Bert's Alerts—Jan.15, 2021
Spotlight
News Highlights
Spring 2021 College Address
College of Western Idaho (CWI) faculty, staff, leadership, and trustees gathered via Zoom, Wednesday, Jan. 13, for the Spring 2021 College Address. The address, moderated by Vice President of College Relations, Mark Browning kicked off with a welcome from President Bert Glandon and Board of Trustee Chair, Molly Lenty.
“Welcome to 2021,” said Trustee Lenty. “I know for many of us, this last year has brought forward a lot of challenges. However, it has also presented a lot of opportunities. I am so appreciative of the work you have done as faculty and staff to support our students through this past year. You embody the culture at College of Western Idaho and make such a difference in the work you do day in and day out.”
Following updates from Faculty and Staff Senates, President Bert Glandon delivered the State of the College Address commending faculty and staff for their dedication, adaptability, and commitment to delivering high-quality instruction to students.
“We at CWI did not only survive 2020, we excelled… we delivered to our students and community in ways that mattered the most to them. I couldn’t be more proud to be part of an organization that is literally advancing higher education in new and innovative ways.”
Following President Glandon’s remarks, employees had the pleasure of hearing from Provost Denise Aberle-Cannata.
“Ten months ago, CWI had a choice,” Cannata said. “We could either create the worst event in our 11-year history, or we could proceed down the path of creating our finest hour.”
Cannata shared several of the College’s accomplishments over the past year including the creation of five modalities for instruction, safety protocols put in place, and enhancements to instruction and student services made to continue serving students during the pandemic. She encouraged employees to continually look forward and dream big utilizing data to make informed decisions.
“Commit to speaking up, creating ideas, dreaming, and purposefully setting the path CWI is about to embark on. It was big dreams that created CWI. Now isn’t the time to sit back. Now is the time to dream even bigger and determine what we’re going to look like in the course of the next ten years.”
Following Canata, the College’s bold, new brand was unveiled in addition to details on a phased rollout.
The address concluded with guest speaker, Amelia Doty-Jones, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker from St. Luke’s, who spoke on the importance of taking care of personal and mental health ‒ visit CWI's Be Safe, Be Mighty webpage for a list of resources Doty-Jones used during her presentation. The event wrapped up with a live Q&A session with members of President’s Cabinet.
CWI Unveils Bold New Branding
Moving into the new year, College of Western Idaho (CWI) is excited to announce the introduction of a bold, new brand consisting of an updated logo mark and colors as well as a mascot. The CWI brand refresh has been a comprehensive and inclusive process which has included surveys, focus groups, and numerous opportunities for input with students, employees, business partners, and the community. A brand is important to an organization for several reasons including connection, growth, and sustainability. As the population in the Treasure Valley and the state increases, a strong brand sets CWI apart, differentiating it from other higher education institutions, keeping it visible and top-of-mind.
The CWI brand, established nearly 13 years ago, has served as a visual representation of the College’s mission to expand learning and life opportunities, encourage individual advancement, contribute to Idaho’s economic growth, strengthen community prosperity, and develop leaders. It’s a new day in higher education, and CWI’s brand must reflect this. The refreshed brand communicates the College’s fearless commitment to its core themes including student success, instructional and inclusive excellence, and community connections. CWI has and will continue to empower thousands to build a better future for themselves and their families as they explore new heights, embrace opportunity, and pursue their dreams.
Early input gathered during the brand refresh has guided the direction of the new logo which boasts a clean design with a bold and modern edge. Characteristics and attributes of quality, friendliness, and innovation, among others, are conveyed throughout the new logo design. The west-pointing compass arrow below the W represents movement, direction, and connection while paying homage to the compass from the original logo design. ‘Western’ is emphasized in the word mark highlighting the 10-county service area the College serves and more clearly distinguishing its identity from other institutions across the state. Underlying symbolic connections to the outdoors and nature informed both the logo design and color palette.
CWI’s new brand will be rolled out in phases with full, campus-wide rollout, including introduction of the mascot’s visual identity.
CWI Foundation Celebrates 2020 Accomplishments
In partnership with the community, the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation is dedicated to student success and affordable access to education. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of community members who give of their time and professional expertise to support the mission of the College. Ivan Castillo, acting Board President, is one such individual.
Along with volunteering on the CWI Foundation Board, Castillo is also REALTOR® at The Castle Group Keller Williams West, Keller Williams Realty Inc. Castillo was named Board President July of 2020 taking over for former Board President, Ed Barrett, who served on the Board from 2010-2020 serving two years as President.
“I choose to invest my time, talents, and money in CWI because I understand how helping shape the minds of students greatly benefits our community and the future,” Castillo said. “There is no better gift."
Funds raised by the CWI Foundation support scholarships and provide vital educational opportunities for students. Donations are collected through employee giving, corporate and personal donations, as well as fundraising. In addition to funds raised at the annual Opening Doors Benefit Event, highlights of donations made to the Foundation in 2020 include:
- $72,000 raised during the first-ever, virtual Opening Doors Benefit Event
- $100,000 from the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation
- Nearly half a million dollars donated through Eugene Anderson’s estate for students who wish to study industrial and mechanical arts including fire service
- $126,000 donated by the Nagel Foundation awarding 36 scholarships to second-year career and technical education students
Thank you to our CWI community for your continued support and contributions to the College and our students. Whether you are a graduate, employee, community partner, or donor – your generosity empowers lives by helping students’ dreams become a reality.
Start the new year off right by giving the gift of education. Visit cwi.edu/give to learn more!
Free Fitness Training Program for CWI Employees
The CWI Employee Wellness Challenge is excited to announce a partnership with the Department of Health Science and students from the EXHS-163 Fitness, Assessment, and Design course. This partnership will give students the critical hands-on experience to assess a client and design a fitness program while CWI employees get the benefit of a short-term individualized training program for free! This is a great opportunity for each group to work and learn from the other in a very personalized manner.
Program Details:
- 22 spots are available for CWI employees.
- The opportunity is open to anyone who wants to have a custom-made training plan created for them and/or wants to help our students gain experience.
- Participants must be available for five weeks starting in early April to meet regularly with a Student Personal Trainer and commit to a training plan.
- Program includes an initial consultation with student, fitness testing, training plan overview, in depth follow-up about training progression, and final consultation with student including a 2nd month’s training plan.
- Participants will be asked to submit an evaluation of their experience with the Student Personal Trainer.
- Participants may be requested to perform basic fitness testing on their own due to COVID-19 precautions. If this is the case, they will be provided written instructions and the tests will be appropriate for their current abilities. They will not be required to purchase any equipment.
Participant Qualifications:
- Must complete the PAR-Q+ survey and either not require medical clearance OR have a doctor’s note allowing participation in physical activity. Please note, if the survey asks you to continue forward and fill out the ePARmed-X+ form, you will need to do so in order to get an accurate result.
Ready to participate? Complete these simple steps to apply:
- Complete the PAR-Q+ survey.
- Fill out a Personal Training Form.
The deadline to apply for participation is March 19. Spots will be filled on a rolling basis as applications are submitted. Apply early!
Please contact Tim Curry, instructor for EXHS-163, with any questions you have about participating at 208.562.3077 or timcurry@cwi.edu.
Student Achievement Award Recipient - December 2020
Congratulations to Jessica Leath, College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Student Achievement Award recipient for December 2020.
Leath is a busy single-mother juggling homeschooling for her two children and a full-time student herself. In late November, she started to feel sick with aches and pains. With three weeks left in the semester, her fears were confirmed when she tested positive for COVID-19.
Leath, a non-traditional student in the Secondary Education program, graduated from Meridian High School in 2002. She knew she was facing a challenge, especially since her mother was also battling COVID-19, and could not help watch her children. During her first-semester last spring, she made the President's List; now, she just hoped to make it through the semester.
"COVID-19 was, without a doubt, the biggest obstacle I have gone through,” she said. "It was awful. I have never been so sick in my life. The first week it was difficult to get out of bed and even the most basic task, such as taking a shower, was exhausting. I'm a mom, a single mom at that. I have a trophy in fighting through exhaustion, but this exhaustion couldn't be fought. With finals week approaching and large projects and papers looming over me, my future of passing my classes looked rather bleak."
Leath immediately reached out to her instructors, notifying them of her illness.
"Something I have noticed about all my professors is that they care about their students,” she said. "All the instructors I’ve had made an impact on my education. This semester though, Laura Bosch, Math Faculty, Scott Straub, Education Faculty, and Collin Hughes, Humanities Faculty, were amazing with communication, encouragement, and ongoing support. My advisor Josee Ward was absolutely fabulous also."
The faculty recognized her commitment at the College as a student.
"Jessica is one of the most dedicated students with whom I have ever had the privilege to work with,” said Bosch. "She wouldn't let anything stop her. Even when she was ill, she did all she could to keep making progress and learning. It was a joy to cheer her on and to help her reach her goals."
With the day's ticking off, Leath began to recover in the beginning of December.
"I finally started getting my energy back about a week before the end of the semester,” Leath said. “My instructors were kind about letting me get stuff done when I could, but by the time my energy came back, there was a huge mountain of work in front of me and less than a week to complete it all. Somehow - I really don't know how - I got it all done."
Leath plans to transfer to Boise State University after completing CWI. She will be the first person in her biological family to graduate from university and would like to teach in elementary school or special education.
