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Idaho State University

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Idaho State University
Idaho State University Seal
MottoVeritas Vos Liberabit
(Latin for "The Truth Will Set You Free")
TypePublic University
Established1901 (university status 1963)
PresidentArthur C. Vailas, Ph.D.
Academic staff
452
Students13,802
Location
Pocatello
,
ID
,
USA
Campus1,000 acres (250 acres developed)
ColorsBlack and Orange            
MascotBenny the Bengal
Websitewww.isu.edu
Idaho State University signature

Idaho State University (ISU) is a public university operated by the U.S. state of Idaho. Its main campus is in Pocatello with outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise and Twin Falls.

ISU, a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution founded in 1901, has more than 280 programs. It is Idaho’s lead institution in health professions and medical education. Its seven colleges offer programs in the natural and physical sciences, humanities, performing and visual arts, education, engineering, business, pharmacy, and technology.

Enrollment for fall semester 2007 was 13,208 students. ISU previously enrolled a large number of older, non-traditional students who live and work off-campus; this demographic is making up less of ISU's population as it attempts a transition towards a more traditional undergraduate population.

Notable programs at ISU include liberal arts, business and health care. Its College of Pharmacy is regarded as one of the best in the western United States.

History

On March 11, 1901, Governor Frank W. Hunt signed Senate Bill 53 establishing the Academy of Idaho contingent upon private land donations being made for its site. The Academy of Idaho was officially opened in Pocatello on May 1, 1901². By 1910 enrollment had reached nearly 300 students. The academy purchased four city blocks in Pocatello to help meet its needs.

In 1915, it became Idaho Technical Institute. The end of World War I brought an influx of students to the school, and the enrollment surged to over 1,000 students. The early 1920s saw the beginning of intercollegiate competition. At this time the institute adopted the Bengal as the school mascot, as one of its early coaches was from Princeton. Princeton's colors are also black & orange, and its mascot is the tiger.

In 1927 the school was renamed the University of Idaho - Southern Branch. In 1947 it was renamed Idaho State College and became a four-year school for the first time. The following year its enrollment reached 2,000.

On April 10, 1952 ten employees of Idaho State College organized Idaho State College Federal Credit Union with just $5 each to provide a cooperative system of low cost loans to coworkers. On October 28, 1963 the Credit Union was renamed Idaho State University Federal Credit Union to reflect the college’s new name.

In 1963, the school was renamed to Idaho State University, reflecting its new status as a full four-year public university, the state's second. In the ensuing years, ISU continuously expanded in both enrollment and programs offered. The presidency of Dr. Richard L. Bowen from 1985-2005 is regarded as an era of particular growth. Bowen resigned after a vote of No Confidence from the faculty, who were angered by generous pay raises for administration members during calls for fiscal austerity. As of 2006, ISU had colleges in arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, health professions, pharmacy, and technology.

On July 1, 2006, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Houston System ("UHS") and Vice President of the University of Houston ("UH") Dr. Arthur C. Vailas became president of the university, replacing Michael Gallagher—who had served as president on an interim basis since Bowen's retirement in 2005. [1].

Student life

File:Idahostateuniversity.jpg
Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho.

Student government is administered by the Associated Students of Idaho State University (ASISU). Each year a president and vice president are elected by the student body to administer and oversee a variety of activities either partially or fully funded by tuition-based fees. The ASISU Senate is the Association's legislative body. Made up of 20 student members elected by the students of each individual college (allocation of seats being based on enrollment of each college), the ASISU Senate is primarily responsible for allocating the ASISU budget.

The Student Activities Board, formerly the ASISU Program Board, oversees most of the student activity programming on campus. The board plans concerts, movie showings, homecoming activities, athletic-related events and other activities generally associated with student life.

Off-campus, many Pocatello businesses are geared towards the university community. Many ISU students take advantage of Pocatello's proximity to outdoor activities in eastern Idaho and northern Utah. ISU is approximately 150 miles from the urban center of Salt Lake City.

The newest addition to student life on campus is the Rendezvous Complex, which is quickly becoming a gathering place for the campus community. The Rendezvous Complex is designed to be the center of the University, where many of the University’s classes can be taught. Because classrooms are centralized, this has freed up space in existing buildings for faculty offices and laboratories. Other facilities in the Rendezvous include a large computer center, a large meeting room with partitions for conversion into three small meeting rooms, and retail space housing an ISU Spirit Shop, an adjunct operation of the ISU Bookstore.

Reed Gym features recreational facilities including a climbing wall, swimming pool, tennis courts, and more. The Pond Student Union operates a movie theater, billiard room and bowling alley and hosts many student club activities. Fine arts events are regularly featured at the L.E. & Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center.

Given its large non-traditional and off-campus enrollment, ISU does not feature some on-campus activities one might expect at larger public universities. ISU does not feature large scale Greek activity, for example. However, this doesn't mean the campus is lacking in student activities or Greek life. In fact, the 2005-2006 student organization of the year was Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Athletics

File:IdahoStateBengals.png
Idaho State University athletic logo

The Idaho State University Bengals compete in the NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) Big Sky Conference. ISU won the NCAA Division I-AA national championship in football in 1981. It also won NCAA national championships in boxing as Idaho State College in 1953 and 1957.

In more recent years ISU has been competitive in track and field winning the Big Sky Conference Indoor title in 2005 and 2006. The women's track and field team won their first outdoors women's Big Sky conference in 2007 with a score of 140.5 over Weber State. Dave Nielson was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year in Women's track and field and was later named the Mountain Region's Outdoor Women's coach of the year.

In 1977, the men's basketball team was in the national spotlight for its defeat of UCLA in the West regional semifinal and coming within one game of making the Final Four. This was during the era when the Bruins were still regarded as invincible, maintaining their legendary reputation and mystique from the 10 national championships won under Coach John Wooden, despite the fact that the "Wizard of Westwood" had been retired for 2 years and were coached by Gene Bartow when they lost to the Bengals. However, the Bengals dream of making the Final Four ended with their losing to UNLV's Runnin' Rebels coached by Jerry Tarkanian, who would lose the national semifinal game to Dean Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels, who would subsequently go on to lose the title game to Al McGuire's Marquette Warriors (for Marquette's only national title).

Home football games are played at the 12,000-seat Holt Arena (known as the Minidome until 1988), the oldest enclosed stadium on a college campus in the United States. Holt Arena also hosts indoor track and field events. After several seasons of playing at cozy Reed Gym (capacity: 2500), the men's basketball team will again play its home games inside Holt Arena.

For years the Bengals enjoyed athletic rivalries with the Boise State Broncos and the University of Idaho Vandals. However, these rivalries diminished significantly after both Boise State and Idaho left the Big Sky Conference in 1996 to move up to Division I-A. In the current century, the Weber State Wildcats of nearby Ogden, Utah have become ISU's main rival.

Notable alumni

See also

References

2. Pocatello Tribune: Thursday Evening Edition, May 1, 1901

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