Vandal Ideas Project requests submissions
The Vandal Idea Project is accepting submissions through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22.
The project is a competitive university-wide grant program that aims to stimulate bold ideas that support the University of Idaho strategic plan focused on improving the “keep-on” rates. The project encourages projects that address issues that are important to the Northwest and Idaho and also have national and global relevance.
All faculty, staff and students are eligible to submit a proposal. Students may submit their own projects independently or with faculty and staff.
For more information about VIP contact Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives Cher Hendricks at 208-885-1941.
2019-20 Academic Year will begin a week later
The next academic year will begin on Aug. 26, 2019, a week later than usual.
The move approved by the Faculty Senate in October will keep the winter break and full academic year from being a week longer than usual. The full Senate approved the change in calendar at the December meeting, followed by the president approving the change.
The Spring 2020 semester will not be affected by the change.
Excellence in Diversity award welcomes nominations
The nomination period for the annual Dr. Arthur Maxwell Taylor faculty award closes Jan. 25.
Students, staff and faculty are invited to nominate a faculty member who has completed at least three years at the University of Idaho that fulfill the goals of the award, which was named in honor of Taylor and his work to promote strong relationships between UI and the tribal communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Taylor was formerly the Indigenous Affairs Office at the UI. He died in 2013.
The award, according to the UI website, recognizes performance in diversity and inclusion with one annual $4,000 award.
Nominations can be emailed to Norma Valdivia at [email protected].
Deadline close for Martin Luther King Art and Essay Contest
University of Idaho undergraduates, graduates and professional students are invited to create an artistic piece, essay or poem in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. Jan. 28. A $500 scholarship will be awarded to the winners and $100 scholarship to honorable mentions. Winners will be announced at the keynote Black History Month event.
All forms of art are accepted and must be submitted in person to room 101 in the Menard Law Building. Essays and poems should be no longer than 1,000 words and emailed to [email protected].
All art and writing entries will be judged by Fugue readers and editors and UI faculty.
Presidential search update
The University of Idaho presidential search committee announced it would narrow the applicant pool to 10 candidates by Feb. 12, according to an email sent to UI faculty, staff and students Wednesday morning.
After selecting the top 10, the committee will narrow the list to just five candidates, who will visit Moscow in late February or March.
The State Board of Education, which the UI president would work under, will conduct interviews in late March before selecting the new president, according to the email from Hiring Committee Chair and State Board member Emma Atchley and board member Don Soltman.
The committee met last December to finalize dates and the process for providing their top five candidates to the Idaho State Board of Education, according to the email.
The committee also announced it has created a presidential search website to collect feedback on the candidates after their campus visits.
Martin Luther King Jr.,
Celebration
University of Idaho announced Wednesday that Portland State University Professor Shirley Jackson will deliver the keynote address during UI’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration events Thursday.
Jackson is the chair of black studies at Portland State University and the recipient of the Society for the Study of Social Problems Doris Wilkinson Faculty Leadership Award.
The celebration events are presented by UI’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Ellamae Burnell can be reached at [email protected]