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News & Notes October 2012

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The October 2012 edition of News & Notes.
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OCTOBER 2012 l 1 ey have performed for presidents of the United States, charmed kings and queens, toured nationally and internationally, have been called “America’s Choir,” and have welcomed generations of listeners to the weekly Music and the Spoken Word broadcast and the twice- yearly General Conference of e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On September 21, the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, together with the Orchestra at Temple Square, brought their talents to the BYU-Idaho Center for a performance on a stage that designers created specifically with them in mind. To make this unique concert possible, BYU-Idaho’s Event Management and A/V Departments worked alongside Church employees—providing a unique opportunity for BYU-Idaho employees to collaborate with Church technicians and other professionals. “Usually we set up most of the equipment for the groups that come here, but with the Tabernacle Choir we were more like team support rather than a host. It was fun to see our technical employees working alongside theirs,” said Judy Steiner, BYU-Idaho Event Management Manager. Although the choir and the orchestra brought some of their own gear, the BYU- Idaho Center provided equipment as well. Setup for the concert took about four hours in the auditorium, while setup in other venues can take up to seven hours. Cooperation and familiarity with each other’s systems helped ease the process. “e BYU-Idaho Center already has most of the equipment here. It also has the appropriate colors, cooperation, and imagination. Everyone’s singing the same song,” said Lorin Morse, a member of the Church A/V Department staff. e concert gave students within the BYU-Idaho A/V Department experience in working with Church professionals. “It was interesting to see the level of professionalism and experience the Church employees had,” said Chris Vergaray, a junior studying computer engineering. e Church’s technical employees complemented BYU-Idaho’s student employees on their skills. “ey were very impressed with our A/V staff and students,” said Jon Perdue, supervisor of BYU-Idaho A/V Production. “is concert was a great opportunity for our students, and that’s why we’re here. e experience they get here gives them a better chance at landing a good job. ey’re not just a labor-force. ey’re a skilled labor-force.” EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2012 continued on page 6 e Fulfillment of a Dream UNIVERSITY & CHURCH EMPLOYEES COLLABORATE TO BRING MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR TO BYU-IDAHO » By Abby Stevens
Transcript
Page 1: News & Notes October 2012

OCTOBER 2012 l 1

They have performed for presidents of the United States, charmed kings and queens, toured nationally and internationally, have been called “America’s Choir,” and have welcomed generations of listeners to the weekly Music and the Spoken Word broadcast and the twice-yearly General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On September 21, the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, together with the Orchestra at Temple Square, brought their talents to the BYU-Idaho Center for a performance on a stage that designers created specifically with them in mind.

To make this unique concert possible, BYU-Idaho’s Event Management and A/V Departments worked alongside Church employees—providing a unique opportunity for BYU-Idaho employees to collaborate with Church technicians and other professionals.

“Usually we set up most of the equipment for the groups that come here, but with the Tabernacle Choir we were more like team support rather than a host. It was fun to see our technical employees working alongside theirs,” said Judy Steiner, BYU-Idaho Event Management Manager.

Although the choir and the orchestra brought some of their own gear, the BYU-Idaho Center provided equipment as well. Setup for the concert took about four hours in the auditorium, while setup in other venues can take up to seven hours. Cooperation and familiarity with each other’s systems helped ease the process.

“The BYU-Idaho Center already has most of the equipment here. It also has the appropriate colors, cooperation, and imagination. Everyone’s singing the same song,” said Lorin Morse, a member of the Church A/V Department staff.

The concert gave students within the BYU-Idaho A/V Department experience in working with Church professionals.

“It was interesting to see the level of professionalism and experience the Church employees had,” said Chris Vergaray, a junior studying computer engineering.

The Church’s technical employees complemented BYU-Idaho’s student employees on their skills.

“They were very impressed with our A/V staff and students,” said Jon Perdue, supervisor of BYU-Idaho A/V Production. “This concert was a great opportunity for our students, and that’s why we’re here. The experience they get here gives them a better chance at landing a good job. They’re not just a labor-force. They’re a skilled labor-force.”

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2012

continued on page 6

The Fulfillment of a Dream UNIVERSIT Y & CHURCH EMPLOYEES COLLABORATE TO BRING MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR TO BYU-IDAHO

» By Abby Stevens

Page 2: News & Notes October 2012

2 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

Fall statistics show local enrollment over 16,000 Statistics released for Fall Semester 2012 at BYU-Idaho show a total local enrollment of 16,773 students, an increase of approximately 12 percent over last fall. This number refers to individuals who take BYU-Idaho courses and predominately reside in the Rexburg area.*

In addition, the university is seeing continual growth in the number of students who are enrolled in online courses and programs. These students reside across the United States and in several other countries. The number of online students for Fall Semester 2012 is 6,371, compared to 2,503 in Fall Semester 2011.

This semester the local student body consists of 7,448 male students and 9,325 female students (44.4 percent and 55.6 percent respectively). The number of married students is 3,616, comprising 21.6 percent of the total local student population.

*Of the total local enrollment of 16,773 students, 96.3 percent live in Rexburg, with the remaining 3.7 percent residing in locations from Idaho Falls to Ashton.

Planetarium reopens after renovation After three months of major renovation, the planetarium in the Romney Building is once again open to the public on Thursday nights at 7 p.m.

The renovation includes a replaced dome, new carpet, reupholstered seats, improved lighting fixtures, sound absorbing wall panels, and the re-installed Digistar 4 digital projection system to display the stars.

The planetarium’s first show was on October 4. For more information about the planetarium, including ticket prices, visit www.byui.edu/planetarium.

Current faculty openings

The university currently has openings for full-time and temporary faculty in the following academic departments:

Applied Plant Science

Art

Automotive

Biology

Business Management

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Communication (Visual Media)

Construction Management

Economics

Electrical Engineering

English

Food Science

Geology

Health Sciences

History

Home and Family

Languages & International Studies (German and Chinese)

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Nursing

Physics

Political Science

Psychology

Recreation Management

Teacher Education

Veterinary Technician

Welding

View job descriptions at www.byui.edu/employment. Applications accepted until December 2, 2012. Please refer qualified applicants. Contact Peggy Clements at Ext. 1140 for more information.

Local enrollment for Fall Semester 2012 has increased approximately 12 percent over last year.

University News Briefs

Page 3: News & Notes October 2012

OCTOBER 2012 l 3

BYU-Idaho graduate receives award for pro bono legal work» By Ben Burke

As students move on from their four-year BYU-Idaho degree, instructors hope they go on to accomplish bigger and better things. This is just the type of news Samuel Clay, chair of the Department of Psychology, received when one of his former students informed him she now has her juris doctorate degree.

That student, Camille Borg, has always wanted to help people. While attending BYU-Idaho and pursuing her psychology degree, she volunteered at multiple service organizations in her hometown of Plano, Texas—everything from a battered woman’s shelter to a children’s advocacy center. In the process, she witnessed many people in need not only of counseling but legal help. “I kept thinking, ‘I wish I knew a good lawyer,’” Borg says.

So after earning her degree in April 2005, she started working in a counseling and rehabilitation center. Though she only attended court a few times, she got her first real exposure to the court system. Working for only six months at the counseling center, she then decided to fully devote her time to the service of others by serving as a missionary in the Arizona Tempe Mission from November 2005 to May 2007.

When she returned from her mission, plans were underway for her to get a PhD in psychology. However, once she started applying it didn’t feel quite right. “I asked the Lord what else he would have me do instead,” Borg says.

Looking for a few months at the many different options available, she continued to think about all the people she worked with, the many clients who were abuse victims, and she thought about their legal needs. “Then I realized I could become that ‘good lawyer’ that they needed,” Borg says.

The application to graduate school moved swiftly and she was soon studying law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. Despite the rigors of school, her service accelerated. Volunteering with many different organizations such as the Women’s Law Forum Board, Public Interest Law Forum Board, and the Timpanogos Legal Center, the total organizations she has been involved with to date is 12. But even her involvement with different organizations isn’t what sets her apart—it’s the recognition she has received.

Since the beginning of law school, Borg has continued to be involved in service. But as a law student she was then able to render more specific legal services. In her three years at law school she has totaled roughly 1,300 service hours, with 750 of them occurring in the year 2011 alone.

Because of this pro bono work, she was the recipient of the Utah State Bar Pro Bono Publico Law Student of the Year Award. Borg was nominated by Janise Macanas, president of the Utah Minority Bar Association, and was backed by more than 10 other faculty and advisors. This is the sixth of seven awards she has received for her service since starting her law degree.

Recently graduated with her law degree, Borg is now working for the Utah Bar Association as the assistant to the pro bono coordinator to recruit lawyers to help with pro bono cases. Borg is just one of the many examples of graduating students who go on to use their talents.

“Camille exemplifies the ideal BYU-Idaho student by the way she sees obstacles, uses her talents, and relies on the Lord to overcome them,” Clay says.

Of her BYU-Idaho experience and how it has helped her, Borg says, “BYU-Idaho offered me educational opportunities that stretched my perception of my ability to achieve. My success in the classrooms taught me to believe that I was capable of doing and becoming more.”

Camille Borg, a graduate of BYU-Idaho and the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU

Page 4: News & Notes October 2012

4 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

Excerpts from President’s Executive Group Q&A September 19, 2012

Question: Recognizing that intercollegiate athletics is not part of BYU-Idaho, what can we create that is equal to it? Something to “cheer about” that is part of the university experience?

President Clark: There are great things, like sports, that universities have to rally around. But it’s not part of the experience at this university. I believe this issue is actually similar in its underlying doctrine to the role of outside traditions and cultures in the Church. There may be some aspects of them that are productive and based on truth, but we don’t necessarily want to foster other traditions outside of gospel traditions within the kingdom.

I think that’s also true in the university. We’re trying to do something very different here. We’ve chosen a different path. We’re trying to get students to experience BYU-Idaho differently. The culture and spirit we’re trying to cultivate is the gospel. We’re trying to get students focused on the things that matter.

Now, we honor the traditions of this place. You see that in the Legacy Hall display in the Manwaring Center, and more will be coming as we expand the display to include memorabilia from the Ricks College athletics era. It was a longstanding part of this school, with wonderful people who embodied good values. We honor that heritage. However, the institution as it exists today is on a different course.

Question: Can you tell us more about the Pathway Speaking Partners program?

President Clark: In non-English speaking countries where Pathway is available, we want to help students learn to speak, read, and write English. We design the courses in what’s called Global English, which is a 1,000 word vocabulary. We teach the courses in English and students take them in English. To help these students develop their verbal skills, we’re inviting native English speakers here or anywhere to volunteer their time to have discussions with these young people via Skype who are taking online classes.

The partners chat roughly twice a week with their assigned student(s)—letting them practice their English and helping them learn how to verbally interact with a native English speaker.

We’re going to open it up broadly but I’m sure we’ll tap into our alumni, the community, and members of the Church. It makes a huge difference to the student. For example, we had a young man in Mexico who already had skills as a welder, but if he could speak, read, and write English his income would double—just with the English skill.

With that English skill he can use technical documents that won’t be translated from English for years. New equipment, new specifications, new requirements for customers—his company needs people who can read and write and speak English in order to allow the company to bid on jobs and to work with customers and so forth. He can double his income just by doing that. Stories like that show us how important this program is.

Question: Are the other universities in Idaho learning from or taking advantage of what we’re doing here at BYU-Idaho? How do we compare in terms of cost?

President Clark: I had the opportunity a couple of months ago to meet in Idaho Falls with the Idaho State Board of Education, the presidents of all the other higher education institutions in Idaho, and a number of legislators. The State Board travels around occasionally and holds its regular meeting in different

locations, so they asked me to do a presentation on BYU-Idaho.

Bob Kustra, the president of Boise State University, spoke to me after the presentation and said he really wanted to go deeper into some of the things we’re doing because they’re working on the same issues at his university. At the top of their agenda right now is exploring year-round operation. Most schools, after the students graduate in May or whenever they finish, go into “summer mode.” These universities have things going on, but it’s not like the regular school year. So they’re looking at a year-round model. They’re thinking about online education as well.

But it’s challenging for them because they are in a different kind of governance structure than we are. They’re also public, so there’s a lot more scrutiny of what they’re doing and more people who have a stake in what they’re doing. It’s a more complex environment, plus they have internal challenges as well—a lot of tradition, a lot of governance processes internally. It’s challenging for them right now.

As to the cost issue, if you add tuition and fees that all students have to pay, Idaho State is getting very close to costing over $6,000 for two semesters. That compares to us at about $3,700 for two semesters. If you look at the data, it’s the same with schools throughout Idaho, Utah, and surrounding states. If you watch the Church schools, tuition has been going up at a fairly modest rate. But other schools—some of which used to be right around our tuition or below—have now gone above us.

The culture and spirit we’re trying to cultivate is the gospel. We’re trying to get students focused on the things that matter.P R E S I D E N T K I M B. C L A R K

UPCOMING Q&A

The next Q&A session with the President’s Executive Group will be held Thursday, October 25 at noon in the MC Special Events Room.

Page 5: News & Notes October 2012

OCTOBER 2012 l 5

Against the Odds NOVICE BYU-IDAHO PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENT HONORED AT ADOBE’S “PHOTOSHOP WORLD” EVENT

» By Spencer Allen

With tension rising in the conference room, Rebecca Johnston sat patiently with an unusual amount of calmness. The tension broke as the host announced, “And the winner of this year’s Guru Award in the photo retouching category is Rebecca Johnston.”

With a look of disbelief and an ovation coming from 27 BYU-Idaho students and thousands more in the audience, reality sank in. Although receiving awards is the norm at these types of conventions, Johnston and her story separate her from the crowd.

Unlike most of the other 800 applicants in her category, Johnston is the new kid on the block. With little experience in photography besides soccer games and her children’s birthday parties, she started taking professional pictures just nine months ago when she enrolled in Caryn Esplin’s digital imaging class.

What resulted was a polished skill, a greater appreciation for the craft, and friends in the photographic society with the same passion. This past summer, Johnston, along with other members of the society, sent in their work to an event far bigger than the up and coming photographer could ever imagine.

Each year Adobe hosts Photoshop World, an event in which selected photographers submit their work to be professionally critiqued. Hundreds of

photos are sent in and are put into seven categories including photo restoration, basic photography, illustration, photo retouching, commercial, photo montage, and artistic. After careful consideration, a board takes over 800 photos in each group and chooses three finalists per category.

“I received an email from Adobe three weeks before the event alerting me that my photo ‘The End of our Heritage’ had been selected to be a finalist,” said Johnston. “Regardless if I received an award or not, I felt that I had already won. To have professionals look at my work and to have seen value was a huge success.”

The convention also included workshops, speeches, portfolio interviews, and learning from some of the most world-renowned photographers. “We got to mingle with professionals,” said Caryn Esplin, instructor in the Department of Communication. “The students were able to gauge how their work compares and that gives them confidence. Not only do they improve by all the things that they learned but also they networked with the best in the business.”

Johnston credits the Department of Communication for her success. “This is a professional conference. It is not for students. To have us go down and leave our mark at this type of event is huge. It speaks volumes about the caliber of education we receive here on campus.”

This is the second year in a row that the Guru winner in photo retouching came from a student at BYU-Idaho.Andrea Hernandez, a recent graduate of BYU-Idaho, won the award last year.

2/3 Wide Photo with Caption

“The End of Our Heritage,” Rebecca Johnston’s winning photo.

Rebecca Johnston poses with her Guru Award trophy at Photoshop World.

Page 6: News & Notes October 2012

The Fulfillment of a Dream: Continued from page 1

6 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

News & NotesA weekly publication of University Communications

A D V I S O R Marc Stevens

W R I T E R S Spencer Allen, Ben Burke, Abby Stevens

PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Lewis, Doug McKay, Marcus Journey, Lana Strathearn

If you have any ideas for future issues, please e-mail [email protected]

University Communications215 Kimball Building • Rexburg, ID • 83460-1661 • Phone: (208) 496-2000

FOR SALE

Rexburg home. Evergreen subdivision 1.5 miles from campus. 2400 sq. ft., 5 bed, 3 bath, A/C, finished basement. Built in 2001. $179,900 Call Rob at 206-2315.

Rigby townhome. 3 bed, 2 bath. 2100 sq. ft. Open kitchen, dining, and living room. Large master with walk-in closet. 2nd story laundry. $126,500. Call 681-7102.

Pine trees. All sizes. $6/foot. You dig. .270 stainless steel rifle with adjustable trigger. Nikon 3x9x40 scope and two boxes of cartridges. Dixon lawn mower. $300. Call Ferron at Ext. 4686 or 356-0219.

Queen-size pillow top mattress and box springs. Nearly new, barely used. $399 OBO. 359-0760.

Firewood. All hardwood, fireplace length. Un-split, uncured, you haul. $125 per cord. 656-0221.

Thank You

In behalf of the Gene L. Miller family, I would like to thank the university and the Human Resources Department for the kindness demonstrated in the lovely arrangement and consoling words. Another thank you to all the wonderful friends (fellow employees) for their words of encouragement and love. The joy of Christ has swallowed our grief and the arms of family and friends have truly been His instruments in applying the balm of healing. What a blessing to be associated with BYU-Idaho.

Kristine M. Summa

Thank you so much for the beautiful flower bouquet that was sent to our mother/mother-in-law’s funeral. It is with the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation/Mercy/Happiness that we know she is with her parents and two older brothers and happy doing the missionary work that she loved, that keeps the family going. This is the best place on earth to work because the extended family is so wonderful.

Debora Scholes, McKay Library and Delaina Scholes, Department of English

We wish to express thanks and gratitude to the administration and the BYU-Idaho faculty for the lovely floral bouquet and sentiments expressed at the passing of John’s father this past month. Our association and shared memories hold a sweet spot in our hearts.

John and Trudy Bidwell

I would like to thank the BYU-Idaho community and the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering for the beautiful plant, letters and cards of condolence that were sent to me and my family at the passing of my father, Lyle Hall. The outpouring of sympathy and well wishes was very much appreciated. It is at times like these that I am reminded of how lucky I am to work at this wonderful institution with such great people. Thank you for all that you do and for being our friends.

Alan and Loretta Hall

Retiree Open Enrollment

If you are a retiree, please join us for your DMBA open enrollment meeting on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 10 a.m. at the stake center just west of the Rexburg Temple in the southeast corner Relief Society room. Call 496-1712 with any questions.

The concert provided not only practical experience for the BYU-Idaho A/V Department, but also a chance to bring the Rexburg community together.

“It was exciting to provide a concert of this caliber to students and the

community. We have a great facility for it, and it was reasonably priced. It was a win-win for everyone,” Steiner said.

This was the choir’s third performance in Rexburg. The first concert took place in 1983 and the second in 2001.

“It felt like it was a fulfillment of a dream to bring the choir to such a beautiful venue,” said Don Sparhawk, coordinator of the Center Stage Performing Arts Series. “It seemed like it was just the perfect fit, and it will be hard to top that.”


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