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Clinical Laboratory Science Offers New Course
Boise - Idaho State University's Boise Center will offer a new graduate level management course through the clinical laboratory science program, beginning Jan. 17, 2003. Emphasis will be on current topics in management, including management challenges, understanding your supervisor, and skills to become a better manager.

ISU's clinical laboratory science program began fall of 2002 with several options, including a Bachelor of Science in CLS, Bachelor of Science with CLS certificate, and Master of Science. "We have 17 enthusiastic students enrolled in the program at present," said Sonja Nehr-Kanet, clinical assistant professor at the ISU Boise Center. CLS professionals are key members of health care teams. They perform tests on bodily fluids and evaluate and interpret the results. The information they uncover aids in diagnosing cancer, heart attacks and diabetes, as well as identifying bacteria and viruses.

"There is an acute shortage of CLS professionals, not only in hospitals and independent laboratories but administrative, research, marketing and educational settings as well," said Nehr-Kanet. The Bureau of Labor statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor projects that employment of clinical laboratory technicians and scientists will increase by 10-20 percent through the year 2008. In 2002, the average starting salary for technicians was $23,000 annually and for clinical lab scientists, $33,000 annually.

The management course will meet from 9 a.m. to noon Fridays from Jan. 17 through May 16 at the ISU Boise Center, 12301 W. Explorer Dr. For more information, call Nehr-Kanet at 685-6756. - 27 November 2002

ISU Researcher Recognized for Contributions to Mental Health
Boise-- Idaho State University Institute of Rural Health researcher Ann Kirkwood has received honors from the Idaho chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. The NAMI award honors Kirkwood for her work on children's mental health issues.

Currently in its third year, the Red Flags Idaho project, presents information on childhood mental illnesses to parents, educators and community volunteers. "Idaho ranks 6th in teen suicide," said Kirkwood. "If adults can learn the signs and symptoms of mental illness in children and youth, we can begin to turn the tide." In addition to Red Flags Idaho, Kirkwood works on the Real Choices System Change grant, studying methods for integrating people of all ages with disabilities, including mental illness, into community life.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne also recently appointed Kirkwood to the Board of Psychologist Examiners. This regulatory body supervises the practice of psychology in Idaho.

A videoconference sponsored by Red Flags Idaho, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Federal Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, scheduled Oct. 31, is designed to raise awareness about children's mental health issues. For information on the conference, contact redflags@isu.edu or call 685-6768. - 30 October, 2002

Looking for Betty ...
Boise - "Dear Betty," a public art project by Boise artist Grant Olsen, will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 16, on the exterior west wall of the Record Exchange at 1105 West Idaho across from the Boise Cascade building in downtown Boise. Olsen's been creating the art piece for the last three months as a "birthday present to myself."

And he is still looking for "Betty" and her friends. In 1938, Betty Pumphrey was a student at the University of Idaho Southern Branch, now Idaho State University at Pocatello. She was an apparently popular cheerleader. Recently browsing in a Twin Falls thrift shop, Olsen found her 1938 Wickiup, the UISB yearbook and became intrigued with Betty's story as told by the numerous friends who had written in her yearbook.

With more than 100 inscriptions, "It was difficult to choose which told her story best," said Olsen. But he finally chose a dozen or so inscriptions to create sections of a public art installation based on Betty's story. Then he began the search for Betty and her classmates. Many of them are deceased, but Olsen has contacted two of them - octogenarians Eugene Crowley, now living in Weiser, and Dr. Parry Harrison, a retired optometrist in Pocatello. Crowley plans to attend the art project's unveiling.

"I love all of them (the students)," said Olsen. "I don't know how I'll move on after this project if I don't know what happened to them." Other former UISB students he would like information on are: Frank Amundson, Gay Bonman, Kinsley Brown, Lorraine Broadhead, Milly Carter, Vernon Daniel, Maxine Gravatt, Verne Johnson, Rena Beth Owen, and Thaine Wulf.

And of course, Betty herself. If you have any information on any of these people, please call the Idaho State University public relations office in Boise at 334-2257 or email bisley@earthlink.com or g_America@hotmail.com. - 10 July 2002

Fast Track Nursing Program Successful
Boise - Idaho State University Boise Center's Fast Track nursing program is a success. So successful, Dr. Robin Dodson, chief academic officer, is deeply concerned. He knows the shortage in healthcare professionals will reach critical stage in the next ten years and to curb the shortage, he would like to accept all the qualified applicants.

ISU Boise Center's Fast Track nursing program will accommodate 20 students for spring 2003. As of this month, Dr. Sharon Job, ISU's Fast Track nursing coordinator has fielded over 260 calls, and sent out 60 applications to potential students in 32 states. Aimed at second-career students who already hold degrees, the Fast Track program allows individuals to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 18 months.

"We're working in every way we can to partner with community resources to increase faculty so we can accept more students," said Dodson. Increasing faculty means additional salaries - money the university doesn't have. And, as Dodson said, the number of qualified nursing faculty is rapidly diminishing. The average age of nursing faculty is well above 50.

To effectively increase the program, not only will more faculty need to be hired, but also additional clinical sites will need to be identified. According to Job, the available Treasure Valley clinical sites are reaching saturation. In addition to ISU and Boise State University, the College of Southern Idaho, Treasure Valley Community College and Northwest Nazarene University use Boise medical facilities for clinical sites.

Clinical sites are critical in the teaching process to give students hands-on experience. "The learning skills acquired in the hospital are essential," said Job. "There is nowhere else students can learn those skills and be exposed to that sophisticated technology." For more information, contact Dr. Sharon Job at 685-6778. - July 3, 2002

Governor Kempthorne to sign Proclamation
Boise - Governor Kempthorne will sign a proclamation Tuesday, April 16, declaring April as Occupational Therapy Month in Idaho. Idaho Occupational Therapy Association members, Idaho State University OT students and faculty, and former patients will be on hand to witness the signing.

"Occupational therapy is holistic. We treat the whole person and provide skills for quality of life using a person's strengths to compensate for any weak areas and we teach strategies to use in every situation whether it's a physical, mental or cognitive deficit," said Myrna Harrington, president of the IOTA.

The occupational therapy program in Idaho is a master's level program housed at Idaho State University's Kasiska College of Health Professions in Pocatello. OT practitioners are skilled professionals whose education includes the study of human growth and development with emphasis on the social, emotional, and physiological effects of illness and injury. Treatment services typically include customized programs aimed at improving abilities to carry out activities of daily living, evaluation of home and job environments and recommendations on necessary adaptation, training in the use of adaptive equipment to replace lost function, and guidance to caregivers.

A wide variety of people benefit from OT, including those with work related injuries, repetitive stress injuries, limitations following stroke or heart-attack, birth injuries, learning problems or mental or behavioral problems including Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, substance abuse problems or eating disorders, spinal cord injuries, amputations, broken bones or other injuries from falls, sports injuries or accidents. The Idaho State Board of Medicine currently licenses 315 therapists with 258 employed in Idaho and 99 certified therapy assistants with 90 employed in the state. - April 12, 2002

Boise Business Leaders of the Year Will Return for March 27-28 ISU Business Centennial Reunion
Pocatello - Six past Idaho Business Leaders of the Year will help the Idaho State University College of Business celebrate the university's 100th birthday. They will return to campus Wednesday and Thursday, March 27 and 28, for the Centennial Celebration Idaho State Business Leader of the Year Reunion.

The six include Robert C. Hammond, 1983 winner, Jensen Oil Co.; Park Price III, 1987, Park Price Motor Co.; Gordon C. Smith, 1994, J.R. Simplot Co.; Mike Mooney, 1996, KeyBank; Frank VanderSloot, 1998, Melaleuca Inc.; and William Glynn, 1999, Intermountain Industries Inc.

ISU students of the Delta Upsilon chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity annually select an Idaho Business Leader of the Year. For this Centennial year they invited past award recipients to return to campus and serve as executives-in-residence for the two-day period. Those from Boise participating include William Glynn and Mike Mooney.

• Glynn: The president and a director of Intermountain Industries Inc. and subsidiaries including Intermountain Gas Co., III Exploration Co., Petroglyph Energy Inc. and InterWest Capital Inc. He chaired the Boise Area Chamber of Commerce Board, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, and the Boise Area Economic Development Council. The Sales and Marketing Executive of Boise named him Top Manager of the Year in 1997.
• Mooney: The Idaho district president of KeyBank. An ISU graduate, he is the past president of the ISU Foundation, serving during the Centennial Campaign, was 1995 winner of the College of Business Professional Achievement Award and serves on the College's Advisory Council. He is a current or past president or chairman of the Idaho Bankers Association, Idaho Business Council, and the Boise Greater Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
• Hammond: The president and owner of Jenson Oil Co., Challis, Idaho, and owner of Challis Hot Springs resort. He is a past president of the Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, serves on ISU College of Business Advisory Council, and is a member of the Intermountain Health Care senior board of directors. He helped create INTERSEC (Intermountain Science Experience Center), which evolved into the Center for Higher Education in Idaho Falls, and served on its first board of directors.
• Price: The owner and president of the Park Price Motor Co., Pocatello. Park and his wife, Sharon, received the 2001 William J. Bartz Award for service to ISU. He is a past president of the ISU Foundation board of directors and a member of its investment committee, and is a member of the College of Business Advisory Council. He is annually a leader in the "I Love ISU" Campaign.
• Smith: The retired president of the J.R. Simplot Co., and current owner of G.C. Smith LLC, which includes cattle operations and land and financial investments. An ISU graduate, he is chairman of the St. Luke's Regional Medical Center and Mountain States Tumor Institute boards, and is a board member of the Boise Chamber of Commerce, First Security Corp., J.R. Simplot Co., Idaho Bank and Trust Co., American Mining Congress, and Blue Cross of Idaho and a past member of the College's Advisory Council.
• VanderSloot: The president and chief executive officer of Melaleuca Inc. in Idaho Falls. He previously was regional vice president of Automated Data Processing and vice president of Cox Communications, both Fortune 500 companies. He was the 2001 USA Today Entrepreneur of the Year for the northwestern region of the United States and serves as regional vice president for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He has received the Service to the Community Award.

Governor Kempthorne 'Ties One On' For Idaho State University: Proclaims Feb. 7, ISU Day
Boise - This year marks Idaho State University's Centennial and the Bengals are out in force. Treasure Valley alumni and friends of ISU will commemorate the milestone Feb. 7 at the Crystal Ballroom in the historic Hoff Building with a Tie One On "Black Tie" celebration. "You're 100 only once," said Richard Bowen, ISU President, "this is a great occasion." Governor Dirk Kempthorne will be on hand to sign a proclamation making Feb. 7 officially "ISU Day" in Idaho. Additional proclamations signed by Idaho mayors will be on display during the evening.

Valorie Watkins, Alumni and Centennial Celebration director, said, "Our Centennial State Affairs Committee, co-chaired by Quane Kenyon and Charlie Clark, have helped plan this event, and we appreciate the statewide support we're seeing in celebration of Idaho State's 100-year anniversary." The Steve Eaton Band will entertain legislators, elected state officials and area alumni. "We're looking forward to a great evening and hope to see many of the 5,000 area alums," Watkins said, "so join us for good food, great music, and prizes for the zaniest tie!"

Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by e-mail to the Centennial office at celebrate@isu.edu, or by calling 800-933-4781. ISU was established as the Academy of Idaho in 1901, renamed Idaho Technical Institute in 1918 and later reorganized as the Southern Branch of the Universtiy of Idaho. The institution became the four-year Idaho State College in 1947, and became Idaho State University on July 1, 1963.

During the past 100 years ISU has successfully served the needs of more than 80,000 students. ISU's fall 2002 enrollment was 13,666, including international students representing 50 countries. The university has outreach campuses in Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Boise. - January 30, 2002