Gem State Roundup

New Boise State Model United Nations program receives $500,000 gift

By: - April 13, 2021 4:30 am
Boise State sign

Boise State University on March 20, 2021. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

Boise State University will begin a new Model United Nations program after a donation of $500,000 from the Frank Church Institute, according to a BSU press release.

The money will be used to administer the program and to subsidize attendance from high school students who will participate in an annual competition on Boise State’s campus.

The Model UN program is a diplomacy-based competition that aims to strengthen public speaking, team-building and debate skills. C. Fredrick Cornforth, a member of the Frank Church Institute’s board of directors, said in the release he wanted to make the gift because he had life-changing experiences with the Model UN program he participated in when he lived in Montana. He added that it can help prepare Idaho students to be globally competitive. 

“This contribution will help high school students in Idaho, especially in rural areas, experience a broader horizon,” Cornforth said in the release. “We do business internationally here in Idaho, and we live day-to-day more globally connected.”

The gift is made in honor of former Boise State President Bob Kustra and his wife Kathy, both of whom served on the Frank Church Institute board, according to the release.

Microsoft Corp. also partnered with the institute to help fund the program. The company works with the United Nations to identify new projects to advance global multi-stakeholder actions on key technology, environmental, humanitarian, development and security goals, as well as advancing sustainable development goals.

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Kelcie Moseley-Morris
Kelcie Moseley-Morris

Kelcie Moseley-Morris is an award-winning journalist who has covered many topics across Idaho since 2011. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Idaho and a master’s degree in public administration from Boise State University. Moseley-Morris started her journalism career at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, followed by the Lewiston Tribune and the Idaho Press.

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