News and Notes
A Newsletter for Faculty and Staff of Idaho State University
February 16, 2009 — Vol. 25 No. 6
The Simplot Games, showcasing some of the best high school track athletes in the United States and Canada, will be held Feb. 19-21 in Holt Arena. The Games' unique 200-meter banked-board track is one of the fastest in the nation. Records are broken each year at this one-of-a-kind indoor facility. About 2,000 athletes will be competing. Admission is free. For more information, visit the Simplot Web site.
In this Issue
Nomination period open for Student Employee of the Year
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2008-2009 Student Employee of the Year Award. This award will recognize and honor student employees for their contribution to the university community during National Student Employment Week, April 12-18. Students are nominated by faculty and staff. Eligible students must: • be enrolled full-time in a degree program as an undergraduate student; (read more...)
Idaho State researchers experimenting with using accelerators to produce medical isotopes
Researchers at the Idaho State University Idaho Accelerator Center are experimenting using nuclear accelerators, as opposed to nuclear reactors, to produce medical isotopes used annually for about 20 million medical imaging and treatment procedures in the United States. If the Idaho State University researchers are successful, southeast Idaho could potentially become an area that could produce (read more...)
Researchers seek to create ethanol from Idaho agricultural waste
They are not exactly alchemists trying to turn lead into gold, but almost: researchers from Idaho’s three largest public universities are seeking to create ethanol from the Gem state’s agricultural waste. And they have a realistic shot at converting potato, sugar beet and other agricultural waste – perhaps even cow manure – into a fuel that (read more...)
Women and Work Conference scheduled March 11 at Idaho State
The ninth annual Idaho State University Women and Work, “Opportunities in Trades and Technology Careers,” conference will be held March 11, 2009. The conference, sponsored by the ISU College of Technology Center for New Directions, will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Pond Student Union Ballroom, 1025 S. 8th Avenue, Pocatello. Why (read more...)
Idaho State’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology receives top ranking
The journal Psychological Reports has ranked Idaho State University’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology first out of 207 programs nationwide and in Canada on its students’ performances on a national professional examination. “I think it is phenomenal that Idaho State University’s program was ranked No. 1 out of 207 schools listed in this report,” said Kandi (read more...)
Faculty/Staff Update
Idaho State University history professor Ron Hatzenbuehler will be honored with the Idaho Humanities Council’s Award for “Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities” at a dessert reception and award presentation ceremony at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Stephens Performing Arts Center Marshall Rotunda in Pocatello. For more info visit ISU Headlines.
Idaho State University Family Dentistry in Boise provided free dental care Feb. 6 for 25 youngsters in the Treasure Valley during “Give Kids a Smile Day.” Idaho State University faculty, staff and students in Boise and Pocatello were part of the massive volunteer effort ensuring the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho were a success. Free income tax return preparation for low-income taxpayers is now being offered by VITA, a volunteer arm of the Internal Revenue Service. Noted author and historian Richard Etulain will deliver the lecture “Abraham Lincoln and the American West” at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Pond Student Union Salmon River Room. The Spring 2009 Bachelor of Arts Senior Exhibition will feature four artists: Amberlee Holman, Nancy Cox, Seth Clark and Sterling Mennear at the John B. Davis Gallery in the Fine Arts Building on the Idaho State University campus. The Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center at Idaho State University is pleased to announce a screening of the BYU documentary "Sisterz in Zion" followed by a discussion led by returned sister missionaries, LDS Church. The Idaho WWAMI Medical Education Program in partnership with University of Washington School of Medicine's physician faculty from Seattle and Idaho will present a series of lectures over a five-week period running Feb. 19 to March 19 one night a week, every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. The Idaho State University Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group will host its fourth annual Sno-Ball Dinner from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Booth Barn, 1100 Booth Road in Pocatello.
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NewsBites
This is the fourth year the clinic has participated in the national event sponsored by the American Dental Association. The purpose is to educate children and their parents about the importance of good dental care, and to provide dental services to youngsters who have no insurance.
“Dental disease is the most common childhood disease,” said dental resident, Tyler Shaw, D.D.S. “It’s important that parents bring in their children early to preserve a child’s smile for years to come.”
Since 2005, the ISU-Boise clinic has provided approximately $42,000 in free dental care to underserved children in the Treasure Valley on “Give Kids a Smile Day.”
Before the Games concluded Feb. 13, dozens of ISU health professionals and graduate students had conducted free dental exams, hearing screenings and health assessments on hundreds of athletes through the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program, created in 1996 to focus attention on health issues facing Special Olympics athletes.
ISU-Boise assistant professor and audiologist, Mel Miller, Ph.D., who was in charge of the Healthy Hearing program for the Games, has been involved with Special Olympics for four years.
“It is a privilege to work with the athletes,” he says, “They teach you so much about courage, joy for life and not letting others define your limitations. They just lift you up.”
A battalion of Idaho State University dental hygiene students – the entire junior and senior classes – traveled from Pocatello to Boise on Feb. 12 to help deliver oral health services to scores of the 2,500 participants in 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
For more information visit ISU Headlines.
Members of Beta Alpha Psi, Idaho State University’s accounting fraternity, are providing these services on a first-come, first-served basis each Thursday evening from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through March 19 in the basement of Turner Hall, Room 111, on the ISU campus.
No appointment is necessary. For further information, contact professor Peter Frischmann at x3501.
His lecture is being brought to ISU by the University’s Chi Rho Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta history honor society. This program is made possible by funding from the Idaho Humanities Council, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“Given the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth earlier that week, this should be a program of interest to a broad section of the community,” said Kevin Marsh, Ph.D., ISU associate professor and Phi Alpha Theta co-advisor. “We invite the public to come celebrate the bicentennial by attending this informative presentation.”
For more information, visit ISU Headlines.
The opening reception will be held Monday, Feb. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. and the exhibition dates are Feb. 24–March 6.
The John B. Davis Gallery hours 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday–Friday.
For more information contact Amy Jo Popa at 282-3341 or visit ISU Headlines.
The event is part of the Anderson Center’s celebration of Black History Month. The screening will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at noon in the Salmon River Room of the Pond Student Union at Idaho State University.
This screening is free and open to the public.
For more information visit ISU Headlines.
This year the series of talks will focus on “Women's Health.” Through LIVE interactive videoconferencing from Boise, and facilitated by local physicians, this series is presented at a level of understanding suitable for the general population.
Topics will include: how medical school works in Idaho; the anatomy and physiology of the female body; breast cancer epidemiology; detection; surgical and chemotherapy treatments; dysfunctional uterine bleeding; contraception; infertility; cervical cancer; uterine cancer; ovarian cancer; preventative health; osteoporosis and menopause.
The non-refundable registration fee for all five nights is $35. There are a limited number of scholarships available. You must call the Idaho WWAMI Medical Education Program for scholarship consideration. Paid registrants may register online.
If you have questions, please call the Idaho WWAMI Medical Education Program Office at (208) 327-0641.
The event will begin with a spaghetti dinner from 6 to 8 p.m., as well as a silent auction. Live music by Steelhead Redd will begin at 7 p.m., with dancing and music lasting until 10:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at any of the following Pocatello locations: CW HOG office in the lower level of the ISU Pond Student Union, Budget Tapes & Records and Sandbaggers. Tickets are $8 in advance, or $10 at the door. Children 6-16 are $5, and children 5 and younger are admitted free.
This event is sponsored by Watkins Distributing, the Booth Barn and Sysco Food Services of Idaho.
For more information, contact the CW HOG office at x3912.