UM Surpasses Fundraising Campaign Goal
 

UM President George Dennison announced last week that UM has surpassed the $100 million goal set for its comprehensive fundraising campaign "Invest in Discovery: Connecting People, Programs and Place."

However, he said several targeted priorities still need funding before the campaign concludes on Dec. 31.

Dennison made his remarks during his 17th State of the University address.

The campaign, launched in 2002, was the most ambitious in the University's history. When the public portion of "Invest in Discovery" started two years ago, $72 million had been raised. Dennison said UM met the $100 million benchmark in July, and that amount continues to grow.

Donations have come from more than 25,000 people to date -- almost a third of whom are first-time donors. More than half the benefactors are UM alumni.

UM Foundation 

 Elton John Concert Tickets Go On Sale Sept. 5
 

Rock-and-roll superstar Elton John will appear live in concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in the UM Adams Center.

Reserved tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the Adams Center box office and all GrizTix outlets, including The Source in the University Center, Southgate Mall, Worden's Market, online at GrizTix or by calling 888-MONTANA (666-8262). There is a six-ticket limit per purchase.

Ticket-purchasing procedures have been established. Visit the GrizTix Web site for more information.

The concert is part of Elton John's 2007 "Rocket Man: Number Ones" tour. It is presented by UM Productions, which brought the Rolling Stones to Missoula last fall.

Elton John and his band will play his greatest hits and more recent songs from his latest release. "Rocket Man: Number Ones," released in March 2007, features newly compiled and digitally mastered greatest hits spanning the first three decades of Elton John's career.

The singer-songwriter has sold more than 200 million records and continues to add innovative work to his repertoire of 29 consecutive Top 40 hits, 35 gold and 25 platinum albums.

GrizTix 

 Get Acquainted At Community Ice Cream Social
 

The annual ice cream social to welcome new and returning students to campus and to Missoula neighborhoods will be held Sunday, Sept. 9.

The free event to celebrate the energy and diversity that students bring to the community takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. in the 400 block of University Avenue.

Ice cream will be provided by the Big Dipper, Goldsmiths and Baskin-Robbins. The street festival also will offer dozens of door prizes, live music by JillBillies and hacky sack demonstrations.

Special guests will be John Engen, Missoula mayor; Jim Foley, UM executive vice president; Dustin Leftridge, Associated Students of UM president; and Monte, the University's mascot.

This year's festivities were organized by the Ice Cream Socialists, a special committee of neighborhood volunteers and UM student leaders and staff.

 

 President's Lecture Series Begins Sept. 11
 

The first installment of the 2007-08 President's Lecture Series at UM will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the University Theatre.

"What is at Stake in Afghanistan?" will be presented by Barnett Rubin, director of studies and senior fellow at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University.

Rubin, a leading authority on Afghanistan, will discuss the deteriorating situation in that country and its effects on the United States.

The presentation is UM's Ezio Cappadocia Memorial Lecture on Politics and History.

Earlier that day from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m., Rubin will give a seminar titled "The Wars in Afghanistan: The Post-Imperial Transformation of a Regional State System" in Gallagher Business Building Room 123.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Among Rubin's many books are "The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System" and "Blood on the Doorstep: The Politics of Preventing Deadly Conflict."

2007-08 President's Lecture Series schedule 

 More Transportation Options Offered
 

Because of steam tunnel construction, campus commuters are encouraged to take advantage of new transportation options: expanded Park-N-Ride service, new bike access and more bike parking.

The Associated Students of UM Office of Transportation has added a new Park-N-Ride route and improved another one to help offset parking woes.

The new Park-N-Ride route will be between the College of Technology on South Avenue and the main campus. Service will be every 20 minutes, beginning at 7:25 a.m. and ending at 5:25 p.m., Monday through Friday. The service begins on South Avenue and circles campus.

The improved East Broadway route now is a 20-minute loop that circles campus.

Stop by the ASUM Office of Transportation at University Center Suite 114 to pick up a new bus schedule or bike route map. More information also is available online.

ASUM Office of Transportation 

 Students Vie For Prizes In Math Competition
 

High school students from across Montana will be at UM Monday, Sept. 17, to compete in "Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?"

UM's Department of Mathematical Sciences is teaming with the American Mathematical Society for the event, which begins at 11 a.m. in the University Center Ballroom.

The competition will last about one hour and is free and open to the public.

"Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?" is a game of skill and excitement patterned on the television show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The game rewards math performance and at the same time provides fun entertainment.

Competing students can win up to $2,000 in cash by answering multiple-choice mathematics questions. The contestants were selected based on their scores on a qualifying test sent to all Montana high schools.

"Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?" 

 Minor Prepares Graduates For Work With Aging
 

The first of an estimated 76 million baby boomers turned 60 last year, and the proportion of the U.S. population that is elderly will continue to increase well into the foreseeable future.

With these dramatic demographic shifts, the need for sound academic preparation in the processes of aging has increased.

To respond to this need, UM has introduced an interdisciplinary gerontology minor this fall that will prepare UM graduates in several fields of study and help them to be more competitive in their career choices.

Because the UM minor is interdisciplinary, it can be integrated into a student's major area of study.

The minor was designed and implemented through UM's Institute for Gerontology Education using guidelines and standards established by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

Institute for Gerontology Education 

 Professor Scores Second National Award
 

UM Professor Carol Brewer has crossed the country this year to collect two prestigious education awards from national scientific societies.

Brewer was presented the Ecological Society of America's 2007 Eugene P. Odum Award at a ceremony in August during the joint meeting of ESA and the Society for Ecological Restoration in San Jose, Calif.

In May she received the 2007 American Institute of Biological Science Education Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Brewer is associate dean of UM's College of Arts and Sciences and teaches plant ecology and science education in the University's Division of Biological Sciences.

Division of Biological Sciences 

 Art Faculty Presents Exhibit, Lectures
 

The annual UM Art Faculty Exhibition will open Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the Gallery of Visual Arts.

An opening reception will be held at the gallery from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6. The exhibition will be in the gallery through Friday, Sept. 28.

In conjunction with this year's exhibit, two lectures by UM art history and criticism professors will be held in UM's Social Science Building Room 356.

From 4:10 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, Professor Rafael Chacon will present "Painting as Propaganda: Art in Glacier in the Early 20th Century."

Associate Professor Valerie Hedquist will present "An American History of the English Blue Bay" from 4:10 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27.

All events and the exhibition are free and open to the public. The gallery is located on the first floor of the Social Science Building.

Department of Art 

 Humanities Montana Calls For Applications
 

The deadline to apply to become a member of the board of Humanities Montana is Sept. 20.

Humanities Montana (formerly the Montana Committee for the Humanities) is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency.

A nonprofit organization founded in 1972, Humanities Montana provides grants for public events, awards for research and book production, and many other services including the Montana Festival of the Book, the Montana Center for the Book and the Governor's Humanities Awards.

The board consists of 19 volunteers who represent humanities disciplines and institutions and the general public. Members serve a three-year renewable term and meet three times a year at various locations throughout the state.

More information is online.

Humanities Montana 

 Griz Football Is Ready To Rumble
 

The second-ranked Montana Grizzlies open their 2007 season Saturday, Sept. 1, hosting the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in a non-league game.

The game kicks off at 1:05 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. It can be seen on KPAX-TV in Missoula and Montana Television Network stations statewide.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Montana Volleyball Takes Third In Tourney
 

The UM volleyball team lost 3-1 to University of California, Irvine, in the season-opening match for both schools at the Ruby's Montana Invitational, held last Friday in UM's West Auxiliary Gym.

The Grizzlies rebounded to defeat Canisius 3-0 Saturday afternoon in non-conference play. Montana fell to Gonzaga 0-3 in the final match of the tournament.

UC Irvine won the tournament, with Gonzaga taking second and Montana in third.

Montana will travel to Peoria, Ill., this weekend for Bradley University's Radisson Hotel Invitational.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Griz Soccer Faces Washington Teams
 

The UM women's soccer team opens its 2007 regular-season schedule with a pair of home matches this weekend against Washington State and Gonzaga.

The Grizzlies face the Cougars at 5 p.m. today and take on the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2.

Both matches will be played at South Campus Stadium in Missoula.

Montana Grizzlies