Welcome to new subscribers who have joined us since the last regular issue of TGIF was delivered in May. Although the pace is a bit slower, campus remains busy with summer sessions, new-student orientations and various camps, lectures and other activities.

TGIF will return to its regular weekly publication schedule Friday, Aug. 26. Fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 29.

President George Dennison announced the hiring of UM's new athletic director Thursday during a news conference in the Adams Center.

Jim O'Day, director of development for UM's Intercollegiate Athletics, was named to replace Don Read, who led the athletic department during the past year.

A search committee comprising members of the community and UM staff, faculty, students and administrators selected five finalists from a pool of more than 60 applicants. After reviewing recommendations from the search committee, Dennison made the final decision about which finalist to hire.

O'Day is a native of Cut Bank. For the last five years he has been director of development for UM Intercollegiate Athletics, and he was assistant director of the Grizzly Athletic Association for two years before that.

Beyond athletics, a spate of administrative changes have taken place on campus this summer, with two new directors and a new interim dean.

At the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, Larry Swanson, associate director and regional economy associate, will become the center's director. Daniel Kemmis, current director and regional policy associate, will join Pat Williams and Bob Brown as center senior fellows. The administrative shift reflects Kemmis' desire to pass on his director's duties after nine years in the position.

A North Carolina educator has been named director of the Center for Ethics. N. Dane Scott II will assume his UM duties Aug. 1, replacing interim director Mark Hanson. Scott leaves Western Carolina University, where he was an associate professor of philosophy, associate dean of the Honors College, and director of the humanities program and the National Student Exchange.

At the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, a longtime faculty member will serve as interim dean of Library Services when Frank D'Andraia leaves campus for another position in early July. Professor Erling Oelz will lead the library during the transition and a national search for a new dean.

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. It 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.

Greene said chickadees have two different types of alarm calls. Their "seet" call -- a soft, high-pitched noise that sounds like "ssst" -- alerts their fellows to predators flying overhead. It tells the birds to be aware and take cover.

Their trademark "chick-a-dee" call, on the other hand, is a "mobbing call." It's given around stationary or perched predators that are perceived to be less of a threat. Chickadees, like many birds, use this mobbing call as a call to arms. The cry means it's time to gang up on the threat and drive it away.

Strong commodity prices and low interest rates will lead to faster than expected growth for Montana's economy, according to Paul Polzin, director of UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

For the first time, BBER has issued mid-year revisions to its annual forecast of statewide economic activity, and many of the important sectors have been adjusted upward.

Polzin said reasons for the upward revisions include: higher commodity prices (including oil), leading to more mining and drilling activity; greater than expected increases in construction, reflecting some major projects, plus the impacts of continued low interest rates; revisions in military earnings, reflecting the deployment of reserve and National Guard troops to and from Iraq and Afghanistan; and revised real estate earnings, at least some of which may reflect the current boom in home sales.

The BBER's new projections call for 3.2 percent growth in Montana's economy during 2005, up from the January forecast of 2.6 percent, Polzin said. All projected growth rates are well above Montana's 35-year average of 2.1 percent per year.

Griz Card debit accounts -- renamed UMoney -- now can be used at off-campus Missoula merchants, including Break Espresso, Domino's Pizza, Quiznos, Grizzly Grocery, Green Hanger and the Pickle Barrel.

The accounts, which don't require a minimum deposit to open, also work at some vending machines, Campus Recreation and most University Center businesses, including The Bookstore at UM. UMoney also can be used at the Mansfield Library to pay fines and make copies. More off-campus locations will be established.

UMoney automatically replaces current Griz Card debit accounts. The new accounts have no expiration date and can be refunded if a student leaves school. The cards also may be given as gifts.

To sign up for a UMoney account or learn more about becoming a participating merchant, visit the Griz Card Center in the University Center, stop by the Residence Life station in Griz Central at the Lommasson Center or call (406) 243-MyID (6943).

An intensive three-day writing retreat, "Stealing From Thieves: Fiction Techniques of the Masters Revealed," will be held Aug. 5-7 at UM.

The course will be taught by Montana author Colin Hester. It is offered in a format convenient for busy writers -- a three-day on-campus workshop followed by instruction via UMOnline during the summer and fall semesters. Instruction focuses on fiction techniques such as painting vivid landscapes, writing authentic dialogue and constructing compelling beginnings and haunting endings.

Hester has taught writing at the University of Colorado and UM. His first published novel, "Diamond Sutra," received enthusiastic reviews, and he will complete his second novel this summer.

Registration costs $675, and the deadline to register is July 25. Students may take the course for three academic credits at either the undergraduate or graduate level. For registration and lodging information, call (406) 243-6431 or e-mail candice. merrill@umontana.edu.

The Montana Center for the Book and the Montana Committee for the Humanities have named "Letters From Yellowstone," Diane Smith's 1999 novel about naturalists and nature in Yellowstone at the turn of the last century, its selection for the 2005 One Book Montana program.

The One Book Montana program invites all Montanans to read "Letters from Yellowstone" over the summer and fall. The Montana Center for the Book will provide reading and discussion guides; suggestions for library, school and book group projects; and opportunities for reader comments and other tools on the MCB Web site.

"Letters From Yellowstone" involves a scientific expedition in Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1898.

"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 July 8 through Aug. 27 in the museum's Paxson and Meloy galleries, located in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Building. 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, including a rare 16th century portrait of a saint by Italian painter Paolo del Signoraccio, early 19th century portraits by English painter M. Allen and works by modern Washington painter Delbert Gish.

Curator Manuela Well-Off-Man will offer two related gallery talks: "Profile of a Generous Collector: Gilbert Millikan" at noon Thursday, July 14, and "The Curving Line of the Horizon: Henry Meloy's Landscapes" at noon Thursday, Aug. 11.

The 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.

Franz Kline (1910-1962) and Arshile Gorky (1904- 1948) were members of the predominantly American movement known as abstract expressionism. Characterized by process-oriented improvisation and usually non-objective abstraction, abstract expressionism was celebrated as the embodiment of individual freedom.

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.