UM launches branding research with consultant visit

Get ready, UM. MOM is coming to visit.

MOM stands for Mind Over Media, the Pittsburgh-based consulting firm the University hired to assist with strengthening and enhancing UM's marketing and communication efforts through development of a brand strategy. MOM was selected for the job last fall after a national search conducted by UM's 20-member Brand Strategy Task Force.

The company will host what it's calling a "Campus Invasion" on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, to begin the process of determining UM's strengths and distinctive characteristics. Meetings and working sessions will invite input from students, UM employees and the public. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

MOM will conduct a series of focused information gathering sessions both days with various campus constituents. Members of the public are invited to attend one of two interactive working sessions on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the University Center North Ballroom. Interactive Working Session I will be held from 3 to 4 p.m., and Interactive Working Session II will be from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. Campus officials hope for a big turnout from the community.

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Construction begins on Rivertop expansion

Construction has started on a $3.5 million expansion for Rivertop Renewables, a renewable chemical company spawned by UM research. The expansion project will employ about 20 construction workers and should eventually lead to 25 new full-time jobs in Missoula.

The construction is taking place at the Montana Technology Enterprise Center (MonTEC), a technology and business incubator operated by UM at 1121 E. Broadway.

The expansion project involves two phases. The first will remodel the interior of the east side of the 32,000-square-foot MonTEC facility into enhanced laboratory and office space. The second phase will create a 2,000-square-foot "semi-works" pilot plant for ongoing research and development of Rivertop's unique brand of green chemicals.

Incorporated in 2008, Rivertop Renewables resulted from the research of Professor Emeritus Don Kiely, a retired chemistry faculty member who worked at UM for 11 years. Merging proven science with renewable resources, Rivertop is creating an abundant and economical supply of sustainable, biodegradable chemicals and bioproducts derived from renewable plant sugars.

A feature story about Rivertop Renewables is available in the latest issue of the Montanan, UM's alumni magazine.

UM receives $150,000 to study wolves

UM's Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit has received $150,000 from the Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation to study wolf populations in the Rocky Mountain region.

This gift will be used to study wolves across Alberta, Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. Mortality varies widely among the three areas and may impact pack behavior and ultimately population growth. Genetics will provide insight into how mortality might affect pack composition and stability.

"The Frankenberg Foundation's support was instrumental in helping us develop noninvasive survey methods for wolves," said David Ausband, research associate at MCWRU. "Now their continued generosity will allow us to use those cutting-edge tools to answer important and timely questions about wolf pack stability and wolf conservation in the Rocky Mountains."

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'Wild Waters in the West' lecture series kicks off

The UM Wilderness Institute will launch its spring 2012 Wilderness Issues Lecture Series, "Wild Waters in the West," on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

This series brings scholars, writers, scientists and explorers to UM to share stories of the ways in which water shapes natural landscapes, political boundaries and contemporary conservation initiatives. The guest lecturers also will explore how water continues to sculpt our natural, cultural and political environments across the globe.

The following lectures will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesdays in Gallagher Business Building Room 122 and are free and open to the public:

• Jan. 31: "Indian Tribal Interests and Activities Relating to Western Waters," Joseph Hovenkotter, staff attorney, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
• Feb. 7: "Healing the Enlightenment Rift: Rationality, Spirituality and Shared Waters," Aaron T. Wolf, geography professor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University. 
• Feb. 14: "Jacob's Island, a Reading," Phil Condon, assistant professor, UM Environmental Studies Program and author of "Montana Surround: Land, Water, Nature and Place."

 Read more for complete schedule

Lecture will examine legacies of civil rights icons

A leading historian of the civil rights era will deliver the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration lecture at UM.

Ralph Luker will present "Editing Two Civil Rights Icons: Martin Luther King Jr. and Vernon Johns" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the University Center Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Luker is the editor of a forthcoming collection of papers of Vernon Johns, a minister who was an important figure in the American civil rights movement. Luker also is a former associate editor of the Martin Luther King Jr. papers.

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Art historian to speak about Montana artist Fra Dana

The Montana Museum of Art & Culture at UM will present a lecture, "The Fra Dana Legacy," by UM art history and criticism Associate Professor Valerie Hedquist at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center's Masquer Theatre.

Hedquist co-authored the first-ever full biography on Dana with Sue Hart, a professor of English at Montana State University-Billings. Dana is the subject of the current MMAC exhibition "Fra Dana: American Impressionist in the Rockies," on display through Feb. 25 in the PAR/TV Center's Meloy Gallery.

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Roxy Theater hosts Labor Film Festival Feb. 3-4

The Seventh Annual Missoula Labor Film Festival will take place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3-4, at the Roxy Theater, located at 718 S. Higgins Ave. in Missoula.

Two films will be shown each day, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The recommended donation is $5 for one night; $9 for both nights. There will be a comment period for the audience after each screening.

This year's films are "Locked Out," "Made in Dagenham," "The Dark Side of Chocolate" and "Jaffa, the Orange's Clockwork."

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Office seeks nominations for student employee award

The UM Office of Career Services is seeking nominations for the UM Student Employee of the Year award.

Applications are available online and are due Friday, Feb. 17. Each department may nominate one student employee.

The winning student employee will be announced April 12 during National Student Employment Week. The student also will receive a $500 scholarship from Career Services.

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UM ranks 14th for producing Peace Corps volunteers

For the second year in a row, UM ranks No. 14  for producing Peace Corps volunteers among colleges and universities in the medium category, which includes schools with 5,001 to 15,000 undergraduates.

Currently, 32 UM undergraduate alumni serve as Peace Corps volunteers, down from 2011 when 33 undergraduate alumni served. Historically, 780 UM alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

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Visitors flock to UM art museum from near, far

Recent visitor evaluations by the Montana Museum of Art & Culture show that since fall 2009, guests from 45 states and eight countries have visited its exhibitions and programs.

This information comes from visitors who signed the guest books at the museum's Meloy and Paxson galleries in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center at UM. MMAC estimates about 15 to 20 percent of visitors sign its guest book.

During that two-year period, MMAC presented exhibitions focused on Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs from 1942 to 2008, noted Montana architect A.J. Gibson, European prints from the MMAC Permanent Collection, European masterpieces such as works by Renoir and others from a private collection, ceramic works by 60 artists in celebration of the 60th birthday of the Archie Bray Foundation, and Montana artist Ben Steele's POW Collection of paintings and drawings.

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TIAA-CREF consultant available for retirement planning

Representatives with TIAA-CREF will be on campus Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 21-23, for individual counseling sessions to assist faculty and staff in retirement planning.

Appointments are required for sessions, which will be held in University Center Room 216. To make an appointment, call 866-843-5640 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. MST Monday through Friday.

President Engstrom's office hours

President Engstrom welcomes members of the campus community to meet with him to discuss issues and topics of their choice. Please call 243-2311 or email prestalk@umontana.edu to make an appointment to meet with President Engstrom during these times.

President Engstrom's scheduled office hours for spring semester are:

• Wednesday, March 21: 2-4 p.m.
• Friday, April 27: 10 a.m.-noon