Autumn semester enrollment posts record

Total headcount enrollment at UM has set another all-time record.

According to the UM Registrar's Office, autumn semester enrollment stands at 15,669, which is 27 more than the previous record set a year ago.

Most of the increase was at UM's College of Technology in Missoula and the Bitterroot College Program in Hamilton. Those two entities together saw a headcount enrollment surge of 359.

UM saw a drop in full-time equivalent resident students attending UM, but the number of nonresident student FTEs jumped 70.48, and distance-learning FTEs increased 8.05 above autumn semester 2010.

Ethicist to discuss issues of impiety, morality

Renowned moral philosopher Cora Diamond will present the next installment of the President's Lecture Series at UM at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, in the University Theatre.

"The Problem of Impiety: Is Anything off Limits for Us?" will take a historical approach to the question, discussing the issues of suicide, inoculation, treatment of the dead and animals and other controversial issues to determine if human reason by itself is ever equal to resolving moral dilemmas. The talk also will serve as UM's annual Henry Bugbee Lecture in Philosophy.

Diamond will present a seminar, "Iris Murdoch off the Map, or Taking Empiricism back from the Empiricists," from 3:40 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, in Gallagher Business Building Room 123. Both events are free and open to the public.

SELL installs solar panels on Todd Building

Green is the new black, and UM's School of Extended & Lifelong Learning just donned the latest green accessories: solar panels.

Installed earlier this month, UM's James E. Todd Building, which houses the school, now has 10 operating solar panels that can produce up to 2,300 watts of power. The building joins the student-run Forum for Living with Appropriate Technology house in the fledgling ranks of UM's "solar club," becoming the first auxiliary building on campus to sport solar panels.

"I hope to double the number of panels this coming year and continue to add them until we run out of roof space," said Joe Gough, SELL facility and conference manager.

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Noted political journalist to discuss elections at UM

Award-winning journalist Dante Chinni, author of "Our Patchwork Nation" and contributor to The Wall Street Journal and "PBS NewsHour," will share his unique perspective on the state of the electorate and the country as part of a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, in Skaggs Building Room 117 at UM.

Chinni will join UM journalism Professor Lee Banville and political science Professor Christopher Muste for the panel discussion, "Election 2012: The View from 12 Americas." The event is free and open to the public.

The discussion will build from Patchwork Nation, a project of the Jefferson Institute that received a 2009 Knight Batten Award for journalistic innovation. The project used demographic, political and economic data to develop 12 different types of counties in the country. The resulting framework can be viewed online and has been used to report on a variety of issues across the country. Chinni is the director of Patchwork Nation, and Banville is a contributing editor.

Adams Center to host innovative health fair

UM and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana are teaming up to bring the Wake Up Your Life Missoula health fair to the Adams Center from 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8. It's free and open to participants of all ages.

The fair will showcase more than 60 local businesses and nonprofit organizations that offer activities promoting healthy lifestyles and opportunities to give back to the community. Participants can learn about simple yet fun ways to become more active and discover how to get involved in their communities, which helps improve overall well-being, studies show.

Wake Up Your Life Missoula will include demonstrations from local health clubs, dance schools and martial arts clubs, and popular Montana band The Clintons will play sets throughout the day. The fair also will feature spectrUM Discovery Area's popular "Hands on Health" exhibit.

Montana ESPSoR to hold meeting Oct. 5-6 in Bozeman

The Montana EPSCoR Office will hold its state meeting, "Past, Present and Future," Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 5-6, at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.

The meeting will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday in the museum's Hagar Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees will celebrate the accomplishments of EPSCoR during its 30-year history in Montana and look toward the future with descriptions of plans for the next funding cycle. A complete agenda is available online.

EPSCoR, or the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, is a statewide program for science infrastructure funded by the National Science Foundation.

Theatre & Dance presents 'The Elephant Man'

UM's School of Theatre & Dance will present "The Elephant Man" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4-8 and Oct. 11-15 in the Montana Theatre of the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center.

The production is a mesmerizing drama based on the life of John Merrick, a 19th-century victim of rare skin and bone diseases who became the star freak attraction in traveling sideshows. Under the care of a celebrated young physician whose motives are not always clear -- even to himself -- Merrick is launched into London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favorite of the aristocracy, only to be denied his ultimate dream: to live and be treated as a regular man.

To show appreciation for their long-standing commitment and service to UM, President Royce Engstrom and the School of Theatre & Dance will provide faculty and staff one free ticket to "The Elephant Man." In addition, a second ticket for each performance may be purchased for $9.

To get faculty/staff tickets to "The Elephant Man," present your Griz Card at the UMArts Box Office in the PAR/TV Center. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour prior to performances.