Andrew Crighton
News Editor
August 31, 2016 marked this academic year’s State of the University address delivered by President Arthur Vailas. During his presentation, Vailas discussed some of the highlights of the previous and upcoming years at Idaho State University.
The first talking point was on university infrastructure.
Of the estimated $300 million of work required to complete every renovation, last year the university invested approximately $11 million of internal resources.
This money went into projects such as the anatomy and physiology lab renovation, the Martin Luther King Way redesign and associated beautification projects, redesign of Turner dining hall, upgrades to Holt Arena and the Jensen Grand Concert Hall.
The university administration is working on future projects as well. During his brief opening statement, Kent Tingey, vice president for university advancement, mentioned that a major goal for the 2017 legislative year is to gain state approval of an approximately $15 million upgrade to the Gale Life Sciences Center on top of the previous A&P lab upgrades.
Next to be discussed was expansion of the university into, as Vailas described it, “a system of education.”
ISU as a system is meant to be able to increase the amount of ways that students and communities are served by it. Examples include the new, over 10,000 square foot addition to the Idaho Falls campus and increasing the number of clinics in rural Idaho, which now numbers 19.
These additions are meant to expand ISU’s network, as is the upcoming medical school.
The Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine is a five-state school that will host an office in Idaho. The partnership is between five states: Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
The College of Technology was also awarded a $900,000 grant for expansion, presumably for this purpose.
Another key talking point was the use of different recruitment techniques.
Vailas feels as if a key way ISU can increase the amount of students it enrolls is to go beyond sending recruitment material in the mail. Bringing students to campus and giving them time with faculty members while still in high school is meant to increase the connection between the university and prospective students. Last year, nearly 700 students toured the ISU campus.
Executive Vice President and Provost Laura Woodworth-Ney also explained that a lot of changes are being implemented in how traditional recruitment material is managed. General modernization of the recruiting process is in motion, and the amount of time high schoolers spend online is being taken into account.
In the same vein as gaining new students is student retention.
According to Vailas, the Bengal Bridge program, a program meant to help incoming students succeed by providing aid during the summer before their first year, has expanded by 231 percent. The original number of 35 students has increased to 116.
New programs of study are also being added to keep students at ISU. Four new programs were used as examples: occupational therapy assistant, pharmacy technician, the newly accredited Master of Science in athletic training and a doctorate of physical therapy program. The last two are available with a unique dual degree option.
The State of the University address is an annual event, that all students are invited and encouraged to attend.
