Eloise Garmendia Bieter: new Chair in Boise!

The Basque Studies Program at Boise State University will be consolidated soon, as the result of an agreement signed today between the university and the Etxepare Basque Institute to create a new Chair: Eloise Garmendia Bieter. This chair will be named after the mother of Boise Mayor -David H. Bieter, the only Basque-speaking mayor outside the Basque Country- for her commitment to the Basque culture and her prominent role in the community.

The agreement signed today by the director of the Etxepare Basque Institute Aizpea Goenaga and the provost of BSU Martin Schimpf reinforces the teaching of Basque language and culture in BSU through the readership driven by the Basque Studies Program, with the creation of a new teaching position that strengthens the academic presence of Basque culture in an strategic city like Boise. It also lays the groundwork for the creation of the Chair where every year a visiting professor will be invited to offer teaching to graduate students, with the aim of increasing studies and research on issues related to Basque language and culture.

Idaho is one of the US states where the presence of the Basque community is more noticeable. This makes it a strategic area for the development of the activity of the Etxepare Basque Institute. The agreement now renewed is a continuation of the one that both entities signed in 2011. Thanks to that agreement, in the last four years more than 450 students have taken part in Basque language and culture courses annually. Besides organizing Basque courses, the Basque Studies Program at BSU has also organized different events such as the preparation and publication of materials on Basque language, literature and  culture; seminars and conferences or collaboration with institutions aimed at the promotion and knowledge of the Basque culture and language.

The Basque Studies Program at Boise State University will be consolidated soon, as the result of an agreement signed today between the university and the Etxepare Basque Institute to create a new Chair: Eloise Garmendia Bieter. This chair will be named after the mother of Boise Mayor -David H. Bieter, the only Basque-speaking mayor outside the Basque Country- for her commitment to the Basque culture and her prominent role in the community.

The agreement signed today by the director of the Etxepare Basque Institute Aizpea Goenaga and the provost of BSU Martin Schimpf reinforces the teaching of Basque language and culture in BSU through the readership driven by the Basque Studies Program, with the creation of a new teaching position that strengthens the academic presence of Basque culture in an strategic city like Boise. It also lays the groundwork for the creation of the Chair where every year a visiting professor will be invited to offer teaching to graduate students, with the aim of increasing studies and research on issues related to Basque language and culture.

Idaho is one of the US states where the presence of the Basque community is more noticeable. This makes it a strategic area for the development of the activity of the Etxepare Basque Institute. The agreement now renewed is a continuation of the one that both entities signed in 2011. Thanks to that agreement, in the last four years more than 450 students have taken part in Basque language and culture courses annually. Besides organizing Basque courses, the Basque Studies Program at BSU has also organized different events such as the preparation and publication of materials on Basque language, literature and  culture; seminars and conferences or collaboration with institutions aimed at the promotion and knowledge of the Basque culture and language.