The Jensens have been kind and generous friends to Idaho State University. Their outstanding support has extended to the Department of Foreign Languages, the Alumni Center, the Idaho Museum of Natural History, and the Stephens Performing Arts Center. Joe hails from Pocatello, where his parents, Charles and Nelda Jensen, operated Vogt\'s Heating for many years.
Joe graduated from Idaho State University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in French. He served a religious mission in France, then returned to the United States and completed a master\'s degree at the Dartmouth Amos Tuck School of Business. He had a long and successful career with Pfizer, retiring as president of the Animal Health Division for Europe, Canada, Africa and the Middle East Region. Joe\'s nearly 40-year career with Pfizer took the Jensens all over the world.
Joe received the 2000 Professional Achievement Award for the College of Arts and Sciences, and was chairman of the board for the Natural Heritage Project at ISU. He is a member of the board of directors and recently served as President for the ISU Foundation, and he and Cheryl served diligently on the Centennial Capital Campaign Cabinet. Together they received the 2002 President\'s Medallion in recognition of their personal achievements, their extraordinary service and support on behalf of Idaho State University.
Sadly, Cheryl passed away, leaving behind her legacy and gift, the Joseph C. and Cheryl Jensen Grand Concert Hall in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephen\'s Performing Arts Center to the students, friends and community.'); */ header.push('John A. and Becky M. Camara'); image.push('camara_large.jpg'); desc.push('Renton, Washington
John and Becky established the Owens Camara Scholarship Endowment to help fund students studying engineering. The scholarship will assist students majoring in either the electrical or nuclear engineering fields. They specified preference be given to veterans who have been honorably discharged, or students with current military service records.
Neither John or Becky attended Idaho State University however, Becky was raised in Idaho and her parents met and fell in love while they were studying at ISU. John has ties to Idaho through the Navy Nuclear Prototype Training he completed in 1976 in Arco, ID. He served on and decommissioned the submarine USS Hawkbill, the sail of which is now located in Arco.
Becky is a business owner/partner of All Valley Home Health Care Inc. which provides assisted living services in Phoenix. Arizona.
John graduated cum laude with his BS in Electrical & Computer Engineering/Materials Science & Engineering from the University of California at Davis in 1984. He received his MS in Space Systems from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1992.
He served in the United States Navy from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1982 to 2000 when he retired as a Lieutenant Commander. In the Navy he worked in submarine service, and as a nuclear engineer. In his service, John earned the Legion of Merit Award, an award given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. After retiring from the Navy, John took a position with Boeing. He started as the Principal/Lead Engineer for Boeing Phantom Works, then moved to the Boeing Space & Communication/Integrated Defense Systems, and now works as an Avionic System Validation and Test Manager with Boeing Commercial Space Company (Sea Launch).
John has two children, John Anthony Camara II, and Cassiopeia Christine Camara.'); header.push('Col. David V.S. Kirkpatrick'); image.push('kirkpatrick_large.jpg'); desc.push('Pocatello, Idaho
Col. David V. S. Kirkpatrick, \"The Colonel\" as he is fondly known, spent 20 years as director of ISU Housing and was the first commanding officer of the ISU ROTC program, begun in 1951. Dave commanded the ISU unit from 1951-1955 and again from 1960-1961. He retired from ISU in 1981 and was given emeritus professor status in Military Science.
Retirement for \"The Colonel\" only meant further and increased involvement at the University. Dave became the \"fund raiser extraordinaire\" for the academic scholarship program, \"I Love ISU\" and continues this involvement 30 years later. He has started and raised funds for more than ten individual scholarship endowments!
Dave\'s fund raising efforts didn\'t end with the \"I Love ISU\" campaign. As a member of the Bengal Foundation, he continues to exert that same effort to solicit support for scholarships for student athletes. The Bengal Foundation honored him by naming him the first recipient of the \"Colonel Kirkpatrick Award\" as the top fund raiser and volunteer by the Bengal Foundation board of directors. To receive this honor, subsequent volunteers must have 10\+ years of volunteer service and raise \$100,000 or more. \"The Colonel\" sets his standards very high and anyone who follows in his footsteps must do the same.
\"Dave is one of a kind. He puts his shoulder to the wheel in his volunteer efforts and inspires those of us who are fortunate enough to work with him to do the same. I don\'t know what we would have done without his involvement in the \"I Love ISU\" campaign. He is a real difference-maker and does this volunteer work for all the right reasons. He wants to help young people with their education. On a personal note, Dave has enriched my life with his friendship and I consider him a real treasure\", KC Felt, Director of Annual Giving, ISU Foundation.'); header.push('James M. and Sharon E. Rupp'); image.push('rupp_large.jpg'); desc.push('Naples, Florida
The Rupps have generously donated to the debate program at Idaho State University, which resulted in the creation of the James M. and Sharon E. Rupp Debate Society. As a result of their generosity, the team has had the resources to recruit and highly experienced and exceptional coaches and talented students. In 2006, the ISU debate team placed third behind Harvard and Dartmouth at the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) Tournament – a feat that took many Ivy League schools by surprise. In March, both the University and the Rupps were proud to host the CEDA 2009 National Championships. This tournament is the largest collegiate championship debate contest in the country. ISU made the \"Sweet 16\" in this tournament and had a Top 10 individual, Paul Montreuil.
Jim was an avid debater during his college years at ISU. He won several awards, including the title of Idaho Oratory Champion and National Debate champion. He graduated in 1956 with a speech communication degree. Three years later, Jim graduating with a master\'s degree in radio-television at Ohio State University. He eventually became known industry-wide as President, CEO and one of the largest shareholders of Midwest Communications. He founded JR Communications, Inc. in February 1992 after Midwest Communications, Inc. was sold to CBS, Inc. Jim also has served as director of United Video Satellite, Inc., United Video Cablevision, Inc., and First Trust Company of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
Sharon graduated from ISU in 1957 with a bachelor\'s degree in education and business. They have been married for 53 years and now are both retired living in Naples, Florida.'); header.push('Harry F. and Colleen Magnuson'); image.push('magnuson_large.jpg'); desc.push('Wallace, Idaho
Prominent northern Idaho businessman Harry F. Magnuson, president of multifaceted H. F. Magnuson Co. in Wallace, is an alumnus of the U.S. Navy\'s WWII-era V-12 program at Idaho State University and a generous supporter of ISU. The V-12 program was implemented during the war to fill the need for college-educated commissioned officers.
Mr. Magnuson went on to earn a business administration degree at the University of Idaho, and an M.B.A. at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
Magnuson House, on Pocatello\'s South 7th Avenue near the main campus, is the home of the ISU Office of Alumni Relations. It honors Mr. Magnuson\'s generous support in acquiring and renovating the historic home. Since 1977, he has continued to make investments in landscaping and capital improvements at ISU.
Mr. Magnuson has long been active in educational and civic organizations, including the ISU Foundation, the ISU College of Business Advisory Council; the advisory council of the University of Idaho College of Mines, and the University of Idaho College of Business.
On January 24, 2009, Mr. Magnuson passed away in Spokane, WA leaving an imposing legacy and a great loss to the University and the State of Idaho.'); header.push('Ginny Thomas '); image.push('thomas_large.jpg'); desc.push('Oak Harbor, WA
Rural American Scholarship Fund
Ginny Thomas became involved with the Rural American Scholarship Fund in 1997 when she became director and served for 10 years until she passed on in 2007 after a valiant bout with cancer.
RASF was established in 1990 by an individual who realized the need to help people in rural areas achieve their dreams of a higher education. Ginny was a champion for both the traditional and nontraditional student and enthusiastically gave of her time, energy, ideas and friendship to support students in their quest for education. She has paved the way for students to receive RASF scholarships in the amount of several hundred thousand dollars over the years.
Ginny Thomas had a sincere interest in making sure that students succeeded in their endeavors and reached their goals, especially in the health professions. Because of her awareness of health, in 2008 the Thomas Geriatric Symposium was established in her memory and will be held annually at Idaho State University. The symposium will address the current and future health problems the elderly face.
We celebrate the life of Ginny Thomas who played a vital role in making lives richer, engaged and productive.'); window.onload = function() { var randnum = Math.random(); var index = Math.round((header.length - 1) * randnum); document.getElementById("donorbio").innerHTML = '
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