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The University of Idaho’s 2023 Fall Semester officially ends this week and we enter the holiday season filled with pride in all that we’ve accomplished together over the past year along with hope for even greater success in 2024.
Our Friday Letters shine a spotlight on some of the amazing work accomplished by our students, employees and alumni in a variety of fields, as well as the university's top priorities. Here are some of the highlights from a busy fall semester:
In August, University of Phoenix President Chris Lynne and Provost John Woods visited campus to share their vision for growth and passion for student success with our community. Our employees convened working groups to explore opportunities for collaboration with Phoenix. The transaction continues to move forward and we hope to close early next year. The revenues generated by the growing market Phoenix serves will help offset the projected financial shortfalls related to declines in traditional college-going students beginning in 2025. We’ve developed an extensive FAQ page with information and resources regarding the affiliation.
In September, we discussed the sustainable solutions we’re exploring and implementing in our operations at the U of I. Among many recent accomplishments, the campus recycling program returned this year, the U of I District Energy Plant is the university’s first carbon-negative building and, thanks to a grant, we’ll soon get an in-vessel composting unit that can reduce the waste we’re sending to the landfill by nearly 90%.
Our first home football game of the year featured the debut of the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. The local credit union’s investment in the U of I includes Better Education About Money for Students (BEAMS) — a financial wellness program designed to help students develop money management skills and strategies. Our football team had one of the best seasons in our history and we are already looking forward to next year.
The “University President’s Crisis Handbook” hit bookstores nationwide on Dec. 7. The book tells our Vandal story and celebrates our employees and community. It also serves as a how-to for leaders and managers.
The fall semester included plenty of celebrating. The inaugural Summer Country Showdown welcomed students back to campus in August, with artists Neal McCoy and Jake Owen playing alongside our very own Colby Acuff, among others. In October we broke ground on the Meat Science and Innovation Center on the west side of campus. The new facility will provide much-needed space for teaching and research and serve as the new home for Vandal Brand Meats. We celebrated our student-athletes, who set a record last spring with a combined 3.44 GPA and had five of our teams recognized by the Big Sky Conference as academic champion teams.
We honored our students in the College of Art and Architecture who remodeled much of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce building using recycled and repurposed material. And we took time to appreciate the depth and breadth of our research enterprise with our POP Talks in November. Associate Professor Omi Hodwitz earned a $2,500 grant for her presentation about the positive outcomes prison education can have for society.
Dozens of students are taking the lead on one of the major campus projects on the agenda for 2024 — the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial.
Our students’ innovation never ceases to amaze. Graduate student Robert Carne plays a key role in PrinTimber, a project using wood waste to 3D print construction material.
The U of I’s banner year included the second-largest freshman class in history, a new record for research expenditures, our second-best fundraising total ever and our fourth straight time being named the Best Value Public University in the West by U.S. News and World Report.
We appreciate everyone in the Vandal Family who’s contributed to our success. We wish you a holiday season filled with joy and peace and look forward to reaching new heights in 2024.
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