Prominent journalist and educator Deborah Potter will present the 2005 Dean Stone Lecture on Thursday, April 14, at UM.

Potter, who worked 16 years as a network correspondent for CBS and CNN, will give a lecture titled "Under Pressure: The Challenges Facing Journalism and What Can Be Done About Them" at 7:30 p.m. in UM's Urey Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Since 1998 Potter has been executive director of NewsLab, a nonprofit journalism training and research center in Washington, D.C. She also served as executive director of the Radio & Television News Directors Foundation during 2003-04.

At CNN she reported on national politics and environmental issues. She joined CNN in 1991 after 13 years at CBS News, where she served as White House, State Department and congressional correspondent. She also was a frequent contributor to the prime-time news magazine "48 Hours," and she hosted the interview program "Nightwatch."

The Montana Supreme Court will hear the appeals of two criminal convictions Friday, April 15, at UM.

The state's top court will examine "State of Montana vs. Gregory Michael Mizenko" and "State of Montana vs. Joseph Paoni" at 9:30 a.m. in the University Theatre. Professor Andrew King-Ries will provide an introduction, and the event is open to the public.

One of the cases involves an assault against the defendant's wife, and the other relates to an assault against a brother. In both cases, the alleged victims did not testify at trial. However, 911 operators and police officers were permitted to testify as to their conversations with the alleged victims.

For more information, call the UM School of Law at (406) 243-4319.

Jacey Messer, a third-year law student at UM, stood out from the pack during the 46th annual Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, held March 27-April 3 in Washington, D.C.

Messer placed 13th out of 326 oralists at the competition.

In addition, the UM team submitted the fifth-best applicant memorial out of 108. UM had the highest-ranked memorial -- a brief filed by the party initiating the case -- of any U.S. team.

Besides Messer, other UM International Moot Court Team members included Matt Lowy, Eli Parker, Ryan McCarty and Stephanie Happold. They competed against 102 other law schools from 90 countries around the world for the Sherman & Sterling Jessup Cup.

Some of UM's brightest minds will showcase their talents during the upcoming UM Conference on Undergraduate Research.

This fifth-annual UMCUR is titled "Frontiers in Undergraduate Scholarship." It will be held Friday, April 15, on the third floor of the University Center, with fine arts performances in the Music Recital Hall. Events run from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

The keynote speaker will be Diane Smith, author of "Letters From Yellowstone." She will speak at 12:10 p.m. in the UC Theater.

The conference will offer oral sessions running from 9 a.m. to noon, 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. Students will have 15 minutes to discuss their research or academic project, with five minutes allowed for questions. A poster session displaying student work starts at 3 p.m.

An upcoming lecture will explore the similarities and differences in sexual, ethnic and other minorities and will demonstrate ways in which principles of equality and non-discrimination can unite people.

UM English Associate Professor Casey Charles will present "Together in Difference: Building Minority Coalitions/Resisting Anti-Gay Agendas" at the next Town Hall Meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in the University Center North Ballroom. The lecture and a reception following are free and open to the public.

Charles is the author of "The Sharon Kowalski Case: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial," which was nominated for a Publishing Triangle Award in 2004.

For the past 20 years, UM's Department of Drama/Dance has offered dance, drama, comedy and music to Montana audiences in one of the finest performing arts facilities in the Northwest, the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center.

In honor of the building's 20th anniversary, the drama/dance department and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture are teaming up to present an exhibit and dance performance.

A retrospective exhibit of theater memorabilia is on display until April 16 in the museum's Paxson and Meloy galleries, located in the PAR/TV Center. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The museum will host special viewing hours from 7 to 7:30 p.m. and during intermission throughout the run of "Evita" April 5-9 and 12-16. Museum admission is free.

The Department of Drama/Dance will present a live dance performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 9, in the PAR/TV Center lobby.

Barbara O'Keefe, a first- and second-grade teacher at Missoula's Lewis and Clark Elementary School, is the 2005 recipient of the Maryfrances Shreeve Award.

The honor is given annually by UM's School of Education for excellence in Montana teaching. O'Keefe will receive the award during an education recognition benefit today, April 8, on the UM campus. The award, which includes a cash prize of $2,000, is given in memory of Shreeve, a longtime Montana educator.

O'Keefe graduated in 1969 from Carroll College with an undergraduate degree in elementary education and received her master's degree in education from UM in 1977.

Sneed Collard III, the author of more than 45 children's books, will receive this year's Lud Browman Award for distinguished scientific writing during the Friends of the Mansfield Library 42nd Annual Spring Banquet on Wednesday, April 13.

The annual banquet and library fund-raiser will feature a 6 p.m. social and 7 p.m. dinner at Missoula's Holiday Inn Parkside. Tickets cost $35 at the door or in advance by calling (406) 243-6800.

This year's event features a lecture by Collard, a prize raffle that includes memorabilia from the estate of Montana statesman Mike Mansfield and presentation of several library scholarships.

Collard has written numerous children's books, including "Leaving Home," "The Deep-Sea Floor" and "B is for Big Sky Country -- A Montana Alphabet."

UM's College of Forestry and Conservation will host the 2005 Plum Creek Symposium April 13-14 in the University Center Theater.

The symposium is titled "Kyoto, Forests, and Living Tree Markets: Science and Land Use Policies in Carbon Sequestration." Topics will include the latest scientific findings related to carbon sequestration and land-use decisions. The symposium is free and open to the public.

Speakers will include Anthony Janetos, vice president of the Heinz Center and director of its global change program; Ian Noble, chief technical adviser to the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund; John Niles, manager of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance; Tom Gower, forest ecology professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Charles Hall, ecology professor at Syracuse University.

The symposium will be convened by Professor Steve Running and moderated by Associate Dean Jim Burchfield, both of UM's College of Forestry and Conservation.

Students from colleges and universities throughout the Northwest will meet Saturday, April 16, at UM to defend their positions on controversial issues during the third annual Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held on the second floor of the Gallagher Building, with preliminary rounds from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., semifinals from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m., and finals from 4 to 5:15 p.m.

Modeled on a national intercollegiate ethics bowl tournament, the regional competition is open to teams of three to five students who analyze 12 cases they received earlier in the year. The teams develop positions on the cases and responses to counter-arguments. They are judged on the strength of their ethical arguments and overall depth of research.

Montana companies interested in doing business with the world's largest economy -- the European Union -- are asked to participate in a July 2-10 trade mission to Europe.

The mission will be led by U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, the U.S. Commercial Services of the Department of Commerce and the UM-based Montana World Trade Center.

Participants will make stops in Dublin, Ireland; Madrid, Spain; Brussels, Belgium; and Munich, Germany. Companies interested in the trade mission should call the Montana World Trade Center at (406) 243-6982 by April 15.

This effort to create economic inroads for Montana companies will offer one-on-one networking meetings with potential buyers, sales representatives and business partners. Cultural events featuring Montana artists also will be offered.

UM will host a roundtable discussion about the current state of American relations with Vietnam on Thursday, April 14.

"An American in Hanoi: America's Reconciliation With Vietnam" will be held at 7 p.m. in the North Urey Lecture Hall. Sponsored by the Mansfield Center and the World Affairs Council of Montana, the event is free and open to the public.

It will feature Desaix Anderson, a former career diplomat who was instrumental in re-establishing U.S. relations with Vietnam following the war. Anderson and local Vietnam War veterans John Keefe and Philip Burgess will discuss their experiences and views regarding U.S. policy toward the southeast Asian country during the time of the controversial war and in the decades since.

The pharmacy school at UM has changed its name to honor its most important benefactor.

The school now will be known as the Skaggs School of Pharmacy. The change honors L.S. Skaggs, whose many contributions have helped propel the school to its current No. 5 ranking in the nation for earning pharmacy research funding.

The change creates the first named school in UM history. Skaggs' name already graces the campus building -- completed in January 1999 -- that houses the pharmacy, physical therapy and psychology programs.

Since the early 1990s, contributions to the University from Skaggs, the companies he owned and the ALSAM Foundation have totaled $11.7 million (including a recent $3.5 million gift), which prompted UM to name its pharmacy building for him.

It's worn by maroon-and-silver clad throngs at Griz sporting events and found on untold thousands of hats, T-shirts, sweaters, license plates, blankets and bottle openers across the nation and around the world. There's even a proposal to place it on coffins and urns.

The University of Montana logo. UM and the bear. The bear is everywhere.

In recent years the popularity of Griz Gear and UM merchandise has landed Montana on the Collegiate Licensing Company's list of 50 top-selling universities in the nation. The most recent figures show UM at No. 46, ahead of Colorado State, Army, Air Force and Boise State. UM was the only I-AA football institution to make the list.

UM licenses businesses to use its logos and image, and in return gets a royalty percentage with each licensee based on the wholesale price of individual items.

Montana's royalty income has jumped nearly 800 percent between 1994 and 1995 and 2003 and 2004. Revenues go toward University marketing, scholarships, community service projects, travel, special events and the athletics department.

UM Athletic Director Don Read announced recently that he will retire July 1. Read was named athletic director in May 2004.

Montana's head football coach from 1986 to 1995, Read is the winningest coach in school history, with a career record of 85-36 and 10 straight winning seasons. His outstanding career culminated in the 1995 Montana Grizzlies win of the Division I-AA national championship.

Read has been the Big Sky Conference, Evergreen Conference, and Western Football Conference Coach of the Year. He was voted the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year twice. He was tabbed the Division II National Coach of the Year in 1984 and the Division I-AA National Coach of the Year (at Montana) in 1995. During his tenure at Montana, Read was selected the Big Sky's coach of the year in 1989, 1993 and 1995. He retired from coaching at UM in April 1996.

President George Dennison said the University will immediately launch a national search for a new athletic director.

At last Saturday's Runner's Edge Al Manuel Invitational at Dornblaser Field, UM track and field teams had five individual first-place finishers.

Eight new athletes qualified for the upcoming Big Sky Conference meet. The additions bring Montana's total to 10 men and five women who are now qualified for the conference meet May 11-14 at Flagstaff, Ariz.

Senior Andrew Levin, who previously qualified in the decathlon, added two more events to the list last Saturday, qualifying in both the 110-meter hurdles and long jump. Junior Jas Gill and junior Tara Schwager both added a second event to the ones they qualified in last weekend.

Gill, who previously qualified for both the BSC and NCAA regional in the high jump, won the triple jump with a personal-best distance of 48-10.75, more than two feet better than any mark in the Big Sky Conference this outdoor season.