Bear Briefs

Treasury Official Speaks—U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert Kimmitt gave the graduation addresses during UM’s 111th Commencement exercises May 10. Kimmitt already had long and distinguished careers in both the military and government before being sworn into his present position on Aug. 16, 2005. He is the son of the late Stan Kimmitt, a UM alumnus who became secretary of the U.S. Senate and a legendary aide to revered Montana statesman Mike Mansfield.

O’Day Appointed—UM Athletic Director Jim O’Day has been appointed as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Committee. His four-year membership on the committee begins Sept. 1. “It’s an honor to be selected to this NCAA committee,” O’Day said. “The Football Championship Subdivision has a lot of challenges ahead, so this will present an opportunity to hear what’s happening from top to bottom. With expansion of the FCS playoff system expected as early as 2010, it will be beneficial to have as much up-to-date information as possible, while also assisting in the selection of the best teams for our championship playoffs.”

Civic Students—UM’s Office for Civic Engagement honored eight students for their contributions to the Missoula community at the 2008 Volunteer Recognition Awards last month. The 2008 honorees and the organizations they volunteer with are: Joshua Birchall, the UM Linguistics Program; Kelly Driscoll, Hunger Awareness Week; Jillian Hughes, the Ronald McDonald House Charities; Nick Lofing, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of Missoula; Katie Matus, the Poverello Center; and Kelley Orteg, Friends to Youth. Treva Bittinger with the Student Assault Resource Center and Taylor Blakely with the Washington Middle School Flagship program received “Outstanding Volunteer of the Year” awards.

Grizzlies Go Pro—Two of the best football players in UM history were selected in the National Football League draft. UM defensive end Kroy Biermann was chosen in the fifth round by the Atlanta Falcons, while running back Lex Hilliard was taken in the sixth round by the Miami Dolphins. Biermann, from Hardin, was the winner of the 2007 Buck Buchanan Award. He is ranked second in Montana history with 33 sacks and 45 tackles for loss in 52 career games. He led the Big Sky Conference with 15 sacks, which ranked him second in the nation (1.25 sacks a game). Hilliard, originally from Kalispell, is UM’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (50) and total touchdowns (52). He’s second in school history with 4,018 career rushing yards. He had 18 100-yard rushing games in 49 career contests.

Excellent Educators—UM’s College of Arts and Sciences has recognized two faculty members for their teaching excellence and exceptional work with UM students. Anthropology Assistant Professor Ashley McKeown and geosciences Assistant Professor Julia Baldwin each received a Helen and Winston Cox Educational Excellence Award at 2008 graduation ceremonies for their individual departments on May 10. The awards, established by the Cox children in honor of their parents, go annually to faculty who are not yet tenured based on superior contributions to the education of UM students. This year the award winners will receive $500 to purchase scholarly materials of their choice for the University’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library and a cash award of $2,715.50.

Journalistic Recognition—The Society of Professional Journalists recently announced its Mark of Excellence awards honoring outstanding college journalism in the Northwest. Students in UM’s School of Journalism captured a dozen first-place awards and swept several categories. Radio-television students took first in 10 separate categories, and print students captured two top prizes. More than a dozen other students were honored with second- and third-place awards. First-place winners now advance to the national competition where they’ll be judged along with first-place winners from 11 other regions. National finalists will be announced this fall.

Tops In Transportation—The National Wildlife Federation named UM the winner of the transportation award for its innovative and effective transit system as part of the “Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming” competition. UM was one of eight schools honored from a nationwide pool of entries. NWF’s “Chill Out” awards honor U.S. schools that are ahead of their time in addressing global warming and being highly creative in doing so. NWF bestowed UM with the award for the Associated Students of UM Office of Transportation, created in 1999 by a student referendum. It is the only student-run transit system in the country. Since its inception, the ASUM Office of Transportation has increased student ridership and reduced pollution that causes global warming. During 2006-07 the campus transit system reduced carbon emissions by roughly 170 tons.

Three Named Udall Scholars—UM juniors Whitney Gaskill, Shannon Kuhn and Cleo Woelfle-Erskine were among the 80 students from 64 colleges and universities selected as 2008 Udall Scholars. Each scholarship provides up to $5,000 for one year. UM’s newest Udall Scholars all major in environmental studies. Woelfle-Erskine also majors in geosciences, and Gaskill is pursuing a minor in wilderness studies. The scholarships are awarded by the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation, authorized by Congress in 1992 to honor Congressman Udall’s legacy of
public service.

MTPR Raises Record Amount—Montana Public Radio listeners donated more than $455,000 during the annual Pledge Week held April 7-13 to keep the station running for another year. The week was filled with hope, excitement, fun and some concern over the effect of warm spring weather during the final days of the drive. The sunshine, however, did not slow pledge activity over the weekend, which brought in slightly more than $200,000 —another record for the station. The station’s fundraising goal for the week was $481,000, leaving a $25,000 shortfall.

Lecture Series Launches—Prominent statesman, war hero and university president Bob Kerrey presented the inaugural Stan Kimmitt Lecture on Public Service at UM on April 30. Kerrey’s lecture was titled “The Value of Losing.” Since 2001 Kerrey has served as president of The New School, a university in New York City’s Greenwich Village. He also served on the 9-11 Commission during 2003-04. The Stan Kimmitt Lecture on Public Service was created by the five children of Stan Kimmitt, a former secretary of the U.S. Senate and legendary aide to the late Sen. Mike Mansfield. The siblings are Robert Kimmitt, Mark Kimmitt, Jay Kimmitt, Mary Laxton and Judy Rainey.

New Director Takes Helm—Lucy France, a 1993 graduate of the UM School of Law, begins her duties as the new director of UM’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office this month. France was selected for the position after a national search that brought four outstanding finalists to campus. Since 1995 she has been a partner at the Missoula law firm Garlington, Lohn & Robinson. As director, France will oversee the University’s equal opportunity and affirmative action policies, publications and programs.

Relay Nets $40,000—Forty teams raised more than $40,000 to fight cancer last month at the annual UM American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Hundreds of participants braved rain, sleet, snow and cold temperatures as they walked laps around the Oval from 6 p.m. April 25 until 6 a.m. April 26. Proceeds from the fundraiser go to help the American Cancer Society fight cancer. The UM Panhellenic community­—including Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Gamma and Alpha Phi— raised more than $6,300. For more information about donating to the UM Relay for Life, call the Missoula office of the American Cancer Society at 728-1004.

Culinary Competition—Chef Timothy Hodges of UM’s Dining Services was awarded a silver medal at a recent regional culinary competition. The 2008 National Association of College and University Food Services Continental Regional Culinary Challenge was held April 1 at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Each competitor had 75 minutes to produce an original striped bass entrée and accompanying side dishes and sauces. Hodges prepared a blackened striped sea bass accompanied by carrot sriracha Israeli couscous, roasted sweet peppers, red onion, jicama and Meyer lemon aioli. He scored 32 out of a possible 40 points, qualifying for a silver medal.

Modernist Medium—“The Poindexter Collection,” an exhibition of American modernist artworks on loan from the Montana Historical Society, is at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture at UM through Aug. 16. The exhibition is in the museum’s Meloy and Paxson galleries, located in UM’s Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. Everton Gentry “George” Poindexter, a Montana native and UM alumnus (1918-20), and his wife, Elinor, amassed nearly 500 artworks by some of America’s most important postwar era painters. MMAC summer gallery hours from May to August are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free.