Bert's Alerts - October 10, 2014
In the Spotlight
A group of College of Western Idaho (CWI) students enjoyed a beautiful day of outdoor learning on Tuesday (Oct. 7), taking part in an aquatic biology lab on the Boise River. Dusty Perkins and students from his ecology class spent the afternoon taking measurements and samples from the river, which is part of a multi-year monitoring project. The lab included measuring the river’s width, depth, and current, among other tests.
News Highlights
CWI Scholarship Fundraiser collects $65,000
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation hosted its inaugural Opening Doors Benefit Event on Oct. 1, which resulted in an overwhelming amount of community support for CWI students. Incredibly, initial reports show the event helped fundraise over $65,000 for student scholarships, including more than $38,000 donated through a scholarship paddle raise. Over 230 supporters packed the McCleary Auditorium at the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise for an evening that featured a social hour, three-course dinner, live auction, and student speaker. The auction culminated with Zions Bank purchasing the head table for next year’s event.
The Foundation received a tremendous amount of community support in hosting the fundraiser, including donated auditorium use by Saint Alphonsus and catering by Thomas Cuisine and Hayden Beverage. The Foundation Board of Directors’ Marketing and Special Events Committee also played an integral part in planning the evening, thanks to countless hours of collaboration by Board President, Mary May, and Directors Ed Barrett and Joel Hickman.
The CWI Foundation would like to thank student speaker Margaret Slater, students with the CWI Presidential Ambassador program, and employees who helped provide tremendous support for the event. The CWI Foundation is excited to start planning next year’s fundraiser, which will be an important part of the ongoing effort to raise funds to Open Doors for CWI students.
Visiting Scientist Series Spotlights Conservation in the Andes
The College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) 2014 Visiting Scientist Series continues Monday, Oct. 13, with a discussion titled "Conservation Biology in the Andes" by Dr. David Roon from the University of Idaho. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the CWI Library, located in the Nampa Campus Multipurpose Building.
In its fourth year, the Visiting Scientist Series is bringing a diverse group of Idaho scientists and teachers to CWI to discuss their work and opportunities for students when they transfer to a four-year college or university in Idaho. Employees and the community are also invited to attend and enjoy refreshments and discussion. This is the second of five lectures this fall as part of the Visiting Scientist Series. For more information, please contact Steve Lysne at 208.562.3360 or stevelysne@cwi.edu.
Pumpkin Sale to Support Horticulture Club
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Horticulture Club is hosting its first-annual pumpkin sale, which will serve as a fundraiser for the student group. The organic and locally grown pumpkins will be sold for $1, $3, $5, and $7. The sale will take place:
- Tuesday, Oct. 14 - Ada County Campus Pintail Center, noon – 4 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 16 - Nampa Campus Academic Building, noon – 4 p.m.
All proceeds of the sale go to the Horticulture Club to support students attending the 2015 National Collegiate Landscape Competition; PLANET Annual Student Career Days.
Settlers of Catan Tournament Returns in October
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Entrepreneurs Club is excited to present the third Settlers of Catan Tournament, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m., in the second floor common area of the Nampa Campus Academic Building. Admission is $10 for pre-registration and $12 at the door. Entry fees can be paid by cash or check on-site. The tournament will feature three rounds of play for all participants and light refreshments. The first-place winner will receive a full Settlers of Catan, Cities and Knights, and Seafarers game set, including extensions – valued at $200.
Visit http://cwistudentlife.signupsheet.com/ to register.
CWI Presenting Suicide Prevention Training
The College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Center for Teaching and Learning in conjunction with Student Enrichment Senior Advisor, Nathaniel Bonovitz, is offering Suicide Prevention training for faculty and staff provided by the Idaho Lives Project on Oct. 17.
The training is based on a simple education program—Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR)—which focuses on three steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. QPR teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize a mental health emergency and how to get a person at risk the help they need.
Employees interested in attending the training can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/student-perspectives-question-persuade-refer-suicide-prevention-tickets-12465064343.
CWI Art Adjunct Faculty Voted Best of Idaho
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is celebrating a member of its Art Department as Adjunct Faculty, Erin Cunningham, has been recognized by the Boise Weekly Magazine’s Best of Boise 2014. Cunningham was voted Best Idaho Visual Artist by Boise Weekly readers for the second consecutive year; her third honor overall.
Cunningham lives and works in Boise. She has a master’s degree in Fine Arts in painting from Boise State University. She joined CWI as an art history faculty in summer 2014. She also currently works as an adjunct professor at Boise State. For more information on Cunningham, and to view some of her work, visit www.erincunningham.net.
Herz Receives Faculty of Distinction Award
Jason Herz has been selected College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Faculty of Distinction for October in recognition of his overall performance and service to the College and its community.
Herz is the program chair for CWI’s Cisco Networking and Security Technologies program. In his time at CWI, he has exceeded the expectations for exhibiting CWI’s core value of Caring. In one example—to better serve his students—Herz worked with Tutoring Services to get a tutor in his classroom that can help students better understand course material.
He is constantly in the lab, making himself available many more hours than is required to help his students in a one-on-one setting. Even with all of these demands on his time, Herz still finds time to meet with his students to check their understanding and offer them as many resources as he can.
He has shown his dedication the program by happily meeting with prospective students to answer their questions about the program.
Please join in congratulating Jason for this well-deserved recognition.
