Bear Briefs

Insurer Gives $125,000 For Endowed Chair—Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana has pledged $125,000 to the UM Foundation toward an endowed chair in cardiovascular sciences at UM. The gift brings the University closer to the goal of $2.5 million to secure the endowed position. The endowed chair holder will be a physician or combined M.D./Ph.D. and will serve as a Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences professor at UM’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy. The chair holder will take over leadership of a collaboration between the University and partners in the medical community. To learn more about supporting UM’s endowed chair in cardiovascular sciences, call Mark Schleicher, UM Foundation’s director of development for the College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, at 406-243-4222.

Mansfield Center Designated Confucius Institute—China’s Ministry of Education recently designated UM’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center the 39th Confucius Institute in the United States. There are currently 269 Confucius Institutes worldwide, which are supported by the Chinese government to promote the teaching of Chinese language and culture. In the United States they are awarded on a one-per-state basis. UM’s institute will receive at least five years of funding from the Office of Chinese Language Council International, part of China's Ministry of Education. Mansfield Center Director Terry Weidner said UM’s Confucius Institute will meet an important educational need and its work will be appropriate for the Mansfield Center to honor its legendary namesake, Montana's late U.S. Sen. Mike Mansfield.

MTPR Announces Pledge Week Results—Listeners promised $435,638 in contributions to Montana Public Radio by the end of Pledge Week on March 1. MTPR Fundraising Director Linda Talbott said the station is very grateful to receive such a strong outpouring of support during tough economic times. The amount raised is about $25,000 short of the station’s goal of $460,000. The majority of donors were from Montana, but the station also received pledges from supporters in Kuala Lumpur, South Korea and Australia. Pledge Week’s signature finale, “Pet Wars,” raised $70,734 in the final seven hours of the pledge drive. Cats won the “most beloved pet” title with 1,634 votes, and dogs were a close second with 1,576. Orchard mason bees flew out of nowhere to take third with 750 votes, while chickens took fourth place with 411 votes. There were 200 votes for praying mantises and 136 votes for horses.

Professor’s Article Scores Second Award—Dan Flores, UM’s A.B. Hammond Professor of Western History, has won a second literary award for his article “Bringing Home All the Pretty Horses: The Horse Trade and the Early American West, 1775-1825.” The article, which was published in Montana The Magazine of Western History last year, recently was named Outstanding Magazine Article by the Western Heritage Center and National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. “Bringing Home All The Pretty Horses” also received the 2008 Vivian Paladin Best Article Prize. The prize is given annually by the editorial board of Montana The Magazine of Western History for the best article published in the magazine.

UM Cuts Ties With Apparel Company—UM severed its business relationship with Russell Athletic on March 3 over allegations the sports clothing company closed a Honduran factory because workers unionized. In a letter to Russell, UM Executive Vice President Jim Foley wrote, “We believe that your actions constitute a violation of our vendor code of conduct, which we implemented together with faculty, students and staff on our campus and we expect as a licensee for you to uphold.” The letter states that University officials concur with findings of the Workers Rights Consortium and Fair Labor Association that the ability for workers to organize and animus toward them was a factor in Russell choosing to close the factory. Company officials contend they closed the Jerzees de Honduras factory primarily for economic reasons.

Banquet Celebrates Friendship Program—The Missoula International Friendship Program will celebrate 20 years of connecting UM international students with the Missoula community with an anniversary banquet at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 21, in the University Center Ballroom. The event will feature a Middle Eastern buffet and multicultural performances. Udo Fluck, president of MIFP, will serve as the master of ceremonies. Jean Griswold of Fort Collins, Colo., and past consultant for MIFP will be the honored guest. Banquet tickets cost $25 for adults and $18 for students. They are available until April 14. Call UM’s Foreign Student and Scholar Services at 406-243-2226 or e-mail fsss@umontana.edu to reserve tickets.

Griz Inducted Into Hall Of Fame—Former Grizzly football players Scott Gragg and Steve Okoniewski were officially inducted into UM's athletic hall of fame in a ceremony held Feb. 6 at the University. Gragg played offensive lineman for the Griz from 1991 to 1994; Okoniewski, also an offensive lineman, wore a Griz uniform from 1970 to 1971. Both went in the second round of their NFL drafts. Okoniewski was selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the 41st overall pick in 1972. He played six seasons in the NFL, and one in the CFL. Okoniewski is now a high school principal in Luxemburg, Wis. Gragg went to the New York Giants as the 54th overall pick of the 1995 draft. He started in 151 NFL games, including 112 in a row, and was named all-pro by the NFL in 2002. He currently coaches football at his high school alma mater in Silverton, Ore.

Japanese Delegation Visits UM—Members of the Shinshu University, Japan, student support project visited several UM Academic Affairs and Student Affairs departments during February. The goal of the Shinshu University project, led by Tomone Takahashi, is to develop a support system to help students with disabilities gain rich academic experiences and achievement success. Project representatives will disseminate information gained at UM to their campus and to other higher education institutions in Japan.