Thomas Dahmer
'73 B.S. Wildlife Biology
'78 M.S. Wildlife Biology
Thomas Dahmer '73, M.S. '78, is a wildlife biologist with more than 28 years of experience, including 25 years in Asia. Dahmer is founder and managing director of Ecosystems Ltd., an ecological consulting firm that helps guide conservation and development in a number of countries, including China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia. He is a certified wildlife biologist with The Wildlife Society and member of numerous other professional societies. He recently co-authored "The Amur-Heilong River Basin Reader," a book about conservation in northern China, and has published more than 30 research articles. A U.S. citizen with permanent residency in Hong Kong, Dahmer speaks Mandarin Chinese and Nepali in addition to his native English. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in wildlife biology at UM, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. In a recommendation letter, Patricia C. Weber '73 wrote, "Through his large body of work, Tom realized the goals and ideals of his entire UM undergraduate class of 1973, which were to make a positive and lasting impact on global issues."
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Jack Shanstrom
'56 B.A. Law
'57 LL.B. (now J.D.)
'57 B.S. Business Administration
Jack Shanstrom '56, J.D. '57, is a federal judge with the U.S. District Court of Montana in Billings. Shanstrom was nominated to the seat by President George H.W. Bush in February 1990, confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May and served as chief judge from 1996 to 2001, when he assumed senior status. He earned three degrees in law and business administration from UM in 1956 and 1957. He then served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps from 1957 to 1960. Shanstrom began his legal career as a private practice attorney in Livingston during 1960-64, and went on to become a district court judge for Park County during 1965-82 and federal magistrate judge for U.S. District Court during 1983-90. He has served as chair of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals magistrate division. He received the UM School of Law Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002. He also received the Yellowstone Area Bar Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and has been honored by the State Bar of Montana for 50 years of service. He and his wife, Audrey, have two children and three grandchildren. Shanstrom worked with his fly fishing companion, attorney Robert S. Bennett, to establish the Jones-Tamm Lecture Series at UM, which has brought several U.S. Supreme Court justices and the U.S. attorney general to campus. Bennett said of Shanstrom: "When you spend endless hours on a trout stream in pursuit of the elusive trout, you get to know a man through and through. Jack is one of the finest and most honorable men I have ever met in my life."
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J.K. Simmons
'78 B.A. Music
J.K. Simmons '78 earned a music degree at UM but went on to become one of the most recognizable TV and film actors today. The son of retired UM music Professor and Chair Don Simmons and his wife, Pat, he began his acting career in musical theater roles with the Missoula Children's Theatre and the Bigfork Summer Playhouse. Simmons moved to Seattle, then New York, developing his chops as a stage and TV actor before landing the long-running role of Dr. Emil Skoda, psychiatrist on the series "Law & Order." Simmons now lives in Hollywood and has appeared in dozens of TV shows, commercials and films, including "Oz," "Spider-Man," "Juno" and "Burn After Reading." He currently portrays Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in "The Closer" on TNT. He also is the voice of the yellow M&M in the candy commercials. Simmons was honored at the 2002 Odyssey of the Stars, a gala produced by the UM College of Visual and Performing Arts. He is a strong supporter of CVPA, UM and Montana and returns to Bigfork each year for an annual softball game he helped start in 1980. He is married with two children. In nominating Simmons, Dean Stephen Kalm wrote, "His accomplishments continue to add to the national reputation of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and The University of Montana."
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Brian Wesbury
'82 B.A. Economics
Brian Wesbury '82 is chief economist at First Trust Advisors, a financial services firm based in Wheaton, Ill., and one of the nation's top economic forecasters. Wesbury is a frequent contributor to the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal and economics editor of The American Spectator. He also is a frequent commentator on Fox, Bloomberg, CNBC, and BNN Canada Television, and a contributor to Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes and U.S. News and World Report. He was ranked the nation's No. 1 American economic forecaster by The Wall Street Journal in 2001 and one of the nation's top 10 forecasters by USA Today in 2004. He has written two books: "The Era of New Wealth: How Investors Can Profit from the Five Economic Trends Shaping the Future" and "It's Not as Bad as You Think: Why Capitalism Trumps Fear and the Economy Will Thrive." Wesbury earned his bachelor's degree in economics from UM, followed by a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University. He is an adjunct professor of economics at Wheaton College and a member of the academic advisory council of the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. He also is an Eagle Scout and active member of his church and community. In nominating Wesbury, Ian B. Davidson '53 wrote, "When he speaks for various professional groups, almost without fail he comments on the fact that he received his degree in economics from The University of Montana. For those of us associated with the University, it always makes us beam with pride when he mentions his experience as a student at UM."
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