1-26 IAN U. of I. Status

 I got a press release from the U. of I. and I found it…well quite frankly…confusing. It was one of those good news/bad news deals. First it said Did You Know? Fall semester’s student enrollment rose by nearly 10 percent, demonstrating strong interest in academic disciplines that offer a solid foundation for career building. Apparently the amount of grants earned by University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty and staff in fiscal year 2011 was $18.3 MILLION. The press release said all of that research directly benefits Idaho citizens and industry. It went on to say IDAHO'S NO. 1 INDUSTRY—agriculture—demonstrated its strength in 2010 even in tough times. The University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences showed similar resilience despite erosion of nearly a fifth of its workforce—70 positions—due to budget cuts. But then With the mixed bag of news I talked with the Dean of The University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Dr. John Hammel who says the budgets have been cut severely in terms of operational expenses and programs. He does value his staff however: “I think what it shows is that we’ve really got good people and they’re working hard, but further reductions are gonna cost big time.”