UM's enrollment continued its steady climb this fall with an all-time record of 13,558 students, including an increase in the number of nonresidents attending the Missoula campus.

UM posted an increase of 97 students from outside Montana this fall, reversing a trend of declining nonresident enrollment during the past several years. Overall enrollment jumped by 206 students this year above the fall 2003 headcount of 13,352 for a 1.5 percent increase.

Full-time equivalents (FTEs) also increased to 11,668.47 compared to 11,562.55 a year ago. An FTE represents 15 undergraduate or 12 graduate semester credits.

The most substantial growth came in several areas: both the College of Technology and the School of Education recorded 11 percent increases in enrollment. In addition, graduate student enrollment experienced a large increase - 107 more students - with the most significant amount at the doctoral level.

Friends and alumni will be "Ringing in the Memories" during Homecoming 2004 Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8-9. This year's theme celebrates 50 years of UM's carillon, the memorial bells in Main Hall's clock tower.

The week's events kick off at noon Sunday, Oct. 3, at Southgate Mall's Clock Court with a public celebration led by Monte, the UM cheerleaders and Sugar Bears, and a live remote by Mountain 102.5 FM. Those attending have a chance to win the "ultimate tailgate party," which includes a television, eight tickets to the Homecoming game and a motor home to use on game day.

The Homecoming Art Fair starts Thursday, Oct. 7, at the University Center and runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday.

Friday is the peak day, with department open houses and reunions, including a gathering of the 1954 football team. At 2 p.m. the public is invited to the Montana Gubernatorial Debate in the Montana Theatre in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center, where Democrat Brian Schweitzer will meet Republican Bob Brown.

Wendell Berry, noted American author and farmer, will deliver the second installment of the UM President's Lecture Series Thursday, Oct. 7.

Berry will discuss "Imagination in Place" for the Brennan Guth Memorial Lecture, which begins at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. Berry also will speak at a Philosophy Forum at 3:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, in Gallagher Building Room 106. Both events are free and open to the public.

Author of more than 40 books of fiction, poetry and essays, Berry has farmed in his native Henry County, Ky., for more than 30 years. His numerous honors include the T.S. Eliot Award, the Aiken Taylor Award for poetry and the John Hay Award of the Orion Society.

Forbes magazine recently heralded UM-Missoula as one of the Top 10 "IQ Campuses" in the nation.

The magazine praised UM and Missoula for quality of life and the mix of intellectuals and international students and immigrants. The list was adapted from a new book, "Life 2.0: How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness" by Richard Karlgaard.

The article said, in part, "If your goal is to start a company or buy property that will rise in value, we recommend university towns, especially those with colleges rich in science and engineering departments."

Also making the Top 10 IQ Campuses list were Penn State, State University of New York-Albany and the universities of Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia and Iowa.

The O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at UM has received a $36,000 grant to help educate American Indian tribal leaders about pressing contemporary issues.

The Sallie Mae Fund grant will create a new tribal leaders institute, which will offer courses to American Indian administrators from the northern Rocky Mountain and Great Plains region.

Developed at the request of tribal leaders, the courses will provide instruction in classroom and conference settings during two- or three-day time frames. Courses already suggested include tribal sovereignty, healthcare, tribal-congressional relations, water compacts, and judicial reviews and opinions.

The institute will use UM and Montana tribal college resources.

The fifth annual Montana Festival of the Book will feature more than 80 authors and presenters in nearly 50 free public readings, discussions, exhibits and more. The festival runs through Saturday, Oct. 2, at downtown venues.

Friday's highlights include a gala reception and silent auction from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Parkside - admission is $20 at the door - followed by a free showing of the movie "Fight Club" with author Chuck Palahniuk in attendance at the Wilma Theatre. Saturday's gala reading features Palahniuk, James Lee Burke and Mark Spragg at 7:30 p.m., also at the Wilma.

A detailed schedule is online.

Missoula native Barbara Blegen will perform works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt in a public recital at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Oct. 1, in the Music Recital Hall at UM-Missoula.

Blegen is a former singer with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Her UM performance commemorates the 51st year of the campus recital hall. Admission is $6 at the door. For more information, call (406) 243-6880.

Films and documentaries of modern issues that receive minimal exposure on the national level are being presented in the fall 2004 Peace and Justice Film Series at UM-Missoula.

UM Students for Peace and Justice and the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center are sponsoring the event with the Multicultural Alliance and UM Amnesty International. The films can be viewed at 6 p.m. Thursdays through Dec. 9 in the University Center Theater. The films replay at 7:30 p.m.

The next scheduled film is "Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear and the Selling of an American Empire" on Oct. 7.

The series is free and open to the public. University parking also is free after 5 p.m.

"UM Dancers on Location: A Site-Specific Dance Performance," produced by the UM Department of Drama/Dance, will take place at six different campus sites Saturday, Oct. 2, and Sunday, Oct 3.

The free performance begins at noon on the Oval, where audience members are invited to meet wearing comfortable walking shoes.

Dance locations include the Main Hall windows and bell tower, which will have musical accompaniment by carillonneur Nancy Cooper; the volleyball sand court; and the Mansfield Mall, located between the University Center and the Mansfield Library.

A play that portrays what it is like to live with a brain injury will be performed Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2, at UM-Missoula.

A documentary directed by drama Assistant Professor Jillian Campana, "The Puzzle Club" is based on interviews with 13 western Montana residents who have different types of brain injuries. The interviews were taped so that the exact words of the participants could be used in the play.

"The Puzzle Club" will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night in the Montana Theatre in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. A $5 donation is requested, with proceeds going to support the Brain Injury Association of Montana. For more information, call the Montana Theatre Box Office at (406) 243-4581.

If you're looking to sell an old tent, buy a used bike or volunteer with fellow outdoor enthusiasts, head to UM-Missoula's Used Outdoor Gear Sale.

Hosted by the Outdoor Program, the sale will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, in the University Center atrium and is open to the general public.

Volunteers are still needed for the event to help with security and organization. Those willing to volunteer have the opportunity to attend the worker's sale an hour before the event starts, getting first dibs on all the sale has to offer. For more information or to volunteer, call Campus Recreation at (406) 243-2802.

Montana Soccer tipped off its first game of the Montana Fall Classic with a 2-1 loss to Gonzaga last Friday, but came back to beat the University of New Mexico 3-1 on Sunday. Griz Lindsay Winan made the hat trick, scoring all three goals for Montana. Winan has scored more goals in nine games than in all of last season.

The team (4-5-1) has 10 days off before returning to action with the Big Sky Conference portion of the 2004 schedule. Montana hosts Eastern Washington Oct. 8 with a 3 p.m. match at South Campus Soccer Field.

The Montana Grizzly football defense proved that the "red zone" was their zone Saturday, earning a 27-16 non-conference win against a potent Northern Colorado offense at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Although Northern Colorado had a blistering 506 total yards on offense, once the Bears came within 20 yards of the end zone -- also called the red zone -- they scored only one touchdown on five tries.

The seventh-ranked Grizzlies begin their 2004 conference season Sunday, Oct. 2, playing the Weber State Wildcats in Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah. Kickoff is 6:05 p.m.

Montana Volleyball lost its Big Sky Conference opener on Friday night, falling in five games at Weber State.

The team dropped to 0-2 in Big Sky Conference play with a 3-1 loss at Idaho State on Saturday night. The loss was Montana's 24th straight defeat in league road matches. The team then returned home and dispatched Carroll College - the 17th-ranked team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics - in a non-conference match at the Adams Center West Auxiliary Gym. Sophomore Claudia Houle and junior Audrey Jensen combined for 45 kills as Montana snapped a four-match losing streak.

Montana opens its Big Sky Conference home schedule tonight by hosting Northern Arizona, then meets Sacramento State on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. in the West Auxiliary Gym.