February 2004

Bear Briefs
Making the Grade—UM-Missoula student-athletes excelled in academic achievement as well as sports during fall semester 2003. The student-athlete cumulative grade-point average was 2.92, and almost half of the students received a 3.0 GPA or higher. Thirty-nine of UM’s 325 student-athletes made the Dean’s List, which requires at least a 3.5 GPA, and 23 earned a perfect 4.0. The women’s cross country/track team received the highest GPA with an average of 3.51. UM women’s basketball, golf, track, and men’s and women’s tennis teams earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher. The men’s basketball team earned an average GPA of 2.57, and nearly half of UM’s Grizzly football team earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher.

Caring Calendars—For only $20 you can help a child in western Montana sharpen their speech, language and literacy skills. The Western Montana RiteCare Language and Literacy Clinic at UM is selling 2004 cash and coupon calendars to offset costs of providing the critical services to children in western Montana. By purchasing a calendar, you will be eligible for holiday drawings of up to $500, a special Valentine’s Day ring and a $4,000 grand-prize Christmas drawing. The calendar also comes with more than 70 two-for-one dinner coupons at Missoula restaurants. All proceeds from calendar sales will go toward helping area children improve their communication skills. The Western Montana RiteCare Language and Literacy Clinic is supported through fund-raising efforts by the Western Montana Scottish Rite Foundation and donations. The clinic, which opened on the UM campus in 1998, has provided services to more than 250 western Montana children. To purchase a calendar, contact the RiteCare Calendar Marketing Division at (406) 243-5261.

Everyday Ethics—The Practical Ethics Center is hosting another “PEC Presents” lecture series this semester at UM. All seminars are free and open to the public, and are held from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in Gallagher Business Building Room L14. Scheduled seminars are:

• March 1 — “Being a Zealous Advocate and Still Doing Justice.”
• March 15 — “Selfish or Selfless? Physicians Confront Epidemics.”
• April 5 — “Gender and Ethics in Native American Studies.”
• April 19 — “Ethics of Large Carnivore Conservation.”
• May 3 — “Moral Vegetarianism: What’s Love Got to Do With It?”

“PEC Presents” brings professionals and students from the campus and community together to identify and discuss ethics as an integral part of their everyday lives. For more information call 243-6605 or e-mail huntercs@mso.umt.edu.

Kennedy’s Crusaders—The Peace Corps has released its 2004 list of “Top Producing Colleges and Universities,” and UM-Missoula once again made the top 10 in the category for medium-sized institutions. With 35 alumni volunteers in the Peace Corps, UM ranked 10th nationally among colleges with undergraduate enrollments between 5,001 and 15,000. Last year UM tied for 10th with Stanford University, with 32 alumni in the corps. This year’s ranking puts UM ahead of institutions such as Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard. Montana State University-Bozeman finished in 23rd place with 25 alumni in the program. The Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Since then more than 170,000 Americans have served in 137 countries. At the present time, the Peace Corps has 7,533 volunteers and trainees in 137 countries worldwide.

European Enlightenment—Sign up now for this year’s Community Lecture Series sponsored by the UM Alumni Association. The six-lecture series will examine “The New Europe,” and will feature lectures on the European Union, trade policy and more. Lectures will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday evenings Feb. 17-March 23 in the UC Theater. The cost is $15 for UMAA members, and $20 for nonmembers. To register or receive more information, call Ken Thompson at 243-6439.

Library Savings—UM’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library has made a complete transition to electronic correspondence this semester in an effort to cut costs and improve customer service. On Jan. 26 library patrons received e-mails notifying them of overdue or lost materials, as well as library fines. “We started this project after realizing how much money and time were spent on sending paper notices,” said Patricia Collins, circulation and interlibrary loan manager. “It was really a matter of cost and time efficiency. In the past the Mansfield Library sent out an average of 2,000 paper overdue notices each month. By using an e-mail notification system, the library can save more than $8,000 each year on postage alone.”

Art Exhibits—Unique paper kimonos and a collection of fine art prints will be displayed at UM Jan. 30-Feb. 20 as part of a new exhibit on printing. The two exhibits, “MATRIX Press: Selections from the UM Department of Art Print Collection” and “Vickie Meguire: Essence of Pattern,” will be in UM’s Gallery of Visual Arts on the first floor of the Social Science Building. The exhibits are free and open to the public. The Gallery of Visual Arts is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information call Cathryn Mallory at 243-2813.

Student Winner—UM senior Jessie Childress recently won fourth place in the national Hearst Journalism Awards contest for opinion writing. Childress won for a column she wrote last winter about the Montana Legislature attempting to divert funding from UM’s Environmental Studies Program. She will receive a $750 scholarship. Childress, who is from Missoula, was editor of UM’s Kaimin student newspaper for the 2002-03 academic year. More than 100 accredited journalism programs nationwide are eligible to nominate student work for the Hearst awards.

Natural Writing—The UM Environmental Studies Program is hosting “Wild Mercy,” a community reading series of nature and environmental writing from visiting writers in residence, graduate writing students and alumni. All readings are scheduled from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at Liquid Planet, 223 N. Higgins in Missoula, and are free and open to the public. Upcoming readings throughout the semester will be March 4, March 25 and May 6. For more information call Phil Condon at 243-2904 or e-mail phil.condon@mso.umt.edu.

Exploring Conservation—The 25th annual Wilderness Issues Lecture Series, sponsored by the College of Forestry and Conservation’s Wilderness Institute at UM-Missoula, brings together scientists, landowners, environmentalists, conservation agency staff and an art historian to examine the implications of landscape-scale conservation. Lectures are scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesdays through April 20 in Gallagher Business Building Room 122. All lectures are free and open to the public. Details and a complete schedule are online at http://www.forestry.umt.edu/research/MFCES/programs/wi/lectureseries.htm.

Knowledge of Asia—Learn about Malaysia and Far East business at UM’s Asia Lunch Series. Scheduled lectures run from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 13 and 23 in the Mansfield Center conference room, located on the fourth floor of the Mansfield Library. Participants can bring a lunch to the lectures and beverages will be provided. Call the Mansfield Center at (406) 243-2988 or e-mail mansctr@selway.umt.edu for more information.

University Relations | Cary Shimek, Editor
The University of Montana-Missoula
32 Campus Drive | Missoula, MT 59812
phone (406) 243-2522 | fax (406) 243-4520
© 2004 The University of Montana