Boise State celebrating 75th anniversary

BOISE – Boise State University plans to celebrate its 75th anniversary with the grand opening of a $14 million classroom building, tours and exhibits.

Historical photographs of the campus will be on display today through Sept. 19 in the Student Union. On Wednesday, a mural by art Professor Alma Gomez-Frith will be unveiled.

“I think it’s surprising to a lot of people that we are 75 years old,” Tom Beitia, who earned a BA and MBA from Boise State in 1984 and 1987, told the Idaho Statesman.

On Thursday, the school opens the 54,000-square-foot Interactive Learning Center, the newest of 165 buildings on the 175-acre campus. The center is the first building in a 2005 master plan that includes new student residence halls, academic programs and classroom buildings.

The school started as a community college during the Great Depression with 78 students and 15 faculty. It became Boise State University in 1974, and now about 19,000 students are enrolled, making it Idaho’s largest institution of higher learning.

“You can’t find very many universities in this country who have moved so far so fast in 75 years,” said President Bob Kustra.

Kustra promotes Boise State as working toward becoming a “metropolitan research university of distinction.” When looking back at the school’s history, he cited voters choosing to support the school by raising their property taxes several times.

“What we have here in 75 years is a significant public commitment to Boise State,” he said.

Looking ahead 10 years, Kustra said Boise State will have more than 25,000 students, more satellite centers beyond Boise, more graduate programs and a research center somewhere in Boise.

But space to expand could be limited.

“We will probably be a taller campus than we are now, with an increasing emphasis to build up instead of out,” he said.

Only about 10 percent of students live on campus. But Boise State plans to build more dormitories, increasing that to up to 30 percent.

He also said that the Boise State football team’s Fiesta Bowl win Jan. 1 over Oklahoma raised the school’s profile.

“I don’t think there’s a doubt that Boise State is on the national university map today,” Kustra said.