ISU to honor 15 with Homecoming awards Sept. 22

Idaho State University will honor 15 current and retired faculty and staff, alumni and supporters with awards at 2006 Homecoming.

Recipients will be honored at the President's Alumni Recognition Dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, at the Red Lion Hotel Pocatello, 1555 Pocatello Creek Road. A 6 p.m. reception in the Red Lion Atrium will precede the dinner. Those wishing to attend should contact the ISU Alumni Office at (208) 282-3755. The cost is $35.

Following are the honorees and their awards:

The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes exemplary professional and personal contributions resulting in national or international recognition.

• Michael M. Mooney, a Pocatello native, started his banking career in Pocatello in 1974 and received his MBA from ISU in 1983. He is currently president of Farmers & Merchants State Bank in Boise. Mooney is past president of the ISU Foundation board of directors. He was honored by the ISU College of Business in 1995 with its Professional Achievement Award and in 1996 as the Idaho Business Leader of the Year.

The Bartz Award recognizes continued support and development of ISU through personal actions, participation in University affairs and financial support.

• Joyce Seppi says that the Seppi family roots run deep in ISU soil. She has made numerous gifts to the ISU and Bengal Foundations, most recently to support the library in ISU's planned Alumni and Visitors Center, in the name of the Seppi Family and her late husband, Dr. Leno Seppi, a former Lava Hot Springs dentist and member of the State Board of Education from 1974 to 1984.

The ISU Achievement Award recognizes personal actions, generosity and self- sacrifice on behalf of the University by a faculty or staff member.

• Dr. Steven Shropshire, ISU associate professor of physics, has research interests in physics education, teacher preparation and improving K-12 science education. He has conducted more than 750 science presentations and 350 science workshops for K-12 teachers.

The ISU Distinguished Service Award recognizes ISU staff who have shown exceptional loyalty to the University through an extended period of employment.

• Debbie Henricksen has been employed at ISU for 30 years, and says she has had the great fortune to have worked with wonderful mentors and colleagues in the Offices of Admissions, Alumni Relations, Enrollment Planning, Radiographic Sciences, Academic Affairs, and most recently in the Office of the President. She is currently executive assistant to her third ISU President, Dr. Arthur C. Vailas.

The President's Medallion was established in 2001 to honor friends and alumni whose outstanding accomplishments and exemplary service and support bring distinction to the University and advance higher education.

• Ted and Barbara Crumley have supported ISU in many ways. He is an ISU graduate in accounting who held various executive positions including senior vice president and chief financial officer with the Boise Cascade Corp. He is now senior vice president and chief financial officer for OfficeMax. He is a past president of the ISU Foundation and served on its board of directors for 14 years. He co-chaired the general campaign for the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center, for which the Crumleys were generous donors.

• Dr. Jo Elliott-Blakeslee is currently a general-practice physician in Boise. Her extensive involvement with the Alumni Association includes serving four years on the Alumni board of directors. She chaired the Alumni Centennial Committee and was the driving force in completing the ISU History Walk, the Alumni Association's Centennial gift to the University. Her generosity to ISU includes gifts for the planned Alumni and Visitors Center and an endowed scholarship.

• Dr. H. Gene and Sue Ann Hoge have actively supported the dental-hygiene program in the ISU Kasiska College of Health Professions, the ISU Bengal Foundation and the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center. Their support includes both generous gifting and private efforts to encourage the support of others. The Hoges worked together in his dental practice, he as dentist, she as dental hygienist, before he sold the practice earlier this year.

• Ray and Effie Kaufman are both ISU graduates, he with a bachelor's and MBA in business, she in elementary education. He retired in 2002 after a 25-year career at the J.R. Simplot Co., most recently as group president. They have supported ISU financially with the Ray G. and Effie Kaufman Scholarship Endowment in the College of Business and gifts for the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center and the Alumni Association. He currently serves on the ISU Foundation Board of Directors and is a past recipient of the College of Business Professional Achievement Award.

• Gary D. Campbell, who was unable to receive the 2005 President's Medallion last year because of Hurricane Rita's impact on his hometown of Houston, will also be honored.

Homecoming Parade marshals are ISU faculty, staff or alumni who have made a significant impact on the ISU community and enjoy popularity among their colleagues and students.

• Nancy Graziano is in her 21st year with the ISU department of athletics. She is currently associate athletic director for student support service and senior woman administrator. As the liaison between ISU's student-athletes and academic resources, she advises and assists the student athletes in achieving their academic goals and has had a positive impact on thousands of students.

• Dr. Richard J. and Donna L. Sagness came to Pocatello in 1979 when he began his duties as dean of the College of Education. Donna worked for Workforce Training in the College of Technology. Both retired from ISU in 1999. With the help of friends, they endowed a scholarship in the College of Education to help single mothers further their education.