BSU News
The latest news from BSU Communications

• Holidays Around the World Features Global Traditions for the Whole Family
  

  Holidays Around the World, an annual event featuring holiday traditions from all over the globe, will be from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 8 in the Student Union Hatch Ballroom.

  Holidays Around the World has fun for the whole family, including activities for everyone from parents to young children, snacks and a visit from Santa. The event is free and open to the public.

  For more information, call the Cultural Center at 426-5950.

• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Announces Spring Schedule, Offers Free Abe Lincoln Lecture
  

  Struggling to find that perfect gift? How about the gift of learning? The Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University begins its spring lineup in January, with topics ranging from computers and the Internet to Victorian England, from architecture and music to vaccinations. And the first lecture of the season, on Abraham Lincoln, is free to the public.

  Billed as a spa for the mind, the institute is a membership-based program for the adult community, offering a series of lectures, noncredit courses and special events. The institute is offered through Boise State’s Division of Extended Studies and in cooperation with local organizations. It is open to anyone who wishes to participate. Boise State recently joined other institutions across the country that have OLLI programs, including Duke, Clemson, University of California-Berkeley, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon, Washington and Utah.

• Boise State University's Clay and Fire Sale Provides Unique Gift Opportunities for Holiday Shoppers
  

  Shoppers searching for one-of-a-kind gifts can find what they’re looking for at Boise State University’s semiannual Clay and Fire Exhibition and Sale, 10 a.m-5 p.m. Dec. 15-17 in the Visual Arts Center Gallery 1 in the Liberal Arts Building.

  Hundreds of high-quality ceramics, ranging from the elegant to the exotic, will be on sale. The pieces were created by Boise State students, faculty, staff and alumni and feature ceramics to fit nearly everyone’s décor and budget.

  Held every spring and fall for more than 30 years, the Clay and Fire sale has become an annual tradition for many in the Treasure Valley. Proceeds benefit the Boise State Visiting Artists in Ceramics Series.

  For more information, call (208) 426-3205.

• Creativity Index Measures How Boise Stacks Up Against Portland, Seattle
  

  Boise is neck and neck with Portland and Seattle when it comes to fostering creativity, which has been shown to be a direct indicator of the economic success of a city. That’s according to research under way by Boise State University’s Centre for Creativity and Innovation.

  Currently, Boise ranks 6.7 on a 10-point scale, with Seattle ranking 6.8 and Portland ranking 6.9 on the creativity index designed by Boise State researchers. The index ranked the cities on a number of factors thought to contribute to economic development and that can be accurately and objectively measured, said research assistant Ryan Cooper, a senior biology major at Boise State. Cooper spearheaded the effort, working with Nancy Napier, director for the centre and a professor of international business.

• Boise State Researchers Look at Uncertain Future of Mobile Homes as Affordable Housing in Boise
  

  On the heels of several mobile home park closures within Boise city limits, including the closure of the Coffey Mobile Home Park in Garden City, Boise State University President Bob Kustra commissioned a policy study in fall 2006 to consider plausible solutions. Boise State social science professors teamed with graduate students and the city of Boise’s housing manager to survey mobile home park residents, examine the history and economics of manufactured housing, and identify best practice policy options in use in other cities.

  The result is “Mobile Home Living in Boise: Its Uncertain Future and Alarming Decline.” The report puts a human face on the problem of affordable housing, while outlining five strategies for the Boise City Council’s consideration.

  “The threat to mobile home living as an affordable low-cost housing alternative is alarming,” said Kustra. “Our hope is that this report will offer new insight on the problem as well as possible solutions not only for Idaho, but for other cities across the nation that are facing the same concerns.”

• Boise State's Red Circle Press Printmaking Club to Hold 'Silent Night' Silent Auction in December
  

  Red Circle Press, a student printmaking group at Boise State University, will hold a “Silent Night” silent auction beginning Dec. 1 and ending at 7 p.m. Dec. 7. The auction will be held in the hallway of the Public Affairs and Arts Building (the old Campus School) across from Room 105.

  Red Circle Press is a student organization that brings national and international printmaking artists to Boise for lectures and demonstrations and to promote printmaking. This auction is a fundraiser for the organization.

  For more information, e-mail Kylee Koenig at kyleekoenig@mail.boisestate.edu.

• Boise State's Distinguished Lecture Series Features Environmental Architect William McDonough April 17
  

  William McDonough, internationally renowned “green” designer and winner of the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, will speak as part of the Boise State University Distinguished Lecture Series at 7 p.m. April 17 in the Morrison Center. McDonough’s lecture, “The Next Industrial Revolution,” is free and no tickets are required. Limited seating is available on a first-come basis. Doors open at 6 p.m. and parking is free.

  In 1999, Time magazine recognized McDonough as a “Hero for the Planet,” stating “his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that in demonstrable and practical ways is changing the design of the world.”

  In addition to receiving the Presidential Award in 1996, the nation’s highest environmental honor, McDonough has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award as a member of the EcoWorx™ development team for Shaw Industries. Most recently, he received the National Design Award for exemplary achievement in the field of environmental design. Presented annually by the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, it is an award recognizing “excellence, innovation and lasting achievement.”

• Boise State University Professor Larry McNeil Meets First Lady, Unveils Work for 'Art in Embassies' Program
  

  Boise State University professor Larry McNeil, who teaches photography in the Department of Art, recently made the trip of a lifetime. But his artwork is going even further.

  McNeil was selected as one of five artists nationwide to contribute to the Art in Embassies program, which places works by American artists in embassies around the world. McNeil just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where he attended a reception at Blair House, the president’s guest house, to honor the participating artists. First lady Laura Bush attended and personally congratulated McNeil.

  Established by the United States Department of State in 1964, the Art In Embassies Program is a global museum that exhibits original works of art by U.S. citizens in the public rooms of approximately 180 American diplomatic residences worldwide. McNeil’s lithograph is joined by works by Norman Aikers, Mario Martinez, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Marie Watt.

• BSU Teams with Family Medicine Residency of Idaho to Study Family Medicine Work Force in Rural Communities
  

  Boise State University’s Center for Health Policy (CHP) and Family Medicine Residency of Idaho (FMRI) have teamed up to assess the challenges of recruiting and retaining family medicine physicians in rural areas of Idaho. This research will build on findings of an earlier CHP/FMRI study to address the following question: What characteristics are predictive of success or failure with regard to a rural Idaho community’s recruitment and retention of qualified family medicine physicians?

  Researchers will attempt to better understand the relationships that affect the rural family medicine physician work force in Idaho. One tool will be the development of an “Apgar score” for rural Idaho communities. Identifiable parameters include geographic remoteness, scope of services in the local community hospital, scope of services provided by family medicine physicians, loan repayment programs, and more.

• BSU Talkin' Broncos Shine at Linfield College Tournament
  Four Talkin’ Broncos were recognized as the top competitors in a field of more than 400 entries at the 77th annual Ma