Easter Eggstravaganza Rolls Onto Campus
 

The eighth annual Missoula Easter Eggstravaganza will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22, on the UM Oval.

The Easter Bunny and UM's mascot, Monte, will make special appearances during the region's largest egg hunt, which includes more than 20,000 prize eggs and 25,000 pieces of candy.

The event is free and open to the public with separate sections for age groups 0-2, 3, 4-5, 6-7 and 8-9 years old. Kids who find maroon, silver and gold eggs will be rewarded with top prizes.

A Bunny Story Hour will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday before the egg hunt at The Bookstore at UM, located in the University Center. It also is free and open to the public.

This year's Eggstravaganza is sponsored by Missoula Federal Credit Union, Community Medical Center, the UM President's Office, University Relations, Pacific Steel, Southgate Mall, The Bookstore at UM, Montana Rail Link, Merrill-Lynch (Roth/Woolhiser Team), US Bank, 102.5 Mountain FM, KPAX-TV, A Carousel for Missoula, Missoula Flagship and the Missoula Phoenix.

University Relations 

 Tribal Knowledge Conference Set
 

A conference designed to create a forum for dialogue about tribal knowledge guardianship and to discuss issues of indigenous research and data collection will be held at UM April 15-17.

The conference -- "Intersecting Interests: Tribal Knowledge and Research Communities" -- includes speakers such as Ryan Heavy Head and Narcisse Blood, academic scholars and spiritual leaders of the Kainai tribe at Standoff, Alberta, as well as eminent American Indian statesman Sam Deloria, who has long worked for Indian civil rights and law and policy influence.

Events begin Tuesday, April 15, with registration from 5 to 9 p.m. and a town hall meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. in the University Center Theater. On Wednesday, April 16, the conference welcome event featuring tribal dignitaries and UM Provost Royce Engstrom will take place at 8:30 a.m. in the theater.

More than 25 breakout workshops in three sessions will be held at the University Center Wednesday and Thursday. The conference closes Thursday with a moderated discussion and open mic for declaration of commitments from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Conference registration before April 1 is $150. After that date, the registration fee is $175. One-day registration is available for $75. UM students pay $75 for the entire conference or a one-day fee of $35.

The conference is sponsored by President George Dennison, the School of Education Division of Educational Research and Service and the Montana Office of Public Instruction. OPI Continuing Education credits and UM Continuing Education credits are available.

A complete conference agenda and registration forms are on the Web site. For more information, call Patty LaPlant at 406-243-5403 or e-mail patty.laplant@mso.umt.edu.

Intersecting Interests 

 Explore Service Learning At UM
 

A colloquium to increase awareness of service learning and community engagement and to foster discussion about expanding service opportunities at UM will be held Thursday, April 3.

The Service Learning Colloquium runs from 11:10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University Center. It is free and open to the public. Registration is required and space is limited.

Colloquium working sessions are: Service Learning 101: Events also include a Farm-to-College luncheon and presentation.

• Service Learning 101: Understanding the Basics
• Unit Standards and the New UM Service Learning Course Designation
• Campus and Community Partnerships: A Service Learning Panel of UM Faculty and Community Members

Events also include a Farm-to-College luncheon and presentation.

Register online or call Andrea Vernon, at 406-243-5159.

Office For Civic Engagement 

 World's Largest Garage Sale At UM April 12
 

The World's Largest Garage Sale returns to UM on Saturday, April 12. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., rain or shine, in the UM Parking Garage near the Mansfield Library.

Vendors can purchase two parking spaces to sell their wares for $20. Additional spaces are available for $10 each. Registration forms are available at The Source in the University Center, by calling 406-243-4636 or on the UM Advocates Web site.

UM Advocates 

 Conference Showcases Top Research
 

The UM Conference on Undergraduate Research will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 4, on the third floor of the University Center. The annual event, which is free and open to the public, is designed to recognize and celebrate undergraduate research in all disciplines.

UM geosciences Professor Jim Sears will give the conference plenary address, "Siberia in Death Valley," at 12:30 p.m. in the University Center Theater. This year more than 130 projects will be presented, including more than 60 research posters that will be displayed from 3 to 4 p.m.

The conference concludes with a performance of the one-act comedy "Der Reigen" ("Around and Around") by Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler at 5 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall, located in the UM Music Building. The performance also is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Davidson Honors College at 406-243-2541.

 

 Wilco Returns To Missoula
 

The alternative-country-rock band Wilco comes to UM on Monday, May 5, at the Adams Center. The group won two Grammy Awards for its album "A Ghost Is Born," and its most recent album, "Sky Blue Sky," received a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.

Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m. No opening band has been announced. It will be Wilco's third show at UM.

Tickets cost $31 for the general public. They are available by calling 888-MONTANA or on the GrizTix Web site. UM students, faculty and staff with a valid Griz Card may purchase tickets for $26 at the Adams Center Box Office or The Source at the University Center.

GrizTix 

 Earth Service Day Events Planned
 

Faculty and staff are invited to participate in events to celebrate UM's annual Earth Service Day on Saturday, April 19. Each year the day of service provides opportunities to contribute to campus and community sustainability and have fun doing it.

Participants can choose from several events that begin at 10 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. Those who are really ambitious can participate in the Ecopentathlon, which involves riding bikes to the events and working about an hour at each event.

Refreshments will be available for Earth Service Day workers at a barbecue sponsored by the Clark Fork Coalition. It will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at Caras Park. To register for the barbecue, call the Office for Civic Engagement at 406-243-5531 by April 6.

The fun continues Saturday evening with the Earth Service Day Dance from 7:30 to 11 p.m. at the Union Hall in downtown Missoula.

A complete schedule of Earth Service Day events and community Earth Week activities is on the Greening UM Web site. For more information, call Professor Vicki Watson at 406-243-5153 or e-mail vicki.watson@umontana.edu.

Greening UM 

 Learn About Montana's Archaeological History
 

Seven free lectures for those interested in learning more about the state's archaeology and history will take place during April. All lectures will be held from 7 to 8 p.m.

Following are lecture dates and locations:

• Friday, April 4, University Center Room 330: "Public Archaeology in Montana" by UM anthropology doctoral student Helen Keremedjiev.
  
  
• Monday, April 7, University Center Alumni Board Room: "The Yellowstone Archaeology Project" by UM Assistant Professor Doug MacDonald.
  
  
• Wednesday, April 9, Fort Missoula Historical Museum: "Archaeology of the Jocko Lakes Fire" by C. Milo McLeod, Lolo National Forest archaeologist.
  
  
• Tuesday, April 15, University Center Room 333: "The Big Timber Chinese Community" by UM anthropology graduate student Justin Moschelle.
  
  
• Tuesday, April 22, University Center Room 332: "The Historical Archaeology of Fort Owen" by UM anthropology graduate student Don Merritt.
  
  
• Thursday, April 24, University Center Room 331: "Historic Settlement and Mining of the Garnet Range" by UM anthropology graduate student Brent Rowley.
  
  
• Wednesday, April 30, University Center Room 326: "The Chinese in Montana" by UM anthropology doctoral student Chris Merritt.

For more information, call Chris Merritt at 406-243-6249.

 

 Law Professor To Speak On Legal Education
 

Judith Welch Wegner, Burton Craige Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina, will present the 2008 Judge James R. Browning Distinguished Lecture in Law at UM on Monday, April 7.

Wegner's lecture, "The Carnegie Report: Why and How Legal Education May Change," begins at noon in UM's School of Law Castles Center. It is free and open to the public.

Wegner teaches and writes in the areas of legal education, land use, property law, state and local government law, and disability rights. She is the co-author of "Educating Lawyers" and "State and Local Government in a Federal System." She is the former dean of the University of North Carolina School of Law and was faculty chair for UNC-Chapel Hill.

 

 Public Invited To Research Conference
 

Explore topics from diabetes, osteoarthritis and mad cow disease to tourism, the Bible and the Blackfoot language at UM's seventh annual Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference on Saturday, April 5.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the University Center third-floor meeting rooms. All events are free and open to the public, and child care will be available. Those who plan to attend the conference luncheon, or who will need child care, are asked to let organizers know by e-mailing gradfacconf@mso.umt.edu or calling Jenny McNulty at 406-243-2473.

Concurrent oral presentations will be held from 9:40 a.m. to noon and from 2:10 to 4:30 p.m. Poster sessions will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. An interdisciplinary roundtable discussion titled "Ethics in Modern Graduate Studies" will take place from noon to 2 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom. The conference awards ceremony and closing reception begins at 5 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom.

Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference 

 Lady Griz Play Vanderbilt In Big Dance
 

The Montana Lady Griz won the Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Tournament and earned a No. 13 seed for the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. They will face No. 4 seed Vanderbilt tomorrow in Albuquerque, N.M.

Two wins in the Big Sky tournament cemented Montana's trip to the NCAA tourney. Mandy Morales scored a season-high 31 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Lady Griz to a 94-80 victory over Portland State in a semifinal of the tournament at Dahlberg Arena.

Then the Lady Griz met cross-state rival Montana State in the championship game, and handed them a convincing 101-65 defeat. Again Morales led the way, going 6-for-6 from 3-point range and finishing with 24 points and seven assists. Morales earned tournament MVP honors, and senior Laura Cote joined her on the all-tournament team. Cote averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds over the two games, shooting 63.2 percent from the field and going 6-for-7 (.857) from 3-point range.

The Montana-Vanderbilt game will be played at The Pit/Bob King Court. The victor will face the winner of No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. No. 12 New Mexico Lobos, game to be played tomorrow.

Lady Griz