idaho state university magazine - spring 2010

Plus …… and more!

Linking Sleep Habits in Children with Future Alcohol Abuse Big Discoveries with Nanoparticles • The Annual Report

SuccessfulInvestigationA glimpse at the path William Petersen took to get from ISU to stardom

Volume 40 | Number 2 | Spring/Summer 2010

Helping out Haiti During Africa Night this year, students from Haiti took the stage to remind people that Haiti still needs help. The organizers of Africa Night responded on the spot with a $500 donation.ISU Photographic Services/Susan Duncan

Cover “Grissom’s Divine Comedy” -- William Petersen, as Gil Grissom, dresses for an appearance in court on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved.

4 From the President

11 Can the weather increase chances of cancer?

10 Students from ISU-Meridian Health Science Center spend a day on the range

24 It’s the Year of the Tiger and Benny has the inside scoop

30 ISU’s annual report

7 Generous ISU supporters make significant donations

16 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star William Petersen reflects on his days at ISU

26 College of Pharmacy alumna Jennifer Seeley offers medical care in Haiti

5 Study links sleep problems and substance abuse in young adulthood

12 Professor Jack Owens melds history and location with an NSF grant

8 Nanoparticles help make big advances

20 Take a look behind the scenes of a Theatre ISU performance

27 National Academy of Sciences welcomes alumnus Dr. Rafi Ahmed

9 Professor Howard Schmidt gets an appointment from President Obama

23 The expanded student recreation center opens in July

28 Professor Jennifer Eastman Attebery adds a Fulbright to her honors

6 Professor Paul Link donates land to ISU

14 College of Education alumna Pat Farmer shares her work and experience with trisomy

32 Catch up on alumni in Trackings

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

2 Idaho State University Magazine Spring/Summer 2010

3Spring/Summer 2010

Idaho State University Continues to Lead, Gain and Achieve

Follow Us, Be a Fan or Watch Some VideosCheck out Idaho State University online at

twitter.com/idahostateu, facebook.com/idahostateu or at youtube.com/idahostateu.

Help us keep ISU Magazine coming free of charge by making a tax-deductible contribution of $25, $50, $75 or more. Just send a check, made out to ISU Magazine, to: ISU Magazine, c/o ISU Foundation, Idaho State University, 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8050, Pocatello, ID 83209-8050. Questions? Call the Foundation at (208) 282-3470.

It’s no secret that, across the country, times have been uncer-tain economically. But even in a recession that has been espe-cially difficult for higher education, I’m proud to say Idaho State University has excelled.

More people are looking to Idaho State University as their source for a quality education. In fall 2009, a record-breaking 15,500 students were enrolled at ISU. Enrollment has risen 12 percent in the past five years.

We are the choice for scholars at all levels. A record number of students are using our Early College Program to jumpstart their education with college courses taught at their high school or online. More graduate students are bringing their knowledge, research and quest for learning to our campus than any other institution in the state.

It’s not surprising that so many are choosing us. Our faculty members are bringing national and international acclaim to ISU through their research. In this issue of Idaho State University Magazine, you’ll read about researchers Joshua Pak and René Rodriguez’s work on precision nanoparticles. Their efforts landed them a prestigious 2009 Idaho Innovation Award, and their research was named one of the top 100 innovations of the year nationally by R&D Magazine. Perhaps even more importantly, their work has the potential to make building solar panels more efficient and economical.

It’s just one of many of stories of successful and groundbreak-ing research happening at Idaho State University in the fields of health care, energy and the environment.

Along with making new discoveries, our faculty members are working hard to train the next generation. Our clinical psychol-ogy doctoral program is ranked first among 207 programs in the nation. We boast a 100 percent pass rate for national exams in many of programs, from dental hygiene to pharmacy. ISU has more operating accelerators than any university in the country, allowing for greater graduate research.

At Idaho State University, we are poised and ready for the future. I welcome you to take a look inside this issue and learn about what we’re doing today.

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

President Arthur Vailas


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

Libby [email protected]

Interim Director, University Relations

K.C. [email protected]

Interim 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 Chris Gabettas Nancy Lovgren - ’79 Joe Frederickson Andrew Taylor Casey Thompson - ’86Designer Joey Gifford - ’03Photo Services Susan Duncan - ’95 Julie Hillebrant - ’00

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 University

Relations 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 e-mail to Emily Frandsen at [email protected], or call

(208) 282-3164.

Four years ago, Idaho State University associate professor Maria Wong published the results of research about how early childhood behavior as early as age 3 can predict whether children will use alcohol and illicit drugs in adolescence.

Using the same study group, Wong continued with her analyses and this spring announced the results of a new study that establishes the relationship be-tween early childhood sleep problems and substance abuse in young adulthood.

“This study confirmed what we sus-pected a few years ago when we com-pleted our earlier study, that not only do sleep problems in early childhood predict the early onset of alcohol and drug use in adolescence, but it also predicts problems with alcohol and drug use in early adult-hood,” Wong said.

As was the case when the results of her previous study were released, media sources and websites from around the world picked up this news coming from ISU, including publications in the United States, India, and United Kingdom, and on websites as diverse as www.sciencedai-ly.com, www.healthnewsdigest.com, www.scienceblog.com, www.dailymail.co.uk/ and www.themedguru.com.

Children who had trouble sleeping in early childhood at age 3 to 5 had a higher probability of having trouble sleeping in adolescence and early use of drugs and alcohol, from age 11-17. This in turn predicted the presence of drug-related problems in young adulthood ages 18 to 21.

The results of her study titled “Child-hood Sleep Problems, Response Inhibi-tion, and Alcohol and Drug Outcomes in Adolescence and Young Adulthood,” were published in the June 2010 issue of Alco-holism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

“We are the first study that shows long-term relationships between early childhood sleep issues and later alcohol abuse and drug problems,” Wong said. “We see a positive association between sleep and alcohol problems among adults, but it is kind of a ‘chicken and the egg’ question – we don’t know what comes first. Our study shows that sleep problems may actually precede substance-related problems.”

Wong is the main author on the study, which was co-authored by Kirk J. Brower and Robert A. Zucker of the Addiction Research Center and Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, and Joel T. Nigg of the Department of Psychiatry at the Oregon Health and Sci-ence University. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

This study is the third in a continua-tion of three studies Wong and her col-leagues have completed that follows 386 adolescents over a long period. Data on sleep problems and substance use were gathered during six different periods in the study participants’ lives: at age 3 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14, 15 to 17, and 18 to 20, as well as annually from ages 11 to 17.

Overtiredness in early childhood predicted adolescents having problems inhibiting impulses and behavior, which predicted higher rates of illicit drug use. Sleep problems also predicted the pres-ence of binge drinking, blackouts, driving after drinking alcohol, and the number of lifetime alcohol problems in young adult-hood, according to Wong.

She said that nationally about 10 percent of parents and caregivers perceive their young children have sleep problems. She noted also that the prevalence of sleepiness and lack of sleep among ado-lescents and young adults, ages 12 to 25 years, is high and increasing in the U.S. The consequences of this can increase risk of unintentional injuries or death, such as car accidents, low academic performance, negative moods, and increased use of alcohol and drugs.

Wong noted that her study does not directly explain why this relationship exists.

“Childhood sleep problems appear to have both direct and indirect effects – via sleep trouble and response inhibition in adolescence – on subsequent substance-related outcomes,” she said. “Addition-ally, our previous work showed childhood sleep problems were associated with early onset of alcohol and drug use, which was a well-established risk factor for subse-quent alcohol and drug related problems. This suggests a marker of alcohol prob-lems that may be detectable very early in the life course.”

Wong said that it is important to increase public awareness of the signifi-cance of sleep problems in children, and their potential effect on self-control and later substance use and abuse. Substance abuse prevention and intervention pro-grams also need to consider the relation-ships among sleep problems, self-control, and the increased risk for substance abuse. Furthermore, health care provid-ers may need to become more aware of the potential serious consequences of childhood sleep problems, and provide treatment when sleep disturbances are clinically indicated.

The Wake of a DiscoveryCHILDHOOD SLEEP PROBLEMS LINKED TO YOUNG ADULT ALCOHOL, DRUG ABUSE ACCORDING TO A STUDY BY PROFESSOR MARIA WONG

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5Spring/Summer 2010

Professor Gives Idaho Landand Field Camp Facility to ISU

When Idaho State University geosci-ences professor Paul Link and his wife Katie bought 10 acres of land on the Big Lost River north of Mackay in 1996, they thought it would be the ideal place for a geology field camp.

Today, the Lost River Field Station hosts geosciences students from across the country and is one of the top-rated field camps in the nation.

Earlier this year, the Links donated nearly eight acres of land and build-ings located on the banks of the Big Lost River in the shadow of Borah Peak, Idaho’s tallest mountain, about 20 miles north of Mackay. It has some of the most stunning views in Idaho, with the Big Lost River Range to the north and the Pioneer Mountains to the south. The $200,000 donation will allow ISU to provide a quality research and teaching facility into the future.

“It seemed like now was the time to take that next step and lock in the goal

we’ve had for 29 years,” Link said.ISU President Arthur Vailas said the

field station is a vital part of ISU’s geo-sciences education and research.

“Having the opportunity to provide a field-based research and teaching facility enhances ISU’s recognition as a leader in geosciences,” Vailas said.

During a ceremony celebrating the donation this spring, Link was visibly touched by the large turnout of partici-pants.

“It is very satisfying to see this thing through and it has been very rewarding to see all the efforts in creating the field station come to fruition,” Link said. “We have a field camp that attracts students from all over the country and is very competitive to get into.”

When Link came to ISU in 1980, Tom Ore, director of the field geology course, told him that the geology department needed its own field camp facility. In 1985, David Rodgers, current ISU geosci-ences chair, took over the field course, moved it to central Idaho in 1990, and operated the field camp from several dif-ferent ranches for the next 10 years.

The Links purchased the land in 1995, with the idea that this might be the ideal spot for a field camp. In 2001 at a department retreat, Link and Scott Hughes, former chair of the geosciences department, decided to build a facil-ity. It was constructed in 2002, directed by Allan Priddy, a local contractor and adjunct instructor at ISU. The facility has been upgraded over the years, primarily by geology students and faculty.

“Paul has been very generous with his time and resources for years,” Rod-gers said. “This is one more example

of how he has shared himself with the University, by making this long-lasting gift to the department that will be used by ISU students and faculty for years to come.”

The Lost River Field Station, which hosted its first students in 2002, is one of the top-rated in the country. Rodgers attributed its success to the high quality of instruction at the facility, the topnotch accommodations, the geological diversity of the area around Mackay, the camp’s proximity to other geological wonders

such as the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Yellowstone National Park, and the hospitality of people in the Lost River Valley.

“The field camp is a critical com-ponent of the education for our under-graduate students in particular,” Rodgers said. “It’s a capstone (five-week) course that takes everything they’ve learned in the classroom and puts it in a field set-ting. It teaches the scientific method and how to distinguish data from interpreta-tion.”

The camp not only attracts ISU geosciences majors, but also brings in students from across the nation. It serves as a primary recruiting tool for the ISU geosciences graduate program.

“Many of the students who come to our camp go on to attend high-end graduate schools, including ours,” Rod-gers said. “Every year we get at least one or two graduate students from the camp, many of whom end up pursuing their careers in the Northern Rockies. In this way, the field camp attracts high quality scientists to Idaho.”

- Andrew Taylor

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For more information on ISU geosciences visit geology.isu.edu.

Katie and Paul Link


Stephen and David Fischel’s father, Kurt, was never able to complete his formal education, but he instilled the importance of education in his children.

“He valued education and wanted his sons to be educated,” David said.

Today, David and his wife Melanie are instilling the importance of educa-tion in others through an endowment to provide scholarships for first-gen-eration immigrants like Stephen and David.

All four of David and Stephen’s grandparents immigrated to the United States from Germany. Kurt Fischel was forced to leave school in Mannheim, Germany as a teenager because he re-fused to return the salute, “Heil Hitler.” He went into hiding in the home of a friend, and, at age 17, obtained a visa and came to the United States alone on a ship.

Fischel Family Remembers Their Own

NFL All-Pro Jared AllenStrengthens Facilities

He came from a family of watch-makers, and soon found work with the Bulova Watch Company. He worked hard, making his way to larger corpo-rations, eventually retiring as a vice president at General Electric. Stephen became an immigration attorney and David a doctor.

Stephen was a well-respected attor-ney, working in the state department. He retired in 2005 as the Director of the Office of Legislation, Regulations and Advisory Assistance. After his retirement, he continued to speak at domestic and foreign immigration law meetings. He was attending a meet-ing of the American Immigration Law Association when he collapsed from a cardiac event and died two days later.

David and Melanie Fischel searched for the perfect way to honor Stephen and his work, and finally settled on Idaho State University. Although the

Fischels never attended ISU, they knew Stephen had a love for Idaho. David and Melanie lived in Pocatello for more than 30 years and knew Idaho State University had strong programs for foreign students and immigrants.

“(Stephen’s) death, in our opinion was untimely,” David said. “We wanted to honor his memory.”

The Fischels hope that their gift will help first-generation immigrants further their education, and help them feel fulfilled in their careers and in life.

“We would hope the recipient of this scholarship would be inspired by my father making the best of a cata-strophic situation and succeeding, and my brother carrying on that tradition,” he said.

NFL football great and Idaho State University alumnus Jared Allen has al-ways been a supporter of his alma mater, and his recent donation of a renovated weight room for student-athletes will ensure that future generations will have the best opportunities available.

Allen contributed nearly $200,000 to renovate the weight room. The newly remodeled facility has been named The Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center at the Idaho Orthopaedic and Sports Clinic.

Allen’s contribution includes the replacement of all the strength and conditioning equipment, all-new rubber flooring, and a new paint job. Allen’s framed jersey hangs in the Center.

Allen has contributed in the past, most notably with the purchase of ISU’s new football uniforms and the ISU foot-ball locker room renovation.

“It is a real pleasure to see students and alumni succeed in their life pur-suits, and Jared has done very well,” said Arthur C. Vailas, president of Idaho

State University. “It is many times more rewarding when our friends and alumni wish to give back and make a difference for those who follow them. We are incredibly grateful to Jared and thank him for his generosity.”

All of the previous equip-ment will be given to Gym Outfit-ters in Boise for credit which has been applied to new equipment for the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center. As a player at ISU, Allen was twice named All-American, including consen-sus first team honors in 2003, a year in which he broke the Idaho State single season and career sack records, lead-ing the nation in sacks, tackles for loss,

and forced fumbles. He has since gone on to star in the National Foot-ball League, first with the Kansas City Chiefs, and for the last two years with the

Minnesota Vikings.The donation is the second-largest

ever received by ISU athletics, behind only the donation of land in Driggs valued at more than $1 million by Sylvia Papenberg and her late husband Don which will go toward Miller Ranch Stadium (softball) and Papenfield Field, ISU’s outdoor practice field.

7Spring/Summer 2010

Idaho State University chemistry profes-sors Joshua Pak and René Rodriguez are using some of the tiniest pieces of matter to attempt to better harness the energy from the largest energy source in our solar system — the sun.

Pak and Rodriquez, who are working with the Idaho National Laboratory’s Robert Fox, are using particles so small it would take a million of them lined up next to each other to reach across the circumference of the period at the end of this sentence. The ISU research-ers have helped create a process for making uniformed-sized particles smaller than 20 nanometers.

For their efforts, these researchers along with the INL’s Fox, were nationally recognized last July with an R&D Magazine R&D 100 Award for one of the top 100 research and development discoveries in 2009. They were also honored last September with an Idaho Innovation Awards “Early-Stage Innovation of the Year” for their work with precision nanoparticles. These awards were publicized widely on the Internet and in scientific media outlets.

One of the primary chemicals Pak, Rodri-guez and Fox are studying is copper indium sulfide.

“It is known to be a good solar-cell mate-rial and could be used to absorb solar energy into electricity,” Pak said.

Particles of this substance at sizes less than 20 nanometers can have properties they don’t have at larger sizes due to the “quantum effect.” Simply put, molecules and atoms of copper indium sulfide, or a piece of wood for that matter, essentially have the same char-acteristics as they grow regressively smaller until they reach the incredibly small sizes the ISU and INL researchers are able to create. At that point, at 100 nanometers and smaller, they can take on different qualities.

In sizes of less than 20 nanometers copper indium sulfide is more efficient at storing solar energy.

“One of our main goals with nanotechnol-ogy is to create versions of the chemical that are better at storing energy and could be used to create more efficient solar cells (for making solar energy) at a cheaper cost,” Pak said.

The revolutionary technology these re-searchers created efficiently produces nanopar-ticles in uniform and precise sizes. The preci-sion nanoparticle technology has been licensed to Precision Nanoparticles, Inc., of Seattle.

Uniformity is very important because a chemical such as copper indium sulfite will have different, and perhaps more optimum properties at, for example, 15 nanoparticles, than it would at 10 or 30, or at a mixture of sizes.

“For use in energy systems, we have to know how to make these particles and have to know how to make the right composition, right size at the right phase. We’ve achieved the ability to control the sizes very well,” Pak said.

One of the next major challenges facing

the scientists is to develop a way that billions of nanoparticles can be created and then ap-plied as a thin film to solar cells to collect the sun’s energy. The ISU researchers are attempt-ing to create a nanoparticle composite that could be applied to crystal silicon solar cells to harness the sun’s energy.

“It is difficult to put these nanoparticle composites in a solar cell and have them work,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of smart people in the world are trying to do similar things that we are, trying to achieve this.”

Pak has faith that scientists will meet this challenge.

“I believe within 10 years scientists will de-velop processes to use nanoparticles to create energy in an efficient, cheaper and environ-mentally friendly manner,” Pak said.

Seed money for Rodriguez and Pak’s research was made possible partly through support from the DOE and partly from a Laboratory Directed Research Development Grant from the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls. CAES is a public/private partnership comprised of the three Idaho pub-lic universities, private industry and the Idaho National Laboratory.

- Andrew Taylor

Tiny ParticlesHelp Make Big AdvancesISU researchers seek clues on how tiny nanoparticles can harness sun’s energy

Researchers Joshua Pak and René Rodriguez

Photo by ISU Photographic Services/Susan Duncan

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For video about this story on the Web at www.isu.edu/magazine


Looking for Familiesto Help Advance ISU

Our Center for Business Services promotes economic development and real-world experience for our students by providing in-depth consulting services for businesses and organizations throughout eastern Idaho.

If you have a project that our students can help you with, contact Sam Peterson, Center for Business Services Director, at (208) 282-2966 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Serving our community

Howard A. Schmidt, research profes-sor of information assurance policy at Idaho State University, was appointed White House Cybersecurity Coordinator by President Barack Obama in Decem-ber. In this role, Schmidt reports to the National Security Council and closely supports the National Economic Council on cyber issues.

Schmidt is an integral member of the Informatics Research Institute (IRI) fac-ulty whose continued input into curricu-lum and policy in the IRI and the College of Business is essential. He guides the students in the nationally-recognized academic and research program at ISU and works with students in the Cyber-Corps program on a regular basis.

Corey Schou, professor of infor-matics, director of the ISU Informatics Research Institute, and associate dean of information assurance at the ISU College of Business lauded Schmidt’s appoint-ment.

“Howard brings a breadth of experience to the administration. He understands both the government and industry needs. More importantly, he recognizes that academia is essential to the success of the United States in the cyber environment,” Schou said.

Schmidt also serves as the chief executive officer of the Information Security Forum, a nonprofit com-puter security trade association based in London. He has served as chief information security officer at eBay and chief security officer at Microsoft. In the Bush administration, he was the vice chairman of the president’s Criti-cal Infrastructure Protection Board and a special adviser for cyberspace security. He also served in the Air Force and the Army in computer security roles and led a computer forensics team for the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the National Drug Intelligence Center.

Idaho State University is planning to construct an Alumni and Visitor Center, a comprehensive facility to serve the alumni relations, advance-ment and outreach efforts of the institution. The Idaho State University Foundation has accepted the charge to raise $6 million, and hopes to do it with the help of 25 Founding Families.

The capital campaign for an Alumni and Visitor Center at Idaho State University has raised more than $600,000 so far, but the office of Alumni Relations hopes to more than double that figure this year by raising $1 million through 25 gifts of $50,000 each. Each individual or family who comes forward to participate as a Founding Family will be recognized as the cornerstone of this effort. Their stories will be told and depicted in the main lobby as the families who came forward to help Idaho State University realize this long-sought dream.

Idaho State University communities represent a tight family. In the institu-tion’s nearly 110 years, a countless number of lives have come together and become intertwined forever. Families have been forged, lives have been built. The Founding Families will tell those stories as the heart of the Alumni and Visitor Center.

To date, three families have an-swered the call, and hopes are that 2010 will bring the additional 22 to complete the Founding Families. For more information on how to become a Founding Family, contact Pauline Thiros with the Idaho State University Foundation at (208) 221-2352 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Called to Serve Our Nation

9Spring/Summer 2010

On a cool morning in early March, 28 students from Idaho State Uni-versity-Meridian’s fast-track nursing program drove to a world few of them knew existed 45 minutes from campus.

They spent the day with 14 Peru-vian sheepherders on the Soulen Live-stock ranch in Letha, Idaho, 40 miles northwest of Boise.

This is the fifth year nursing professor Betzi Quiroz has taken her students on what she calls the “Le-tha Home Visit,” a day to experience

sheepherding and its inherent risks.The herders, who speak Castilian

Spanish and no English, are in the United States on work visas for three years. They make $800 a month and live in cramped ranch barracks, tents or wagons as they run sheep through west central Idaho.

Working side-by-side with the herders, students counted and fed more than 2,000 sheep, and built fences under skies that threatened rain much of the day.

In a few short hours, students were aware of the hazards of the semi-no-madic lifestyle—the constant exposure to inclement weather, the threat of physical injury, poor nutrition and the risk of illness from contaminated drinking water.

“I can see it’s a 24/7 job and ex-hausting,” said student Scott Davison.

Because many of the herders suffer from high blood pressure due to a high sodium diet, students returned in early spring to plant a vegetable garden. They encouraged herders to boil river and mountain spring water to kill parasites, and left them with first-aid kits—containing gauze, pain reliever and anti-bacterial creams.

Quiroz teaches that the best nurses and caregivers are those who take the time to understand the complexities of a community—whether it is Peru-vian sheepherders, residents of a north Idaho mining town or families living in the heart of metropolitan Boise.

“Sometimes the lessons that stay with you the longest are the ones where you are personally involved, when you literally walk in someone’s shoes for a day,” said Quiroz, who was born in Peru and whose father was a sheepherder for nine years.

Neugur Pocomucha, a 28-year-old herder talking through a translator, said he appreciated the students’ help.

Student Phyllis McGaffick says the “Letha Home Visit” taught her a lesson about community nursing she’ll use throughout her career.

“You have to be flexible. Patients aren’t cut from a cookie cutter. Not every patient is the same,” said McGaf-fick. “You have to treat everyone as individuals.”

- Chris Gabettas

A Day in the LifeMERIDIAN STUDENTS TAKE A DAY TRIP HELPING BOISE-AREA SHEEPHERDERS

Great things are being accomplished

at your alma mater!

Please visit us at www.isu.edu/artsci to learn what’s new in the College, and be sure to click on “Departments and Programs” to see what your department is up to these days. We would love to hear from you!

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The correlation between cold dry weather and an increased incidence of prostate cancer may be due to the effects of weather on pollutants, according to a study by a group of ISU researchers.

Approximately one in six men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, but the risk of cancer is higher in the north than the south. Idaho State University researchers, led by Sophie St-Hilaire, a research associate professor in the Depart-ment of Biological Sciences, suggest this pattern may be because organic pollutants, including some pesticides, precipitate out of the atmosphere at colder temperatures and thus may result in higher incidences of prostate cancer.

The results of the study were published April 21 in the International Journal of Health Geographics and have been fea-tured in news stories around the world.

The multidisciplinary team, which includes researchers Sylvio Mannel, Dewayne Derryberry, and Rakesh Mandal, and a student, Amy Commendador, at ISU, studied the correlation between various weather parameters and the county level incidence of prostate cancer across the United States, controlling for a number of confounding variables.

“We found that colder weather and low rainfall were strongly correlated with prostate cancer,” St-Hilaire said. “Although we can’t say exactly why this correla-tion exists, the trends are consistent with what we would expect given the effects of climate on the deposition, absorption, and

Blame It on the Weather,But It’s Probably Pollutants

degradation of persistent organic pollu-tants, including some pesticides.”

Environmental chemists have been saying for more than 30 years that pollu-tants such as PCBs and DDT are accumu-lating in areas of high altitude as well as high latitude. Cold weather slows their degradation while also causing them to precipitate towards the ground, and rain and humidity also play important roles in their absorption and degradation.

“The findings from this ecological type of study are consistent with what we would expect from differential exposure to these kinds of pollutants,” St-Hilaire said.

“This study, funded by the ISU Office of Research, provides an additional hy-pothesis for the north-south distribution of prostate cancer, which builds on the existing supposition that individuals at northern latitudes may be more likely to be deficient in vitamin D due to low ex-posure to UV radiation during the winter months.”

The ISU study suggests that in addi-tion to deficiency of vitamin D, a vitamin that is protective against certain cancers, meteorological conditions may also sig-nificantly affect the incidence of prostate cancer, added St-Hilaire.

ISU STUDY SUGGESTS THAT NORTHERNERS GET MORE CANCER BECAUSE OF POLLUTANTS TRAPPED IN THE AIR

Sophie St-Hilaire, Sylvio Mannel, Dewayne Derryberry and student Amy Commendador

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11Spring/Summer 2010

Putting a Map on History

Idaho State University history professor Jack Owens is helping to revolutionize historical research as a co-principal investigator of a $1.7 mil-lion National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

Owens will manage a group of international researchers that will create a system to incorporate geographical information systems (GIS), academic history and computer science to graphi-cally and instantaneously display multi-levels of information of a broad area for any given time.

“State-of-the-art GIS is mainly focused on space, the ‘xyz’ of where things are,” said ISU geosciences pro-fessor Dan Ames, one of Owens’ ISU collaborators on the project. “Historians are interested in where things were and when. Things move. Our new software development and new modules for MapWindow GIS will give historians the ability to see where things were at different times, not just statically.”

Owens is managing this interna-tional study by two U.S. universities of activities taking place between “social networks” in Spain from 1400-1800. The grant features broad external col-laboration between Idaho State Uni-versity, the University of Oklahoma, foreign research centers and a private

corporation.“Through multidisciplinary collabo-

ration, this project will fuse qualita-tive and quantitative data to connect humans, events, and environments, and through such connections to form historical narratives within and across geographic spaces,” Owens said.

At Idaho State University, Owens’ other main collaborator is Vitit Kant-abutra, associate professor of computer science, who, with Ames, is charged with creating a new GIS software for the space-time representation of geo-

spatial information, married to a new type of computer database designed for the project.

Ames will be using the open-source GIS software he created, MapWindow GIS, to create software to teach people to use GIS for historical research. This will be used by grant participants, and other historians, for years to come. Mark Van Orden, an ISU Eng-lish gradu-ate student pursuing a master’s degree in technical writing, is collaborating with Barbara Stephenson, an ISU post-doctoral researcher in history, to write a manual/tutorial on GIS for historians and historical social scientists. Ste-

phenson works primarily on dynamic social network analysis (SRA) and the incorporation of SRA into a GIS envi-ronment so that historians can organize, analyze, and visualize geographically-integrated narratives about social net-works. She is currently being trained in GIS by Sarah E. Hinman, ISU assistant professor of history.

“GIS is used widely in applied sci-ence and engineering, but not so much by historians. GIS is a fairly new area for historians,” Ames said. “The book, to be created the first year of the grant, is targeted at a classroom and research en-vironment for historians to use to teach and learn GIS.”

During the second and third year of the grant Ames will be adding new tools to the MapWindow software to look at time and space in GIS.

Before Ames can develop this GIS software, however, he needs a new type of computer database that can handle complex inquiries. This is where Kant-abutra comes in.

“Computer science’s contribution to this project is not just a specialized database designed for this project,” Kantabutra said “The database scheme being developed, Intentionally-Linked Entities (ILE), actually has applications ranging from simple personal databases to university and commercial data-bases, and databases involving complex relationships such as the ones needed by the funded project. Our goal is to replace relational databases, a brilliant idea for the last millennium but, in my view, not suitable for modeling complex relationships.”

Other important personnel working on the grant are the University of Okla-homa’s May Yuan, the grant’s co-prin-ciple investigator and associate dean; Emery Coppola, president and principal scientist, hydrologist and mathemati-cian of NOAH, L.L.C., based in New Jer-

sey; Aldo Gangemi, Italian National

Research Council, who is the co-founder of the Laboratory for Applied Ontology in Rome, Italy; and Monica Wachowicz, Centre for Geo-information, Wagenin-gen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands.

Owens standing on the Huescar River Bridge below the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Cuenca, Spain, where many of the mid 16th-century Italian merchant-smugglers, whose social networks he investigates, probably lived. At that time,

Cuenca served as an important node in the international wool trade and as a major manufacturing center.

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The title of his four-year grant is “Understanding social networks within complex, non-linear systems: geograph-ically-integrated history and dynamics GIS,” (SOCNET) which awards $1.3 mil-lion to ISU and $471,000 to the Uni-versity of Oklahoma and co-principal investigator Yuan.

“The NSF looks on ISU’s historians

as a cohort of researchers with the ca-pacity to have a transformative impact on history and the historical social sciences through our ability to build innovative collaborative relationships and our focus on the application of new ways to understand historical reality,” Owens said.

The project will focus on historical data from the first global age, 1400-1800, which will be generated through archival research, geographically-integrated data mining from digital files of historical documents and secondary works written by earlier historians, and data sets contributed by interested historians. The resulting database, the various software products, and docu-mentation about techniques of analysis and visualization will be freely distrib-uted through a project website for use in research and classroom instruction.

The grant’s scope, breadth and cre-ativity led to its funding by the National Science Foundation.

“It is unusual for a history profes-sor to be the lead principal investiga-tor for a National Science Foundation grant and to be a lead PI on this large of a NSF grant is extraordinary,” said Laura Woodworth-Ney, interim dean of the College of Arts and Letters. “This creates a world-class reputation for the ISU history department and our GIS based geographically-integrated history program, and makes ISU the center for this type of activity.”

This new grant both supports and is supported by the ISU history depart-ment’s Master of Arts in Historical Resources Management, which offers students an opportunity to develop their history education through a focus on applied, geographically-integrated history. The new grant will also support the development of a new ISU interdis-ciplinary Ph.D. program in social and environmental dynamics.

- Andrew Taylor

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By Emily Frandsen

WHeN JOey WATSON WAS BORN, HIS MOM, PAT FARMeR, SAW A SWeeT,

CHUBBy-FACeD LITTLe BOy. ONLy THe SMALL HOLe IN HIS SCALP AND THe

exTRA FINGeR ON eACH OF HIS HANDS GAve THe OUTWARD IMPReSSION THAT

THeRe MIGHT Be A PROBLeM.

SHe WAS LOST WHeN, JUST A FeW DAyS AFTeR He WAS BORN, DOCTORS TOLD HeR THAT HeR SON JOey WAS BORN WITH TRISOMy 18, A CHROMOSOMAL DISORDeR THAT CAUSeS BABIeS TO

HAve A LIMITeD LIFe SPAN.


“My first reaction was, ‘how do you spell that?’” she said. “We really didn’t know what that meant.”

Most told her it meant there was little hope for her son. Some even told her that it would be best to just walk away.

She and her husband were overwhelmed, sad and confused, but they couldn’t just walk away. And the decision they made for their son changed not only their family life, but sent Farmer on a career path she had never dreamed of — one dedi-cated to education and support of children with disabilities and their families.

After weeks of seeing her son in a hospi-tal crib, Farmer decided, against the advice of many, to take him home. Once he was home, she was scared and concerned.

“I realized I didn’t know how to take care of him,” she said. “I didn’t know how to teach him.”

She called a professor at Idaho State Uni-versity, Dr. Carol Stenson, who gave the ISU College of Education alumna some advice — take a few classes in special education.

“It sent me down a path I didn’t know I’d go down,” she said.

Farmer learned how to teach her son and oth-ers with disabilities. As he grew, she relished the

normal moments in her son’s life — when he learned to walk holding onto the furniture, or when he learned

to say “mama.”“He was learning and he was growing, and for me, it

was significant. I think he was sending a message,” she said.Farmer participated in the first gathering of families whose

children were identified as having Trisomy, The Support Orga-nization of Families with Trisomy 18, 13, and Related Disorders

(SOFT). The international group was founded by Kris Holloday, a mom in Utah whose child was diagnosed with Trisomy 18.

She gathered five families, including Farmer, around her kitchen table. Farmer was the group’s first president.

That gathering grew into a worldwide association of families and professionals. Today, the organization

boasts hundreds of members from seven countries, from the United States to New Zealand. Farmer

still supports the Joey Watson Memorial Fund, a scholarship that allows families to attend the

organization’s annual conference.“(SOFT) has provided phenomenal help

for families,” Farmer said.When she first tried to research her son’s

disorder, Farmer found a small paragraph

Trisomy 18, also called Edward’s Syndrome, is a condition caused by a chromosomal defect. As with all trisomy disorders, a person with Trisomy 18 has a third chromosome when there would otherwise be two. Trisomy 21, Down syndrome, is the most common Trisomy disorder.

Most children with Trisomy 18 do not live long — only 10 percent of children live past one year. Children with the disorder typically have severe developmen-tal delays, breathing difficulties, heart defects and kidney malformations. They also often have smaller heads and might be born with other distinct physical characteristics. Today, some children with the disorder are living much longer than previously expected, even into their 20s.

What isTrisomy 18?

in a book, “Trisomy is not conducive to life.”

Joey defied the odds. He lived to be 6 years old before passing away peace-fully in his sleep. He would have been 32 years old today, and Farmer thinks he would be proud of the service his mother has given to children with disabilities.

Today, thanks to Farmer and her co-authors, there are guidebooks for families. Farmer, Dr. Carol Stenson, Hol-loday, Dr. John Carey and others wrote “Trisomy 18, A Guidebook for Fami-lies,” and “Trisomy 13, A Guidebook for Families.”

She became an adjunct faculty member at ISU, where she supported Dr. Stenson in creating an award-winning program called, “Saturday School.” Par-ents with children with disabilities could bring their kids to ISU to be taught by college students while their parents got a chance to rest, run errands or go to a movie.

Farmer eventually took a position at the State Department of Education, where she worked to ensure that students with disabilities received the services they needed. Today, she is the director of student support services at Blackfoot School District No. 55, and in 2009 was awarded the College of Education’s Pro-fessional Achievement Award.

“I feel like I’ve come around full circle,” Farmer said. “I really feel for these parents,” she said. “I didn’t expect to be here.”

On the wall in her office is a color-ful finger painting done by Joey. For Farmer, it’s a symbol of teachers who took time with her son, making sure Farmer had artwork he made. These are the small things that parents who have children with disabilities often miss, but always treasure, she said. It’s a reminder to her that parents need teachers and other caregivers to help provide children with those ‘normal’ moments.

“I lost Joey, but I’m still working on his behalf,” she said.


Photo provided by Bud Davis


By Chris Gabettas

For nine years, actor William Petersen portrayed Gil Grissom, the bearded and brainy forensic entomologist on the hit CBS crime drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Before leaving the show in January 2009, Petersen had been nominated for a Golden Globe award, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and, according to Entertainment Weekly, was one of the highest paid actors on television, reportedly earning $600,000 an episode.

It’s quite the resumé for a man who never intended to be an actor. He thought he might try politics or college football—until he spent a year at Idaho State University 37 years ago.

He lived in a small apartment across the street from a muffler warehouse. His favorite watering hole was the Syndicate Lounge, and he remem-bers streaking across the Quad with his buddies, tailed by campus police.

He liked ISU a lot and admired univer-sity president William E. “Bud” Davis.

“I campaigned for Bud when he ran for the U.S. Senate,” says Petersen, explain-ing how their paths crossed.

It was the summer of 1972. Davis—on leave from his presi-dential duties at ISU—

and his campaign trust were looking for ways to mobilize Idaho’s young voters, particularly the new crop of 18-year-olds who would be eligible to vote in November’s general election.

They came up with the idea of the Great Idaho Pedal, a 1,000-mile bicycle trip from Bonners Ferry to Bear Lake, and recruited four graduates of Boise’s Bishop Kelly High School. Petersen was one of them.

Carrying backpacks and campaign litera-ture, they rode their 10-speeds for seven weeks, dropping in on radio stations and newspapers throughout the state, helping Davis seal the Democratic nomination.

“We showed up at county fairs — we even rode to the state Democratic convention in Sun Valley. It was great fun,” says Petersen.


“If I had been elected, I would have wanted Billy to go to Washington with me,” says Davis, who lost to Republican James McClure in the general election that November.

“My losing that campaign ended his po-litical career and undoubtedly propelled Billy to an entirely new life,” says Davis.

“Had Bud won, I probably would’ve gone with him,” says Petersen.

After the general election, Davis returned to ISU to resume his presidential duties, and Petersen followed in fall 1973.

“They’d built the Mini Dome and I wanted to play football, but I needed to improve my grades,” says Petersen.

At the suggestion of friends, includ-ing theater professor Chick Bilyeu (whom he’d met on the Davis campaign), Petersen signed up for a few theater classes in hopes of boosting his grade-point aver-age.

He enjoyed his classes, the camaraderie within the department, and soon gave up the idea of playing football.

“Before it was sports and politics. Now I had a new love,” he says.

Peterson made $3 an hour as auditorium manager; he preferred working behind-the-scenes and leaving the higher-profile theater work to other students.

“I never intended to be an actor. I wanted to be a stage manager,” says Petersen.

Then, as a favor to a class-mate he agreed to play Andy Hobart in a student production of Neil Simon’s Star Spangled Girl and took on the role of Sir Hubert Insdale in the musical comedy On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, directed by Bilyeu.

“Chick talked me into do-ing On a Clear Day. I had to sing with three other guys. I was completely freaked,” says Petersen.

After two semesters, Petersen left ISU, traveled to Spain to study Basque culture and per-

form Shakespeare’s Hamlet. When he returned to Idaho, he took on odd jobs — logging and working at a Boise truck stop — while performing in local theater.

Impressed by the vibrant theater scene in 1970s’ Chicago, he moved to the Windy City and co-founded the Remains Theatre Ensemble with a group of actors.

The 1980s began Petersen’s foray into films, starring as a rogue Secret Service agent in Wil-liam Friedkins’ To Live and Die in L.A., and as an FBI agent in the first Hannibal Lecter film, Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann.

In 1999, the creators of the new crime drama CSI approached him to play the role of the show’s protagonist, who would be the lead investigator and supervisor of the Clark Country crime lab in Las Vegas.

Petersen thought the idea sounded interesting, especially in light of the O.J. Simpson trial, which had whetted the public appetite for forensics and the science behind crime-busting.

“I think we were all shocked when the show became a hit. We knew it would be good, but didn’t think it would be such a huge hit,” says Petersen, who also served as a show producer and

Davis, now living in New Mexico, says he even saw evidence of Petersen’s “star” quality back then: a good-looking teenager with curly hair and big smile, who helped capture the elusive female vote.


Top left - “Grave Danger”– The CSIs are in a desperate race against time to save a member of their team who has been kidnapped and buried alive, on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Pictured here are Marg Helgenberger and William Petersen. Photo: Robert VoetsCBS ©2005 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

Top middle - Ensemble members William Petersen and Ian Barford rehearse for Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Endgame. Photo by Mark Campbell

Top right - William Petersen and others rehearse for a drama while Petersen attended Idaho State University. Photo by ISU Photographic Services

Bottom - “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” – Gil Grissom (William Petersen) finds a disturbing creation on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.Photo: Sonja Flemming. CBS ©2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

named Gil Grissom after one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts Gus Grissom.

As for his decision to leave in 2009, he says, “I’d done everything. There was really no place for the character to go,” though he confirms discus-sions for a CSI movie on the big screen are in the works and he will likely reprise Grissom.

Currently, he’s back to his first love, perform-ing live theater in Chicago. In April, he opened in a two-month run of Samuel Beckett’s End Game,

performing with the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Petersen congratulates Theatre ISU on its 80th anniversary and says he’s often asked if he has advice for young actors.

“I tell them ‘do what you have to do to make it work, carve out a plan moment to moment, find a way to get there. Figure out a way to make it happen. If you don’t, you’ll do something else, like become a dentist, and that’s just fine,’” he says.


invited into the theatre, students and faculty are working hard.

For the actors, there are hundreds of hours spent in rehearsal, from workshops in singing and dialect to acting and singing on stage. First in jeans and sweatpants with binders in hand, then later in full costume, actors becoming the characters they play.

For the orchestra behind the set, there are hours of practice both with and without the actors. It takes preci-sion and skill for actors and musicians to complement each other.

There are costume designers who carefully analyze each piece of fabric on a dress and strand of hair on each actor’s head to make sure it matches

Looking up at the stage, it’s easy to get lost in early 19th-century Lon-don, filled with beggars, women of ill repute and criminals.

And that’s exactly what the actors on the stage during Idaho State Uni-versity’s Threepenny Opera want — an audience that experiences the story without thinking about the hundreds of hours of work that happens behind-the-scenes.

What the audience doesn’t know is that everything, from the choice of which performance, set in which time period, to the number of stairs on a stage platform, is a conscious deci-sion made with the audience in mind. And, for months before the audience is

the styles of the time period, and dressers who make sure actors look ap-propriate and get to the stage on time.

There are set designers and build-ers who work with the director to make sure the scenes on the stage not only create a good atmosphere for the audience, but make it easy for actors to perform their best. There are light-ing designers, dialect coaches, stage managers and more.

For the more than 50 students working both on stage and behind-the-scenes, it’s a wonderful learn-ing experience, says director Diana Livingston-Friedley.

“It’s so fun to see people working on one of the most important works of

20 Idaho State University Magazine Spring/Summer 201020 Idaho State University Magazine Spring/Summer 2010

the 20th century,” she says. “I get chills.”Music director and general di-

rector of ISU Opera Kathleen Lane chose the Threepenny Opera be-

cause of its historical signifi-cance. The opera, written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht

in 1928, was adapted from The Beggar’s Opera. It has been

translated into 18 languages and performed more than 10,000 times.

The opera also requires singers of varying levels of vocal ability, making it accessible to more students. It’s an important opera for students to study, Lane says.

Auditions for the Threepenny Opera, which opened in April, were held in January. Livingston-Friedley and Lane double-cast many of the lead parts, with different actors playing the same roles on different nights.

“We had double talent,” Lane says. Along with weekly opera workshops, the ac-

tors were on the stage early, learning their parts. By early March, Livingston-Friedley expected them to have their parts memorized and their scenes ready for fine-tuning.

“I need you out of the books by next week, folks,” she says as she moves across the stage,

putting one man’s arm around a woman and moving actors into precise positions based on where pieces of the set will soon be.

It was early in the rehearsal schedule — about five hours per week. By showtime, rehearsals are nearly a full-time job.

“It’s not too crazy yet,” says music education major Liz O’Brien, who played Lucy Brown.

O’Brien is a veteran of ISU per-formances. She loves being on the stage, and loves her role as Lucy.

“I just love performing,” she said. “It’s dark, but it’s funny.”

While O’Brien and fellow cast members are learning music, others are building sets, sewing costumes and procuring props. Costume designer and theatre faculty member Tara Young works with — approximately 70 hours per week of student help, creating 1830s-period costumes for the cast of 31.

Young began designing the costumes in December, researching

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Derek Gregerson as “The Street Singer”

Andrea Gunter

Lokata Terrace

21Spring/Summer 2010 21Spring/Summer 2010

before the show starts. “I want you to look a little nappy.”

After the opening scene, two student “dressers” work quickly in the dark to help actors change clothing and make last minute adjustments. Theatre education ma-jor Afton Knight and theatre major Tamara Shepherd don’t mind that the public doesn’t know about the work they do, as long as the cast appreciates their hard work.

Knight has worked both on and behind the stage, and she enjoys both.

“I just like to be a part of it,” she says.

appropriate clothing and looks for the time. By February, she was building the costumes, with the help of her basic and advanced costume construction classes. For each class, Young says she always tries to take students to the limits of their abilities.

“At every level, I push them,” she says.Young has the help from three students

who serve as dressers and an assistant costume designer, who make sure everyone looks perfect for opening night. Or, in the case of the Three-penny Opera, filled with the underside of 1830s London, Young makes sure everyone looks a little less than perfect.

“You’re too pretty,” she tells a student play-ing a woman of ill repute as she unstraight-ens a street beggar’s tie, with 5 minutes to go

Natalie Gregory

Jared Johnson and Tierra Burge

Brian Hill

22 Idaho State University Magazine Spring/Summer 201022 Idaho State University Magazine Spring/Summer 2010

Student Recreation CenterBulks Up With AdditionWITH THE NEW AREAS DUE TO OPEN SOON,STUDENTS WILL HAVE MORE ROOM TO GET FIT

The new 32,000-square foot, $7 million expansion of the Student Recreation Center at Reed Gymnasium – funded by the Associated Students of Idaho State University – will be completed this spring and students should be able to begin using the facility in July, accord-ing to Doug Milder, ISU director of campus recreation and intramurals.

An official grand opening ceremony will be held in late August or September when a fuller contingent of students, faculty and staff are back on campus.

The newly expanded two-story structure features everything from a TV lounge with a big screen TV for users to check on the latest sports scores, to window views looking outside or inside to the ISU tennis courts.

Other new facilities will include a large multi-purpose recreation room, cardio machines and exercise areas, campus recreation offices, bath-rooms upstairs and down, a lobby area, lounge areas and an equipment checkout area. About a quarter-million dollars of new exercise equip-ment is being purchased.

The overall spaciousness of the new structure is impressive. The addition features a lot of room and open spaces, characteristics that many oth-ers have commented on, according to Milder.

“A lot of people have asked me how this stacks up to our sister institutions Boise State University and the University of Idaho,” notes Milder. “Our new facilities are very comparable and on par with theirs, and they are a quantum leap forward from what our students had previ-ously.”

The expansion has taken place on the east side of Reed Gym, and will connect the current indoor tennis facility to Reed Gym. Counting the tennis center and student gymnasium that contains the climbing wall, the total ISU Student Recreation Center offers about 100,000 square feet of recreational facilities for students, and that doesn’t count the Reed Gym swimming pool.

According to Milder, this is the most expen-sive project that ASISU has taken on, including the previous expansion of campus recreation fa-cilities and the construction of the Holt Arena.

Director of Campus Recreation Doug Milder gives Andy Taylor a tour of the new facility. The

area will be filled with weight and exercise equipment.Views of the expansion interior are also featured.

Photos by ISU Photographic Services/Julie Hillebrant


You know, there’s a time in everyone’s life when an internal investigation is required. One day after I ran down a gazelle, I sat in the June heat gnawing on a hind-quarter. I just wasn’t fulfilled. There I was basi-cally reigning the land (save it, Mr. Lion), and I just thought there had to be more. I was tired of gazelle and I was tired of the heat. Next thing I know, I’m in Idaho cheering on ISU. Been fulfilled ever since.

Section B in Holt Arena or Reed Gym are both great for sentimental reasons. Other than that, right under the I on Red Hill. You know, in that little crevice. I can climb up there even though nobody else should. It’s my spot, rrrrrr. Cozy and warm for watching a muddy soccer game or shady and cool for watching the tracksters. Coach Gibson, Coach Nielsen, what up?

A little, but at least I have family all around the country. I’ve got cousins down in Louisiana, Au-burn, Memphis, Clemson, a really smart one who lives in New Jersey, a really rich one out in Cincin-nati. A bunch more down in San Diego. Then, of course the lions are always trying to buddy-up to me, asking about my moves and stuff. They aren’t so bad though. It’s the wildcats that think they are bigger than they are who bug me … especially the ones who wear purple. Come on, wildcats and bob-cats? They’re nowhere near us tigers. What was the question? Oh yeah, with all of that it seems like I’ve got family everywhere.

That is a tough question. There have been so many good ones, plus I love going anywhere to cheer on the teams. Montana is fun when it’s snowing. I don’t know how many times I’ve popped Monte in the head with a snowball. Sacramento is fun but I always wonder why they call it “Cow Town” and have an insect for a mascot. Sac State Bovines has a nice ring to it. Maybe they should take all the schools with bugs as mascots and make a new conference for them. It could be the Pest Coast Conference. I guess my favorite road trip would have to be Wichita Falls, Texas in 1981. Go Kraigthorpe! Good times.

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I get to be a part of every team, every year. You think I could serve a tennis ball into the right court? I can’t, but I’m part of the team! Maybe if we had a wrestling team, I could actually compete, but right now I’m glad to support everyone working so hard.

When fans don’t care. It makes me feel bad for the kids out there playing and the fans are yelling for number 13 to catch the ball or for number 22 to make the basket. C’mon, the kid is a senior, been here five years and they still haven’t learned the name? I can handle the little kids pulling my tail, or falling because my feet are too big, but when people don’t care about our teams, it makes me want to roar.

What? Um, yeah, no. Uh, you coming to homecoming this year? It’s the Year of the Tiger, you know?

Oh yeah. It’s easy to find the perfect Bengal. There are tons of ‘em walking around cam-pus. You know, its just somebody who has the wisdom and motivational skills of Dubby Holt or Babe Caccia, the discipline of Merrill Hoge, the grit of Jim Potter, the toughness of Isaac Mitchell, the agility of any of the Bengal Danc-ers, the desire and coolness of Marvin Lewis. You know, someone like that. Isn’t everybody at ISU like that?

I thought about growing a mullet. You know, sup-porting my ol’ homie Jared Allen. I’m also still working up enough courage to ask Mandy Carver for her phone number. Is it still called a phone? Maybe I should say ‘her text number’ since I prob-ably still won’t have the guts to call her. That one has taken me a while, but one of these days.


When she arrived in Haiti in Febru-ary, Dr. Jennifer Seeley was struck by the devastation that remained more than a month after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the country.

The Idaho Falls pharmacist and Ida-ho State University alumna was in Haiti with the Orem, Utah-based International Aid Serving Kids, setting up an ambula-tory clinic at the epicenter of the quake for those in need of medical care.

Although many with major trauma had been treated, thousands were still in need of critical medical care.

During their stay, the team of doc-tors, nurses, interpreters and other health care professionals treated about 1,400 patients, and conducted about 16 to 20 surgeries a day. Seeley and her colleagues helped patients with several ailments, but the majority of them were related to infected wounds and hygiene issues. Patients with impetigo, fungal infections, and parasites were common, but the team also helped those with ma-laria, pneumonia, post-traumatic stress disorder and even pregnant or nursing women needing nutrition care.

“Chronic disease states were also not being adequately treated, such as uncontrolled hypertension,” she said.

Seeley oversaw the makeshift pharmacy at the clinic in Leogane, Haiti, about 18 miles west of Port au Prince. She dispensed medications and organized medicine packs for the team’s daily field trips to outlying rural areas.

In addition to seeing patients in makeshift clinics, the medical teams had other obstacles to overcome. Lack of cold storage for medications requiring lower temperatures, no air condition-ing in a hot, humid climate and treating patients in a country where Voodoo is widely practiced are issues many medical teams in the relief effort face,

Caring in Times of Needshe said. Although the team traveled to Haiti with medications and supplies donated from area health care facilities, Seeley said she also bartered with other medical teams, trading different classes of antibiotics to ensure each team was equipped with their needed supplies.

“It was an interesting barter system,” she said, “but everyone was willing to help out where they could.”

Seeley, who was named the 2005 Outstanding Pharmacy student when she graduated from ISU in 2005, is a longtime volunteer and health care professional who has treated patients suffering from various diseases. A pharmacist with Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, she has also served on medical missions to Honduras.

She said the mission to Haiti had a significant impact on her and she was moved by the gratitude of the Haitian people.

“It is such a privilege to work with an amazing, talented and compassion-ate group of people, and I must include our Haitian volunteers,” she said. “I was a little taken aback when I went to thank them for their help and they ex-pressed such gratitude for letting them help. I found this quality surprising, considering the state of living condi-tions.”

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12 is described as one of the worst catastrophes in modern history—claiming the lives of about 200,000 people.

Most of the buildings in Haiti no longer stand, Seeley said, and the coun-try has considerable repairs to make to its infrastructure.

“To say conditions are poor is an understatement,” she said. “In Leogane, more than 80 percent of the structures are complete rubble and if any struc-

ture is still standing, it is most likely condemned and uninhabitable. Pictures can’t even describe the overwhelming, massive destruction.”

Another College of Pharmacy alum-na, Dr. Alisa Stewart, ’06, joined IASK for another medical mission to Haiti just prior to Seeley’s trip. Seeley said she was looking to volunteer for a medical mission, and had contacted Stewart be-fore the earthquake struck Haiti. Stewart posted the need for pharmacists to join the IASK team on Facebook.

“Medical missions allow me to see other parts of the world, other cultures and work with amazing and talented teams of health care professionals, all while helping improve someone’s health,” she said. “It was an extraordi-nary experience.”

— Andrew Gauss

ISU alumna Dr. Jennifer Seeley reviews medical charts while in Haiti after the January earthquake.


Idaho State University alumnus Rafi Ahmed, current director of the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences because of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original science.

He was honored last fall at Idaho State University Homecoming with the Distinguished Alumni award.

The 60-year-old native of Hydera-bad, India, joked about his initial choos-ing of Idaho State University for his undergraduate and master’s education.

“I’m originally from India, and how I ended up in Pocatello is one of the great mysteries of my life,” Ahmed said. “But I had a great time there. I was in my formative years as a young man learning about how an American educa-tion worked, and I received good guid-ance at Idaho State. The courses I took there were fantastic, as good as any I took anywhere. ISU basically prepared me for what I did later.”

When he was elected to the Acade-my he was one of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates elected.

Ahmed is considered one of the world’s leading immunologists and has made groundbreaking discoveries on immune memory that have laid the foundation for understanding vaccine-induced immune responses. Rejuvenat-ing the immune response to chronic viral infections is his most recent work focus. This research has the potential to help combat HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tu-berculosis and other infectious diseases. It also has potential for treatment of cancers.

“This is the highest honor your peers can bestow upon you, so that is a wonderful thing,” said Ahmed, who earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiol-ogy in 1972 and a master’s degree in microbiology in 1974 from Idaho State University. “I love my research and it is my passion. Some people get lucky, I guess.”

Ahmed went on to earn his doc-torate at Harvard University and has had a long and distinguished research career at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, Calif., the Uni-

Alumnus Ahmed elected to National Academy of Sciences

versity of California Los Angeles School of Medicine and Emory University.

“Idaho State University is very proud of Dr. Ahmed’s accomplishments and to have the opportunity to honor him for his great scientific achievements,” said Idaho State University President Arthur C. Vailas. “We want to thank him for recognizing ISU for providing him a high quality education that contributed to his future development as one of the world’s top medical scientists in infec-tious diseases.”

Academy membership is composed of approximately 2,100 members and 380 foreign associates, of whom nearly 200 have won Nobel Prizes. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or engineer. The Academy is governed by a council consisting of 12 members, called councilors, and five of-ficers, elected from among the Academy membership.

Ahmed is professor of microbiology and immunology in the Emory Univer-sity School of Medicine. He founded

and directs the Emory Vaccine Center. He is a Georgia Research Alliance Emi-nent Scholar and is associate director of vaccine science for the Emory Center for AIDS Research.

“My interest in understanding vaccines centers on how our immune systems remember something that has happened 20 or 30 years ago, such as someone having a smallpox vaccine as a kid but they’re still protected many years later,” Ahmed said. “This has been the focus of my efforts the last 15 or 20 years and we’re starting to get to the heart of the matter.”

Training new scientists is and has been as important to Ahmed as his own research.

“I’ve helped train more than 30 graduate and postdoctoral students, some who now have their own research projects and labs,” Ahmed said. “One of the best legacies for me is the training of the next generation of scientists.”

Ahmed and his wife, Lala, have two children, a son, Hasan, and a daughter, Fatima.

Rafi Ahmed waves at the crowd as he is recognized by President Arthur Vailas at halftime of the 2009 Homecoming football game. Photo by ISU Photographic Services/Julie Hillebrant

LIFE TAKES AHMED FROM INDIA TO POCATELLO TO VIRGINIA AND INTO THE SCIENCE LORE


(208) 282-2150 • www.isu.edu/graduate

Attebery Awarded Fulbright in Sweden

Jennifer Eastman Attebery, professor of English and di-rector of the folklore program at Idaho State University, has been awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Ameri-can Studies at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden.

The Distinguished Chair position is co-hosted by the Swedish Institute for North American Studies and Uppsala University’s Department of English.

Attebery will travel to Uppsala for spring semester 2011 to lecture on American Studies and to pursue her research concerning Swedish immigrant folk culture, focusing on calendar customs. Her time at the Institute and English department will bring her into contact with scholars of Swedish immigration and with resources in Swedish librar-ies and archives, including Uppsala’s extensive folklore archives.

“I’m thrilled to be traveling to Uppsala,” Attebery said. “Uppsala is the center for Swedish immigration and folklore studies with a wealth of resources in my fields of concentration.”

Fulbright Distinguished Chair positions are a highly selective part of the Fulbright U.S. Senior Scholar Program, an international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government with additional support from host nations. The Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program awards are among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program and are awarded to can-didates who are “eminent scholars and have a significant publication and teaching record.”

Idaho State University has had 15 Fulbright U.S. Senior Scholars among its faculty, five of them English faculty, including Attebery, who was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Gothenburg University in 1998. Her husband, Brian At-

tebery, was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Uppsala University in 1988.

Jennifer Atteberry earned her Ph.D. in folklore and American studies at Indiana University in 1985. Her research focuses on folk culture of the Rocky Mountain West in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with an emphasis on ethnic groups. Her main contributions to these fields have been expanded understanding of the multicultural West and new attention to the personal letter as a vernacular form.

Professor Jennifer Eastman Attebery helps make decorations for a maypole on one of her ventures to New Sweden. Photo by ISU Photographic Services/Susan Duncan



(208) 373-1700www.isu.edu/meridian

Meridian Health Science Center

LEADINGIDAHO

Educating health professionals

ISU-Meridian offers more than 20 graduate and undergraduate

programs in the health professions.

University Annual Report

Operating Revenues dollarsStudent tuition and fees 52,694,142(net of scholarship discounts and allowances)All grants and contracts 30,489,427Sales and services of educational departments 4,233,153Auxiliary enterprises sales and services 12,222,735Other operating revenue 2,349,149Total operating revenues 102,988,606Operating expenses 211,069,013Operating income (loss) 108,080,407

Non operating Revenues (expenses)State appropriations 100,010,244Title IV grants 15,515,208Gifts 6,705,788Investment income 614,313Amortization of bond financing costs (60,953)Interest on capital asset related debt (3,502,128)Net non operating revenues 98,481,800

Other revenue and expensesCapital gifts and grants 84,764Gain or (loss) on disposal of fixed assets (76,953)Net other revenues and expenses 875,313Increase in net assets 11,209,876

Net assets beginning of year 141,468,454Net assets end of year 152,678,454

ISU welcomed a record number of students in 2009. In fall semester 2009, 15,553 students from 63 countries attended classes, an increase of more than 1,000 over fall semester 2008. Approximately 90 percent of our stu-dents are from Idaho.

Our graduate students are see-ing success in all fields of research and study, and we are home to more graduate students than any other institution in the state. Our Clinical

Psychology Ph.D. program was rated No. 1 of 207 programs by Psycho-logical Report.

Our Early College program, where the University partners with high schools to offer college-level courses

Fiscal year 2009was a banner year in many respects at Idaho State University.

The YearAnnual Report for 2008-09

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Foundation Annual Report

Revenue dollarsContributions 9,091,156Investment Income 744,635Change in FMV of Investments (8,241,516)Other 745,286Total Revenue 2,339,561

ExpensesPayments to ISU 6,419,704Management expenses 1,395,365Fundraising 690,320Total expenses 8,505,389

Change in net assets (6,165,828)

technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace in 2009 by R & D magazine, and was awarded with an Idaho Innovation Award. The project brought $1.4 mil-lion in funding to ISU.

The University has seen a dramatic

to secondary students, has grown each year. In 2008-2009, 2,412 students participated in the program, 400 more than the previous year.

ISU students are excelling. Dozens of programs boast a 100 percent pass rate on national licensure and accredi-tation exams.

To enhance the University’s health care mission, the Idaho State University–Meridian Health Sci-ence Center opened this fall, serving more than 700 students. In 2009, 39 percent of ISU’s degrees awarded were health-related. ISU also operates 12 clinics, from audiology to dental hy-giene, with more than 29,000 patient visits per year.

ISU’s research focus continues to be on health care, energy and the en-vironment. Research being conducted at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies on precision nanoparticles could make solar panels more energy efficient. The research was recognized nationally as one of the top 100 most

increase in research grants from the National Institutes of Health — cur-rently, seven ISU faculty members have received NIH grants, with one more pending final approval. In fiscal year 2009, ISU received $28.5 million in external grants and contracts.

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Fred Dykes, BS chem ’52, of Poca-tello, was one of three individuals whose

historic photographs of Korea were featured in an exhibit at the Seoul Museum of History in

October 2009. He served as a foot soldier in the Seventh Infantry Division in Seoul from December 1946 to May 1948, and witnessed the political turmoil following Korea’s inde-pendence from Japan.

Bill Harwood, BA journ ’52, became only the second member of Pocatello Lodge No. 674, to be inducted into the Idaho Elks Hall of Fame. As a member of the Elks for more than 50 years, he served as state president of Idaho, chairman of the state trustees, state trustee, district deputy grand exalted ruler, and eight years as lodge secretary. Harwood was also responsible for the Pocatello Elks newsletter for eight years. After 47 years employment at ISU, Harwood retired in June 2009.

Fred Hughes, BS sec ed and math ’62/MED curr and super ’68, and his wife, Joyce, are the 2009 recipients of the

American Kennel Club Outstanding Sportsman-ship Award and the Poca-tello Kennel Club Lifetime

Achievement Award. They have served as Pocatello Kennel Club officers and have been instrumental in bringing lure coursing trials to Southeast Idaho. They are also suc-cessful breeders of Basenji dogs.

State Sen. Diane Bilyeu, BA spch ’68, has written a children’s book, Children’s Reader’s Theater USA: Developing Self-Confidence, Reading Comprehension and Fluency. The book is comprised of five short plays, each made for performers in the reader’s theater genre. Bilyeu is currently working on another book about William Shakespeare for children. Bilyeu, and her late husband, Dr. Chick Bilyeu, were the 1990 recipients of the William J. Bartz Award at ISU.

Don Axtell, BA ed and history ’70, of Comox, British Columbia, attended a

reunion of Peace Corps volunteers with whom he trained and served in India.

Deborah Barnes, MED couns & guid ’71, of Nahant, Mass., is a certified profes-sional resumé writer and graphic artist and an active member of The Professional Association of Resumé Writers & Career

Coaches. Barnes is published in Cover Let-ters for Dummies, 3rd Edition, and winner of the Benjamin Franklin Awards – Best Career Book of the Year. She is a workshop facilitator and coordinator at a One-Stop Career Center.

Barbara Dawson, MA Engl ’71, was named Entrepreneur of the Year for 2009 by the Women’s Council of Realtors. She has been an associate broker with Group One since 2000.

Douglas Lowry, alumnus ’71, was hon-ored by the Pocatello High School Educa-tion Foundation in April as one of its dis-tinguished alumni. Lowry is the dean of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester; he also served seven years as the dean and Thomas James Kelly Professor of Music at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music.

Roger Chase, alumnus ’72, has entered into a consulting agreement with Bingham

Memorial Hospital in Blackfoot to help the hospital expand its medical services in the region. Chase has also entered into a one-year contract with the City of Poca-tello to offer assistance with specific water rights-acquisition and land-use issues. Chase served as Pocatello mayor the past eight years.

Paul Emerson, BA journ ’72, who served as managing editor of the Lewiston Tribune since 1981, has retired. Initially hired at the Lewiston Tribune as a sports writer in 1972, Emerson was later named sports editor.

Edward J. Pitcher, MNS biology ’73/BS nurs ’84, of Malad, has co-authored the book, The Flying of Falcons, which presents a philosophy of understanding the natural development of falcons. He is a world-renowned innovator in the field of falconry and has been involved with falconry for almost 40 years. Pitcher is also a registered steelhead guide and co-owner of Clearwater

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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 e-mail to [email protected]; or fax to (208) 282-2541. Or call (208) 282-3755 locally, or toll-free (800) 933-4781.

Cecil “Scott” Hobdey, 60, passed away Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho. Scott was born August 10, 1949, in Denver, Colo., to Cecil and Elizabeth Hobdey.

Following Cecil’s graduation from law school, the family returned to their roots in Gooding, Idaho. Scott was a 1967 graduate of Gooding High School, where he had been an exceptional ath-lete and a member of the student government as student body vice president and participated in football, basketball, and track. Scott set records in both the 400 and 800 meter races, and was a member of the 1966 state championship basketball team.

After one year of college at Idaho State University, Scott volunteered for the Army in 1969, and served in the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1971. He was severely wounded on February 19, 1971, and was not expected to walk again. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his sacrifice. Despite the doctor’s diagnosis, Scott returned to the states and through his determination and work ethic rehabilitated his legs to their prime. He re-enrolled at Idaho State University and ran two years of track for the Bengals.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in accounting and political science, and obtained an MBA at Idaho State University. Shortly after graduating Scott took a job with the state of Idaho and worked with the state for 33 years; 11 years as the assistant athletic director for Idaho State University, and 22 years with the Idaho Department of Labor.

Scott had many passions in life which included coaching his daughters’ soccer and basketball teams, training horses, and spending time outside. Scott cherished the Western way of life, the heat of competition, and a good day’s work. In the last few years Scott had become involved with horse racing, and through his numerous racing endeavors. He also had a love and appreciation for the great outdoors. Scott was married to Deborah Craig on Nov. 13, 1982. They had two daughters, Sarah and Jessica. He is survived by his wife Deborah, daughters Sarah and Jessica, brother Craig Hobdey of Gooding, sisters Becky (Chuck)Thompson of Boise, Kathy (Ernesto) Sanchez of Boise, Laura Hobdey of Boise, numerous nieces, nephews, and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil and Elizabeth Hobdey.

A full military burial preceded a memorial at the Mountain View Cemetery. If you wish to me-morialize Scott, please consider a donation to: C. Scott Hobdey Memorial Track and Field Scholar-ship, Idaho State University Foundation, 921 S. 8th Ave., Stop 8050, Pocatello, ID 83209.

– From the Idaho State Journal

I N M e M O R I A MCecil Scott Hobdey


River Company. Jack K. Bruner, BVTE voc teach ed ’78/

MED ed admin ’83, retired from The Boeing Company with 20 years service as a senior maintenance teaching instructor. During that time, he traveled to many countries and taught engineers and technicians about Boeing commercial airplane systems. He is a former electronics instructor at ISU. Bruner lives in Toledo, Wash., where he is a breeder of champion alpacas.

The Honorable John M. Melanson, BA mgmt & org ’78, of Boise, was appointed to the Idaho Court of Appeals. Previously, he was elected as District Judge for the Fifth Judicial District in 2002 and 2006.

The Honorable Bryan K. Murray, BA hist ’80, was awarded the 2009 Judicial Award

by the Idaho State Plan-ning Council on Mental Health. Judge Murray has been the presiding

judge over civil mental health commitments for the Sixth District for 16 years. Murray was recognized as the College of Arts and Sciences Professional Achievement Award recipient in social sciences in 2004.

Kevin Poole, BS engr ’80/MBA bus admin ’89, was selected by members of the Lewiston City Council as mayor of Lewis-ton, Idaho. Previously, he served two terms with the Lewiston City Council. Poole is employed at Riedesel Engineering.

Teri Rainey, BA park & rec mgmt ’80, has written Coper’s Flip Book, which is designed as a communication tool to help individuals, families and group help identify appropriate coping mechanisms to deal with feelings and unmet needs. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor and has worked in the mental health field for 25 years. Rainey works as a clinician for Children’s Mental Health and also in private practice in Lewiston.

Susan Bithell, BBA mktg ’83, a career employee with Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, is vice president and chief underwriting officer for the company. Most recently, she was a vice president and state executive director in Washington State.

Barb North, BS zoology ’84/MS zoology ’94, is a local expert in birds and selected as president of the Portneuf Valley Audubon Society. In 30 years of researching birds in the field, North has observed more than 700 types of birds in the United States and well over 1,500 types throughout the word.

John Spicer, BBA mgmt & org ’84, is the site manager for ON Semiconductor in Pocatello. Initially hired as a janitor at AMI Semiconductor in 1981, he held positions including engineering technician, line supervisor and section head. He also worked for Advanced Micro Devices in Austin, Texas, from 1987-1993.

Karen Donaldson, BS micro ’85/BS dietetics ’04, was named the Idaho Busi-ness Review’s Health Care Professional Top Honor Hero. She is the owner of EXCEL Weight Loss Solutions in Pocatello which incorporates holistic treatment of emo-

tional and health issues as well as weight problems.

Joe Morris, BS ed & phys sci ’85/MPE athl admin ’87, of Pocatello, was named Idaho’s 2009 Advanced Placement Teacher of the Year, an award sponsored by technol-ogy conglomerate Siemens. Morris has taught 249 advanced placement students since he began teaching advanced and honors courses 10 years ago; the 95 percent pass rate for his students is well above the national average.

Alesha Churba, BS sec ed/cons econ ‘87/AAS design draft tech ’01/cert design draft tech ’01, the owner of A. E. Churba Design LLC, is a contributing writer to the trade publication, The Decorator’s Notebook. Churba is an instructor in the computer-aided design drafting program at ISU. She is the only allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers and member of the Society of Decorating Professionals with experience in residential and commercial interiors in Southeast Idaho.

Teresa Wakeman, cert comp prog sys tech ’89/AAS comp prog sys tech ’90/BBA

comp info sys ’94, was named the Idaho State Journal Citizen All-Star for December 2009, in

recognition of her public service as gover-nor for the Civitan district covering nine western states. Wakeman has worked as a computer programmer analyst for Bannock County the past 15 years.

Wendy Baron, BA mass comm, ’90/

MS haz waste mgmt ’96, of Chubbuck, was named Idaho’s Firefighter of the Year by the Professional Fire Fighters of Idaho at its annual convention. She works as a full-time firefighter and emergency medical techni-cian for the Idaho National Laboratory. She has spent five years as a firefighter at the INL and also eight years as a volunteer fire-fighter for the Chubbuck Fire Department.

Samantha Damron, BBA finance ’93, was named executive director of the Eastern Idaho Development Corporation; she has served as the corporation’s business con-sultant and loan officer since 2005. Prior to joining the Eastern Idaho Development Corporation, she was branch manager for Citifinancial in Pocatello.

Duane Rawlings, BS pol sci ’93, has joined University Financial Group in Poca-tello. He is a series 7/66 licensed registered representative. University Financial Group is a full service financial services agency for business and individuals. Rawlings worked the past eight years with AIG-VALIC.

Monte Gray, BBA acct ’96, of Pocatello, was honored with the Pro Bono Award from the Idaho State Bar Board of Commission-ers. He is a partner at Service, Spinner and Gray, and was recognized for his dedication to the Court Appointed Special Advocate program over the past 19 years.

Brandi Townsend, cert acct clerk ’97/AAS acct clerk ’01, BBA finance ’03, of Inkom, won the Mrs. Idaho International Title. She will compete in the Mrs. Interna-tional competition in Chicago, in July 2010.

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Sean C. Blacker, BBA mgmt ’99, gradu-ated from the Officer Candidate School Phase III training at North Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Wash., and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army National Guard. He has served in the military for five years.

Nathan Church, BS phys asst ’99, of Boise, is a physician assistant with the Ur-gent Care Practice of Primary Health Medi-cal Group, located at Boise’s State Street location. He has experience in both urgent care clinics and emergency rooms. Church received his master of physician assistant studies with specialization in emergency medicine from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Ashley Ford, MPA pub admin ’99, is public affairs practice group leader at Red Sky Public Relations in Boise. She was formerly the principal land use planner of the Rose Law Group’s Boise office.

Capt. David McCaskill, BA history ’99, was promoted to major with the U.S. Air Force in December 2009. He was deployed to the Middle East with the Joint Surveil-lance Target Attack Radar System in the 7th Expeditionary Air Command and Control Squadron.

Brad Coleman, BBA comp info sys ’00/

finance ’00, was promoted to vice president of quality assurance and innovation at Dick-

inson Frozen Foods. He has been employed with the company for three years, and most recently,

led the design and implementation of a new information technology environment. Coleman earned a master’s degree at Ohio State University where he was a University Fellow, Mitte Scholar and Cullman Market-ing Fellow.

Graham Garner, BA pol sci ’02/MPA pol sci ’07, is vice president of university advancement at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technol-ogy in Rapid City. He served in a variety of positions at ISU since 2003; these include alumni director, interim director of develop-ment, director of web communications and director of university relations.

Jeanne Johnson, MED ed admin ’02, was named the 2010 Outstanding Educator of the Year by ISU’s College of Education. She has served as principal for A.H. Bush Elementary School in Idaho Falls since 2003.

Cheryl Koompin, BA family/cons sci ’07, of American Falls, was appointed chairwoman of the United States Potato Board. As chairwoman, she plans to pro-mote “Feed My Starving Children,” a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding starving children. She was elected to the board in 2005 and helped with the board’s International Food Aid Initiative in West Africa.

Melissa Madden, BS botany ’08, is on a 27-month service mission as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, West Africa. She serves primarily as a forestry volunteer working on reforestation projects and teaching locals how to conserve forests. Madden will also work with small farmers to teach them how to increase food production.

U.S. Marine Corporal Steve Winn, alumnus ’08, was deployed to serve his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. He re-ceived his third Certificate of Commenda-tion since his enlistment in May 2009.

David Risenmay, EDS ed admin ’09, is superintendent of schools for the Oneida School District. He served as principal of North Fremont Middle and High Schools in Ashton since 2004. He is completing his doctoral dissertation at ISU.

Dr. Chander Raman, MNS micro ’84 and Dr. Robert Axtell, BS micro ’99/MNS micro ’01, are among 17 other researchers representing the University of Alabama Birmingham and Stanford University, whose findings on multiple sclerosis were published online Nature Medicine. Their research indicates that multiple sclerosis may exist in two versions, and that a patient’s responsiveness to the drug, beta-interferon, may depend on which version of the disease the patient has. Researchers concluded that a simple blood test could indicate which patients were most likely to benefit from beta-interferon, which minimizes the relapses suffered by some patients.

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Sandee Moore, ‘03 BBA, has returned to Idaho as Chief Operating Officer at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

Moore comes to EIRMC from Sunrise Medical Center, a 700-bed hospital in Las Vegas, where she served as associate administrator. Before that, she worked for HCA’s HealthONE Medical Center of Aurora, a 384-bed hospital in Denver.

Moore will assist in administering day-to-day operations at EIRMC. In addition, she will directly lead several departments, including medical imaging, pharmacy, laboratory, therapy services, plant operations, and EIRMC’s Behavioral Health Center.

Born and raised in Caldwell, Moore also serves on the alumni board. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Colorado, where she was named the University’s Outstanding MBA

Student and winner of the Health Programs Director’s Award. Moore is engaged to be married later this year. She is pleased that her most recent

career accomplishment brings her home to her Idaho roots.



www.isu.edu/playhardStudy hard. Play hard.

So, I guess you can call this studying.

The research station is just up this trail. You can’t get there by car.

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

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“Stephen was hugely respected for his work, but he was also hugely respected for his heart and humor. We wanted to honor his memory.”

Dr. David and Melanie FischelStephen Fischel Memorial Scholarship Endowment

gift to Idaho State University is a way to honor a special person in your life, to share the rewards of your own

life, and to help ensure that generations of students can receive the lifelong benefits of

an Idaho State University education. The ISU Foundation can help you easily establish a legacy of learning in the name of your choice. Visit the Foundation online or call Donald J. Colby at (208) 282-3470.

www.isu.edu/gift

Melanie and Dr. David Fischel with President Arthur Vailas

Create

endow a scholarship.a legacy.

idaho state university magazine - spring 2010

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