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.
"The President's Update," a video series for UM President Royce Engstrom to communicate with the campus community, is now available on the President's Office website and on the official UM YouTube channel.
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Medical Ethicist to Speak About Public Service
Mount Holyoke College President Lynn Pasquerella will give the Stan Kimmitt Lecture on Public Service at UM on Monday, Nov. 15.
Pasquerella, an internationally celebrated medical ethicist, will present "Overcoming Moral Distress: Reforming Organizations and Institutions" at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. The presentation is an event of the President's Lecture Series at UM.
Earlier that day from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m., Pasquerella will give a seminar titled "Biology and the Concept of Death as Un-American" in Gallagher Business Building Room 123. Both events are free and open to the public.
Pasquerella's career is marked by local and global engagement. She will speak about her experiences in Africa, where she served as project leader for a research team working to empower women in an AIDS-ravaged area of Kenya, and in American higher education, where she is a leader in promoting the careers of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
A longtime philosophy professor at the University of Rhode Island, Pasquerella served as URI's vice provost for research and graduate school dean and as provost and chief academic officer at the University of Hartford before being named president of Mount Holyoke College in July.
President's Lecture Series
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Humanities Award Recipients Announced
UM history Professor Richard Drake and philosophy and political theory Professor Emeritus Ron Perrin are among six Montanans who will receive the Governor's Humanities Award at a ceremony and reception Feb. 24, 2011, at the state Capitol in Helena.
Established by Gov. Marc Racicot in 1995, the awards honor achievement in humanities scholarship and service and enhancement of public understanding and appreciation of the humanities. They are presented by Humanities Montana.
Drake, former chair of UM's Department of History, is a cultural and intellectual historian of Europe, with particular interest in Italy, and has published extensively on the subject of Italian terrorism. For the past 24 years, he has been the coordinator of the President's Lecture Series at UM, bringing 10 speakers in the humanities, arts and sciences to campus annually. He is a past winner of the Most Inspirational Teacher of the Year award and the Burlington Northern teaching award.
Perrin has inspired many UM students with his discussion of political theory. He became a national authority on public humanities work through his leadership of Humanities Montana and participation on the board of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. He has served on the board of the Missoula Cultural Council and has traveled the state of Montana presenting public lectures on the humanities.
Other recipients of the Governor's Humanities Award are Ellen Baumler of Helena, Julie Cajune of Arlee, Lowell Jaeger of Kalispell and Joseph S. Sample of Billings.
A banquet will follow the 3 p.m. Capitol awards ceremony and reception, with no-host cocktails at 6 p.m. and a dinner and program at 7 p.m. at the Red Lion Colonial Hotel in Helena. For reservations or more information, call Clair Leonard of Humanities Montana at 243-6022 or e-mail clair.leonard@humanitiesmontana.org.
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Initiative Aims to Improve Student Learning
UM is one of more than 70 colleges and universities that has committed to a national initiative to improve student learning by expanding efforts in gathering and reporting evidence of learning and using it to improve outcomes.
"As a founding member of the Presidents' Alliance, The University of Montana is demonstrating its commitment to higher education for citizens of Montana and the nation," said Arlene Walker-Andrews, UM's associate provost for undergraduate education and policy. "Our assessment endeavors, which will be reported publicly, help us to promote student success and educational quality. UM is part of a community of higher education that values evidence-based decisions to improve learning outcomes and student engagement."
The Presidents' Alliance members, which include two- and four-year public and private institutions across the nation, have also agreed to assist one another by publicly reporting on their efforts and encouraging other institutions to take similar steps.
A description of the Presidents' Alliance, including a searchable database that shows each institution's commitment, can be found on the New Leadership Alliance website. For more information, call Walker-Andrews at 243-4689 or e-mail arlene.walkerandrews@mso.umt.edu.
New Leadership Alliance
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Celebrate International Education Week
UM will hold events Monday through Friday, Nov. 15-19, to celebrate International Education Week. All events are free and open to the public.
The International Education Week opening ceremony will be held at noon Monday, Nov. 15, in the University Center Atrium. Speakers are UM Associate Provost for International Programs Mehrdad Kia, Foreign Student and Scholar Services Director Effie Koehn and International Student Association President Alina Calianu.
Information about study abroad opportunities will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day in the University Center Atrium, and a panel discussion about study abroad will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, in UC Room 330.
Community members also can explore options for international careers and teaching abroad at "International Market," a workshop hosted by UM Career Services from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in Lommasson Center Room 154.
Featured speaker Stephen Kinzer will present "Turkey and Iran: America's Partners in the New Middle East?" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, in the University Center Theater. A best-selling author, Kinzer is a professor of international relations at Boston University. He is a former New York Times correspondent and served as chief of the Times bureau in Istanbul.
A complete International Education Week schedule of events is on the UM International Programs website. For more information, call 243-2288.
UM International Programs
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Take the Rideshare Challenge
The "3x3x3 Rideshare Challenge" at UM asks students, faculty and staff to commit to commuting to campus with three people, three times a week for three weeks, Nov. 3-24.
The goal of the challenge, organized by CoolPool, a group of environmental studies graduate students, and sponsored by the Associated Students of UM Sustainability Center, is to reduce UM's carbon emissions. People can join at any time, and all means of ridesharing are encouraged.
Those who log their carpooling through posts and photos on the "3x3x3 Rideshare Challenge" Facebook page will be eligible to win Dairy Queen ice cream and other gift certificates. A grand prize of a new Hellgate Cyclery bicycle will go to the rideshare post or photo with the most Facebook "likes."
The Facebook page also will link to a survey about commuters' attitudes and hesitations about carpooling. The goal of the program and survey is to gauge interest in and support for carpool programs at UM and to discover possibilities for a longer pilot program.
Challenge organizers said that transportation accounts for more than a third of the University's carbon emissions. Fewer commuter vehicles on campus would lessen those emissions and also ease parking and University neighborhood traffic issues. Based on the response to the "3x3x3 Rideshare Challenge," CoolPool will create a report with recommendations for a future permanent rideshare program at UM.
More information about the "3x3x3 Rideshare Challenge" is on the Greening UM website. For information about University transportation options, visit the ASUM Office of Transportation website.
Greening UM
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News About U
Dance Professor Karen Kaufmann presented "Against All Odds: Four Models for Dance in Education" at the 12th Annual National Dance Education Organization Conference, "Focus on Dance Education: Creativity, Innovation & 21st Century Skills," held Oct. 20-24 in Tempe, Ariz.
Geography Associate Professor Sarah Halvorson recently served as an invited participant on an international evaluation panel to assess the Volkswagen Stiftung's program initiatives in the regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The Volkswagen Stiftung, based in Hannover, is the largest private foundation in Germany.
Law Professor Jeffrey Renz has been invited and will attend the Salzburg Global Seminar session "Islamic and International Law: Searching for Common Ground" Nov. 14-19 in Salzburg, Austria.
Mathematical sciences Professor Bharath Sriraman was the plenary discussant of the paper titled "Promoting Student Understanding through Complex Learning" at the 32nd Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, held Oct. 28-31 in Columbus, Ohio.
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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.
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