Student Wins Prestigious British Scholarship
 

UM senior Hilary Martens of Missoula has been awarded a 2008 Marshall Scholarship for two years in graduate school at a British university -- all expenses paid by the British government.

Martens majors in physics and music at UM, with minors in mathematics and music composition. A 2003 graduate of Sentinel High School, she is a Presidential Leadership Scholar in UM's Davidson Honors College.

During her first year of graduate work, Martens plans to pursue a master's degree in space science at University College London. Her second year of graduate study will be toward a research master's degree in solar system physics at the University of Aberystwyth, Wales.

In 2006 Martens was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship for excellence in and commitment to science, as well as a UM Watkins Scholarship for research.

She is an accomplished violinist, fiddler and composer and has garnered string and music performance scholarships. In June 2007, Glamour magazine featured her as one of its "Top 10 College Women."

Marshall Scholarships were established by a 1953 Act of Parliament to commemorate the humane ideals of the Marshall Plan, conceived by General George C. Marshall.

Marshall Scholarships 

 UM Group Nabs National Award
 

The Curry Health Center's Peers Reaching Out group was recognized as the most outstanding peer education team in the nation at an Atlanta conference.

About 800 representatives from more than 150 colleges and universities attended the national conference. Group member Olivia Shjeflo also received an award for Outstanding Peer Educator.

UM's PROs received outstanding reviews for "Beer Goggles," a multimedia presentation developed by the Curry Health Center's health enhancement department.

The presentation educates students about safe drinking, minors in possession laws, alcohol poisoning and sexual assault prevention. It includes live performances by the peer educators, along with videotaped interviews, movie clips, music and animation.

PROs are known on campus through outreach programs and events such as "Stress Less," "Sexapolooza" and "The Booze Brothers."

To become a PRO, students must complete a three-credit training class in the spring.

UM Peers Reaching Out 

 Forest Production, Employment Decline
 

Ongoing weakness in the U.S. housing industry and related low wood product prices continued to impact production and employment in Montana's wood products industry during the third quarter of 2007, reports a UM researcher.

Todd Morgan, director of forest industry research at UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said this will be the second year with significant declines in Montana's industry resulting from national housing issues.

The third quarter of 2007 was especially rough for Montana wood product facilities, with the July closure of the Stimson plywood facility in Bonner and curtailments at other mills because of weak markets and log shortages related to summer fires.

Lumber production from Montana mills in the third quarter of 2007 was 187 million board feet, down from 232 million board feet in the third quarter of 2006 and 252 million in the third quarter of 2005.

Bureau of Business and Economic Research 

 Students Inspire Gift To Business School
 

UM marketing students recently helped develop strategies to help Karl Tyler Chevrolet in Missoula reach 18- to 25-year-olds. In return, Montana's top-selling Chevy dealer was inspired to give $15,000 to the UM School of Business Administration.

Three teams of UM students from Assistant Professor Simona Stan's marketing classes met with the dealership's management team, interviewed customers and visited other car dealerships to develop marketing plans.

Based on their findings, the students presented their marketing ideas in formal presentations to Karl Tyler Chevrolet management and staff.

"They spent 60 to 90 minutes with each student team and really quizzed them about the concepts they presented," Stan said. "I believe they appreciated the creativity and 'out-of-the-box' thinking presented by the students, who are representatives of the car-buying market Karl Tyler is reaching out to."

Providing hands-on experience in the business world is an important aspect of the UM business school experience, Stan said, and the school welcomes opportunities for students to assist local businesses under faculty supervision.

School of Business Administration 

 Learn About Financial Aid At Events
 

UM will host two Financial Aid Night events in December and January to provide information about assistance for attending college or technical and trade schools.

The free events will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, and Tuesday, Jan. 8, in the University Center Ballroom, located on the third floor of the University Center.

Mick Hanson, director of UM's Financial Aid Office, and other University personnel will be at the events to give presentations and answer questions about the different kinds of aid available.

Hanson will discuss topics such as the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learning tax credit. He also will provide instructions for completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, as well as information about how the government computes students' estimated family contribution.

Computers will be available at the events for families to request their Personal Identification Numbers. Representatives from local lenders and the Student Assistance Foundation also will visit with families.

For more information, call the UM Financial Aid Office at 406-243-5373.

Financial Aid Office 

 Montanans Earn Global Trade Certificates
 

More than 35 individuals from a diverse group of Montana and Northwest-region companies recently completed the Global Trade Certificate Program, which is offered by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Small Business Administration and the Montana World Trade Center.

Experts presented sessions on topics such as international business trends, managing risk, banking, legal issues, documentation, negotiations and logistics.

The program was a three-part series held in Bozeman, Missoula and Butte. Those completing the full program will be listed as Certified Global Trade Professionals in a state directory.

Participants also received 40 hours of Continuing Professional Education credit or prorated hours for individual sessions completed. The Montana State Bar Association approved the course for nine hours of Continuing Legal Education credits.

The second series of training is slated to begin in April 2008. To learn more about the program or register for future sessions, call Nicole Hagerman at 406-243-5856.

Montana World Trade Center 

 Forensics Team Reaches Quarterfinals
 

The UM Forensics Team recently competed in the Trapper Rendezvous Invitational Tournament at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo.

Mary Connole of Seattle and Shivon White of Helena reached the quarterfinals in the competitive Open Division of Parliamentary Debate. Connole garnered the third-place Speaker Award, and White followed in fourth place.

Newcomers Rose Mason and Loretta Tracy, both of Belgrade, reached the quarterfinal round in the Junior Division.

Parliamentary Debate is modeled after the British Parliament and requires students to debate domestic and foreign policy and philosophic topics. Each round requires teams to prepare a new case in 20 minutes and debate cases against opponents for 40 minutes.

The team also competed in individual speech events, including short preparation speech events, memorized platform events and interpretation of literature.

Svein Newman of Billings reached the semi-finals in prose interpretation.

Any undergraduate student is eligible to compete in forensics events. The UM Forensics program is housed in the communication studies department, which offers a course each semester.

Department of Communication Studies 

 Event Examines Life, Work Of Moliere
 

UM French and drama/dance students and Associate Professor Michel Valentin will present "Moliere, a Playwright for all Seasons" at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3, in the Montana Theatre.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will explore the life and work of the playwright and offer excerpts from films and music of his times (1622-73). Students also will read excerpts from Moliere's plays in English.

The Dec. 3 examination of Moliere's works is presented in conjunction with the UM drama/dance production of his play "Tartuffe." Performances are being held at 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 1 and Dec. 4-8 in the Montana Theatre, located in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center.

"Tartuffe" debuted in 1664 and was panned by church authorities and banned by royal edict. However, it soon returned to the stage by popular demand.

For tickets to UM performances of "Tartuffe," call the Drama/Dance Box Office at 406-243-4581 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Department of Drama/Dance 

 New 'Backroads Of Montana' Airs
 

An all-new episode of "Backroads of Montana," the popular travelogue series on Montana PBS, debuted this week and will repeat in December.

The program, "Places of Note," airs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13; 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 23. Check local listings for channel information.

The episode remembers the one-and-only Luigi -- an entertainer and trickster who operated Luigi's House of Dancing Dolls in Butte from the 1950s to the '70s. Producer Gus Chambers interviewed Luigi's family and friends and used rare audio archives of his performances.

The episode also revisits the Ozark Club, a fabled nightclub and jazz hot spot that thrived in downtown Great Falls during the 1940s and '50s. The club attracted top-notch jazz musicians from around the country.

An unlikely addition to the musical lineup is a visit to a geologic site outside Whitehall. But an odd pile of boulders there is renowned for a peculiar quality -- they ring or chime when stuck with a hammer.

William Marcus hosted the program on location at the Rialto Theatre in Deer Lodge.

"Backroads of Montana" is a production of Montana PBS, a collaborative effort of UM and Montana State University.

Montana PBS 

 Blue Man Group Concert Announced
 

The Blue Man Group will perform in concert at UM on Tuesday, Jan. 29, in the Adams Center. Tickets go on sale Monday, Dec. 10.

Tickets are priced at $48.50 and $68.50. They will be available at all GrizTix outlets -- the Adams Center Box Office, The Source in the University Center, Southgate Mall and Worden's Market -- as well as by phone at 888-MONTANA or online.

Part of the Blue Man Group's "How To Be A Megastar 2.1" tour, the Missoula appearance will bring to life the primal experience of an arena rock concert with state-of-the-art technology and high-tech audience interaction.

GrizTix 

 Brad Paisley To Perform At UM
 

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today for a Saturday, Jan. 19, concert performance by Brad Paisley.

Paisley, whose current No. 1 country single "Online" is his ninth chart-topper, will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the Adams Center. Tickets are $47 and available at all GrizTix outlets, by phone at 888-MONTANA and online.

Paisley's Missoula stop on his "Bonfires and Amplifiers" tour will include special guests Rodney Atkins and Chuck Wicks.

Since his 1999 debut with the No. 1 single "He Didn't Have to Be," Paisley has sold more than 10 million albums.

GrizTix 

 Griz Football Loses To Wofford
 

The 11th-ranked Wofford College Terriers defeated the host and second-ranked Montana Grizzlies 23-22 Saturday afternoon in a first-round Football Championship Subdivision playoff game.

A partisan Washington-Grizzly Stadium crowd of 19,761 fans saw the Grizzlies suffer their first loss and the final game of the 2007 season. Montana had a chance to pull out a win in the closing seconds, but senior Dan Carpenter's 47-yard field-goal attempt was wide left.

Senior running back Lex Hilliard ended his brilliant career with school records of 52 total touchdowns and 50 rushing TDs. His 4,018 career rushing yards was just 52 off the school record of 4,070 yards, set by Yohance Humphery during 1998-2001.

Carpenter ended his outstanding career as the all-time kick-scorer in FCS history with 413 points.

Montana Grizzlies 

 UM Basketball Plays 3 In Pullman Challenge
 

No. 9 Washington State beat Montana 66-55 Friday night in the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge in Pullman, Wash.

Cameron Rundles scored 13 points to lead Montana, which stayed close much of the game by holding its own on the boards and making 8 of 18 three-pointers. Andrew Strait added 10 points.

In Saturday night's challenge, Matt Martin scored 15 points and made three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds, as Montana held off Air Force 59-57. Cameron Rundles added another 13 points for the Grizzlies, who saw a 23-point, second-half lead dwindle to one point in the final minutes against the Falcons.

Sunday, Matt Martin scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, carrying Montana 69-62 past winless Mississippi Valley State. Ceylon Elgin-Taylor added 11 points for the Grizzlies, including seven during a key 11-2 second-half burst that helped the Grizzlies turn a 42-40 deficit into a 51-44 lead.

Montana hosts Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. today.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Lady Griz Win Vegas Hoop Tourney
 

Junior Mandy Morales scored 30 points and added six assists to lead the Lady Griz to an 86-81 victory over Richmond Saturday afternoon in the title game of the UNLV Lady Rebel Shootout in Las Vegas.

Morales -- who had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in the Lady Griz opening-round victory over Oregon State Friday afternoon -- was named the tournament's MVP.

Junior Sonya Rogers had 17 points against the Spiders and was named All-Tournament. Rogers also posted 17 points against the Beavers on Friday and went 7-for-12 from three-point range on the weekend. The Lady Griz improved to 3-2 with the victory.

Montana played at Wyoming last night in another tough early-season match-up.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Volleyball Season Ends With Win
 

In the regular-season finale for both teams, the Montana Volleyball team swept Idaho State 30-26, 30-21, 30-26 Saturday night in UM's West Auxiliary Gym.

Despite the victory, the Grizzlies' Big Sky Conference Tournament hopes and 2007 season came to an end that night with Northern Arizona's defeat of Northern Colorado. NAU took the sixth and final post-season spot in three games in Flagstaff.

Montana finished the season 10-16, 6-10 in Big Sky play -- one game behind Northern Arizona.

Montana Grizzlies