UCM director appointed
President Chuck Staben appointed Stefany Bales as executive director of communications and marketing Monday.
“I am thrilled to take on this new responsibility and am looking forward to leading the very talented UCM team as we take on new challenges,” Bales said in a communication sent out Monday. “As a proud UI graduate, I can think of nothing better than to use the skills I learned while I was a student here to help effectively grow the university’s impact and excellence through strategic communications and marketing practice.”
Since September 2013, Bales has served as director of integrated communications for the University of Idaho. Bales has 18 years of experience in strategic communications, working as the director of corporate communications for Coeur Mining, Inc. and vice president of PacWest Communications, an Oregon-based public affairs consulting firm, among other employement.
In her new role, Bales will be the chief spokesperson for the university and oversee the university’s communications and marketing team.
Bales also holds a master’s degree from UI in resource recreation and tourism.
Idaho’s child support crisis
Prior to adjourning the 2015 legislative session, the Idaho House Ways and Means committee voted 9-8 to kill a bill that would mean a loss of $46 million in federal child support funding, according to Idaho child support program director Kandace Yearsley.
“I don’t know of any other state going through this,” Yearsley said. “There’s no prior case. We are the first.”
The bill that was rejected was crafted to bring Idaho into compliance with federal child support enforcement guidelines, and included a provision that outlined requirements for child support cases with foreign countries.
However, multiple representatives opposed the bill, including Rep. Lynn Luker. He said the bill “updated Idaho child support laws to recognize orders from foreign countries.”
His comment echoed the arguments of other representatives like Rep. Heather Scott, who said she did not want Sharia law, the Islamic legal framework, to influence Idaho’s enforcement authority.
Idaho Gov. CL “Butch” Otter said in a press release Monday he was concerned about the bill being shot down and the discussion that took place surrounding the bill.
“We are analyzing the impacts of the committee’s actions and what they mean for the 400,000 people who depend on Idaho’s system,” Otter said.