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ForUM
April 19, 2010 | Vol. 38, No. 29 
 
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Welcome to ForUM, the e-newsletter for University of Montana staff, faculty and administrators. ForUM is published weekly during the academic year except during scheduled academic breaks.


 UM To Award Four Honorary Degrees
 

UM will present honorary doctorate degrees to four exceptional individuals during 2010 Commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 15.

Robert S. Bennett, one of the nation's most prominent attorneys and a generous and dedicated friend of UM, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Law. Bennett is an attorney with the Washington, D.C., law firm Hogan and Hartson. He has a close service connection to Montana and the UM School of Law.

Stewart M. Brandborg, a towering figure in the American conservation movement, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science. For more than 60 years, Brandborg has fought tirelessly for our nation's wilderness and wildlife.

John Hollenback, a lifelong Montanan who has worked to steward state lands, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science. The people and the resources of Montana have benefited from Hollenback's lasting contributions to natural resource conservation and his longtime public service and leadership.

Matt McCann, a former Montana representative and champion of higher education, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. McCann served as a representative in the Montana Legislature from 1995 to 2002, where he demonstrated his commitment to the value of higher education, as well as social services and conservation of natural resources.

UM's main Commencement ceremony for all graduates will begin at 10 a.m. on the Oval. Individual ceremonies for professional schools will begin at 11:30 a.m. Ceremonies for the College of Technology and the College of Arts and Sciences will begin at 1:30 p.m. All ceremonies will last about one hour. More information about Commencement is on the Registrar's Office Web site.

Read the Full News Release 

 Reception Set To Honor UM's Top Performers
 

UM staff, faculty and administrators are invited to celebrate the achievements of campus colleagues at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in the University Center Ballroom.

The awards presentation begins at about 4:15 p.m., and refreshments will be served. Eighteen awards will be presented to some of UM's highest achievers. UM President George M. Dennison will present a departmental award, a team award and 16 individual awards during the reception.

All faculty and staff awards carry $1,500 stipends, except the $3,500 John Ruffatto Memorial Award and the $3,000 J.B. Speer Award for Distinguished Administrative Service.

In addition, President Dennison will recognize the years of dedicated service given to UM by 45 administrators, faculty members and staff members who are retiring at the end of the academic year or have retired since last year's reception. Each retiree will receive a Centennial Circle engraved brick commemorating their years of UM service.

Employees also will receive pins for years of service in increments from five to 40 years.

Following are this year's Faculty and Staff Award recipients:
  • Tom Boone Town and Gown Award: Michael Harrington, associate dean, School of Business Administration.
  • Departmental Assessment Award: Department of Management Information Systems, School of Business Administration.
  • Distinguished Scholar Award: Andrij Holian, director, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, and professor, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
  • Distinguished Service to International Education Award: Lynne Koester, director, Intercultural Youth and Family Development Program, and professor, Department of Psychology.
  • Distinguished Teaching Award: Teresa Beed, professor and director, Masters of Accountancy, Department of Accounting and Finance.
  • Graduate Assistant Teaching Award: Jennifer Palladini, Division of Biological Sciences.
  • Most Inspirational Teacher of the Year Award: Michael Braun, assistant professor, Department of Management and Marketing.
  • Outstanding Mentoring Award: Michele McGuirl, associate professor, Division of Biological Sciences.
  • John Ruffatto Memorial Award: Denise Dowling, associate professor, Department of Radio-Television.
  • J.B. Speer Award for Distinguished Administrative Service: Jed Liston, assistant vice president, Enrollment Services.
  • Campus Interaction and Meritorious Job Performance Staff Award: Tim Edwards, accountant, College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences.
  • Excellence in Job Performance Staff Award: Tammy Yedinak, administrative associate manager, School of Business Administration.
  • Outstanding Service to the Campus Community Award: Camie Foos, administrative associate, Faculty Senate.
  • Outstanding Service to the External Community Award: Brad Hall, maintenance service manager, Residence Life Office-University Villages.
  • Outstanding Service to Students Award: Bonnie Mason-Price, administrative associate, Residence Life Office.
  • Outstanding Teamwork Award: Custodial Team, University and Lewis & Clark Villages.
  • Outstanding Volunteer Award: Dr. Bruce Hardy, Davidson Honors College.
  • Nancy Borgmann Diversity Award: George M. Dennison, president.


 

 Firm Assists With Presidential Search
 

The Montana University System has hired a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm to help find the next president of UM. Current UM President George M. Dennison plans to retire Aug. 15 after two decades of service.

Academic Search Inc. has completed 177 presidential searches since 2004, as well as 256 searches for executive senior administrators. The firm also assisted with the recent presidential search for Montana State University-Bozeman, which resulted in the hiring of Waded Cruzado.

"We now have a national company helping us do a national search for UM," said Clay Christian, vice chair of the Board of Regents, which oversees the state university system. "We are working hard to meet President Dennison's Aug. 15 retirement goal." Christian chairs the 20-member committee appointed to spearhead the search for UM's 17th president.

Read the Full News Release 

 Expert On China To Speak At UM
 

Andrew J. Nathan, one of the world's foremost experts on China, will give the final installment of the 2009-10 President's Lecture Series at UM.

Nathan will present "Does the Rise of China Threaten American Interests?" at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in the University Theatre. The event is UM's annual Lucile Speer Memorial Lecture.

Earlier that day from 3:40 to 5 p.m., he will give a seminar titled "China's Human Rights and Why It Matters to Us" in Gallagher Business Building Room 123. Both events are free and open to the public.

Nathan, the Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, has written and edited more than a dozen books on China's politics and history. He will comment on the challenges and opportunities now confronting the United States and China in their historically troubled relationship.

President's Lecture Series 

 Annual Dean Stone Lecture April 22
 

Caesar Andrews, who for nearly 30 years led Gannett Co. newsrooms in Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, D.C., and Michigan, will give the UM School of Journalism's 53rd annual Dean Stone Lecture on Thursday, April 22.

He will present "Journalists and American Idol: What We Can Learn" at 7 p.m. in Skaggs Building Room 169. The lecture is free and open to the public.

As executive editor of the Detroit Free Press in 2008, Andrews supervised the investigative project that exposed illegal activity of the city's mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. The Detroit Free Press staff was awarded a 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for that investigative work.

School of Journalism 

 Research Conference Open To The Public
 

Explore topics ranging from Hamlet and math in images to the Blackfoot language or human-bear interactions during UM's ninth annual Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference on Saturday, April 24.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in University Center third-floor meeting rooms. All events are free and open to the public, but those who plan to attend are asked to register on the conference Web site so organizers can plan for meals and space. Child care will be available with preregistration.

Nearly 100 concurrent oral presentations will be held from 9 a.m. to noon and from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Poster sessions will take place from 2:30 to 4 p.m. A roundtable discussion -- "Research on Global Health Issues: Hazards and Hopes" -- will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. The panel of UM faculty members will discuss diverse topics related to global health, especially as it pertains to research.

Panelists are Elizabeth Kronk, assistant professor of law; Sarah J. Halvorson, associate professor of geography; Kimber Haddix McKay, associate professor of anthropology; and Ranjan Shrestha, assistant professor of economics. UM English Professor David L. Moore will facilitate the discussion.

The conference awards ceremony and closing reception will begin at 5 p.m. with remarks by Missoula Mayor John Engen and UM Provost Royce Engstrom. More information is on the conference Web site.

Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference 

 Conference Explores Central, Southwest Asia
 

The Eighth Annual Central and Southwest Asia Conference will hold events that are free and open to the public Wednesday through Friday, April 21-23.

The conference brings internationally renowned scholars, diplomats, analysts and journalists to UM to engage the campus and the community in a discussion about the challenges facing countries in Central and Southwest Asia and how those challenges impact the United States.

Events begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the University Center North Ballroom with a session titled "Yemen: A Failed State?" A complete conference schedule with information about speakers and topics is on the UM Central and Southwest Asia Program Web site.

For more information, call the Central and Southwest Asia Program at 243-2299.

Central and Southwest Asia Program 

 Egyptian Archaeology Topic of Lecture
 

Veteran archaeologist Donald P. Ryan will discuss his investigation of one of the world's most famous sites Thursday, April 29, at UM.

Ryan will present "Recent Archaeological Adventures in Egypt's Valley of the Kings" at 7 p.m. in the Masquer Theatre, located in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. The event is hosted by the Montana Museum of Art & Culture.

As the royal cemetery of Egypt's prosperous New Kingdom (c. 1500-1000 B.C.), the Valley of the Kings, located near Luxor in the south of the country, was the burial place of many of the greatest pharaohs.

Ryan is a faculty fellow in the Division of Humanities at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., and director of the university's Valley of the Kings expeditions. His lecture will summarize the work and discoveries of the expeditions, which began in 1989. The focus of the expeditions has been the more obscure, undecorated tombs that lie among the large and often elaborate tombs of the pharaohs.

For more information, call MMAC at 243-2019.

Montana Museum of Art & Culture 

 UM Receives YouTube EDU Status
 

UM's official YouTube channel recently received YouTube EDU status, making it one of only a handful of universities in the Pacific Northwest with a presence on the site's directory.

YouTube EDU is a listing of videos and channels from the Web site's college and university partners. The education-based portion of the site was started by YouTube in 2009 and is exclusively dedicated to institutions of higher education.

There currently are 38 videos on the official UM site, and more will be added regularly.

Official UM YouTube Channel 

 BBER Hosts Regional Economic Conference
 

UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research will host the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference in Missoula Thursday and Friday, May 20-21.

The conference, "Opportunities and Challenges in the Pacific Northwest Hinterlands," will take place at the Holiday Inn Downtown at the Park. The event will bring together regional and international economists, analysts and students for economic sessions, presentations and exhibits.

A conference registration fee is required, and specific session rates are available. For more information visit the PNREC Web site or call BBER at 243-5113.

PNREC 

 Jazz Festival At UM April 23-24
 

Legendary jazz musician Buddy DeFranco will return to UM for the School of Music's 30th annual jazz festival Friday and Saturday, April 23-24.

For the past 10 years, the event has been called the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival to honor the celebrated jazz clarinetist. This year's featured artists are pianist Shelly Berg; saxophonist, singer, composer and arranger Grace Kelly; alto saxophonist and composer Lee Konitz; and trumpet player Terell Stafford. All festival events will take place in the University Theatre.

On Friday, April 23, Berg and Stafford will give a clinic at 1 p.m. and will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. with DeFranco, the UM Jazz Band, Clipper Anderson on bass and Bob LedBetter on drums. On Saturday, April 24, Kelly and Konitz will present a clinic at 1 p.m. and will perform at 7:30 p.m. with DeFranco, the UM Jazz Band and the Jazz Festival Trio -- David Morgenroth, Anderson and LedBetter.

The afternoon clinics are free and open to the public. Evening concert tickets can be purchased at all GrizTix locations or by phone at 243-4051 or 888-MONTANA. Tickets cost $24 for the general public and $18 for students and seniors. A special two-night price of $42 for the general public and $30 for students and seniors also is available.

More information about the festival schedule and featured artists is on the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival Web site.

Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival 

 See A Tony Award-Winning Musical
 

UM's School of Theatre & Dance will present "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," a musical destined to become a classic, April 23-24, April 27-May 1 and May 4-8.

The surprise winner of two 2005 Tony Awards tells the story of six quirky adolescents on a quest for acceptance while standing out in a crowd. Performances will take place each evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Montana Theatre of the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center, with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, May 1. The production closes the current season for the School of Theatre & Dance.

To show appreciation for their long-standing commitment and service to UM, President Dennison and the School of Theatre & Dance will provide faculty and staff one free ticket to "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." In addition, a second ticket for each performance may be purchased for $8.

To get faculty/staff tickets, present your Griz Card at the Theatre & Dance Box Office in the PAR/TV Center. Box office hours are 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour prior to performances.

UM School of Theatre & Dance 

 Learn Basics Of Foundation Directory Online
 

The UM Foundation will conduct a free workshop Tuesday, April 27, on the Foundation Directory Online research tool.

The workshop will cover the basics of how to search for potential foundation/corporate funders for UM and community projects and programs. It will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Student Learning Center, located on Level 2 in Room 283. RSVPs are requested.

To RSVP or for more information, e-mail steven.aadland@mso.umt.edu.

 

 Team Up For UM Relay For Life
 

UM's American Cancer Society Relay For Life will take place on the Oval from 6 p.m. Friday, April 23, through 6 a.m. Saturday, April 24. Faculty, staff and students can join or form a team now to participate in the event.

Teams of up to 15 people can register. Individuals also can register for $10. Each relay participant is encouraged to raise $100. All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society's mission to eliminate cancer.

Cancer survivors from throughout Missoula County are invited to participate in the opening survivors' lap at 6 p.m. Friday.

To form or join a team, register for the cancer survivors' lap or learn more about the event, call Alyse Johnson, relay chair, at 541-231-6551 or visit the Relay For Life Web site.

Relay For Life 

 A Day To Appreciate UM Staff
 

UM will celebrate its 14th annual Staff Appreciation Day from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 22, in the University Center Ballroom.

This year's theme is "Staff In," featuring The Singing Sons of Beaches. The event includes a continental breakfast, fun and prizes to thank UM staff members for their service to the University.

All UM staff members, administrators, deans, chairs, directors and executive officers are encouraged to attend.

 

 Library Conducts Online Survey
 

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library is conducting an online service quality survey -- LibQUAL+ -- through April 26 and asks the randomly selected faculty, staff or students who receive the survey invitation to please take a few minutes to respond.

More than 1,000 libraries have taken part in the LibQUAL+ survey nationally and internationally. Developed by the Association of Research Libraries, the survey helps the Mansfield Library better understand the UM community's perceptions and expectations of its services, identify areas to concentrate service improvement and compare itself against other libraries to determine best practices.

For more information, call Kate Zoellner at 243-4421 or e-mail Mansfield Library Dean Bonnie Allen at BonnieAllen@mail.lib.umt.edu.

 

 Time To Make CHOICES
 

Online enrollment materials and instructions for 2010-11 CHOICES will be sent through campus mail during the week of April 19-23. The first day of online open enrollment is Monday, May 3. The last day for online open enrollment is Friday, May 21. Signed signature pages are due to Human Resource Services in the Lommasson Center by 5 p.m. Friday, May 28.

Events for information about the plan changes effective July 1 and for online open enrollment assistance will take place Tuesday, April 27, in the University Center Theater:
  • Retirees: 10-11:30 a.m.
  • Active Employees: noon-1:30 p.m.
  • Active Employees: 2-3:30 p.m.
The HRS Benefits Fair from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 28, in the third-floor grand foyer of the University Center offers a chance to talk to representatives from the MUS insurance providers, the employee assistance program, the flex plan, and retirement and supplemental retirement plans.

Additional HRS benefits presentations will be held in the University Center Theater, and walk-in open enrollment and online assistance will be offered during May in Liberal Arts Building Room 139. A complete schedule of events is on the HRS Web site.

Human Resource Services 

 Golf Tournament Benefits UM Clinic
 

The 10th annual golf tournament to support the RiteCare Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic at UM will take place at the King Ranch Golf Course in Frenchtown on Sunday, April 25.

The tournament is sponsored by the Western Montana Scottish Rite each year to benefit the clinic, which offers therapy services to individuals with communication challenges at no cost.

The four-person scramble tournament will begin with breakfast at 8 a.m. Shotgun start is at 10 a.m., with hole prizes and team prizes awarded. The event will wrap up with dinner.

The entry fee is $50 per person or $200 for a team of four, which includes breakfast and dinner. For more information or to sign up, call the RiteCare Clinic at 243-5261.

RiteCare Clinic 

 Enjoy 'Poetry For Lunch'
 

UM poetry students will present their work during "Poetry for Lunch" from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, in the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Learning Commons, located on the ground-floor level. The event is free and open to the public.

"Poetry for Lunch" will feature students whose work was chosen for publication in The Oval, UM's undergraduate literary journal, or who are enrolled in visiting Professor Eileen Myles' advanced creative writing poetry class.

The reading will coincide with the launch of the 2010 issue of The Oval and also will recognize April as National Poetry Month. It is sponsored by the UM Department of English and the Mansfield Library.

For more information, call Professor Sue Samson, humanities librarian and library instruction coordinator, at 243-4335 or e-mail sue.samson@umontana.edu.

 

 President Dennison's Office Hours
 

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

The president's remaining office hours for spring semester are:
  • Friday, April 23: 10 a.m.-noon


 

 Faculty/Staff Socials
 

Socials will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. most Fridays during spring semester in the Davidson Honors College Lounge. Spring semester dates and event sponsors are:
  • April 23: Alumni Relations
  • April 30: President Dennison
  • May 7: College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences


 

 News About U
 

News About U Anthropology and Native American studies Professor Neyooxet Greymorning was invited by the Department of Education at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia, to serve as external examiner for the doctoral dissertation of Tyson Yunkaporta titled "Aboriginal Pedagogies at the Cultural Interface." Greymorning said the dissertation was one of the most innovative and groundbreaking works he has examined.

College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean and biology Professor Carol Brewer delivered a plenary address titled "Linking Renaissance Ecologists with Citizen Scientists -- Advancing Scientific Research and Literacy" at the 25th anniversary celebration Symposium of the United States Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology April 8 in Athens, Ga.

 

 Publications
 

Books and Publications Douglas, John E. 2010. "Autonomy and Regional Systems in the Late Prehistoric Southern Southwest." In The Archaeology of Tribal Social Formation: Selections from American Antiquity and Latin American Antiquity. Compiled by Michelle Hegmon. Washington, D.C.: Society for American Archaeology Press. pp. 315-332.

 

Submissions must reach University Relations, 317 Brantly Hall, by noon Tuesday for inclusion in the following week's newsletter. Be sure to note that the submissions are for ForUM. E-mail submissions may be sent to campnews@mso.umt.edu. Items will be included as space permits. For more information, e-mail Brenda Day, ForUM editor.
phone: 406-243-2522
fax: 406-243-4520