February 2000

The University's 1893 founding was marked with an awards ceremony that recognized Jerry Esmay, Jim Marks, Phyllis Washington, Jan Fowler Dargitz and Christopher Peterson for outstanding service to UM.

Esmay, chair of the computer science department, received UM's Montana Faculty Service Award. He joined UM in 1984 and has chaired the computer science department since 1986. Esmay is active in a wide range of on- and off-campus activities - from participating in Faculty Senate and American Legion projects to directing Montana's State Science Fair for more than 10 years. Esmay gets to know his department's majors as their primary adviser, and he strives to make time for every student. He also helped his department remain viable and current amidst the whirlwind of changes that have transformed computer science during the last decade.

Jim Marks, director of Disability Services for Students, received the Robert T. Pantzer Award, named for the 1966-74 UM president who strove to make the University a more open and humane learning environment. Marks joined UM in 1988, working in a department then known as Disabled Students Services. Back then the department consisted of his part-time position, a student employee who worked about three hours a week and a tiny budget intended to serve about 120 students with disabilities. From this humble beginning, Marks, who is blind, grew DSS into a respectable office with substantial resources that serves nearly 600 students. He constantly works to bring a progressive attitude to UM regarding University access.

Philanthropist and former UM Foundation Capital Campaign chair Phyllis Washington received the Neil S. Bucklew Presidential Service Award, named for UM's president during 1981-86. The award recognizes Washington's efforts to foster understanding of the University's needs and strengths. A 1964 UM graduate, Washington has worked as a teacher, interior designer and antiquarian. She served as a UM Foundation board member during 1990-96 and as national chair of UM's Capital Campaign from 1993 to 1996, helping the University raise $71 million. A generous donation from Washington and her husband, Dennis, also helped construct UM's Washington-Grizzly Stadium, and the couple was instrumental in the renovation of campus's historical Prescott House. They also donated the property that became UM's Center at Salmon Lake.

Dargitz earned the Montana Alumni Award for her longtime support of the University. A Lewistown native, she graduated from UM in 1957 with a degree in elementary education and now lives in State College, Penn. She taught in Washington and Germany before co-founding and co-directing the Park Forest Montessori School in Pennsylvania. Dargitz is active with UM's Alumni Association House of Delegates and has established several scholarships, including a UM Delta Gamma elementary education scholarship.

Peterson of Sudbury, Mass., received the ASUM (Associated Students of UM) Student Service Award. A senior in communication studies, he has worked as an HIV counselor, ASUM senator, Head Start volunteer, Women's Center volunteer, Multi-cultural Alliance Prejudice Reduction Workshop leader and peer health educator with Peers Reaching Out.

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