The University of Idaho K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education and outreach program — the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS)– is one of four regional institutions in the U.S. competing as a finalist for the C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award. MOSS was the Western regional winner of the 2013 Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award.
Jodi Walker | Courtesy
McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS) is the regional winner of the 2013 Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award.
The other three regional winners included Pennsylvania State University (Northeast Region), Ohio State University (North Central Region) and the University of Texas-El Paso (South Region).
Each regional winner received a $5,000 cash prize with the Kellogg Award.
Only one of the four regional winners will receive the Magrath Award, which includes a sculpture and $20,000 prize. The winner will be selected at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference at Texas Tech University in October, and will be announced in Washington D.C. mid-November.
Co-founder and Program Coordinator of MOSS Greg Fizzell said this is an exciting time for the program.
“Both the Kellogg and the Magrath Award — they’re the highest honor bestowed upon American universities for outreach and engagement — so it’s quite a big deal,” Fizzell said. “We’re in really strong company, so we feel really honored to be named alongside those institutions for the kind of work that
we’re doing.”
Jodi Walker, communications and marketing coordinator for the College of Natural Resources, said being recognized nationally is an honor and a great way for other students to discover MOSS and
become involved.
“Of course, it’s an honor anytime you have a program that’s recognized on a national level,” Walker said. “(The program is) a great first engagement with them, and this is just going to get that word out even more.”
Fizzell said MOSS connections between the schools and communities contributed to the program becoming nationally
recognized.
“Well, I think what makes MOSS special is that it is really a mutually beneficial relationship between the university and MOSS and CNR (College of Natural Resources) and those communities that we’re reaching. And the reason it’s mutually beneficial is because our graduate students who are teaching the programs, they’re here to learn,” Fizzell said. “They’re here to learn about science, they’re here to learn about how to be really good teachers, and the schools coming in really provide a good opportunity to practice their teaching.”
Fizzell said the connections extend beyond the graduate students’
xperiences.
“So, on the one hand our graduate students really get a great benefit of hands-on experiential education,” Fizzell said. “And then the schools and the teachers really benefit because they get to experience the programming, and teachers can take away lessons from what they saw at MOSS and integrate those into their classrooms as well.”
Fizzell said there are plans to expand the program, as a site plan is in the works to build upon the McCall campus since UI recently purchased the MOSS campus property.
“We had been a leaseholder for 70-plus years, so that’s really exciting that the university and a college see the value of what we’re doing in McCall, and have made that investment to actually purchase the property,” Fizzell said.
Walker said she was enthusiastic about the future of the program.
“The site plan and the growth that’s planned for the McCall field campus is very exciting,” Walker said. “Now I’ve experienced MOSS from the parent aspect, and I know the great things they do and to be able to grow that, to expand that, to focus in on even better STEM education is very exciting, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Fizzell said growth has been tremendous since MOSS was
founded in 2001.
“I mean in 12 years to have gotten to the point where — we started with a $5,000 donation and about 70 students our first year — (now) we’ve served 20,000 students and 150 graduate students,” Fizzell said. “And to see it start from the grassroots level up until the point where we’re a recognized outreach and engagement program for the College of Natural Resources and for the university, it’s a dream come true.”
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected].