CWI News—Sept. 10, 2021
President's Message
The following updates related to the College Relations unit have been implemented, prompted by Vice President Mark Browning’s departure:
- Audrey Eldridge will continue to serve in the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing role, reporting directly to the Interim-President.
- Ashley Smith will serve in a community relations role, including government relations, and will continue to report to the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing.
- The Foundation will report to the AVP of Economic Development, Christi Gilchrist. This direct supervisory role will help to capitalize on the synergy between Workforce Development, Work- Based Learning Center, and the Foundation.
I look forward to working with these groups to support our mission and continue to advance student success. Please be patient while we all transition, and allow these teams to adjust.
If you have questions please feel free to reach out.
Respectfully,
Bold Appreciation
Are you ready for some football!?!
In appreciation of our wonderful employees, President’s Office is giving away tickets to each of Boise State Football’s home games this season.
Congratulations to our latest winners, Michelle Haviland, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, and Financial Aid Officer, Alex Huerta, who both won tickets to tonight’s game against University of Texas El Paso.
Enter for your chance to win tickets to the Sept. 18 home game against Oklahoma State University by entering a number between 1 and 500 via the link below. The two employees closest to a number, chosen at random, will each receive two tickets to the game. Entries must be received by 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13. Winners will be announced Tuesday, Sept. 14.
Members of President’s Cabinet, the Executive Operations Team, and past winners are not eligible. Limit one entry per CWI employee. Contact Janice McGehee, Executive Assistant in the President’s Office, at janicemcgehee@cwi.edu with questions.
News Highlights
Bridge Program Gives Students a Competitive Edge
A primary goal of the Psychology program at College of Western Idaho (CWI) is to help students have a successful transfer experience upon graduation. Through communication with transfer partners, the College has identified research skills and connection to a research lab upon transfer to a four-year institution paramount to ensure students can develop research skills to make them competitive for graduate school and job opportunities upon graduation. To address this, the Psychology Research Bridge Program between CWI and Boise State University was created.
Students currently enrolled at CWI who plan to transfer to the Psychology program at Boise State can apply to be part of this esteemed program. Selected students participate in a year-long research program which includes creating research questions and hypotheses, designing a methodology to test hypotheses, data collection and analysis, and research dissemination in the form of conference posters and papers. Participants are mentored through the process by Dr. Mary Pritchard from Boise State, Professor Heather Schoenherr at CWI, and current Boise State student research assistants. The bridge program allows CWI students to gain invaluable research skills, making them competitive for research assistantships upon transfer and facilitates connections to both Boise State faculty and students.
This year’s Psychology Research Bridge Program team consists of four students from CWI. Timothy Buckles and Meira Vaid, 2020 Psychology graduates, are from the previous cohort and now serve as peer mentors for the incoming research assistants, Kylee Malouf and Mercades Nelson. The research project aims to understand the impact of social media on mental health, with the goal of better understanding best practices for using social media.
For more information on how to become a research assistant in the Psychology Research Bridge Program, contact Professor Heather Schoenherr at heatherschoenherr@cwi.edu or Dr. Mary Pritchard at marypritchard@boisestate.edu.
Interested in participating in the team’s current study? Want to win one of four $25 Amazon gift cards? Currently enrolled college students 18 and older are invited to participate in a research study on social media use, mental health, and social support in college students. The survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
Participate in the Study: Social Media Use and Mental Health
Psi Beta Members Awarded for Excellence in Research
Congratulations to Sunny Braithwaite and Julie Meyer, members of College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Psi Beta Honor Society, who recently received the prestigious Emerging Researcher Award from the Psi Beta National Office. Recipients of this award have shown evidence of research skills early in their college careers. These skills include conduction research and research ethics, communication, and service.
“This award not only recognizes excellence in student scholarship,” said Professor of Psychology and Psi Beta advisor, Heather Schoenherr, “but highlights the strength of CWI’s Psychology program in preparing students for research.”
In addition, CWI’s Psi Beta chapter received the Chapter Excellence Award, an award given to chapters that excel at meeting each component of Psi Beta’s mission: leadership, scholarship, community service, and research.
To participate in Psi Beta, students must be interested in psychology, have completed 12 college credits and one psychology course with a B or above, and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. For more information about joining Psi Beta, please email heatherschoenherr@cwi.edu.
The Novel Life
Storyfort and College of Western Idaho are proud to present The Novel Life – a dive deep into processes, practicalities, passions, and how the conception and writing of a novel gets done. Join us as authors, Jonathan Evison and Alan Heathcock, discuss the novel-writing life.
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021
FireFusion Studio & Delia Dante Gallery
14th and Main in Boise
3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
The Novel Life, geared toward writers and readers 16 years and over, is free and open to all. Treefort Music Fest entry requirements related to COVID-19 must be followed by all attendees.
Contact Dave Nicholas at davenicholas@cwi.edu with questions or to learn more.
2021 Opening Doors Benefit Event
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation will host its eighth-annual Opening Doors Benefit Event. Plan to join the CWI community as we raise money for student scholarships.
This year’s event will kick off with an online auction. Bidding for the auction opens Wednesday, Sept. 29. In addition to the auction, the CWI Foundation will host a livestream event Wednesday, Oct. 6, from 7 – 8 p.m., which will recognize donors and scholarship recipients, highlight programs at the College, and feature a message from special guest, Tommy Ahlquist.
Registration is now open! Register early to be entered into prize giveaways, view and bid on auction items, and receive updates. This year's auction includes skiing in Sun Valley, a cruise to Alaska, a trip to Ireland, and more!
Contact the Foundation at 208.562.3159 or foundation@cwi.edu for more information and ways to get involved!
New Brand Resources Update – Stationery
What’s New
Stationery templates including letterhead, memo, forms, labels, reports, and badges with the new brand have been published to myCWI. These resources can be found on the Template resources page under the Stationery, Forms, and More section.
Email Signature Updates
The College’s approved signatures for all @cwi.edu employee email addresses have been updated to include an optional line for pronouns. This update is reflected in the email templates which can also be found on the Template resources page on myCWI in the Email Signatures section.
As with all parts of your email signature, it is important to maintain the established styles.
Email Signature Information, FAQs, and Examples
Reminder
The College has launched a new template system, Lucidpress, for users to create a wide variety of materials within the brand. This system provides pre-approved templates for selected users to update with content while still maintaining branding consistency. Users can focus their efforts on content and imagery while the system maintains the branded components, including fonts, colors, logos, and layout elements.
Lucidpress is accessed through a limited number of user licenses. If you have questions about access or licenses within your area, email communications@cwi.edu.
For more information about the new brand and access to resources, visit the Communications and Marketing Resources page on myCWI. Email communications@cwi.edu with any questions or additional assistance.
