UM To Celebrate 115th Birthday
 

UM will celebrate its 115th birthday with a Charter Day awards ceremony and reception on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

The event begins at 4:30 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom and is free and open to the public.

Charter Day festivities are held each year to honor the University and its dedication to excellence by recognizing exemplary campus and community members. Missoula Mayor John Engen will attend the celebration to present an official proclamation of University of Montana Day.

UM Provost Royce Engstrom will preside over the presentation of the following 2008 Charter Day awards:

Montana Alumni Award: Linda McCarthy, executive director, Missoula Downtown Association.

ASUM Student Service Award: Senior Sean Gibbons, president, UM Students for Peace and Justice.

Neil S. Bucklew Presidential Service Award: Terry Payne, president and chairman of the board, Terry Payne and Co. Inc., and chairman of the board of Payne Financial Group Inc.

George M. Dennison Presidential Faculty Award for Distinguished Accomplishment: Professor Richard Bridges, UM Department of Biomedical Sciences.

George M. Dennison Presidential Faculty Award for Distinguished Accomplishment: Regents Professor of Ecology Steve Running, UM College of Forestry and Conservation.

George M. Dennison Presidential Staff Award for Distinguished Accomplishment: Juana Alcala, director of marketing and recruitment, UM Enrollment Services.

Montana Faculty Service Award: Professor Jeffrey Greene, UM Department of Political Science.

Robert T. Pantzer Presidential Humanitarian Award: Professor Casey Charles, UM Department of English.

Alumni Association 

 Panel, Workshop Promote Understanding
 

The National Coalition Building Institute's UM campus chapter will sponsor a reoccurring panel discussion and workshop for understanding and supporting different groups of people.

The panel discussion, "What It's Like To Be ______," is open to the public and will focus on what it is like to be a certain culture or ethnicity on campus. The discussion will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 12 and April 9, in the University Center Atrium.

The NCBI campus chapter also will host a reoccurring workshop titled "Building Allies Across Group Lines." Workshop participants will explore misinformation they have received about other groups. Participants will learn to undo stereotypes, build a greater awareness of and pride in their own identities and more.

The workshop will be held first on Tuesday, Feb. 19, in UC Room 327. Subsequent workshops on Tuesday, March 11, and Wednesday, April 9, will meet in UC Room 332. Each three-hour workshop will begin at 6 p.m.

For more information about NCBI, call 243-4928, e-mail bcorr@umtbookstore.com or visit the Web site.

UM National Coalition Building Institute 

 Student Wins Sports Writing Scholarship
 

UM junior Bill Oram recently was awarded one of eight $3,000 sports writing scholarships from the Freedom Forum-NCAA Sports Journalism Scholarship Program.

To apply for the scholarship, Oram was required to answer an essay question about whether a student paper should fully report when a student-athlete is charged with a crime or wait until formal action is taken by civil authorities, such as the NCAA. He also was required to submit samples of his work and a transcript.

A full-page ad will run in the program at the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament featuring Oram and the seven other scholarship winners.

Oram is a print journalism major at UM and works as a sports reporter at the Montana Kaimin student newspaper. This summer he will intern at the Austin American-Statesman as a sports reporter. Oram is from Hebo, Ore.

UM School of Journalism 

 Griz Hoopsters Pound Cross-State Rivals
 

The Grizzlies had six players score in double-figures en route to an 88-76 Big Sky Conference win over the Montana State University Bobcats Saturday evening in front of a partisan crowd of 6,226 fans in UM's Dahlberg Arena.

Montana forwards Andrew Strait and Kyle Sharp combined for 38 points, with Strait scoring a game-high 20 and Sharp adding a career-high 18. Sharp made all seven of his field goal attempts, was 3-of-3 from 3-point range and tied his career-high with eight rebounds. The Griz are now 11-12 for the season and 5-5 in Big Sky Conference play.

The Grizzlies stayed home to play Sacramento State last night, and they will play Northern Arizona Saturday at 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Cats Ambush Lady Griz In Bozeman
 

Montana State's Rebecca Mercer scored 32 points, hitting six of Montana State University's 13 3-pointers, to lead the Bobcats to a 91-87 victory over Montana last Friday night in Bozeman.

The victory snapped Montana State's nine-game losing streak to the Lady Griz. Montana lost for just the second time in its last 16 games, dropping to 17-5 overall and 7-2 in Big Sky Conference play.

The Lady Griz still hold a half-game lead over Idaho State in Big Sky Conference play. Junior guard Mandy Morales led Montana with 24 points and a team-high five assists. Montana played at Sacramento State last night and will be at Northern Arizona on Sunday.

Montana Grizzlies