored as the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Idaho Professor of the Year in the 2004-05 academic year.

Richard, 72, has worked at ISU since 1967, the same year Cindy, one of his three children, was born. Cindy came to work at Idaho State University 30 years later. Indi-vidually and collectively their service to Idaho

State University has been remarkable.The elder Hill said he plans on teaching

and researching full time several more years, as long as he remains healthy. During the last year, however, he experienced a hip injury that has been slow to heal, making it painful to stand, so he may retire earlier.

“He’s still teaching full time and he loves it,” said Cindy of her father. “He loves math and that’s why he hasn’t retired yet. He can’t imagine not doing math every single day of his life.”

Richard teaches a full load – in fall 2011 he taught three courses: linear algebra, calcu-lus and trigonometry – and he is pursuing his research interests, linear algebra and matrix theory. He has had 36 papers published in refereed journals.

His papers have titles such as “Inertia Theory for a Finite Set of Complex Matrices,” and other topics outside the understanding of a lay audience, but his research ideas have been applied to help design an orthopedic limb and were used in a NASA project.

The highlight of his career has been in-teracting with students. Richard is still known on campus for having his students, sometimes all at once, come to the blackboards in his classrooms, so he can help several students at

once complete their work and students can help each other.

“I think the interaction with the doctoral students I’ve directed is probably the highlight of my career,” he said. “I’m really proud that I’ve directed 16 doctoral students through their dissertations, spending hours and hours and hours with them. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some outstanding students.”

As much as Richard has enjoyed his career in academia, both he and Cindy said he never pushed his daughter to pursue a career in higher education.

“I didn’t push her at all,” Richard said. “She’s always pursued her own interests and was easy to raise. She did her schoolwork, did her athletics, and was always active. She got a lot out of her high school and college experiences.”

For her part, Cindy said, “As a dad, he was always the type of person who said ‘do what makes you happy’ and ‘fulfill your own life.’ He never pushed a career in higher education; when I first went to college I thought I wanted to be a lawyer.”

Both Richard and Cindy played tennis at the college level, but the sport played a larger role in Cindy’s life early on. In high school, Cindy was one of the top tennis players in the


Cynthia and her father Richard Hill


The ChampionsISU WoMen’S baSKetball teaM taKeS bIg SKy RegUlaR-SeaSon and toURnaMent tItleS

After recording one of the best seasons in program history, the Idaho State women’s basketball team fell 70-41 to No. 3 seed Miami (FL) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bengals finished the 2011-12 season 24-8 overall and came within just one win of tying the most wins in a single season in program history.

“I’m very proud of our team to make it to this point,” ISU Head Coach Seton Sobo-lewski said. “I told them in the locker room, they helped make a dream of mine come true. As a coach, you work hard your whole life and you hope you get an opportunity to be a head coach someday and you hope that you can put a team together that can make a run to win a championship and maybe play in the NCAA Tournament. I’m very, very proud of them and I told them I am indebted to them the rest of my life.”

The 2011-12 season was one of the best Idaho State has ever seen. The program recorded its third regular season and Big Sky Tournament title. Idaho State started off Big Sky play with an 8-0 run and ISU’s defensive play was not only leading the conference but was one of the best nationally. The 2011-12 preseason also saw impressive wins against Chattanooga, South Florida University and Boise State University.

After leading the Bengals to their best season under his leadership, Sobolewski was named Big Sky Coach of the Year in a unani-mous decision by the league’s coaches. After defeating Montana on Jan. 7, Sobolewski had recorded a win against every Big Sky team over his four-year career at ISU and his career record at ISU is now 68-55.

The Big Sky defending champs will re-turn all of its starters but one next season.

state, finishing second in singles as a fresh-man and senior. The other two years of her prep career she represented Idaho at Seven-teen Magazine’s annual teen tennis tourna-ment in California that featured the top prep players in the nation.

After graduating from high school, Cindy played No. 1 singles at the University of Montana, where she earned her undergradu-ate degree in economics, and was an assistant tennis coach at Washington State University, where she earned her doctorate in economics. She also coached tennis at the high school level while attending WSU.

Cindy, for the most part, quit playing ten-nis after graduate school because it takes too much time to stay at the varsity playing level. Her father, however, when not injured, is still a regular on the tennis courts.

She was thrilled when ISU offered her a teaching position.

“ISU was the perfect place for me,” con-tinued Hill. “When they offered me the job I felt like I’d won the lottery, that I’d be able to come back and be with my family and work at a university that really cares about learning and teaching.”

Cindy began at ISU as a visiting instructor in fall 1997, then became a tenure-track fac-ulty member the next year. Initially, she held a faculty position, but has since held several administrative positions, while continuing to teach economics. She was director of the ISU Honors Degree Program, the only one in the state, for about three years, director for the ISU Center for Teaching and Learning for three years, and has been the executive direc-tor the ISU Student Success Center for the last two years.

“My true love is teaching, but I also really do enjoy helping students achieve their goals, whether it is in the classroom or through the Student Success Center or the University Honors Program, “ Cindy said.

A recent highlight of her career is be-ing the co-author of the new edition of the university-level McGraw-Hill economics text-book, “The Economy Today,” by lead author Bradley Schiller.

“McGraw-Hill contacted me out of the blue, and said Brad Schiller wanted me to be co-author on his textbook,” Cindy said. “Working on this textbook is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it has been extremely satisfying.”

Her interests are not bound by her aca-demic endeavors. She was honored with her Distinguished Public Service Award for efforts outside of the university setting, including work with Gateway Habitat for Humanity since 2004 and work with the “Trick or Treat for the Mind” book drive and reading cam-paign for disadvantaged youth.

Andrew Taylor


Ashleigh Vella and Chelsea Pickering pose for a promotional shot before the season started.

11Spring 2012

Cutting the EdgeWoRKIng on neW WayS to UndeRStand an old PRoCeSS

Jim Woods was working on his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and living in Twin Falls in the 1970s when he met “this Crabtree guy chipping an arrowhead out of broken bottles” out in the desert, a meeting that changed the course of Woods’ life.

The legacy of cutting-edge flintknap-ping passed on from one South Central Idaho pioneering anthropologist to another began its fruition because of the meeting between Woods, a current College of Southern Idaho and affiliate Idaho State University anthropol-ogy professor, and the near legendary Donald Crabtree.

Crabtree, who lived from June 1912 to November 1980, was a self-taught flintknap-per and was living in Kimberly when Woods met him. Crabtree was not a trained archaeol-ogist, but had achieved such skill at flintknap-ping – which is making tools and blades out of stone using soft percussion tools such as bones or antlers and other methods – that he became known as the “Dean of American Flintknapping.”

Crabtree produced the publication “An Introduction to Flintworking” in 1972 that is still an important work for the study of flint-working. Crabtree taught at ISU from 1969 to

1974 and his stone tools were featured in an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1969. While working for the ISU Idaho Museum of Natural History, Crabtree received National Science Foundation grants to establish a summer school outside of Twin Falls, and he would bring in about a dozen students, from all around the globe, to teach them about what he learned about stone tool making.

“I met Don after he retired and we struck up a friendship and he started teaching me a little bit about flintknapping,” Woods said. “He introduced me to friends and colleagues, and he increased my interest in archeology and anthropology.”

Eventually, Woods earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in anthropology in 1982.

Today, he is an accomplished flintknap-per in his own right. One example of this is his involvement in a project to help solve the mysteries surrounding tiny beads produced from of a special type of obsidian in pre-Aztecan Mexico, about 1,200 years ago.

Through a connection he made through Crabtree with Alejandro Pastrana of the Mexico National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico City, Woods was asked

to contribute to this project.The beads are from 1/8- to 1/4-inch in di-

ameter and are made from a type of obsidian that has microscopic air pockets that refract light, giving the beads a gold shimmer when light is shined on them, similar to tiger’s-eye gemstones. The beads were only discovered about 10 years ago at the Teotihuacan ar-chaeological site near Mexico City, where the largest ancient pyramids in the New World are found. Teotihuacan was an ancient city to the Aztecs and was considered the birthplace to the gods by them.

“The beads are made of a stone that looks like metal,” Woods said. “They glow like py-rite, almost gold. It’s really beautiful stuff and all of it was mined out of one giant quarry.”

Woods is working with Pastrana to repli-cate and better understand the significance of these beautiful beads.

“What I find interesting is that at first the beads seem like such simple, mundane things, but it has turned out to be quite a challenge for modern archeologists to replicate making them and to understand their significance,” Woods said.

Below: Jim WoodsRight: Donald Crabtree

Submitted Photo


Pastrana contacted Woods for help studying the beads around a year ago, about the same time a workshop for making the beads was discovered at a Teotihuacan quarry where the obsidian for making the beads and famous Aztecan blades was mined. Woods is helping Pastrana understand how pre-Aztec craftsmen made the beads from thin frag-ments of obsidian blades.

Woods said he is now one step away from replicating making the beads. The ancient Mexican craftsmen were famous for making obsidian blades about 4 to 8 inches long that were 1/2-inch wide and 1/16-inch thick.

“It was a very complex process to make these blades,” he said, “But they would make notches about a half inch apart on the blade, and then break a square piece about a half inch in diameter to start making the bead.”

The next step is the one Woods and col-

leagues are having trouble replicating. Once the craftsmen had the half-inch-square pieces they would use some type of tool to tap the center of the square piece to punch out a cone piece (think of seeing a cone in a windshield or piece of glass that has been dinged). They would then chip out the center of the piece, smoothing it, and then round the square outside edge into a circle.

“We can do everything but punch the hole out of the center of the square,” he said. “When we try we usually break the square.”

Woods has now developed a simple wooden device that he thinks will do the job of breaking out the center cone.

“We’re getting closer. It appears so simple, but we haven’t quite unlocked it,” he said. “Recent experiments using the wooden device have resulted in some successful cone remov-als, but the number of attempts that break the

square are still too high.”Another thing Woods and his colleagues

haven’t quite unlocked is the significance of the beads.

“At first, we thought the beads were worn by everybody, but researchers are coming to the conclusion that the beads were not worn as common jewelry, but were worn by war-riors and ambassadors,” Woods said. “They were sewn on clothing and worn as status symbols. They’re beyond simple beads and Mexican researchers are calling them sequins, sort of equated with the brass buttons and pendants soldiers wear today.”

Researchers have found as many as doz-ens of the beads in burials, but some drawings show white cotton garments adorned with up to a hundred beads.

Learning about the sequin-like beads was bolstered when researchers found the workshop where the beads were made. Pas-trana was able to send Woods 20 beads and fragments of others, which are on temporary loan from the Mexico National Institute of Anthropology and History.

“They found lots and lots of pieces and we were able to lay them out in proper sequence so we could see how they were made,” Woods said.

He said that modern technologies have greatly enhanced the ability for research-ers from different countries, separated by a long distance, to collaborate on this type of research project.

“It’s interesting how easy it has been to work back and forth between countries,” Woods said. “Ten years ago, this wouldn’t have been possible. It would have taken 10 years to accomplish what we have in the last year, and we’ve each only been working on this when we’ve had the spare time to do it.”

Woods said he was able to use an elec-tronic microscope that cost “a couple hundred dollars” that plugged into the USB port of his computer to take high-resolution photos of the diminutive beads. The researchers could then send pictures of their discoveries back and forth. He also temporarily posted videos of his research discoveries and questions on YouTube for his colleagues in Mexico to see.

“It’s intriguing how technology is allow-ing us to do things we haven’t done before,” Woods said.

Andrew Taylor

Photo of beads or sequins, by Alajandro Pastrana. Photo appears courtesy of Pastrana.

ISU Photographic Services

5 cm

On June 8, the Idaho Museum of Natural History will open A Don Crabtree Retrospective highlighting his work as a flintknapper.

Admission to the museum is free. For more information, visit imnh.isu.edu.

13Spring 2012

Treating

HIVDavid Hachey, Pharm.D., and the Ryan White HIV Program at the Idaho State University

Family Medicine Residency are cornerstones for providing medical treatment to people with HIV infection in Southeast Idaho.

Over the last 13 years at ISU’s Department of Family Medicine, Hachey, a clinical pro-fessor, has secured more than $1 million in funding – primarily from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration – for the care of HIV patients in Southeast Idaho and western Wyoming. ISU Family Medicine is currently providing care and services for about 120 HIV patients.

“Our mission here at the Department of Family Medicine has always been to provide care to underserved populations,” said Rex Force, Pharm.D., director of the ISU Family Medicine Clinical Research Center. “HIV care is highly specialized and these patients need the right expertise and attention. The treatment provided by our team is a valuable service to the community and provides those patients with top-notch care.”

“Our HIV program has several levels of benefit. For our patients, the location provides local access to care preventing patients from needing to drive to Salt Lake City or Boise,” Hachey said. “But there is also another huge benefit – we train physicians and students on the basics of HIV care.”

Hachey, a pharmacist by training, was recently certified as a specialist in treating HIV by the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the leading organization in the United States for certifying HIV specialists. He’s the only pharmacist in the state with this certification.

Besides Hachey, the HIV team consists of infectious disease specialist Dr. Martha Buit-rago, licensed practical nurse Shane Ames, and family nurse practitioner Lee Abraszewski.

Family Medicine also collaborates on HIV treatment with other ISU departments, includ-ing the psychology and physical and occupational therapy departments, and the ISU Idaho Dental Education Program.

Last fall, Dr. Hachey was awarded a two-year grant in the amount of $169,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services Special Projects of National Significance to

Idaho State University’s David Hachey and Team Expanding Southeast Idaho HIV Care at ISU Family Medicine Residency

“The approach for care in 2012 for patientswith HIV is that it is a chronic disease. Patients

diagnosed in 2012 can expect a near normal life expectancy if they have the right treatment.”

– David Hachey, Pharm.D.Idaho State University


Dave Hachey’s efforts in treating HIV in Southeast Idaho have not gone unnoticed. In December, Hachey was hon-ored with a Breaking Boundaries Essence Award to “recog-nize dedicated service for the HIV community in the last decade.” The ISU faculty member received the award at the Breaking Boundaries annual banquet and fundraiser, which raised $50,000 for the group.

Breaking Boundaries (www.breakingboundariesidaho.org/), based in Idaho Falls, defines its mission as helping “those with HIV/AIDS in Southeast Idaho live a life of independence and dignity, through direct financial support, and also to increase awareness and prevention by providing of HIV/AIDS education to the community.”

“Dave was honored because members of the HIV/AIDs com-munity recommended him because of all the service he’s provided for more than a decade,” said John Schroeder, ISU associate professor of physician assistant studies, and a founding board member of Breaking Boundaries.

“He is the resource on AIDs therapy in eastern Idaho,” con-tinued Schroeder, “But beyond that he is an amazing human being and teacher, and an outstanding resource not just for the HIV/AIDs community but for what he does for the entire community. I can’t imagine anyone being more deserving.”

treat hepatitis C in patients co-infected with both HIV and hepatitis. ISU Family Medicine will now provide additional treatment to about 20 HIV patients in Southeast Idaho who also have hepatitis C, greatly expanding the care available to them.

Hachey noted that HIV is now treated as a lifelong illness. “The approach for care in 2012 for patients with HIV is that it is a

chronic disease, like diabetes,” Hachey said. “Patients diagnosed in 2012 can expect a near normal life expectancy if they have the right treat-ment.”

He said that although infection with the virus is still a serious condi-tion, newer medications are more powerful, easier to take and have fewer side effects.

“The success we’ve had in treating HIV has gone under the radar a bit,” Hachey said. “The problem is there is still a bit of stigma in the community and around the world about HIV. Our patients are community members; they work, go to school and have families. One of our medical residents recently delivered a baby from one of our HIV-positive moms, and another patient currently is getting set to deliver. Of all the 20 or so babies we’ve delivered in the last decade, not one has contracted the virus. We provide a full spectrum of care.”

Nationally, HIV infection rates have stabilized at around 55,000 new infections per year. There are currently about 1.5 million people living with HIV in the United States. Thus, the need for care nationally and lo-cally continues to grow.

“In 1985, I was looking after young adults with HIV in the Inten-sive Care Unit – they all died,” said Dr. Jonathan Cree, chair of the ISU Department of Family Medicine. “Now, with appropriate care, they have a normal life span.

“They will need new, young, well-trained family physicians and pharmacotherapists,” continued Cree,“ to provide the specific primary and preventive medicine needs their disease demands. The model unit that Hachey, Buitrago and Abraszewski run provides not only excellent specialty patient care, but also an advanced primary care training setting for the future. We are so fortunate to have this in Southeast Idaho.”

Andrew Taylor

Honor and Recognition for Service


From left: David Hachey, nurse practitioner Lee Abraszewski and licensed practical nurse Shane Ames.

15Spring 2012

Using only a tooth, researchers at Idaho State University can help solve ancient archeological mysteries – for example, determining what someone ate hundreds of years ago on Easter Island or tracing the genetics of 2,000-year-old Roman slaves – using new technologies and methods.

“One single tooth from a skeleton can tell you a whole lot of things,” said John Dudgeon, Idaho State University anthropol-ogy assistant professor, who, among other duties, is the director of the ISU Anthro-pology-Biology Ancient DNA Extraction Laboratory.

Dudgeon and his students can extract residues from teeth and other skeletal frag-ments using the DNA Extraction Laboratory and other advanced instrumentation in the ISU Center for Archeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopy. The residues he collects include old or “ancient” DNA, stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, and microfossils of plants eaten by prehistoric

people and animals.One major area of Dudgeon’s research is

studying the archaeology of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, which is an isolated Polynesian island in the South Pacific Ocean. The island is a World Heritage Site famous for its monumental statues.

By examining 400- to 800-year old teeth from Easter Island, Dudgeon has been able to expand the understanding of its ancient peoples. He can see who they were related to, both on the island and, more distantly, their ancestors from other islands. He can also better understand their diet, and whether people ate more meat or fish.

These discoveries give Dudgeon and his

colleagues many clues about the lifestyle and use of the land by the ancient inhabit-ants of Easter Island. His studies suggest, for example, that most of the protein the inhabitants consumed was terrestrial, rather than marine.

“They relied on terrestrial protein mostly, even though they lived on a remote, relatively cold and barren island, without much to eat that they didn’t bring with them,” Dudgeon said. “We find of a lot of rat and chicken as protein sources, but not much evidence of marine protein, like fish or sea mammals.”

The genetic sampling provides a lot of important information. From the teeth col-

A closer look at some of the teeth that John Dudgeon is studying.


lected from 13 skeletons at one site on Eas-ter Island, Dudgeon was able to determine that three of the people were directly related to each other.

“It is amazing that we can look at these ancient remains and determine very pre-cisely how closely people are related to one another,” Dudgeon said.

Additionally, genetic testing can also help address other unresolved questions. Dudgeon is hoping by examining the DNA of ancient Easter Islanders, he can trace the genetics of those residents to iden-tify more precisely where the residents of

Easter Island and other Polynesian Islands originated.

“With the studies we’ve done, we’ve al-ready determined that the residents of Rapa Nui were more genetically diverse than what was previously thought,” Dudgeon said.

Dudgeon and his colleagues from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee will soon begin a project to do DNA analysis of about 110 teeth that are about 2,000 years old. The teeth come from Roman slaves and the goal is to try to determine the slaves’ origins. By tracing the genetics of the slaves, using

only the teeth as samples, researchers can learn much about ancient Rome. Dudgeon has been contracted by the international Roman DNA Project to complete analysis of the slaves’ teeth and will likely begin that study by year’s end.

These new technologies and advanced methods are allowing researchers to be much less obtrusive in completing their studies. They can now glean as much infor-mation from a small fragment of bone or tooth as they could previously learn from a whole human skeleton. As is the case with the Roman DNA Project, it is much easier to ship and obtain a number of teeth than to receive 110 skeletons to complete the research.

Dudgeon touted the resources available at Idaho State University and the special services the institution can offer, such as ISU’s Molecular Research Core Facility.

“With the equipment, protocols and expertise we have in place, these projects could really put ISU on the map, in terms of biomolecular archaeology,” Dudgeon said. “We can do a number of things particularly well here at ISU which can allow us to ana-lyze archaeological samples from around the world. We’re on the cusp of doing some amazing things with something as small as a single tooth. No pun intended.”

Andrew Taylor

The following websites feature information on topics covered in this story:

For info on Dudgeon’s research interests; www.isu.edu/anthro/dudgeon.shtml

ISU’s Ancient DNA Extraction Labwww.isu.edu/anthro/adel.shtml

ISU’s Center for Archaeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopywww.isu.edu/camas

Roman DNA Projectwww.romandnaproject.org


John Dudgeon

17Spring 2012

Voice Talents EmergeMet oPeRa aUdItIon dRaWS talent to tHe StePHenS CenteR

Growing up, Idaho State University senior vocal performance major Teaira Burge’s musical aspirations were decidedly country.

“With my family, we were always listening to Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and other country singers,” said Burge, who is a native of Pocatello and who attended Highland High School. “I wanted to be the next Faith Hill.”

But a funny thing happened on the way to Nashville: Burge discovered her love and talent for classical, and then operatic singing.

At age 6, she began singing in the Idaho State Children’s Choir. Through that entity, she met her junior high and high school voice teacher, Melanie Reynolds, who is a graduate of ISU and was a student of ISU Professor of Voice Kathleen Lane. Since then, Burge has been trying to im-prove and expand her singing talents after discovering a love for a different musical genre. After high school she entered ISU as a music major in vocal performance, study-ing the last five years with Lane herself.

The peak of Burge’s operatic aspirations

so far was her success at the Metropolitan Opera National Council district audition hosted by Idaho State University in late Oc-tober, which was also a spectacular success overall for the University. Burge was one of three sopranos to win the competition.

Fifteen contestants from as far away as Minnesota and Texas competed, including Jessica Jones, a Pocatello native now living in Houston, Texas. ISU was represented by two senior vocal performance majors, Burge, a coloratura soprano, and Jared Johnson, a baritone.

Along with Burge, winners included Jones and Arielle Nachtigal of Missoula, Mont.

Burge said she was both pleased and surprised that she was one of the audition’s winners.

“I’m only 23 years old and this was my first time auditioning for the district Met. I was determined to not get my hopes up about winning,” Burge said.

When the winners were named, her name was the first announced.

“I just sat there for a few seconds think-ing my ears were playing tricks on me,”

Burge said. “Afterwards I was still in shock.”Burge competed in the Metropolitan

Opera’s district competition in Seattle in January. Winners from the regional compe-tition advanced to the National Semi Finals in New York City.

“She absolutely did her personal best. I have never heard her sing better,” said Lane, her voice teacher, referring to Burge’s performance in Seattle.

“She was one of the youngest sing-ers there – of course a 29-year-old tenor won – but Teaira will always know she did her personal best,” continued Lane. “It was so exciting to hear her at that level, she was so poised. She was swimming with the sharks for heaven’s sake, but she sang like an angel.”

Two of the winners at Pocatello’s district auditions, Jones and Nachtigal, received $1,000 encouragement awards at the regional competition in Seattle, where 14 auditioned. The winner of the Northwest Region was Anthony Kahlil from Yakima, Wash.

“Idaho State University can be proud as many of the new colleagues that we met

Teaira Burge and Jared Johnson represented Idaho State University during the auditions for the Metropolitan Opera.


in Seattle all commented on the singers we sent to the regional round and more importantly, what they had heard about the MET experience that was provided for them in Pocatello,” said Diana Livingston Friedley, ISU professor of voice and ISU Met Audition director.

Opera is alive, well and growing in Southeast Idaho, and Idaho State Uni-versity scored a cultural coup by landing the Metropolitan Opera National Council district auditions, which are preliminary auditions for the most prestigious opera company in the United States. This was

the first time district auditions for the Metropolitan Opera’s Eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana District have ever been held in Idaho.

“I was delighted by how the auditions turned out and by the quality of judging,” said Livingston Friedley. “We’ve received great feedback from everybody, including Bruce Bistline, who was a sponsor of the event.”

Proof of the auditions’ success is that they will be hosted by ISU again in 2013 at the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center.

“What we have is a gold mine of a facil-ity,” Livingston Friedley said. “Probably the most important reason we were considered a viable site is the Stephens Performing Arts Center, in my opinion, the premier perform-ing venue in the Northwest. Its acoustics are unbelievable and everybody who performs there can’t believe it is here in Pocatello. We are lucky to have this world-class venue. People coming to this audition, including the international judges, were floored by our facility.”

Livingston Friedley also noted that ISU’s choral and vocal programs, although rela-tively small, are also well respected by peer institutions, and that was helpful in landing ISU as the audition site.

As for Burge, after graduating from ISU, she plans to move to Portland, Ore., to immerse herself in that city’s opera music scene, and to study with University of Oregon’s Ruth Dobson, Lane’s former voice teacher. Eventually, Burge, who still sings country tunes in her car, will attend gradu-ate school in a vocal program.

“Teaira is incredibly talented,” Lane said. “It’s just as important that she has the work ethic she does, because of that I am sure she will succeed.”

Andrew Taylor


19Spring 2012

The screaming sounds of rockets and motor shells fired were unnerving.

“The only way I can describe it to you is that you hear a whistle, but you don’t know where it is coming from, and it feels like your heart has sunk down to the pit of your stomach,” said Tomarra Byington, 28, a veteran of the U.S. Army and current Idaho State University student.

“When you were able to see where it hit, in a weird way you felt better, but it was still nerve wracking because the next one could hit you,” she added. “They say the one that you don’t hear is the one that will kill you.”

Now that she is back in the United States, Byington is happy at ISU, compli-mentary of the institution and grateful for the programs ISU has for veterans, includ-ing the Veterans Sanctuary and ISU Armed Forces Veterans’ Clubs. Byington works for the former, and was the first president of the latter. She is active in both, and they offer an outlet to share events like those described above with other veterans, who have a better understanding of them.

“We share a common bond and are able to share our experiences,” Byington said. “It has been great for me to connect with other veterans at ISU and to continue to serve those who served. It establishes some of that camaraderie we once had in active service, and the club and Sanctu-ary give veterans a voice and bring awareness of veterans to ISU.”

Byington, who started at ISU in fall 2008, became a senior this spring semester at ISU and has a double major in politi-cal science and interna-

tional studies. After graduating from ISU, the combat-experienced veteran plans to attend graduate school and her ultimate goal is to do intelligence work for the National Security Agency, an entity she has already applied to serve an internship for this summer.

She said the ISU Veterans Sanctuary, established in summer 2009, has been a resource she can rely upon and has allowed her to be more successful in college.

“Because of the Sanctuary I don’t have to struggle much as far VA-related issues are concerned or getting financial or academic help,” said Byington, who takes about 17 credits per semester and works two jobs, a work-study position for the Vet-erans Sanctuary and as an administrative assistant at the Bingham County Ground Water District.

The veterans at ISU have stories, such as Byington’s, that a traditional student is less likely to relate to. She has had unique experiences as a direct participant in the Iraq War.

In December 2011, when some of the United States last troops were withdrawing from Iraq towards the end of a nine-year war, Byington recalled heading into Iraq within 24 hours of when the war started.

“I started off in Kuwait and

Making an Impact for VetstoMaRRa byIngton USeS HeR exPeRIenCeS to HelP otHeRS

was part of the ground troops going into Iraq on March 20, 2003,” said Byington, a Blackfoot native who graduated from Snake River High School in 2001. “It was exciting. I remember high-fiving the gentleman I was driving the truck with.”

“I remember going across a berm into Iraq seeing UN buildings there and U.S. infantry soldiers and UN workers directing us through,” continued Byington, “At that point, it sunk in what we were up against.”

Though only standing 5-feet, 1-inch. tall, Byington spent her four years in the Army, and 14 months in Kuwait and Iraq, driving huge, 45-ton Heavy Equipment Transport trucks (HETs) used to haul things like M1 Abram Tanks and M931 trucks hauling 5,000-gallon fuel tankers, as well as performing administrative work.

“We had some close calls,” she said. “We sustained sniper and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) fire and our convoys were hit by IEDs (improvised explosive devices); things you come to expect in a combat zone. We frequently saw explosions and other atroci-ties of war.”

Ordinary work conditions were chal-lenging. The big trucks did not have air conditioning and she was sometimes driving them when weather temperatures outside were hotter than 120 degrees, and



inside the cab of her truck was much high-er. She was usually wearing full-battle gear with a helmet, full flak jacket, and desert camouflage uniform, and only had warm water to drink. She ate MREs (meals ready to eat), washed her clothes in a bucket and took showers using a quart water bottle.

“My time in Iraq allowed me to really appreciate what I had back here,” Byington said. “It made me appreciate my family more, and Idaho, and the United States, and the simple things most people take for granted. You’d be surprised how happy you’d be to see a flushing toilet.”

After her honorable discharge from the Army, she returned to Iraq in February 2005 to drive heavy equipment for Kellogg, Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Hallibur-ton, for three years in Baghdad. She worked to support the U.S. State Department and provided services to the Iraqi president and parliament. She hauled state department equipment and personnel to areas around Baghdad, including its airport and regional U.S. Embassy offices as far south as Kuwait.

Working for Kellogg, Brown and Root, although paying between $8,000 and

$10,000 per month, had its perils, which included rocket attacks, IEDs on the road and car bombs going off.

“The car bombs going off in Baghdad were so power-ful,” she said. “I remember once the glass in our office window shattered, even though the bomb went off across the river from us.”

The close calls took a toll: when asked about post-traumatic stress disorder, Byington said she has had some experience with it, but declined to elaborate. She preferred talking about the positive sides of her experi-ence in a war zone.

“Don’t always believe the media because it can focus on the bad things,” By-ington said. “Very few people know that our troops and not-for-profit groups were over there building new schools, hospitals and other facilities for Iraqis to improve their lives. If you want to know the truth of what

was going on, ask a vet.”While working for the

private company in Bagh-dad, she made Iraqi friends and donated money and items to Iraqi families in need. For example, she do-nated money to a family that needed to take their infant child to Saudi Arabia to have a surgery performed. Bying-ton also gave a computer to an Iraqi coworker.

“Working as a civilian in Iraq made me appreciate the Iraqi people even more than I did while I was in the Army,” she said. “They are just people like us wanting to

live normal lives, not wanting to fear being blown up in the marketplace and wanting to send their kids to safe schools. They also want electricity and power for more than two hours a day.”

With these experiences behind her, By-ington looks forward with confidence.

Andrew Taylor

The Office of Alumni Relations and the ISU Alumni Associa-tion have entered into a partnership with Harris Connect. Founded more than 45 years ago Harris Connect has worked with thousands of organizations, providing them with solutions to better engage their members, increase participation and generate revenue. Its goal is and always has been to help strengthen the bonds between universities and their constituents.

Starting in April 2012, ISU alumni across the country will receive communications from Harris Connect asking for their

participation. The information our alumni choose to

provide will become part of the new “Alumni Today” directory. It will be published in September and be available for purchase in either hard copy or DVD in October 2012.

We encourage all alumni to respond to these requests but we understand if there are those who choose to opt out. We want you to provide what you are most comfortable providing, even if it’s to say “no thanks.”

The contact alumni will receive either in phone, postcard or email form from Harris Connect is legitimate and they have signed a contract with Idaho State University to provide this service.

Yep, it’s official.

21Spring 2012


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Pour It From the RiverISU’S CaRol MooRe CReateS vIdeo to teaCH SCHool CHIldRen and CoMMUnIty aboUt WateR ReSoURCeS

Idaho school children are learning how water from the Boise River ends up in their kitchen taps, thanks to a 9-minute video, edited and produced by Carol Moore, a December graduate of the Idaho State Uni-versity geosciences program.

Titled “The Boise River: From Snow to River to You,” the video combines 3-D satellite imagery, old movie clips and sleek graph-ics to illustrate the science behind the water cycle and the importance of measuring snow pack in the mountains above the Treasure Valley.

The video targets children in fourth through sixth grades, but the information is valu-able to anyone who uses or manages water, including power companies, the agricultural industry, recreationists and state agencies, said Moore, who lives in Idaho Falls. Her goal was to create a video that all audiences could understand.

“The concepts are so important. Our natural resources are a gift. We need to recognize, appreciate and respect them,” said Moore, a former computer programmer who enrolled in ISU a decade ago to pursue a second career in geosciences.

Fascinated by remote-sensing technologies such as LiDAR — which enable scientists to view geography in three dimensions — Moore wanted to tell the story of the Boise wa-tershed in an engaging way. She combined old film clips of early snow pack surveys with sophisticated 3-D satellite imagery of landscape and terrain. The script was provided by the National Resource Conservation Service and Boise Watershed Education Center.

Moore called on an Idaho Falls musician to compose the music score and a former colleague to narrate the video. Everyone volunteered their time and resources.

The video was funded by the community outreach portion of a $15 million grant on climate change secured by EPSCoR— Idaho’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competi-tive Research and funded by the National Science Foundation.

“I thought Carol did an awesome job. The video nicely summarizes the role snow and the Snow Survey play in managing water resources,” said Boise-based NRCS hydrologist Jeff Anderson, who wrote the script with Cindy Busche, education specialist at the Boise Watershed Education Center.

Busche plans to use the video in environmental education and community outreach classes available through the Bogus Basin Snow School, a program designed to teach children about science and water resources.

“I think people don’t understand the importance of water—not just where it comes from, but why we should keep in clean,” said Busche. “The video gets them to care about water and why they should protect it.

Chris Gabettas

A Virtual Field Trip

Todd Brown, the curriculum coordina-tor for Idaho Falls School District 91, is encouraging his science teachers to use the video, noting it can serve as a virtual field trip, transporting students to the Treasure Valley without leaving the classroom.

The National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has posted the video on its Idaho Snow Survey website. NRCS offices through the Pacific Northwest have ap-plauded the work of Moore and her team. One top official has suggested that regional NRCS offices produce similar videos to educate communities about watersheds.

Moore’s professor and project advisor—geosciences researcher Nancy Glenn—says the video illustrates ISU’s commitment to share research and technology developed in the University with the outside community.

As for Moore, she admits she’s a bit sur-prised by all of the attention, but believes the video is a valuable educational tool.

“I’ve been shocked and thrilled at the response—especially the fact that the video is being used and not sitting on a desk somewhere,’’ she said.

To view Moore’s video “The Boise River: From Snow to River to You,” visit http://bcal.geology.isu.edu/research-publications/videos. You can view additional outreach videos produced by the Department of Geosciences, including the 1983 Borah Earthquake and water’s impact on eastern Idaho, at the same link.

23Spring 2012

ISU’s First LadyWell-RoUnded jUSt begInS to toUCH tHe SURfaCe

Dr. Laura Vailas knows what it is like to be a student. For nine years, she and her husband, Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas, lived in University of Iowa student housing while the couple went to graduate school and he completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship.

“The first few years were very tough,” she said. “Newly married, we had relocated far from our New England-based families, and were living on student loans

and our graduate stipends. After I accepted my

first job offer at the University of Iowa Lipid Research Clinic, things became a bit easier. But at the same time, I began working on my masters degree — so there was little time for us to spend together.”

Since then, the registered dietitian with a Ph.D. in nutri-

tional sciences from University of Wisconsin-Madison has created an impressive career. She conducted and led federally and privately funded clini-cal lipid research in the University of Southern California School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin Medi-cal School. While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she earned her Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, and a certificate in gerontology. After relo-cating to Houston and doing a year of post-doctoral research, she became assistant director of the University of Houston Institute for Molecular Design, and later, associate dean for advancement in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Houston, and taught courses in nutrition and biochemistry.

Her accomplishments include the authorship of grant proposals totaling more than $9 million to increase the number of minority students receiving degrees in STEM disciplines, and peer-reviewed publications on the

subjects of diet and atheroscle-rosis and risk for malnutrition in

older adults. In recognition of her work in lipid research and cardiovas-

cular disease, she was named Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Throughout her academic career, how-ever, she has remembered the challenges

of student life, and has worked hard to help the next generation in academia.

Every shift and change has helped her to learn something new. When the Vailases moved to Idaho State University six years ago, her role changed again. Today, you will find Vailas working with fundrais-ing and marketing at the University, along with help-ing several student groups. She is also active in the community, having served on the governing board of Portneuf Medical Center and on the fundraising commit-tee of the Idaho Foodbank Pocatello Warehouse. She

especially enjoys being a member of the Po-catello Rotary Club.

Her motto, from the age of 25, has been “Bloom where you are planted.” With each of the couple’s five relocations, Vailas landed on her feet, reestablishing herself professionally. She and President Vailas became parents while living in Los Angeles, and Alexandra, now 27, knows what it is like having a working mom.

Laura’s career has been an important part of her life. Idaho law prohibits her from working at the University as an employee, but she can usu-ally be found on campus, lending her expertise to many projects, from the remodeling of the Pond Student Union to marketing efforts. Some of her favorite projects involve students.

“When Art says ‘students come first,’ that is true for both of us,” she said. Vailas is especially impressed when she sees students working to help each other. She is actively involved in the Veterans’ Sanctuary, an Idaho State University program designed to help veterans succeed in school, and to provide a community for veteran students. In the Sanctuary, veterans have access to county services and University services in one location. Vailas says she and the employees of the Sanctuary, along with students, strive to make the area comfortable. There is always a pot of coffee brewing, and often someone to chat with.

Vailas also focuses on working with friends of the University, developing relationships and collaborating on projects to benefit ISU. She is currently involved in campus beautification planning made possible by Jack and Mary Lois Wheatley, who have committed a generous sum for the next five years for beautification projects on Idaho State University’s campus. “I am extremely impressed with Mr. Wheatley’s knowledge of landscape design. We’re all very grateful, and looking forward to enjoying the results of our collaboration.”

Emily Frandsen

Idaho State University First Lady Laura Vailas doesn’t spend much time idle. When she isn’t working on market-ing projects at the University, helping plan events or assisting students, she can be found working on another labor of love — designing and creating jewelry.

Vailas’s work can be found each fall at the ISU Women’s Holiday Fair, where 30 percent of her sales go to scholar-ships. She has an Etsy.com shop to sell her pieces nationwide, and enjoys mak-ing custom pieces upon request. “When I see someone wearing one of my pieces, it makes my day,” she says.

Photo by Julie Hillebrant


Former Idaho State University President Myron “Barney” Coulter, who led ISU from 1976 to 1984, died in Waynesville, N.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 4, after a long battle with cancer. He was 82.

“President Coul-ter was a great col-league and friend,” said ISU President Arthur C. Vailas. “He cared very much about the future of higher education and its impact on our country. He will always be remem-bered by ISU and our community. Laura and I will miss him very much.”

During his ten-ure as president at Idaho State Univer-sity, Coulter helped see the University through financial struggles, while creating new programs and opportunities.

While living at the Servel House, Coulter and his wife, Bar-bara, oversaw extensive upgrades and remodeling to the home.

In 1977, Coulter helped make Idaho State University the per-manent home for the Idaho Museum of Natural History.

Coulter also worked with University of Idaho President Rich-ard Gibb to build programs in Idaho Falls and he began outreach efforts for ISU in surrounding communities.

He worked with the State Board of Education to ensure ISU be granted the “health professions and related biological and physical sciences” as a primary mission. He established the Center for New Directions and the ISU Ambassadors. In 1981, Coulter and ISU athletic director Babe Caccia hired then–unknown coach Dave Kragthorpe who led ISU to the Division I-AA football champion-ship in 1981. The “I Love ISU” scholarship fundraising campaign also began during his tenure in 1983.

Barbara was extensively involved in campus activities and the ISU Women’s Club.

Coulter was preceded at Idaho State University by William E. “Bud” Davis as president and followed by Richard L. Bowen.

After leaving ISU, Coulter assumed the chancellorship at West-ern Carolina University, where he served for a decade.

The Coulters have been strong supporters of ISU through the Annual Fund, supporting scholarships for “I Love ISU,” the Sagness Endowment in the College of Education, Stephens Performing Arts Center, Chick and Diane Bilyeu Theatre, Taylor Graduate Fellow-ship, Rendezvous Complex and the College of Arts and Letters, College of Science and Engineering and the College of Technology.

Prior to coming to Idaho State University, Coulter served West-ern Michigan University in a number of administrative positions, including vice president for administration from 1974 to 1976; interim president in 1974; vice president for institutional services from 1968 to 1974; and associate dean and professor of education for the university’s College of Education from 1966 to 1968.

He previously was associate professor of education at Penn-sylvania State University from 1964 to 1966, director of Penn State’s Latin American Education Project from 1962 to 1963; and instructor of education at Indiana University from 1958 to 1959. He also was an elementary school teacher in the Bloomington, Ind., Metropolitan Schools from 1954 to 1956, and an English teacher and athletics coach at Reading, Mich., Community High School from 1951 to 1952. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954.

Coulter earned a master’s degree in elementary education in 1956 and a doctorate in education in 1959, both from Indiana University. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1951 from Indiana State University, where he majored in English, physical education and science in secondary education.

A native of Albany, Ind., Coulter lived in Waynesville, N.C., af-ter his retirement as chancellor. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Bolinger Coulter; twin children, Nan and Benjamin; and grand-daughters Mary Elizabeth Coulter and Abigail Kristine Coulter.

Farewell, President CoulterfoRMeR UnIveRSIty PReSIdent PaSSeS

Dr. Myron Coulter

123 South Main Street in PocatelloTuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Major in Spirit!

25Spring 2012

ACOMPLISHMENTS: Kayla was elected during the National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. as the 2011/2012 Post-Secondary National Secretary/Treasurer of Business Professionals of America.HOBBIES: When she is not busy travel-

ing representing BPA or planning the National Conference to be held in Chicago in 2012, Kayla enjoys playing intramural volleyball and flag football, and participating in a variety of events that take place on ISU campus. Her favorite activities include spending time with family and friends, as well as traveling.CAREER GOALS: Kayla is preparing to teach 6th grade following gradua-tion from ISU (after 3 ½ years). Kayla has always worked with children, from leading 4-H groups in her hometown to starting a leadership camp for kids when she was still in high school.“I feel I can make it easier for kids

as they try to cope with the many changes and chal-

lenges that await them,” she said.

Kayla BaileyHoMetoWn: Carey, IdahoHIgH SCHool: Carey High School, 2009 valedictorianClaSS yeaR: SeniorMajoR: elementary education, mathematics emphasis

WHY ISU? Originally, Kayla considered the University of Arizona. But the closer she looked at Idaho State University, it was clear that the things most important to her —class size, affordability, academic offerings, reputation and being close, but not too close to home—were right here. She said she was fortunate to receive an academic scholarship and that, coupled with high school friends who decided to come to ISU with her, made her choice easier.ISU EXPERIENCE: ”In a word, my ISU experience has been perfect. I was able to get quickly immersed in my degree pro-gram, which is why I’ll be able to gradu-ate in 3 ½ years. As I look forward to a career in elementary education, I know ISU has prepared me well for future suc-cess through the education I received and the resources and modeling I’ve been able to take advantage of. Dr. Brenda Jacobsen, my BPA advisor, is a major influence and provides excellent advice and opportunities, which I have clearly taken advantage of. If I had to give one piece of advice, I would say be proactive as a freshman! When an advisor, teacher or professor asks you to stop by their of-fice, or consider joining an organization, look into it and get to know them. They want to see you succeed.”

Untitled-9 1 2/15/12 1:29 PM



Laura Bainbridge

PROFESSION: Women’s health nurse at Women’s Health Associates in downtown BoiseHOBBIES: Mountain biking, gardening, hiking, reading and spending time with my familyLATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: In 2011, I became vice president of Idaho Hands and Voices, a support group for families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Our family has participated in Hands and Voices for several years now, and it is an exciting adventure to be on the planning and development side of this great orga-nization. We are working hard to increase awareness, raise funds and plan fun and educational events for our members.WHY I DO WHAT I DO: Much to my surprise, I fell in love with women’s health

during clinical rotations while completing my nursing degree at the ISU-Meridian Health Science Center. In my current job, I enjoy making connections with our patients, ensuring our clinic procedures go smoothly, and being a part of our obstetric patients’ transition to motherhood. It is a special time with its moments of great joy and, at times, heartbreak. I feel truly blessed to be a part of each woman’s journey.ISU RECOLLECTION: I was a part of the exciting transition to the new Meridian campus. I remember the little cubbies we studied in at the former campus. Everyone fought to get to the study area first to find a quiet spot with a plug-in! I appreciated all the great new space when arriving at the new campus.

edUCatIon:Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Idaho State University, 2010Bachelor of Arts in English, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, 1997Associate Degree, Physical Therapist Assistant, College of St. Catherine, Minneapolis, 2000

ISU EXPERIENCE: I feel that having the campus in the Treasure Valley gave me and my classmates the benefit of a wide range of clinical experiences. Nursing has so many unique employment opportunities, and I experienced a good variety of those possibilities during our rotations. The space we had at the campus allowed for optimal learning opportunities and prepared me to enter the working world.WORDS OF WISDOM: Allow yourself to push your comfort level. Had I shied away from women’s health or labor and delivery, as I was initially inclined to do, I never would have found my true passion. So go for it! Try something new! It will either reinforce what you already know about yourself or open your eyes to a new world of possibilities.

Photo by Chris Gabetas

Owen, Chad and Laura Bainbridge

27Spring 2012

Galen Louis

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BE A UNIvER-SITY PROFESSOR?I think I’ve always known that this would be where I would end up. It was a circu-itous route getting here, but the “aura” of knowledge for knowledge’s sake has always been alluring, appealing and seductive. In what other profession could one have such freedom to express and share thoughts so openly? I didn’t get my Ph.D. until I was 51 years old and have only been teaching full time since 2006, so I’m still fairly new at this. And so, it wasn’t so much the inspira-tion, for that was always there simmering in the background. It was more the perspira-tion of getting here.WHY TEACH IN A UNIvERSITY SETTING?I know that it is an “ivory tower” but I think that having lived a lifetime in the “real world” gave me a perspective that other life-long academics may not have had. Actually, my chosen field of public health is a very practicable and applied field. The university is just a place. What makes it all so exciting are the students. And in this age of technol-ogy, the “university setting” at ISU is beyond the ivy halls of one campus. It is distance learning and it is online teaching. Learn-ing does not have a “place.” It is an ideal. And it is an ideal that creates a place where praxis and theoria can walk side-by-side.IF YOU WEREN’T A UNIvERSITY PRO-FESSOR WHAT DO YOU THINk YOU WOULD BE DOING?At this stage of my life? I would prob-ably be pursuing some of the things on my bucket list. I’ve had three very rewarding and successful careers in my lifetime. I think I’d like to just kick back and pursue some of those things that are more left-

brained. I have spent a lifetime involved in right-brained activity.WHAT HAS TEACHING TAUGHT YOU ABOUT YOURSELF?Probably the most important thing that I’ve learned about myself is that I truly still love the process of learning. For every new sub-ject or class that I teach, a whole new world of concepts, ideas and perspectives needs to be explored. Physically, geographically and professionally, I have led a very itinerant lifestyle. I think this transfers also to my more cerebral side also. I didn’t know that until I just started thinking about it while I was writing this. Teaching has taught me that I have more interests and passions than I would have ever enumerated 40 or 50 years ago, and the list keeps going. And wow, they are paying me to do this.WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF TEACHING?The transference of my personal zeal to the students is the most difficult aspect of teaching. I teach in a graduate program, so with most of my students, this is not only easy, it’s fun. The one thing about teaching in a graduate program is that you already have a leg up. The students don’t have to be there. They choose to be there. But with all strata of populations, there are the outliers. Not everyone thinks or feels like I do. There are some students with whom it’s just hard to connect. Difficult? Yes. Challenging? Yes. Impossible? No. One must ask how is it that we can see through their eyes, feel through their hearts, and find the magic that you know is really there. And like I said, you already know it’s there. You just need to transform yourself so that you can find it.WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO ENTER HIGHER

Director of ISU’s Master of Public Health ProgramISU-Meridian Health Science Center

EDUCATION?I had worked with younger kids (teenagers) a lot when I was younger. I coached sports teams and I was a camp counselor. Through graduate school, I worked with troubled youth in a rehabilitation hospital. It was rewarding and many times, it was just plain fun. But it wasn’t going to be my life’s work. I always knew that. Something was missing. I think when I was a senior member of a corporate team, one of my younger col-leagues started calling me “professor.” I was only in my mid-thirties, but I had become a mentor to my younger colleagues that were just entering into the field fresh with their new MBAs. I realized that I liked the role of mentor, and that I liked the idea of colleagues rather than wards. At the age of 38, I quit my job and went back to school for my master’s degree. At 45, I quit another job and went back to school for my doctorate. And the rest is, well … geography.IS THERE AN IDENTIFYING MOMENT WHERE YOU kNEW YOU HAD A PRO-NOUNCED POSITIvE IMPACT UPON A STUDENT?Probably the most impactful movie that I ever saw about “teaching” in its purest sense was “The Dead Poets Society” with Robin Williams. He portrayed a part that every teacher would be proud of. Not only well educated, but incredibly creative, inspiring and courageous. His students called to him in the words of the Walt Whitman poem, “O, Captain, my Captain” at the end of the movie that would move all but the most jaded to tears. My identifying moment? After one of my students graduated with her master’s degree, she wrote to thank me and addressed me as “O Captain, my Captain.”

Photo by Chris Gabetas


29Spring 2012

Thanks for your support!Vivid Concepts Magazine, proud publisher of the Pocatello Magazine and The Bannock Alternative, would like to thank ISU and ISU alumni for their continuing support of a

locally owned alternative media outlet in Southeast Idaho.

Vivid Concepts Magazine250 S. Main St. • Pocatello, ID 83204 • 208.233.2485

The ISU Alumni Association and the ISU Office of Alumni Relations will present Steve Eaton in concert July 21 at Boise’s Idaho Botanical Garden. Joining Steve for this year’s concert will be his son, Marcus. Enjoy the music of both Steve and Marcus and specialty beers and Idaho wines. Bring your own snacks and help feed Idaho’s hungry with your contribution of canned goods for the Idaho Food Bank.

The event is from 5 to 9 p.m., with the concert beginning at 6 p.m., at the Idaho Botanical Garden, 2355 N. Old Penitentiary Road, Boise, Idaho.

Eaton, who attended ISU in the 1970s and now lives in McCall, has performed with Carole King and written songs for The

legislative session.Board members toured the ISU Merid-

ian Health Science Center facility. The tour was conducted by Patty Tryon and Ali Crane. The tour provided great insight for board members on the programs, facili-ties and students housed on the Meridian campus.

ISU Alumni Legislative Reception

The Idaho State University Office of Alumni Relations and the ISU Alumni Association hosted the annual Legislative Reception in Boise, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 at The Grove Hotel in the Evergreen Room.

The early evening reception was at-tended by large numbers of Treasure Valley alumni, the ISU Alumni Association board of directors, faculty, staff, administrators and members of the Idaho legislature.

This annual event offers an opportunity for alumni to meet with state legislators and ISU personnel to share their support for the University and share information for recognized University needs to allow for continued growth and quality educa-tion for Idaho students and those who choose ISU for their college education.

Alumni Board gathers in BoiseMembers of the Idaho State University

board of directors gathered in Boise, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 for their first meeting of the calendar year. Members traveled from Ha-waii, Arizona, and cities throughout Idaho. All members attended the Alumni Legisla-tive reception the evening preceding the board meeting to visit with other alumni, ISU personnel and Idaho legislators.

Board members spent the morning

Carpenters, Art Garfunkel and Lee Green-wood. Steve has received two Emmy nomi-nations for original music created for PBS television specials and has written music for the Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Marcus, following somewhat in his father’s footsteps is carving out his own career and currently is working with David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Admission is $20 per person. Order tickets and RSVP online at www.isuste-veeaton.myevent.com. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. For more information, call (800) 933-4781, or (208) 282-3755 or visit www.isu.edu/alumni.

discussing alumni and University business, opportunities and challenges. Joining the board members at the morning session were Shawn Stokes, ASISU student body president, President Arthur C. Vailas, Kent Tingey, vice president for advancement, Bessie Katsilometes, dean, ISU-Meridian Health Science Center, and Josh Whit-worth, ISU recruiter for the Treasure Valley. Several Idaho legislators also spoke with the board members regarding the upcoming

Reaching Out in the Treasure Valley

Alumni Invited for Eaton ConcertSUMMeR ConCeRt on tHe HoRIzon

Steve Eaton performing at the ISU Alumni Concert, Idaho Botanical Garden, 2011.

Photo by ISU Alum

ni Association

Left to Right: Sally Long, alumna Nannette Siemen,Senator Edgar Malepaei and alumna Linda Yamashita


Mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. That is the date the newest mem-bers of the ISU Sports Hall of Fame will be enshrined. Representatives from football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, vol-leyball and track will join more than 160 other former ISU athletes in this prestigious group.

The ceremony will take place at noon in the Bistline Thrust Theater in the Stephens Performing Arts Center. There will be a lun-cheon following the ceremony for induct-ees, their families and guests.

Later that same day, the Class of 2012 will be introduced on Caccia Field at Holt Arena at halftime of the game between ISU and University of California-Davis.

Selection for the Class of 2012 takes place this spring. For information on the Class of 2012, visit the Alumni website www.isu.edu/alumni/sportsfame.shtml

Each year at Homecoming, the ISU Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Relations have recognized Golden Bengals, alumni who have been out of school for 50 years, at a traditional luncheon held in the Pond Student Union.

Now those Golden Bengals are going to have company and a change of venue. Com-mencement 2012 will be the backdrop for hon-oring Golden Bengals and now Silver Bengals, alumni who finished at Idaho State University 25 years ago. The activities at Commencement provide a greater opportunity for returning alumni to reconnect with their colleges and departments and to take part in activities not available at Homecoming.

Returning 25- and 50-year alumni will be recognized at an awards ceremony and reception on May 3, 2012. The festivities will begin with the ceremony at 5 p.m. followed by the reception at the Stephens Perform-

Idaho State University and the ISU Alumni Association proudly announce the 2012 Professional Achievement Award and Outstanding Student Award recipients. These awards will be conferred at Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 5, 2012 Holt Arena.

Professional Achievement Award recipi-ents are alumni who have made important contributions to their careers or profession, to the social, political or economic well-being of the world around them and have shown continued community and civic involvement in addition to their associa-tion with the contributions to Idaho State University. Individuals selected for these prestigious awards have been out of school at least 10 years and have excelled in their chosen field attaining significant success and accomplishments.

Outstanding Student Awards are pre-sented to recognize outstanding graduating seniors who have excelled in their pro-grams, their extracurricular activities and have generally epitomized ISU’s outstand-ing student body. Students receiving these prestigious awards exhibit a readiness to graduate, high academic achievement, above-average dedication to academic and professional goals and involvement in professional societies. Work experience and community service are also considered.

Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2012 are: Stephen L. Beckley,

ing Arts Center. Prior to the ceremony and reception, returning alumni will be provided tours of the Pocatello campus as well as

College of Arts and Letters (Fine Arts and Humanities); Jason Bohne, College of Arts and Letters (Social and Behavioral Sciences); Dr. James W. Mahar, College of Science and Engineering (Natural and Physical Sciences); Frank A. Angelo, College of Science and Engineering (Engineering); Brent Faure’, College of Education; Gary D. Campbell, College of Business; Darwin Pugmire, College of Technology; Dr. Peter See-Kong Woo, College of Pharmacy; Dr. Enid Davis, Division of Health Sciences and Alene Harrison, ED.D., School of Nursing.

Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2012 are: Princess C. Young, College of Business; Shalene M. Summers, College of Education; Kirstin J. Kooda, College of Pharmacy; Kelsey J. Petersen, Col-lege of Arts and Letters (Fine Arts and Humanities); KC L. Harding, College of Arts and Letters (Social and Behavioral Sciences); Matthew D. Smitheram, College of Technology; Lacey Rahmig, Division of Health Services; Michael R. Shafer, School of Nursing; Jariullah Safi, College of Science and Engineering (Engineering); Jeremy A. Farrell, College of Science and Engineering, (Natural and Physical Sci-ences); Misty M. Strain, Graduate School, Master’s Candidate; Kai-yi “Clark” Huang, Graduate School, Doctoral Candidate and Chandrasekhar Potluri, Graduate School, Doctoral Candidate.

Alumni Program Highlights 2012 Commencement

2012 Professional Achievement and Outstanding Student Award Recipients

Sports Hall of FameClass of 2012

Wayne Hill, a 2011 Sports Hall of Fame inductee


special tours of the Stephens Performing Arts Center, the Student Recreation Center, the Rendezvous Complex and the newly renovated Pond Student Union.

Friday, May 4, at noon, Golden and Silver Bengals will be special guests at the traditional March Through The Arch, at Swanson Arch, recognizing 2012 graduates. Individual colleges will also be holding year-end recognition receptions and events this same day and all Golden and Silver Bengals will be special guests at these events as well.

For Commencement, Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m. at Holt Arena, Golden and Silver Bengals will be provided special seating and recognition.

Special invitations and information on the Golden and Silver Bengals recognition has been sent to those 25- and 50-year alumni early in 2012 to allow for planning and their return to their alma mater.

31Spring 2012

Homecoming at Idaho State University is a very special time of year. Alumni from across the country come back to campus to reconnect with classmates, former professors and friends. The 2012 Homecoming celebra-tion will be no different. Every alumnus, regardless of location, is invited “home.”

Significant among the activities during this week-long celebration is

the President’s Alumni Recognition Dinner, to be held Fri-day, Sept. 28, 2012 at 6 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel. Presi-dent Arthur C. Vailas will recognize 11 very special alumni and friends as the 2012 Homecoming award recipients. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Cost for the dinner is $40 per person and reservations can be made by calling (800) 933-4781, (208) 282-3755 or emailing [email protected]. A complete schedule of events and information on all 2012 Homecoming activities can be found at the ISU Alumni Homecoming website or the ISU Alumni Association Facebook fan page at the addresses below.

The ISU Alumni Board of Directors will hold their fall meeting on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 from 8:30 a.m to 4 p.m. During this meeting, retiring board members, Tom Curtis, Stephen Rhoads, Jayson Ronk, Carisa Schultz and Kirk Shuler will be recognized and thanked for their service to ISU.

We look forward to seeing alumni back on campus.

Save the Date for Homecoming 2012

ISU Alumni Homecoming www.isu.edu/alumni/homecoming.shtml

ISU Alumni Association on Facebookwww.facebook.com/idahostatealumni

Bob and Jude Flandro, 2011 Homecoming Parade Grand Marshals, ride in the homecoming parade.

ISU Photographic Services


PROMOTIONS – ACHIEVEMENTSJerrod Ackley, BA social work ’00 and BA secondary education/social sciences ’00 is the athletic coach for Immokalee High School Football in Southwest Florida. Jerrod received the Naples Daily News Fall Coach of the Year award in 2011. This past football season, Jerrod took his team to win the State Championship title.

Victor F. Allen, BA chemistry ’77 and BS pharmacy ‘78 has owned and operated two pharmacies in Nampa, Idaho. He has 23 years of experience as an owner/operator in the community. He states that that he pursued his own business to offer skills he could empower and successfully perform, helping the community.

Don Aslett, BA physical education ’63, founder of Varsity Contractors, Inc., has created a Museum of Clean in Pocatello in honor of the business that not only got him through college but also made him a well-known speaker and author. Aslett began his facility-cleaning service as a way to work his way through school while attending ISU, a venture that developed into a career.

Michael T. Bailey, BA political science ‘67, has been elected president of the National Disability Rights Network in Washington, D.C. The network is the largest cross disability advocacy organization in the world.

Jeff Bartlow, BA education ’85, is the fitness teacher and head coach at Waitsburg-Prescott football in Southeastern Washington. His team just completed a 14-0 season and became the 2011 state champions.

Terry Fredrickson, BA political science ‘03, has been appointed executive director/CEO of New Day Products in Pocatello. New Day Products has recently opened the Orange & Black Store located at 123 S. Main in Old Town.

Brenda Jacobsen, BS corporate training EDUC ’94 and MED human resources and development ’00, has received the Idaho Business Education Association Educators Outstanding Business Educator of the Year Award. She has also received the Outstanding Career and Technical Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award. She is an associate lecturer at the ISU College of Education Department of Educational Foundations.

John Keahey, EX journalism ‘65, has published his third book with Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, “Seeking Sicily: A Cultural Journey Through Myth and Reality in the Heart of the Mediterranean” (2011).

Becky Kearns, BBA marketing ‘80, has been presented with the 2011 Candy Erickson Woman of the Year Award by the Park City Women’s Business Network. On October 10, 2011, she was awarded the Hospital Trustee Service Award by Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association.

Bob Kirkpatrick, BS zoology ‘60, celebrated his 75th birthday with a tandem free-fall skydive from 13,500 feet. He is now retired and living in Sarasota, Florida.

Bogomir Kuhar, DP pharmacy ‘96, received the 2011 Platinum Award for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection.

Dr. Christopher D. McKinney, DA arts ‘90, former director of the Office of Technology Transfer and EnterprisDevelopment at Vanderbilt University, has been named associate vice president for Technology Transfer and Economic Development at Georgia Health Sciences University starting December 1, 2011.

Sandee Moore, BA ’03, chief operating officer for Eastern Idaho Regional Medicare Center, has been appointed to the Council of Regents, the legislative body of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She has also served on the Alumni Board for ISU.

Stan Moser, MBA business management’82, has been appointed the new president and CEO of Bozeman Deaconess Health Services located in Bozeman, Montana. His position of resident and CEO will be effective January 1, 2012.

Selway Mulkey, BA English education ‘68, has retired after a 43 year career in public education systems in Idaho, Arizona and Nevada.

Timothy M. Neville, BA speech and drama ‘71, has been inducted into the Idaho High School Activities Association Hall of Fame.

Dennis Patchin, alumnus, has accepted the position of the announcer in the television booth this season for Montana Griz football games. Patchin, who works for 700 ESPN radio has a history with Missoula, Montana, dating back to 1982 when he joined KECI after leaving Idaho State University.

James Piccolo, MPE athletic administration ’79 has been named recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award given by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

For a complete list of Trackings, visit www.isu.edu/magazineEditor’s note: Send Trackings information to the Office of Alumni Relations, Idaho State University, 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8033, Pocatello, ID 83209-8033; or email to [email protected]; or fax to (208) 282-2541; or call (208) 282-3755 locally, or toll-free (800) 933-4781.

33Spring 2012

Officially licensed Idaho State University merchandise is now available at our newest Pocatello area retailers: Walmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Dick’s Sporting Goods. They join the growing family of official ISU re-

tailers, including your University Bookstore (Pocatello and Idaho Falls), Fanzz Sports Apparel, T-Shirts Plus, Idaho Unlimited, New Day Resources and Costco.

LIvE THE BENGAL EXPERIENCE

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Shop the University Bookstore for the best selection of Bengal apparel and gifts

University Bookstorewww.isu-pocatello.bkstr.com | 208-282-3237

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SUPPORT YOUR ALMA MATER

Steve Schmidt, DNS biology ’78 has been appointed the chief operating officer for Summa Health System in Ohio.

Stephen Shortridge, EX education/art ’73, artist, actor and a resident of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, has recently finished his book entitled “Deepest Thanks, Deeper Apologies.”

Kevin C. Snyder, MPE athletic administration ‘89, has accepted the position of executive vice president with Northstar Aerospace in Duluth, Minnesota.

Dr. JoAnn Takasugi Tschanz, BS psychology ’85, has been promoted to full professor in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University.

Tim Tingey, MPA political science ’97, has been appointed the sirector of the administrative and development services department for Murray City Corporation in Utah.

Katie Ware, BA mass communication ’07 and MPE athletic administration ’10, has been hired as district league coordinator for Idaho Tennis Association.

Larry Wetzel, BS general engineering ’85, MS nuclear science and engineering, ‘86 was elected vice chair/chair elect of the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division of the American Nuclear Society.

Kimberly VanWyk, DP pharmacy ’09, was named clinical professor of pharmacy practice. She joins Western New England University from Idaho State University, where she recently completed a two-year pharmacotherapy residency.

OBITUARIESDewey T. Cunningham, BS physical education ‘56, died October 12, 2011 in St. George, Utah.

David Foutz, alumnus, died suddenly October 27, 2011 in Houston, Texas. David is the brother of Kathleen Foutz-Satterwhite, Eagle, Idaho.

Rae Elinor Hamilton, BS nursing ‘70, died Thursday, November 24, 2011 at her home in Durango, Texas.

George Elmer Jakway, BA zoology ‘53, died at his home Sunday, September 18, 2011.

Erik Laughlin, engineering and business, died of natural causes on September 4, 2011 in Ketchum, Idaho.

Dr. Donald Walker, College of Technology ’66, died of natural causes on August 12, 2011 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 90. In 1960, at the age of 39, Dr. Walker was named president of Idaho State University, becoming the youngest university leader in the nation at that time.


35Spring 2012

Reward Rate qualifications per cycle: At least 10 debit card transactions must post and clear • Enroll and receive electronic statements • Set up 1 direct deposit or automatic payment from your account

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) accurate as of 01/31/2012. Rate tiers are as follows: 2.01% APY applies to balances of $.01-$15,000 and 0.25% APY applies to the portion of balances over $15,000 as long as qualifications are met each statement cycle. 0.05% APY applies to all balances if qualifications are not met. All balances will earn 2.01% APY to 0.25% APY as long as qualifications are met. Rates may change after the account is opened. Fees may reduce earnings. No minimum balance required. No monthly service charge. Available to personal accounts only. **ATM fee refunds up to $25 per cycle when qualifications are met.

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“Helping others came naturally to my boys and these scholarships continue that spirit of caring and support.”

– Dorothy Broyles

Whether it’s scholarship support for the next generation of brightest and best students, campus beautification or presidential initiatives, we believe in supporting a great research university.

We invite you to consider your gift to Idaho State University that will make a difference for generations to come. Visit the Idaho State University Foundation online or call (208) 282-3470.

Neil and Dorothy Broyles had two sons who graduated from Idaho State University. Neil earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, and Lane received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy. Both sons passed away.

Although neither Dorothy or Neil attended college themselves, it was of great importance to them to honor their sons’ memory by creating scholarships to help others have a chance to succeed.

Thanks to Neil and Dorothy, their scholarship support has changed the lives of many.

Investing in

www.isu.edu/gift

Neil and Dorothy Broyles

ISU’s Future

idaho state university magazine, spring 2012

Documents

idaho state university11

isu magazine

isu researchers

delta dental of idaho

idaho steelheads brush

isu spirit6

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stories of students