College of Western Idaho (CWI) is sad to share the loss of a member of our team. Joyce Bair passed away Tuesday, Aug. 28, following a recent cancer diagnosis. This sudden loss has been felt by the entire CWI family. Joyce will be remembered for her many contributions to our science programs throughout her six and a half years at the College, as well as her sense of humor and wit.
Joyce, a Lab Materials Specialist for four years, prepared and purchased lab materials for all of the College’s Biology labs, she implemented numerous cost-saving and safety measures while working closely with the faculty. As CWI grew, Joyce served as the Biology Lab Materials Supervisor for two and a half years. In this capacity, she supervised two Lab Materials Specialists and numerous work-study students.
She was always thinking of the students first. For instance, Joyce arranged for a local meat producer to donate animal hearts for use in the anatomy labs. This not only reduced CWI student course fee expenses compared to preserved specimen costs, but most importantly, students were not exposed to the harsh chemicals used in preserved specimens. She also assisted in the planning and opening of the current CWI Biology lab at the Ada County Campus Mallard Building.
The labs Joyce supported included: Biology, Microbiology, Environmental Science, Ecology, Field Biology, Anatomy and Physiology. One semester, she successfully took on the challenge of supporting a Chemistry 101 lab with her typical can-do attitude. Most recently, Joyce provided biotechnology expertise and worked closely with instructors, Teresa Rich and Holly Paquette, in the planning and development of Cell Biology and Genetics labs. She loved biology and loved working at CWI. She always contributed much more than she gave herself credit for, and she will be greatly missed by the entire lab materials team.
A scholarship is being established in Joyce’s honor, details will be communicated in the near future.
For those of you who would like help processing this loss, please take advantage of our Employee Assistance Program. You can access more information about that service at https://ogi.idaho.gov/counseling/.
