24th Annual Musicians West

Piano Festival & Competition

May 10-13

All events are FREE and open to the public on the Pocatello campus of Idaho State University

Thank you for helping make the City Creek record label launch a huge success!

Idaho State University (ISU) alum Chris DeCou and his partner Becky DeCou have established the DeCou Family Endowment for Suicide Prevention to provide research funding to ISU Clinical Psychology Ph.D. students who are committed to the field of suicide prevention.

CAL Dean's Advisory Board is honored

The College of Arts and Letters at Idaho State University is committed to providing its students with a comprehensive and well-rounded education. To achieve this, the college has established the Dean's Advisory Board.

The Dean's Advisory Board is made up of individuals who believe in the importance of a liberal arts education. They bring a diverse range of skills, expertise, and perspectives to the table, and work collaboratively with leadership to develop strategies to enhance the quality of education offered by the college.

On April 20 and 21, the Dean's Advisory Board held its meetings in the new ICCU Bengal Alumni Center, and were privileged to be the first group to use the Rice Family Foundation Board Room. During these meetings, board members had the opportunity to hear about inspiring initiatives taking place across the college. For instance, they learned about students who had won awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and others who were set to represent the college at the National Advertising Competition. 

At the conclusion of the meetings, the Dean's Advisory Board wall was unveiled. The wall, which honors all current and past members of the board, is a testament to the dedication and service of these alumni. Through their tireless efforts, they help to make the College of Arts and Letters a more attractive educational alternative to current and prospective students.

Reflections on the last Humanities Cafe of the school year...



On April 4 members of the community celebrated the 400th anniversary of the printing of The First Folio of Shakespeare, published in 1623. The event was the final Humanities Cafe of the year, hosted by Idaho State University College of Arts and Letters.

At the Union Taproom in Historic Downtown Pocatello students, faculty, and community members enjoyed food, drinks, and presentations by ISU faculty and students. Jessica Winston, professor of English, gave a presentation on The First Folio, describing it as a magnificent record of Shakespeare's genius. The folio took over two years to produce and was an extremely expensive book at the time, costing 1 pound (equivalent to a quarter of the monthly income of a pub owner). Winston invited the audience to heft ISU library's replication of the folio, which is considered a sacred text in the literary world.

Ananda Keator, costume designer for ISU's production of The Book of Will, gave a presentation on her process for designing historically approximate costumes for the show. Keator explained that research for the costumes came from books and period paintings, and that each of the seven student costume designers was able to create a costume in completion.

Students involved in the production shared their thoughts on women participating in Shakespeare's legacy, infusing the director's vision into the play, dialects and fight scenes, set design, and what it's like to wear Elizabethan clothing while doing laundry. Tanner Morton, a doctoral student performing Henry Condell in the play, spoke of the timelessness of Shakespeare, while Harmoni Thompson spoke of the play's message of teamwork and coming together to create something amazing.

Humanities Cafe is an event that feeds the human spirit through the humanities. We look forward to future events that explore the beauty and importance of the humanities and hope to see you next semester when Humanities Cafe starts again.