Tash Mahnokaren
Staff Writer
Each year, Idaho State University honors 15 of its outstanding faculty members for the categories of outstanding public service, master teacher and researcher.
The first step in motivating employees, as former CEO of General Electric Jack Welch puts it in his piece, “The Welch Way,” is through recognition.
“When an individual or a team does something notable, make a big deal of it. Announce it publicly, talk about it at every opportunity. Hand out awards,” read the text.
ISU’s adherence to this motivational tool surfaces in the 15 ISU faculty members that are nominated each year for either the category of outstanding teacher, researcher or public service. While five individuals are initially selected for each category, only one from every group will go on to receive the awards.
Candidates for the award are nominated by their fellow colleagues and faculty members.
There is a committee of past reward recipients and other members of the university committee that make the selection for these awards.
Once nominees for each category are selected, they are put through an interview process with the committee where the nominees will be assessed through questions about their record and contributions to ISU.
Of the nominees is Alex Bolinger who has been nominated for both the outstanding teacher and public service categories.
Bolinger is a professor in the College of Business specializing in organizational behavior.
Bolinger’s contribution to acquiring an education in business at ISU stretches far beyond the mere use of classroom material and adherence to textbooks.
Bolinger is well known for introducing the “Make-a-Wish” challenge to his senior-level class.
As a part of this challenge students are split into groups and asked to propose a fundraising opportunity to raise money for a child in the community affected by a life threatening disease. At the end of the semester, the money that is raised by each group is donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Idaho.
“In the fall semester we had a child who was dealing with mitochondrial disease and her wish was to go to Disney World to meet the princesses,” said Bolinger.
The efforts of Bolinger and his students made this wish come true for the young child.
Bolinger is also a board member for the Pocatello free clinic.
“Healthcare is shifting as we all know and there are some people even now that are left behind with the changes that have been happening,” said Bolinger. “They are the people who are sometimes invisible in society and their needs say a lot about us as a community to the extent to which we reach out and meet the needs of the people who don’t have that voice or aren’t that visible.”
“I feel really grateful to be back at ISU,” said Bolinger. “What is really attractive to me about ISU is that the students really care, they are serious and they have a lot of responsibilities, so they demand that faculty provide a quality education, the material is well prepared and it is delivered in a positive way.”
Bolinger hopes to further his efforts through getting students motivated to attend college.
One nominee for the outstanding researcher award is Erika Kuhlman, professor of history and director of women studies at ISU.
Her research, which began dealing with women’s roles in the aftermath of the First World War, soon, evolved to studying widowhood and their roles, attire and social conventions in this period.
Kuhlman is also the editor of “Peace and Change: A Journal of Peace Research” a journal that she has been working on over the last 10 years.
“It is a way to recognize people who are active in researching and writing,” said Kuhlman of the award. “It is a nice way for people here at the institution that I have been working at for 10 years to have that productivity recognized. It is a valuable thing, it is uplifting.”
“It also provides an example for the new faculty coming in that these are one of the ways that faculty are supposed to be productive parts of the community here at ISU,” she added.
Recipients of the top award for each category will be announced during Idaho State University’s graduation ceremony, to be held at Holt Arena on May 10.
