University of Idaho officials and the family of a graduate student who was killed by a professor she had dated have agreed to a financial settlement in a claim against the school over the 22-year-old’s death, sources told the Associated Press on Tuesday. A settlement would bring some closure in the wake of shootings that police have described as a murder-suicide, which horrified faculty, students and parents and brought Idaho’s oldest public university under intense scrutiny. The terms of the agreement between Katy Benoit’s family and the school were not immediately available. Benoit died in August after police say she was shot 11 times by Ernesto Bustamante, an assistant psychology professor with whom she had recently broken off a romantic relationship. Police say Bustamante, after shooting Benoit, checked in at a Moscow hotel and killed himself. He had resigned from his position at the university only days earlier/Jessie Bonner, AP. More here.

Thoughts?

According to our callers, at least three geese were severely injured while trying to nest on the beams that cross the waterside front of the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene campus building. It turns out that to deter the geese from nesting – as they have in previous years — a maintenance crew had installed, literally, a bed of 5-inch nails. Horrified witnesses in the building watched the geese struggling to make a nest while getting punctured by the nails. The geese were completely covered in blood and could not understand their peril as this had been their nesting area for years/Terry Harris, KEA Blog. More here. H/T: Facebook Friend Carol Muzik

Thoughts?

Faculty leaders at the University of Idaho want the state Board of Education to reconsider removing the term “flagship” from the school's mission statement. The board approved updated mission statements for Idaho's public universities in February. The University of Idaho in Moscow was founded in 1889 and is the state's oldest. The word “flagship” was added to a proposed new mission statement last year, though school officials have long used the word to brand the university. The board, however, didn't deem the term appropriate and it was struck/Eye On Boise via AP. More here.

Question: Has there been any positive fallout for the University of Idaho as a result of this controversy?

The Idaho Vandals announced their 2012 football schedule Monday. Idaho faces road trips to LSU, North Carolina and BYU as part of a challenging non-conference schedule. Idaho plays seven WAC games, beginning with New Mexico State on Oct. 6. The Vandals begin spring drills March 22 and will hold the “Silver and Gold” game April 20/Josh Wright, SR. Schedule here.

Seems Richard Westerberg eschews that “single, outdated word” that has caused a furor among Vandal fans since its removal from the University of Idaho mission statement: “flagship.”   The Idaho Board of Education prez said so in a guest opinion in Idaho newspapers last week. But 5,000 Vandal Nation petition signers disagree as they lobby to have the collegial designation reinstated. Also, University of Idaho Associated Student Body prez Samantha Perez is calling for the head of Milford Terrell, the Ed Board trustee whose term expired Thursday. Terrell, an ex-Boise State booster club prez, led the charge to remove “flagship” from UI’s mission statement. Some say Vandal Nation hasn’t been this upset since July 2010 when BSU prez Bob Kustra labeled UI culture “nasty” and “inebriated.” P’haps UIdaho is lucky that the BSU Broncophiles on the Ed Board didn’t add those words to the mission statement/DFO, SR Huckleberries. More here.

• The Slice: Yes, ink on paper still tastes great/Paul Turner
• Boise: Legislative races shaping up, Rammell files/Betsy Russell
• City news beat yields attorneys, police, being Dunn in/Doug Clark
• Idaho lawmakers need more than invisible, ethical line/Shawn Vestal
• Smart Bombs: Medicare hangover on tap/Gary Crooks
• Gonzaga came out ready, steady against BYU/John Blanchette
• Birds soon to be looking for cavity nesting sites/Rich Landers

Many of you have showed your support for the University of Idaho by signing the flagship petition at change.org. Yesterday the petition reached more than 5,000 signatures. Congratulations! Though the petition reached its halfway mark, we still have work ahead of us. Milford Terrell, the State Board of Education member who proposed this change to our mission statement, will most likely be reappointed by Gov. Otter when his term ends today, March 1. Many believe Terrell represents a biased point of view on the Idaho SBOE. A BSU alumni and former President of the Bronco Athletic Association, several believe this makes it impossible for him to be an impartial member of the SBOE. If Gov. Otter chooses to re-appoint Terrell, it is clear that a biased and unfair atmosphere will continue to permeate the SBOE/Samantha Perez, University of Idaho Student Body president.

Question: Do you agree with UI ASB prez Samantha Perez that Gov. Butch Otter should find someone to replace Milford Terrell, who proposed the “flagship” change in UIdaho's mission statement?

The University of Idaho Faculty Senate on Tuesday afternoon unanimously passed a resolution to call on the Idaho State Board of Education to reinstate the word “flagship” into the UI's mission statement. State board members removed the word during a Feb. 16 meeting in Boise, where they also edited the mission statements of Boise State University and Idaho State University. The word “flagship” had only been in the UI's mission statement since September. But the UI change - intended to foster collegial relationships among the three universities - caused controversy across the state.The Faculty Senate resolution expresses “profound disappointment” at the decision and asks the state board to reconsider at its April 18-19 meeting on the UI's Moscow campus/Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.

Thoughts?

Lost amidst all the controversy over the State Board of Education not allowing the word “flagship” in the University of Idaho's mission statement is the fact it was only there for five months. Some statements from board and university officials - not to mention media reports out of the board's meeting last week at Boise State University - led many to believe the board was stripping a word that had long been a part of the UI mission statement. But the word “flagship” was only added during a Sept. 9, 2011, special board meeting that was conducted via teleconference. And board minutes from the meeting indicate the mission statements of the UI and other four-year public schools were approved in haste because they needed to be submitted to an accrediting agency/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Ah, are you still upset that “flagship” was removed from the UIdaho mission statement?

Idaho media recently carried reports that the State Board of Education had unanimously voted to strip the word “flagship” from the University of Idaho’s mission statement. President Duane Nellis appeared stunned by the move. He should not have been – even this scribe pointed out a year ago in several columns that shang-haing the title of flagship away from the land grant university was part of BSU President Bob Kustra’s five-year game plan to have the Boise State campus be perceived by the public and politicians as the real flagship in Idaho’s university system. The apparent ease with which President Kustra pulled off the move not only is a testament to his political and p.r. skills, it also says much about President Nellis’ passive nature. Vandal partisans should ask pointedly why their president, despite all the obvious signs, failed to see this coming and did nothing to block it/Chris Carlson, The Carlson Chronicles. More here.

Question: Do you credit BSU President Bob Kustra's Machavellian skill or UI President Duane Nellis's passivity for the Bored of Education's decision to remove “flagship” from UI's mission statement?

Tradition and pride since 1889, so says University of Idaho Student Body President Samantha Perez who started an on-line petition to keep the word “flagship” in the school's mission statement. And she insists it's about more than just bruised ego. “Flagship to me means we're the first in the state,” Perez told KBOI 2News. “It means we're the lead institution and that means a lot. It's part of our identity.” Perez says she hopes the thousands of supportive signatures (more than 2,000 in just two days) will convince the State Board of Education, which recently ordered the word “flagship”, removed from the university's mission statement to change its mind. The state Board of Education revised mission statements for all of Idaho's public universities during a meeting a Boise/Scott Logan, KBOI2. More here.

Question: Do you plan to sign the online petition?

The University of Idaho “serves as the state’s flagship … and it always will,” two university supporters wrote in a guest opinion. Jeffry L. Stoddard, chairman of the University of Idaho Foundation, and Michael Higgins, president of the University of Idaho Alumni Association, wrote the guest opinion in response to the State Board of Education's decision Tuesday to strip the word “flagship” from the university's mission statement. “The University of Idaho is Idaho’s flagship research university,” they wrote in a guest opinion, which also will appear in Tuesday's Statesman. “That is an undeniable fact. It is the state’s founding university, it generates 73 percent of the competitive research dollars in the state and it is the state’s land grant university.” Stoddard and Higgins liken the flagship status to Boise State University's success on the football field — an analogy, I suspect, that won't go over too well with some Bronco backers/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: There's some talk of a petition drive by UI boosters to regain the word “flagship” in the university's mission statement. Do you think the state Bored of Education would pay attention to such a tactic?

In a clumsy, method-to-madness way, the State Board of Education spiced up what could have been a dull discussion about mission statements. Just remove the word “flagship” from the University of Idaho’s mission statement, and it’s like football season all over again. Vandal haters went online to talk smack and share a few virtual fist bumps. Vandal faithful, stunned and blindsided, looked around for a referee to boo. A role played happily by the State Board, which started rewording the universities’ mission statements Wednesday, one day before pointing a torpedo at the U of I’s flagship. The board’s idea was to remove wording that gives one university preeminence over the others — to level the proverbial playing field/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Did this level the playing field for all Idaho colleges? Or simply set up a situation — like BSU President Bob Kustra's dig at UI fans — that'll be remembered for years?

From blog by Kevin Richert/Idaho Statesman, a statement by UI President Duane Nellis re: Idaho Bored of Education decision to remove “flagship” from UI designation: “I have just returned to Moscow from the Idaho State Board of Education meeting in Boise and let me tell you it feels great to be “home.” I am very disappointed in the board’s decision today to remove the word “flagship” from our mission statement. This edit does not change who we are or how we will operate going forward. We are THE University of Idaho. I agree wholeheartedly with ASUI President Samantha Perez who said today that “flagship” is a factual definition of who we are at our core. Thanks to all of you for your support and good wishes as we work through this disappointment.”  Full post here.

Question: Do you think this move by the Bored of Education has anything to do with Boise State's football dominance?

The University of Idaho will no longer be the state’s “flagship” university — at least in its mission statement — after the State Board of Education voted unanimously to remove the word from the Idaho’s mission statement at Thursday's meeting. Idaho President Duane Nellis voiced strong opposition to the move before the vote. Nellis said the removal of the world could have “negative connotations” for the Moscow-based university. “I think flagship is reflective of what we are,” Nellis said. He said the state's other schools were worried about the designation. “I think there were reasons that were brought forward by other institutions concerned they're at a point in history where they feel our designation as 'flagship' is unfair to them,” Nellis said. “That doesn't reflect reality. … We are the state's flagship research university. There is no question about that”/Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Do you agree with this move by the Idaho Board of Education?

Idaho lawmakers can't do math. They have missed the state's revenue targets two years in a row. They can't run a school system. The results are apparent. And they have difficulty accepting new ideas. Just take a look at how tone deaf they've been about protecting gays from discrimination. But they do know one thing better than anyone else: what it takes to be a good lawyer. At least 20 of them think so. Along with House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, House Education Committee Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls, and Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, this crew wants University of Idaho law school Dean Don Burnett to lighten up on the diversity training/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Are you wary of diversity training?

University of Idaho administrators have a lot to deal with. Or, perhaps, these professional academics really don’t know much about running a university. Either way, U of I need not worry about going it alone. Not when the Idaho Legislature is around. Recently, 21 legislators took some time away from their day job to tell the U of I law school how not to mandate attendance at a diversity workshop. Unsolicited advice is just one more service this Legislature offers. These lawmakers wrote a letter to U of I law school Dean Don Burnett, criticizing the decision to require the school’s 360 students to attend a 75-minute program in professionalism and diversity. If a student doesn’t attend, a note may be placed in his or her file — and that’s what set off the legislators/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

• Also: Idaho Democrats endorse UIdaho diversity class/Kevin Richert blog

Question: Does the Idaho Legislature need sensitivity training?

Angela Cross, the choice of Idaho GOP Chairman Norm Semanko to replace a “fired” redistricting commissioner, is shown above. Betsy Russell reports on the showdown involving two redistricters who refused to be fired by Semanko and House Speaker Lawerence Denney here.

• Idaho man pleads not guilty to trying to kill Obama/KHQ
• Bonner County positively IDs fire victims/Chelsea Kopta, KHQ
• Moscow cops investigating Sigma Chi frat sex assault/KXLY
• Solons trim $33.3M from guv's revenue estimate/Eye On Boise
• Oldtown mayor's wife avoids jail in DUI case/Bonner County Bee
• Task force names Vargas fugitive of the week/Coeur d'Alene Press
• Otter predicts long slog in presidential race/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Bonners Ferry landowners file lawsuit over city annexation/NWCN.com
• Senate panel backs change to Students Come First law/Eye On Boise
• Low prices at new Spokane station spark gas war/Othello Richards, KREM
• Coeur d'Alene trustees to start levy discussions tonight/Maureen Dolan, Press

MOSCOW, Idaho – University of Idaho officials say they are ending a nearly free tuition program for employees and spouses of other state schools due to a sharp reduction in state funding.

“We’ve got fee-paying and tuition-paying students subsidizing the education of spouses and faculty at the other colleges, which didn’t sit well with the provost,” said Ron Smith, vice president for Finance and Administration.

He said Provost Doug Baker also said the policy was unfair.

The program allowed those eligible to pay a $25 fee and then $5 per credit to take traditional or online courses at the University of Idaho. Read more.

Right move on UI's part?

The University of Idaho did not violate a law student’s Second Amendment rights by not allowing him to keep firearms in his on-campus apartment, Latah County 2nd District Judge John R. Stegner has ruled. Aaron Tribble, a second-year law student, filed a lawsuit against the UI in January, stating his inability to keep firearms at  the South Hill Vista apartments for married students and students with children exceeded the powers of the university and violated his right to bear arms and 14th Amendment right to due process/Brandon Macz, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.

Question: What do you think of this ruling in light of the double killing today at Virginia Tech?

Nineteen members of Delta Chi became inactive after the fraternity’s national board reviewed the house earlier this month. Five seniors, six juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen will be banned from living within the house by the end of fall semester, said Brandon Cary Delta Chi president. “It has been a rough road for us,” Cary said. Cary said he was unprepared for the review conducted Nov. 9 and 10.  “I felt like I overlooked the warning gave earlier in the year,” Cary said. “I didn’t think (the review) was even close to necessary. I expected it to be an incident (that caused the review), not a decision.” The decision to review the University of Idaho chapter was made after members of Delta Chi voted to allow alcohol in the fraternity, Cary said/David Humphreys, Idaho Argonaut. More here. (Argonaut photo: Tony Marcolino)

Question: Did you belong to a fraternity or a sorority while in college? Was it a positive experience?