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F ALL 2003 BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY FALL 2003, VOL. XXIX, NO. 1 FOCUS 14 42 EX-BRONCOS 6 TACKLE NFL Broncos line up on 28 QUICK seven NFL teams. STUDY HEALTHY New Boise State DIRECTIONS president Bob Kustra 6 16 Medical research grows hits the ground in labs all over campus. running. AUTHOR, ABOUT THIS ISSUE: AUTHOR From research on preventing skin cancer to Anyone can play 42 molecular level studies of Alzheimer’s disease, 9 Idaho Authors! card health-related research has emerged as a new IDAHO’S TOP game. WOMAN area of excellence at Boise State University. OF STEEL Starting on Page 28, this issue of FOCUS looks at PROFESSOR Wine and welding ideas being generated in Boise State labs with Beloved teacher Alicia 18 make for unique potential to impact human health. Professors and Garza earns top honor. gallery. students are collaborating with regional medical NASA centers, conducting joint projects with universi- RESEARCH ties in Idaho and around the country, and win- Grad students study ning multidisciplinary grants from top-tier fund- volcano and faults. ing agencies. (Cover photo of biology professor Julia Oxford by John Kelly. Photo below of biolo- gy professor Cheryl Jorcyk and her student research team, also by Kelly.) DEPARTMENTS FIRST WORD 3 CAMPUS NEWS 4 SPORTS 14 16 DISCOVERY 16 PHILANTHROPY 38 ALUMNOTES 40 FOCUS FALL 2003 1 FOCUS FOCUS is published three times annually by the Boise State University Office of News Services. PRESIDENT: Bob Kustra PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS: Daryl Jones VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION: Buster Neel VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS: Peg Blake VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT: Richard A. Smith EDITOR: Bob Evancho (MA, ’93) STAFF WRITERS: Janelle Brown, Kathleen Craven, Patricia Pyke, Sherry Squires PHOTOGRAPHY: John Kelly (BA, ’91), Carrie Quinney (BFA, ’02) EDITORIAL ASSISTANT/TYPOGRAPHY: Brenda Haight GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Bob McDiarmid STUDENT ASSISTANTS: Krista Adams, Francis Delapena, Angela Jones, Jodi Shaw ALUMNI NEWS: Theresa Bow, Christine Lukas (BA, ’01) ADVERTISING SALES: P.V. Quinn & Co., 1520 W. Washington Street, Boise, Idaho 83702 Phone: (208) 385-0338 PUBLISHING INFORMATION: FOCUS’ address is Boise State University, Education Building, Room 724, 1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725-1030. Phone: (208) 426-1577. Letters regarding editorial matters should be sent to the editor. Unless otherwise specified, all articles may be reprinted as long as appropriate cred- it is given to the author, Boise State University and FOCUS magazine. Diverse views are presented and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FOCUS or the offi- cial policies of Boise State University. ADDRESS CHANGES: Send changes (with address label if possible) to the Boise State University Alumni Office, 1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725-1035. If you receive duplicate copies of the magazine, please notify the Alumni Office at the above address. Friends of the university who wish to receive FOCUS may do so by submitting their names and addresses to the Alumni Office. Address changes can also be sent by e-mail to [email protected] E-MAIL: Readers may contact the FOCUS editor by e-mail at [email protected] HOME PAGE: FOCUS can be found online at news.boises- tate.edu/focus/index.html 2 FOCUS FALL 2003 FIRST WORD Research drives university’s transformation his issue of FOCUS, while highlighting areas of emphasis. Current health-related research, speaks volumes plans include a Ph.D. in com- about the ongoing transformation under puter and electrical engineer- way on the Boise campus. Long heralded ing, a Ph.D. in public adminis- as an institution devoted to classroom tration, and a master’s in teaching, Boise State now seeks to add urban and regional planning. another dimension to its mission — that Building more and higher of a metropolitan research university of quality graduate programs distinction. will enhance our quest for During the days when Boise was in its early stages of academic success in at least growth, it was sufficient for Boise Junior College and later two ways. First, it will serve TBoise State University to play the role of the traditional the needs of our employer comprehensive university with a strong teaching mission partners who must have and a very limited research role. knowledgeable workers on the cutting edge of their disci- But as the Boise economy morphed into a dynamic mar- plines. Second, it will strengthen Boise State’s hand in ketplace of ideas and products — especially with its highly recruiting the very best faculty in the marketplace of teach- sophisticated technology sector — and the city became a ing and ideas. Most of the nation’s brightest graduate stu- major metropolitan region, it was inevitable that the city’s dents studying for their places in the professorate of tomor- university would need to make the transition to a metropoli- row are interested in universities that offer opportunities tan research university. for research and opportunities to teach in graduate pro- In the pages that follow, you will learn more about the grams. Boise State must do both if it is to be a world-class discovery process at Boise State, especially with regard to partner to a world-class Boise economy. how our faculty and students are researching and solving Both the research agenda and the development of new some of health sciences’ most challenging issues. graduate programs are very costly items in the university’s It is far from a complete picture, given the flurry of budget. At the core of such ambitious goals must be a state research activity springing up across the campus. willing to provide the investment for the university to suc- Of course, we remain committed to our goal of recruiting ceed in its mission, a mission that will in turn bring enor- and supporting faculty who love to teach and work directly mous benefit to the city of Boise and state of Idaho. with students in the classroom. Our reputation in this area But it will also take aggressive leadership on the part of is well deserved and a fact of life on the Boise State campus. the university. First, it will take a commitment from the What may not be so well known are the individual and col- president, which I have made, to search for external funding lective efforts of our faculty in our colleges and departments from individual and corporate donors, foundations and the to expand their disciplines’ frontiers of knowledge and con- federal government. tribute to the advancement of learning and discovery in our Second, it will require the initiative of our administrators classrooms and laboratories. and faculty to develop sound and ambitious proposals for As you can see from FOCUS’ reports on biomedical research and graduate program support. research at Boise State, we are especially committed to Finally, it will take the generosity of Boise State alumni research that has practical application. It is not research for and community and corporate partners to respond to our research’s sake. need for support. This university cannot keep pace with the In order to meet the needs of the community we serve, economy of the region unless all of those who care about its we must also couple our research efforts with additional success contribute to the effort. graduate programs. Our students must have the opportunity It is a privilege to serve as president of Boise State at such to specialize, as graduate programs require, as they refine an exciting time. their knowledge and prepare for advanced careers in their — Bob Kustra, President FOCUS FALL 2003 3 CAMPUS NEWS Micron Technology chips in with Construction projects change $2 million gift for engineering look of Boise State campuses hanks to a $2 million gift from the Micron Technology Foundation, Boise State’s College he landscapes of Boise new campus, freeing up space at T State’s main campus and its the Canyon County Center on of Engineering continues to expand its engi- T neering education programs. Canyon County site are in Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard for store for major changes in the expanding applied technology pro- The Micron Foundation pledged $2 million over coming months. grams. four years to start a materials science and engineer- With construction of its first The 38,000-square-foot TECENTER ing bachelor’s degree program at Boise State, which academic building now under way became the first building on the the university plans to have up and running by fall of and the official opening of the Boise State-West campus when it 2004. The Technology and Entrepreneurial opened earlier this summer. The announcement of Center (TECenter), the Boise State- business incubator for technology the donation was West campus has begun to take start-ups and early stage compa- made at an on- shape. At the same time, two major nies provides office space, individ- campus press student housing construction proj- ual consulting, support services, CARRIE QUINNEY conference in ects have sprouted up on the main help with funding and other September. campus along University Drive and resources. The TECenter is operat- “We applaud the Boise River. ed by Boise State’s Idaho Small From left: Boise State’s Bob Boise State’s University officials and other Business Development Center. Kustra and Cheryl Schrader dignitaries broke ground on the Other projects under way leadership in with Micron Technology’s Mark Boise State-West ACADEMIC BUILD- include: Durcan and Karen Vauk. expanding its ING in August. It is being con- Construction of a new student engineering education programs,” says Mark Durcan, structed on the 150-acre campus APARTMENT COMPLEX and new RESI- vice president of research and development for north of the Idaho Center off Can- DENCE HALL is on schedule.