| August 1999 Bear Briefs
Parade Preparedness--It's time to tune up the flatbed and order the crepe
paper. Entry forms for the 1999 UM Homecoming Parade are available during business hours
at the UM Alumni Association office on the first floor of Brantly Hall and at the Missoula
Chamber of Commerce, 825 E. Front St. The forms, along with a $10 entry fee, must be
returned to the Alumni Association by Oct. 1. This year's parade theme is "Bridging
Generations: 1900s to 2000s." The parade will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at
downtown's Circle Square and will travel south on Higgins Avenue, then left on University
Avenue to Helen. For more information, call the alumni office at (406) 243-5211.
Best Of The West--Works by some of the West's most famous
artists will be displayed through Sept. 7 at UM's Henry Meloy Gallery. The exhibit, titled
"Masters of the Medium: Great Painters of the American West," features art by
Edgar Paxson, Charles M. Russell, Maynard Dixon and O.C. Seltzer among others. The exhibit
is free and open to the public, and many of the works in the exhibit are for sale. A
portion of the proceeds from the exhibit and sale will benefit UM's Museum of Fine Arts.
Located in the Performing Arts and Radio-Television Center, the Meloy Gallery's hours are
9 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. weekdays. Saturday hours are noon to 5 p.m.
Attention!--UM's ROTC program has been named one of the best in the
nation by Cadet Command, the national headquarters of ROTC in Ft. Monroe, Va. UM received
a 1999 General Douglas MacArthur Award for outperforming all other medium-sized ROTC
programs in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps' Western Region. The UM battalion will be
presented with a plaque during the regional ROTC meeting in Reno, Nev., in November.
Criteria for winning the award include a high student retention rate, producing juniors
and seniors who perform well at Advanced Camp, meeting goals for numbers of cadets
commissioned and having a favorable ratio of staff to students.
Top Student Journalist--UM journalism senior Paige Parker has won a
$3,000 Scripps Howard Scholarship, recognizing her as one of the top 16 journalism
students in the nation. She is currently the Gail Westry intern at the Portland Oregonian,
a select post that includes a $1,000 scholarship. This fall she will become the first
American Indian to serve as editor of the Montana Kaimin, UM's student newspaper.
Contract Consultants--UM, in association with the Consortium of
International Development, has been selected to help the government of Guyana improve the
country's education system. Under a $460,000 contract with the Inter American Development
Bank, faculty and administrators from UM and other western state universities will provide
four months of intensive consultation to the Guyana Ministry of Education. The team will
review the country's education sector, analyze the ministry's resources and training, and
develop a plan for reform and restructuring. Guyana, an English-speaking nation on the
northeast shoulder of South America, has had uneven educational achievement, according to
project director Mark Lusk, a UM administrator.
Jump-starting Careers--Twenty-one American Indian and other minority
students spent their summer preparing for health careers in an intensive six-week program
at UM. The Health Careers Opportunity Program, based at the School of Pharmacy and Allied
Health Sciences, combined rigorous academics with culturally relevant activities and a
holistic approach to meeting students' individual needs. The program's aim is to increase
the number of Indian pharmacists and physical therapists working in Montana. Program
organizers are looking for students for next year's session. Applications must be
postmarked by March 1, 2000. Contact Reno LoParco at (406) 243-4095 or e-mail charette@selway.umt.edu for more information.
Bookstore Online--The word "textbook" can strike fear into
the heart of any college student. Paying for them. Carrying them around. Actually reading
them. Fortunately, one aspect of textbooks is about to get a little less frightening:
shopping for them. Beginning this month, students will be able to purchase textbooks
online at The Bookstore's Web site, http://www.umt.edu/bookstore.
The addition of textbooks is one of many improvements planned for The Book-store's Web
site. Other merchandise - such as general books, school supplies, logowear and computers -
also will be available online. In addition, Web surfers will be able to send electronic
greetings featuring Montana images or hunt for Bear Facts about UM.
Studying Ecosystems--Based on a proposal submitted to the Department
of the Interior, UM was chosen to host a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit for the Rocky
Mountains that will involve scientists from six federal agencies and five academic
institutions in the region. As host, UM will be the axis for a regional effort to share
information in human, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem research. The larger purpose of
the partnership is to improve the base of scientific knowledge necessary to manage federal
resources. The Rocky Mountain CESU will cover a territory from the Canadian to Mexican
borders.
New Library Leader--UM has a new dean to lead the Maureen and Mike
Mansfield Library into the next millennium. Frank D'Andraia, director of libraries at the
University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, will replace Dean Karen Hatcher, who is
retiring Dec. 31 after 31 years of service to the UM library. D'Andraia will assume his
new duties Jan. 16. Hatcher will continue to work part-time at UM next year.
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