Click here for an audio slideshow about his service-learning experiences, his views on international business and his study abroad opportunity in Bilbao, Spain.

Photos by John Kelly

The deadline for new and transfer students to apply for scholarships to Boise State University for the fall 2012 semester is fast approaching. In order to be considered for Boise State scholarships, students must submit all materials to the Admissions Office no later than Feb. 15.

To be considered for scholarships, new and transfer students must do the following:

• Turn in a completed application packet to the Admissions Office. An application is available online at admissions.boisestate.edu/apply.
• Complete a 2012-2013 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The online FAFSA application is found at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• If needed for a specific scholarship, also complete a Supplemental Scholarship Application, available online at financialaid.boisestate.edu/scholarships/HowToApply.shtml.

The application deadline for financial aid for current Boise State students is March 15. Students who apply early have the best chance of being eligible for many limited types of federal aid. Early applicants also stand a better chance of ensuring that their funding is available when classes begin in the fall.

Please note that international students have earlier deadlines. Visit international.boisestate.edu to learn more.

For more information, contact the Boise State Admissions Office at (208) 426-1156 or visit admissions.boisestate.edu. Scholarship information also can be found at financialaid.boisestate.edu/scholarships.

To learn more about COBE scholarships go to: http://cobe.boisestate.edu/students/scholarships/

Cobourn also gave an invited oral presentation at the American Geophysical Union meetings in San Francisco on Dec. 7, 2011. The presentation, titled “Ecological vs. Economic Sustainability: An Integrated Analysis of Thresholds in Semi-Arid Western Rangelands,” was included as part of the session “Identifying and Quantifying Change in Ecological Systems.”

Boise State’s Executive MBA program will hold an open house for prospective students and interested companies from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Stueckle Sky Center at Bronco Stadium. Those planning to attend should email emba@boisestate.edu or call 426-4034 to reserve a space.

Classes will begin in September 2012 and participants will earn an MBA degree in two academic years of part-time class attendance. The program is designed specifically for middle- to senior-level professionals who want to gain the leadership, business and innovation skills their organizations need on a schedule that minimizes work and personal life disruption.

Boise State’s Executive MBA was launched in 2006 and focuses on creativity in the evaluation of business problems, an immediate link between class projects and work tasks, an integrated curriculum that takes into account a wide range of business units and a trade mission-style international experience in Vietnam.

The program has earned very high marks in an independent survey of its graduates by the international Executive MBA Council, and 81 percent of graduates have said their Executive MBA degree had a positive impact on their careers.

For more information, visit cobe.boisestate.edu/emba.

Pending approval from the State Board of Education, the newly designed programs will begin in fall 2012 when the new Micron Business and Economics Building opens. The fourth floor will be devoted exclusively to graduate business programs and includes new state-of-the-art classrooms, technology-enhanced team rooms and the Petersen-Hales Imagination Laboratory. Students may apply online now at http://cobe.boisestate.edu/graduate.

“A team of COBE faculty gathered information from the business community and prospective students and designed these new MBA programs,” said COBE Dean Patrick Shannon. “They will meet the needs of both employees in the local business community who want to complete an MBA by going part-time, and also recent, high-potential graduates from non-business undergraduate programs in the West who want to add an MBA to their resume by going full-time to Boise State University.”

“The updates to our program reflect the changing needs of the business community,” said Kirk Smith, associate dean for graduate business studies. “One MBA program cannot meet the needs of everyone looking for a business education today.”

Most traditional MBA programs require work experience for admission. However, the full-time Career Start MBA program is designed for recent graduates who may not have begun their careers. Classes will take place during the day and students will complete their degree in two years. Internships and real projects make it ideal for recent graduates who need business knowledge and experience in order to enter their desired career field.

All students accepted into the Career Start program will receive financial assistance. For more information about the program, contact Trisha Lamb at 426-1120, or trishastevenslamb@boisestate.edu.

The MBA track for working professionals is a sensibly paced evening program built around the theme of commercializing intellectual property. By attending night school over the course of 32 months, participants will gain the managerial skills needed to take their careers in a new direction.

The existing Executive MBA program rounds out the three offerings. Middle- to senior-level professionals gain the leadership, business, and innovation skills their organizations need on a schedule that minimizes work and personal life disruption. Boise State’s Executive MBA was launched in 2006 and focuses on creativity in the evaluation of business problems, an immediate link between class projects and work tasks, an integrated curriculum that takes into account a wide range of business units and a trade mission-style international experience in Vietnam.

Listeners can access the website featuring a series of faculty podcasts at BeyondtheBlue.BoiseState.edu or go directly to Napier’s presentation. Visitors can listen/watch podcasts directly on the site or link to iTunesU, where they can download all podcasts and subscribe to receive automatic downloads of new content whenever they open iTunes.

Napier’s book, “The Creative Discipline”(2008), examines diverse organizations — from theater to software to football — to identify common creative characteristics, while “Insight” (2010) shows how to encourage ‘aha’ moments, which help speed learning and problem solving. The high performing, highly creative organizations studied in this research are called “The Gang.” Members range from the Boise State football program and Trey McIntyre dance group to health information provider Healthwise and the Ada County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office.

This podcast covers six important “Gang” rules that are crucial elements for organizations looking to incorporate creativity and innovation in their operations. The rules also will appear in a book that Napier is currently writing in conjunction with other members of the group.

The Beyond the Blue website has been developed to showcase the expertise and innovative spirit that exists in many fields at Boise State. Known for its unique blue turf and nationally ranked football program, Boise State is demonstrating creativity beyond the blue in faculty podcasts intended to introduce a variety of topics to casual listeners.

New faculty podcasts are being added on a regular basis, including:

• Scott Yenor, Marriage and Modern Thought
• Heidi Reeder, Attraction in Male-Female Friendship
• Michelle Sabick, Joint Replacement
• Jonathan Brendefur, Mathematical Minds
• Troy Rohn, Alzheimer’s Disease
• Gary Moncrief, Congressional Redistricting
• Evelyn Johnson, Learning Disabilities
• Will Hughes, DNA Nanotechnology
• John Gardner, Energy Efficiency
• Cheryl Jorcyk, Breast Cancer
• Mitch Wieland, Creative Writing
• Cindy Clark, Civility in Nursing
• John Freemuth, Public Lands
• Greg Hampikian, DNA Forensics
• Shelton Woods, Rise of China
• Jill Gill, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Brian Greber, America’s Economic Policy

The website contains bonus video and editorial content about the university, including its growth, research initiatives and student life. A related collection of faculty interviews also is accessible from the Reader’s Corner radio show hosted by Boise State President Bob Kustra on Boise State Public Radio.

Vera Zdravkova, Bachelor of Arts in International Business, with a Minor in Entrepreneurship
Zdravkova worked a wealth of real experience into her time as an undergraduate at Boise State and that has helped her land a position with a Taiwanese manufacturing and trading company. After graduation, she will move to Taipei to work in marketing and product development. Her experience in the International Business program allowed her to complete a number of comprehensive marketing and export plans that Idaho companies used as the foundation of their marketing/exporting efforts. She also completed two internships with the Idaho Department of Commerce (one at the Idaho Trade Office in Guadalajara and one at the Idaho Trade Office in Taipei), an internship with the U.S. Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and one with the Idaho District Export Council. Zdravkova said the international business major offered her abundant opportunities to connect with the real business world.

Gracie Bingham, Honors College, Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Bachelor of Arts in History, with a Minor in French

Bingham, who is this year’s student speaker, has taken advantage of many internship opportunities while a student at Boise State. This past summer, she served as a Press Office intern with the United States Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. She also interned with the Idaho State Historical Museum, worked with the Idaho Statesman’s Intern Fellows program and spent an additional summer as an intern with the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. She has been active with ASBSU, served as a mentor and translator for the Francophone Refugee Mentoring Program and served as a teaching assistant in both history and French. “I could not have asked for better academic opportunities than I was offered during my time at Boise State,” she said. She is graduating with honors from the Honors College.

Jackie Nelson, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Art and Art Education

As president of the Idaho Art Education Association and a cancer survivor, Nelson is a non-traditional student in the truest sense. She began her career with a cosmetology degree from a beauty school in Maine and briefly pursued a degree in human resource management and business administration at a school in New Hampshire. She then moved her family west in search of a drier climate that wouldn’t aggravate her daughter’s severe asthma. She took classes at the University of Nevada, Reno, before finally making her way to Boise State in 2006. While here, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Determined not to miss school, Nelson scheduled all of her treatments around classes and tests. She has been on the dean’s list with honors every year since 2007 and will graduate with a degree in art education and visual arts. She is hoping to become a full-time art teacher once she completes her student teaching at a local district.

Terry Caster, Bachelor of Applied Science with a Minor in Information Technology and Supply Chain Management

Having been laid off as an engineer with a Boise company after 16 years of work, Caster knew he had to go back to school to improve upon his associate’s degree. He felt a bachelor of applied science degree would make him more competitive in the job market, but at age 50, he had some mixed emotions about going back to school with a much younger population, including his son who also is a Boise State student. After more than two years of coursework, which includes a minor in information technology, Caster is now graduating and hoping to rejoin his old employer or another firm in Boise. The bachelor of applied science degree provides students with an associate’s degree the opportunity to combine their technical course work with academic core and upper-division coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Noelle Lovern, Bachelor of Arts in Communication, with a Public Relations Emphasis

Lovern, a non-traditional student, came to Boise State after escaping an abusive marriage. Her story of seeking shelter from her abuse, moving through the public relations program and going on to complete her degree is an example of the type of commitment and determination that should be emulated. Boise State became part of rebuilding Lovern’s life. She threw herself into school and committed herself to bettering both her own life and to helping others succeed. She has given back to the program through her time, becoming the Blue House Public Relations executive director, serving as a teaching assistant and spending countless hours mentoring others. Because she understands the financial struggle students can face, she helped develop the very successful $20.11 campaign to fund SSPA student scholarships.

“Lovern is not one to look around to see what she is supposed to be doing or learning simply to prepare for an exam or paper,” said Mary Frances Casper, assistant professor or communication. “Learning matters to her, not only as a student in our classes, but as a citizen and as a person.”

Craig Laudicina, Bachelor of Science in Psychology

One of the most impressive things about Laudicina is his background. He’s been a disc jockey, a nightclub manager and security head, and a graphic artist. But the thread that runs through his life, no matter what he had to do employment-wise to make ends meet, is an incredible devotion to helping others. Laudicina has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boys and Girls Club, Planned Parenthood and English as a second language agencies. He has been a caregiver, a behavioral technician and a community outreach assistant.

College of Business and Economics professor Michael Bixby will retire in January after teaching at Boise State for 30 years. COBE will host a celebration honoring his dedication and service to the college from 3-5 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Student Union Lookout Room. The campus community is invited to attend.

Bixby has been a full-time faculty member at Boise State since 1981, teaching classes dealing with legal, regulatory and ethical issues. His undergraduate and law degrees are from the University of Michigan. Bixby practiced law as an attorney for 11 years in Michigan before becoming a faculty member at Boise State.

Since joining the university, he has had 16 articles published in professional journals, has presented more than 80 academic papers at conferences and has given several invited lectures at universities. He has been chosen four times to teach internationally in the USAC program, spending a semester each in Spain, Chile, Italy and China.

Bixby also has authored or co-authored two textbooks, currently in use by many business schools. He is an active member of the national Academy of Legal Studies in Business, and has served as president of the Northwest regional division of this organization. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and has been a member of the Governing Council of the Corporate and Business Law Section of the State Bar of Idaho.

In 2006, Bixby was chosen as the winner of the Foundation Scholars Award for Teaching, the highest honor accorded to a faculty member at Boise State. He had been nominated four previous times, and was the first College of Business faculty member ever to win the award. He also has twice been recognized as the faculty member of the year in the College of Business by the ASBSU student organization, and was the winner of the Teaching Award in the Management Department in 2008. He is the club advisor for Net Impact, a group of mostly COBE graduate students focused on ethical, social responsibility and sustainability issues in business, which won the Best New Student Organization of the Year award from ASBSU in 2011.