ISU receives $1 million gift

POCATELLO, Idaho – A pair of eastern Idaho philanthropists and longtime education supporters have made Idaho State University the second institution of higher education in the state this week to receive a million-dollar donation after Boise State University got $5 million for its engineering school.

Anne Voilleque, an ISU graduate and local artist, and Louise Nelson chipped in $1 million to ISU to create the school’s first endowed professorship, in the Native American Business Administration program.

Voilleque and Nelson told the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello they donated the money to ISU’s American Indian program out of concern that members of Idaho’s five tribes often struggle in the college environment. Pocatello is near the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, where members of the Shoshone-Bannock tribe suffer from unemployment that’s about tenfold higher than the state’s 3.4 percent average.

“The opportunity sounded like a dream come true for kids who might not have stayed in school,” Nelson said.

Voilleque and Nelson were honored Friday at a ceremony at ISU.

Doyle Anderson, current director of the program, will be the recipient of the endowed professorship.