Institutional Reorg Planning and Implementation Meeting Scheduled for Feb. 3
From Adam Bradford, provost and vice president of academic affairs:
Dear Faculty and Staff,
Thank you for your thoughtful engagement over the course of the Fall semester as we sought your input related to the development of structural reorganization plans. As the President’s recent email communication indicated, a comprehensive university reorganization plan has now been drafted based on the feedback we received and an extensive analysis of the options available to us. Elements of this plan will be shared in upcoming meetings with the Provost, College Leadership, and the President.
Initially, the Provost and Dean of the College of Science and Engineering are requesting your attendance on Feb 3 at 3 pm to share the plans that have been developed. This meeting is intended to provide an overview of the restructuring plans in your college, outline next steps, and allow time for initial questions and discussion. We understand that you will need time to process what we will present that day, so we will return for a second college-wide meeting on the week of February 16th, as well. We are very interested in having your thoughts as we consider how to navigate implementation of the plans that have been developed.
Please make every reasonable effort to attend the below meeting. We understand that some individuals will be unable to attend due to their teaching responsibilities. For those unable to attend, please know that we will also be presenting the full slate of Academic Affairs restructure plans during the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, February 9th.
Meeting Details
Date: Feb 3
Time: 3 pm
Location: Physical Science Complex, room 108
Zoom Link
Thank you in advance for your time and engagement. The efforts you have already expended have shaped the plans we are presenting in appreciable and important ways, as I’m confident you will see. Your ongoing engagement will be crucial to the success of our restructure efforts as we move from planning to implementation, and I am looking forward to having your thoughts as we move forward in this process.
Sincerely,
Adam Bradford
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
Professor of English
Idaho State University
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Mashal Appointed to Transportation Research Board Committee on Concrete Bridges and Structures
Mustafa Mashal, professor of civil engineering and associate vice president for research: innovation partnerships at Idaho State University, has been appointed as a member of the Transportation Research Board AKH12 Standing Committee on Concrete Bridges and Structures, and as the lead for the committee’s Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) and Advanced Materials Working Group.
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Eishita to Present as part of CLIE's Master Teaching Series
Farjana Eishita, assistant professor of computer science, will present "How Gamified VR can Impact Learning in Higher Education" as part of the Center for Instructional Excellence's Master Teaching Series on Monday, February 2, from noon to 1 p.m. in Rendezvous 129 and via Zoom.
Her workshop will focus on "the incorporation of gamified virtual reality (VR) tools in English education has the potential to transform student learning and assessment" and how "VR offers an immersive and interactive environment where students can engage directly with characters, settings, and themes taken from classic literary works."
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Professor Caryn Evilia’s annual egg-stravaganza was a success!
Each spring semester, students in her Experimental Biochemistry lab class purify lysozyme, an enzyme found in egg whites. This year, they got their lysozyme from chicken, duck, quail, and turkey eggs, thanks to our friends at Zoo Idaho - Pocatello.
Lysozyme is found in plants and animals and helps protect organisms from bacterial infections.
Have an upcoming lab activity that's photogenic? Email loganmcdougall@isu.edu.
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LAST CALL: Volunteers Needed for Bengal STEM Day
We’re looking for volunteers to help with the College’s 2026 installment of Bengal STEM Day on Thursday, February 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
We need volunteers to help with setup prior to the event, take lunch tickets, man the information booth, and serve as roving helpers. Volunteers will receive a Bengal STEM Day shirt and lunch.
If you are interested in volunteering, please complete this Google Form. If you have any questions, please reach out to Logan McDougall at loganmcdougall@isu.edu or (208) 282-4361.
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New Faculty Development Program to Enhance Institutional Research Capacity
Idaho State University has announced the launch of Aligning Stakeholders and Structures to Enable Research Transformation (ASSERT), a new faculty development program designed to increase institutional research capacity. This initiative aims to cultivate a community of scholars by supporting faculty as they work to overcome structural, cultural, and personal barriers to conducting transformative research.
The program is a collaborative effort between Academic Affairs and the Office for Research. Funded by the NSF-EPSCoR ICREWS grant, ASSERT represents a strategic investment in the long-term research vitality of Idaho State University. The initiative advances the objectives of the state EPSCoR program by supporting faculty development and encouraging regional alignment through coordinated efforts with Boise State University and the University of Idaho.
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Students Sought for Instagram Collaboration with Graduate School
We're looking for graduate students to participate in video shoots with the Graduate School that will be posted on Instagram.
The videos will be short-form, and the students need to be willing to speak about their studies/research. If you know of a student who may be a good fit, have them email Remy Boomer, marketing intern with the Graduate School, at remyboomer@isu.edu.
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Abstracts Sought for Research and Creative Works Symposium
Abstract submissions for the 2026 Research Symposium are now open, with a deadline of February 25 at noon.
This event is a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines to present their scholarly or creative works, in progress or completed, in a conference-style event. Top presentations will win cash prizes in oral presentation, poster presentation, and creative works categories. In-person and online oral and poster presentation options are available.
To learn more about what to expect when presenting at a research symposium, as well as best practices, students can attend several Insider Sessions.
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RFPs Sought for Proposal Readiness and Enhancement Program Grants
The Office for Research is pleased to announce a new internal funding opportunity, the Proposal Readiness and Enhancement Program (PREP) Grant.
This internal grant is designed to help PIs develop and submit highly competitive external research proposals by providing funding for a variety of pre-award expenses. Allowable expenses can include classes or workshops for the PI that are designed to enhance grantsmanship, graphic design support for proposals, obtaining external peer reviewers for proposals, addressing reviewer comments, and more.
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The College of Science and Engineering Dean's Excellence Fund is intended to support students in their journey through ISU. The Dean's Office is particularly interested in providing financial assistance to students who might not be able to enroll in or complete the semester because of short-term financial hardships. Students seeking such support should be in good academic standing.
If you know of a student who is in need of short-term support, please have them complete this form.
| | | | Guidance Concerning Law Enforcement and Immigration Officials on Campus | At Idaho State University, we are dedicated to fostering campus spaces where students thrive, supported by our commitment to teaching, learning and research. In response to recent questions about law enforcement and immigration processes on campus, we want to share information and available resources. | | Course Evaluation Response Rate Reaches 53% for Fall 2025 | |
The new Watermark Course Evaluation system was launched for Fall 2025 courses and for the late 8 week and full semester courses, there was an overall response rate of 53 percent.
Over 4,500 courses were evaluated with response rates for individual colleges ranging from 62 to 49 percent.
| | Tenure and Promotion Workshop Set for Feb. 6 | |
Academic Affairs will host a Tenure and Promotion Workshop on Friday, February 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Rendezvous 129, or via Zoom.
At this first workshop best practices for collecting evidence for a T and P dossier will be discussed. This workshop is the first of a series of workshops on Tenure and Promotion this spring.
| | | February 16 | Presidents' Day holiday (no classes) | | February 23 | Early 8-week course grading opens | | March 2 | Mid-term week | | March 9 | Late 8-week courses begin | | March 10 | Early 8-week course grading closes at 5:00 pm | | March 23 | Spring Break (no classes) | | | Upcoming Events in the College of Science and Engineering | | |
Department/Program
Physics
Event
Colloquium: Competitive Structural and Electronic States under Pressure
Shanti Deemyad
University of Utah
Details
Mon Feb 2
4 pm
https://isu.zoom.us/j/83187145542
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Department/Program
ALL
Event
Bengal STEM Day
Details
Thurs Feb 12
4 pm
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Department/Program
Biological Sciences
Event
Seminar: BSRC Grant Workshop
Kristin Lane and Anirban Chakraborty
Idaho State University
Details
Thurs Feb 19
4 pm
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Department/Program
Biological Sciences
Event
Seminar
Donald Marion
Details
Thurs Feb 26
4 pm
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Help Us Share Your Accomplishments!
Our College’s outstanding faculty, staff, and students achieve many notable research and professional accomplishments. In addition, our departments regularly have newsworthy advancements. We want to make sure those stories are shared publicly. Here are a few ways you can provide a news tip to help get the word out:
Use this Story Submission Form to send your news tip to the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Send an email to Logan McDougall (loganmcdougall@isu.edu) with a brief description of the news to be shared.
You are always welcome to create a draft story, submit it via the Story Submission Form, or send it to Logan. The Office of Marketing and Communications and Logan will coordinate to get the story finalized and distributed to the media outlets/platforms that best tell the story.
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