Bear Briefs

Talking to Chickadees—UM researchers have discovered a previously unknown level of sophistication in the calls of chickadees, and their work was notable enough to be featured in the June 23 issue of Science, one of the world’s top research journals. The story has since made the New York Times and other national newspapers. Erick Greene is a UM professor, behavioral ecologist and acting associate dean of the Division of Biological Sciences. He and his former graduate student Chris Templeton found that common chickadees have a complex system of alarm calls that convey information about the size and danger of potential predators and tell the birds what sort of defense to mount in response. Basically, the more dangerous a predator is to a chickadee, the more “dee” sounds the birds tack onto the end of their trademark “chick-a-dee” call.

President’s Office Art—UM’s Montana Museum of Art and Culture is displaying two paintings by giants of the modern art world in the lobby of the UM President’s Office in Main Hall. “Crow Dancer” by Franz Kline and “Composition II, 1943” by Arshile Gorky have been temporarily loaned to UM by a private collector. They will be displayed through Oct. 7. The lobby is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Artistic Visions—“Millikan Faces — Meloy Places” will highlight the portraits of the Gilbert Millikan collection and the landscapes of accomplished artist Henry Meloy at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. The free, public exhibit will run until Aug. 27 in the museum’s Paxson and Meloy galleries, located in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and 3 to 7 p.m. Friday. Millikan was an avid collector and patron of the arts who had strong ties to UM. His eclectic collection includes exquisite artworks from around the world. Meloy’s landscapes offer a glimpse into the repertoire of a highly accomplished Montana artist.

Improved Web Site—One of the most-requested online features has been added to the UM Web site. The new Phone/E-Mail Directory allows people to search for students’ e-mail addresses and phone numbers and for employees’ e-mail addresses, campus addresses and phone numbers. It also offers the ability to search for staff, faculty members and administrators by department. Previously, only e-mail addresses were available from the online directory. However, e-mail addresses still are limited to those with the umontana.edu alias. Employees who wish their e-mail addresses to be included in the searchable database must activate their umontana.edu alias in Cyberbear. The directory was developed by UM’s Information Technology Office.

Travels to China—Two UM professors recently completed a two-week lecture series in China. They are David Aronofsky, UM legal counsel and law school faculty member, and Terry Weidner, Asian studies professor and director of UM’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center. The two lectured about World Trade Organization legal and policy issues involving China. Their trip was funded by a grant from the U.S.-China Business Council Legal Cooperation Fund, with additional support from the All China Youth Federation.

Bison Bonanza—Florence Gardipee, a UM doctoral student, has been awarded the first Boyd Evison Graduate Fellowship, which encourages scientific and conservation-related research in national parks. A student in UM’s Division of Biological Sciences, Gardipee will use the award to start new research on American bison in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. She will use DNA samples and data gathered from bison feces to document the genetic diversity of the herd and subsequently discover how genetic diversity, or lack thereof, affects susceptibility to infectious diseases such as brucellosis.

Emergency Assistance—The Student Assistance Foundation gave $157,000 to UM through its Acce$$ Grant Program for the coming academic year. The foundation has provided UM with $660,000 in grants since the program’s inception five years ago. Mick Hanson, who directs financial aide at UM, said this money can help students who need emergency financial aid stay in school. For more information visit http://www.safmt.org.

Artistic Exposure—Recently unveiled American Indian ledger art housed at UM’s Mansfield Library is garnering national attention. In fact, the Association of College and Research Libraries has committed to featuring one of UM’s 18 ledger art plates on the cover of its monthly publication, College and Research Library News. Outgoing library Dean Frank D’Andraia said it’s the first time a Montana library has made the cover in the publication’s 66-year history.