UI Graduation Speaker Don Sampson Urges 'Ordinary People to Do Extraordinary Things to Change America'
Saturday, December 13 2003
December 13, 2003^MOSCOW -- A new type of American leader is surfacing, University of Idaho Commencement speaker Don Sampson told a crowd of 5,000 in the Kibbie Dome today. And he challenged the 700 December graduates to join the force.^"We are defining new leadership values by collaboration, common good, global concern, diversity, grass roots decision-making, and consensus-oriented policy-making. Today, we see new ways of conflict resolution by bringing people to the same table, and a willingness to work in common for the good of all."^Sampson said adversarial political leaders, government officials and celebrities with special interests are the wrong places to look for changes in social or environmental problems. Rather, he suggested the models of the New York firefighters and police following Sept. 11; Rosa Parks, who catalyzed the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala. in 1955; and Idaho's Barbara Miller and the Silver Valley People's Action Coalition who work toward cleaning up the mining pollution that threatens their collective health.^He told of Sarah James, a Neets'aii Gwich'in Indian from Arctic Village, Alaska, an alliance-builder who helped the Caribou People's culture survive amidst oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He noted John Parvensky, president of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, a model of integrated housing and support services; and Lereen Castellano, executive director of Family Star, who helped transform a crack house into an early childhood education center in her Latino community of Denver, Colo.^Even closer to home, he told of 13 UI graduates who exemplify these new leaders. Among them are Dionne Bronson, a fellow tribal member, who earned a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences, and Ruth Patching, from Moscow, who earned a math degree and goes on to graduate school to prepare to teach the visually impaired.^Others were Nomusa Ndebele, Zimbabwe; Jaime Yanez, Peru; Zhen Li, Shangrao, China; Gus Leavitt, Moscow/Idaho Falls; Dan Zenner, Lewiston; Donna Vakili, Boise; Susan Glenn, Beaverton, Ore.; Conrad Breitbach, Portland, Ore.; Marc Manni, Navy careerman; Robyn Paffendorf, Coeur d'Alene; and Dacia Fernandez, scholar-athlete from Challis. (See their stories at www.uidaho.edu/commencement/inspiring_grads.htm)^He also applauded the work of Isabel Bond, director of the Upward Bound program at UI, for her 20-year leadership to help Native American high school students complete their high school educations and come to college.^"There's a new world out there and it is time to chart its leadership," summarized Sampson. "This challenge is both yours and mine, and together, we can make it happen."^The Ford Foundation chose Sampson in 2002 as one of 20 Leaders for a Changing World. He uses the award funds to provide Native Americans hands-on learning internships in salmon recovery, environmental restoration, justice, law and treaty rights, among other topics.^He is executive director of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeastern Oregon, responsible for more than 1,000 employees and a $97 million operating budget. The CTUIR is the government of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Tribes, a confederation formed by Treaty in 1855.^Prior he was executive director and watershed manager for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, established by the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce Indian tribes in 1977.^Sampson has dedicated his life to salmon preservation, even as a child of the Walla Walla Tribe. He graduated in 1985 from the University of Idaho with a bachelor degree in Fisheries Resource Management, and has served on numerous conservation, energy, river and wildlife boards and commissions.^Contacts: Don Sampson, DonSampson@CTUIR.org, or UI News, uinews@uidaho.edu, (208) 885-6291, or Web site www.uidaho.edu/commencement ^To download UI Commencement photos, please go to www.today.uidaho.edu/photo_list.asp^-30-^NH-12/13/03-CNR/COMMENCEMENT^^
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.