[Vision2020] The Friday Letter from UI President White (February 3, 2006)

[Tom Hansen]

Copied and pasted below is the Friday Letter from UI President White for
February 3, 2006 -

 

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University of Idaho

Office of the President

Moscow, Idaho 83844-3151

Phone: 208-885-6365

Fax: 208-885-6558

 

The Friday Letter

A Newsletter for University of Idaho Alumni and Friends Feb. 3, 2006

 

Dear Friends,

 

Our spring semester enrollment figures show the University of Idaho
continues to make headway in our commitment to attract a diverse student
body. Of the new students entering the University this spring, 38 percent of
the freshmen and 42 percent of transfer students are first-generation
college students. The number of Hispanic students is up more than 5 percent
from last spring and African-American enrollment has increased 9 percent.
Both ethnic groups are up 47 percent from 1998 figures. 

       

Diversity is a wonderful asset to the higher education environment, and
provides more to the campus community than just improved access. Diversity
of people - students, faculty and staff - and ideas enriches and expands our
ability to learn and think, and appreciate the art, history and culture of
other peoples. It helps prepare our graduates for success in the global
workplace, whether their workplace is located in rural or urban Idaho, Hong
Kong, or is virtual. Our progress in and continued commitment to diversity
is a point of pride. 

       

The Peace Corps announced that the University of Idaho moved up ten places
to No. 13 on its list of medium-sized schools that produce Peace Corps
volunteers. Currently, 31 of our alumni serve in the Peace Corps, and 447
have served since 1961. You can read more about the experiences of our
alumni Peace Corps volunteers in the current issue of the University
magazine, Here We Have Idaho.

 

Tim White

President

 

Here's the latest news from the University of Idaho:

 

* Lynn J. "Doc" Skinner has announced that the 2006 Lionel Hampton
International Jazz Festival - his 35th - will be his last as executive
director. Skinner plans to retire June 30, 2006. The University will conduct
a national search for a new executive director of the jazz festival.
According to Joe Zeller, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social
Sciences, a seamless transition of festival leadership over the next year
will require a close partnership and collaboration between Skinner and his
successor. The University also plans to dedicate the 2007 jazz festival as a
celebration of Skinner's four decades of service to the community, jazz and
the arts.

 

* The College of Natural Resources and College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences, along with Washington State University's College of Agricultural,
Human and Natural Resource Sciences, will host an annual career fair Feb. 7
and 8. The fair will feature corporations, federal and state agencies and
non-profit groups. It is free and open to the public. Employers will be
available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the Student Union
Building Ballroom and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the WSU
Plant Biosciences Building.

 

* Eric McMillan's legacy at the University of Idaho continues to grow!  

During the past 16 months, more than $50,000 has been raised for two
endowments in tribute to the former Vandal football player. Eric was the
victim of a tragic, fatal shooting on Sept. 20, 2004, in Moscow. An
anonymous donor funded the Eric McMillan Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Endowment with a $25,000 gift and recently gave another $10,000. The first
scholarship, for student-athletes with preference to a football player, will
be awarded for the 2007-2008 school year. The Eric McMillan Memorial
Diversity Scholarship Endowment was created by English Department faculty
who had Eric as a student, and is nearing its $25,000 goal. This scholarship
is targeted at students who have overcome adversity to improve their own
life and the lives of others. Additional donations can be made online at
www.uidaho.edu/givetoidaho or directed to the UI Foundation, Gift
Administration Office.

 

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Take care, Vandals (you, too, Moscow).

 

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

UI '96

 

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails." 


- Unknown 

 

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