March 5, 2010

 Contact: Clayton Christian, vice chair, Montana Board of Regents, 406-728-1500, clayton@stewartmt.com.

 SEARCH COMMITTEE SELECTED FOR UM PRESIDENT

 MISSOULA -

             Clay Christian, Board of Regents vice chair, at the direction of board chair Steve Barrett, has selected the 20-member search committee tasked with finding the successor for University of Montana President George M. Dennison, who intends to retire Aug. 15 after two decades at the helm.

            "I feel we have the right group to undertake the difficult job of trying to replace President Dennison," said Clay Christian, the Board of Regents vice chair who will lead the search committee. "George has been one of UM's chief assets since 1990, and the new president will need to be as dynamic, creative and inspiring as he has been."

            The presidential search committee members are:

• Clay Christian, Board of Regents vice chair and chair of the search committee.
• Doug Abbott, vice chancellor for academic affairs at Montana Tech of UM.
• Jill Bergman, UM English department chair and associate professor.
• John Blake, UM student.
• Teresa Branch, UM vice president for student affairs.
• Perry Brown, UM interim associate provost for graduate education.
• J. Martin Burke, UM Regents Professor of Law.
• Sharilyn Campbell, president of the UM Alumni Association Board of Directors.
• Linda EagleHeart, associate professor of applied arts and sciences at the UM College of Technology.
• Brandi Foster, dean of academic affairs at the UM Helena College of Technology.
• Joe McDonald, president of Salish Kootenai College.
• Angela McLean, Board of Regents member.
• Neil Moisey, UM Faculty Senate chair-elect and forestry associate professor.
• Bruce Nelson, Montana state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency.
• Sheila Stearns, Montana commissioner of higher education.
• Richard Storey, UM-Western chancellor.
• Dan Villa, governor's policy adviser for education.
• Warren Wilcox, UM Foundation Board of Trustees past chair.
• Amy Xue, UM business school graduate student and teaching assistant.
• Tammy Yedinak, UM Staff Senate president and assistant to the business school dean.

The committee will begin the search for the next president immediately. Information about the search process can be found online at http://www.umt.edu/potumsearch.

Dennison, UM's 16th president, announced his intention to retire Jan. 25 during a Campus Convocation. He is the University's longest-serving president.

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