Art, architecture college returning

The Idaho Board of Education voted Monday to allow the University of Idaho to restore the College of Art and Architecture, which was abruptly shut down in 2002 and set off an effort by students and alumni to have it reinstated.

The board, meeting in Lewiston, voted 5-2 to overturn the decision of Gary Stivers, the former executive director of the board of education, to close the college and reinstate it by next academic year.

“It was a very exciting moment,” said Steven Kopke, a Coeur d’Alene-based consultant who helped lead the effort to have the college restored.

“There was so much jubilation and appreciation.”

Stivers made the decision in response to a request from then-President Bob Hoover, who said he needed to close the college in part to help offset financial problems caused by the UI’s involvement in its troubled attempts to expand into Boise.

Supporters of the college organized a campaign to restore it, including demonstrations on campus in Moscow and appeals to the members of the board of education.

They said the college was improperly dismantled, with no participation from faculty members and without following university procedures.

Those supporters created a foundation to lobby for the reinstatement of the college, which was merged into the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences.

Kopke, president of the CAA Foundation, said its efforts received lots of support.

“There have been hundreds of alumni, friends, faculty and students working on this over the last two and a half years,” he said.

In an interview in August, UI President Tim White said he thought that art and architecture students were still being well-served, with the same programs and classes in place as before the college was closed. The big difference, he said at the time, was in administration.

In a written presentation to the board, White and Provost Doug Baker asked the board members not to vote to restore the college, and noted that it would be costly at a time when the UI is struggling financially. The administrative budget for the former college was more than $375,000, White and Baker said.

Attempts to reach UI officials for comment were unsuccessful Monday night.