The University of Idaho has always been a draw for students from across the country. The combination of academic and research excellence, a unique residential campus, and affordability regularly brings us students from nearly all 50 states and beyond. But we have an opportunity to help more new students discover Idaho, and to create an even more diverse and dynamic U of I. With those goals in mind, we’ve expanded the Western Undergraduate Exchange program to 16 states and territories. The University of Idaho has a great story among universities in the West. Combining academic excellence, a $109 million research enterprise, and exceptional career outcomes for graduates, our peers include land-grant and other major research universities throughout the region. I want more students to experience our excellence and prestige and know that it’s affordable for themselves and their families. Beginning in fall 2018, newly admitted students who meet certain academic criteria will be awarded the WUE tuition and fee rate – 1.5 times the in-state rate. This award offers a savings of $12,500 per year, per student over out-of-state rates. Like most of our institutional scholarships, it is renewable for four years, allowing students and families to budget for their investment in a world-class educational experience. While we’re trying to make this as straightforward as possible, I hope you’ll visit this site to learn more details. We moved away from our WUE program several years ago, the right decision at the time for our budget priorities. But I’ve heard the feedback about the WUE program, and after a limited expansion in the last two years to Washington, Alaska and Oregon, I think the time is right for the university to open up WUE to all the 16 states and territories who are part of the WICHE compact: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and the Mariana Islands. We have the capacity to welcome more out-of-state students to U of I without compromising our academic excellence, and we have the wherewithal to not lose sight of our mission to serve Idahoans and to bring more Gem State students to college. We’ve always known we deliver on a great investment in education. We're excited to share that story of Vandal excellence across the West and beyond. Many of you reading this reside in WUE states, or know people who do. We’re a large, well-connected Vandal family. Wherever you are, I hope you’ll share this news with people making a decision about college. Let them know that the University of Idaho’s doors are open, and that we want them to walk through those doors and join the Vandal family, on the way to an exciting education, a great career, and a rewarding life. | | Go Vandals! Chuck Staben President | | | Crowdfunders Rally Behind U of I Chemistry Professor’s Renewable Energy Project Peter Allen, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Idaho, has a global following. Fans and fellow science enthusiasts tune in from around the world to watch videos about chemistry, science, experiments and DIY projects that happen in his lab. This fall, when Allen decided to develop a prototype for an open-source iron battery, a battery that would be simple, safe, inexpensive and non-toxic, he choose to crowdfund for the money needed, pledging to match donor support dollar-for-dollar. A mature version of this battery could help power a renewable future for Idaho and will be simple enough for a hobbyist or high school student to build at home. The crowd responded by raising more than the $5,000 needed to afford the materials and hire UI students to work on the project. To catch the crowdfunding fever – the next round of campaigns will launch on Feb. 12 – and to keep up with Allen’s progress, visit www.uidaho.edu/uandigive. | | U of I Violence Against Women Grant Project Underway One year into a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women to address gender-based violence, almost 50 people at the University of Idaho and in the Moscow community have formed the University of Idaho Coordinated Community Response Team (UI-CCRT) to develop culturally responsive awareness campaigns and prevention education, lead trainings, review policies, and broaden campus and community involvement to help reduce incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. As part of the grant's goals, the UI-CCRT is encouraging the campus community to participate in Green Dot, the nationally recognized bystander intervention training program offered at U of I since 2012. The Green Dot overview is an orientation to basic bystander intervention available for faculty, staff, and students. The goal of the overview is to leave participants with actionable skills they can use to help interrupt or prevent incidents of power-based personal violence. | | Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Visits Colson Whitehead, winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for his novel “The Underground Railroad,” will give the keynote address Monday, Feb. 12, as part of the University of Idaho’s Black History Month observance. Whitehead’s talk, “Revisiting the Underground Railroad,” will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the International Ballroom of the Bruce M. Pitman Center, 709 Deakin Ave., Moscow. A question-and-answer session and book signing will follow. The event is free. “We are thrilled that Mr. Whitehead will illuminate themes of his remarkable book for our students, faculty and community members,” said Kenton Bird, a faculty member in the U of I School of Journalism and Mass Media who is helping to organize the author’s visit. The talk is supported by the Idaho Humanities Council and several university offices and academic departments. | | | | |