Bear Briefs

Enrollment Jumps—Summer enrollment at the Univesity jumped 41 students from a year ago, with most of that increase coming from out-of-state. The 2005 student headcount was 3,251, compared to 3,210 last summer — a 1.2 percent increase. However, there were more part-time students and fewer full-time students this summer, so the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) actually declined by 1.4 percent when compared to 2004. Summer enrollments combined with those during the two academic-year semesters make up the fiscal year total. Based on current projections, it appears enrollment should rebound in the fall.

Tickets for Kids—Six former UM football players joined forces recently to create GrizKidz, a nonprofit program to provide opportunities for financially disadvantaged children in Missoula to attend Grizzly home football games. The goal of the program is for Griz football ticket holders to donate tickets that would otherwise go unused for distribution to such children. Founding members of GrizKidz are former Griz football standouts Matt Clark, Thad Huse, Mike McGowan, Mike Rankin, Tim Polich and Bryan Tripp. Drop boxes are located at the Press Box, the Montana Club, Paradise Falls, Stockman’s Bar, the UM ticket office and all First Security Banks. Donations need to be in pairs or more (for chaperone purposes) and should be dropped off by Thursday at 5 p.m. before each home game.

Fulbright to Honduras—UM law faculty member and Legal Counsel David Aronofsky recently returned from Honduras, where he taught a class on a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant. The two-week technology law course was taught to two-dozen upper-level law and business students and professors at the Central America Technological University Law School in Tegucigalpa. Aronofsky taught the class in Spanish, covering freedom of expression and the Internet, online consumer protection, data privacy, Internet jurisdiction and misuse cases, among other issues. The Honduran course used court decisions and other materials from Latin America, the European Union and the United States. Besides teaching, Aronofsky also explored creating a new e-commerce and technology law center in Tegucigalpa with UM assistance, in anticipation of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which takes effect Nov. 1.

University Magazine Honored—UM’s magazine, the Montanan, recently won a national award for excellence from the Association of Educational Publishers. The Montanan won the Distinguished Achievement Award in the Most Improved Magazine category in AEP’s 2005 competition. Editor Joan Melcher of University Relations led a yearlong redesign effort that premiered with the fall 2004 issue of the magazine. The Montanan is mailed three times a year to more than 65,000 UM alumni and friends. The Montanan beat out three other magazines, including the Penn Stater, to win the prestigious award. The Montanan also was named a finalist in two similar categories in competition sponsored by the Association of Western Publishers.

Web Site Gets Noticed—The University’s Web site ushered in the new academic year with a slate of improvements, including streamlined navigation and layout, new graphics and photos and a featured link section. Educause, an organization for information technology in higher education, recently selected UM as its “Site of the Week.” The feature showcases sites that are “well-designed, visually appealing and easy to use.” To see the site yourself, visit http://www.umt.edu/.

Broadcasting Brilliance—UM broadcast journalism students Beth Saboe and Tim Reilly recently won the E.B. Craney Award for noncommercial radio program of the year from the Montana Broadcasters Association and Greater Montana Foundation. They were recognized for their work on UM’s Legislative News project during this year’s legislative session in Helena. Saboe of Sidney and Reilly of Gallatin Gateway produced daily radio reports that aired on more than 50 radio stations across Montana. Another student production, “Montana Journal: Small Towns in the Big Sky II,” was runner-up in the noncommercial television program of the year category.

Silk Road Exhibit—The national traveling exhibition “Ancient Threads, Newly Woven: Recent Art from China’s Silk Road” will be at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture through Oct. 15. The exhibition highlights works by contemporary artists living and working in the Silk Road cities of Xi’an, Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi and Kashgar. The museum is located in UM’s Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 8:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, UM faculty member Ardeshir Kia will speak at the museum on the history of art along the Silk Road.

Expanded Parking Options—UM’s Park-N-Ride system has expanded services this year. A new lot on East Broadway offers a North Park-N-Ride shuttle service that runs every 15 minutes to the Adams Center. Park-N-Ride South offers buses every 10 minutes from the Dornblaser lots and is free and open to the public.

Endowed Position—UM celebrated the new John J. Craighead Chair in Wildlife Biology during a Sept. 9 public reception. Friends, associates and former students of Craighead provided $2.5 million to endow the position, which UM intends to fill in the 2007-08 academic year by hiring a scientist of Craighead’s stature. Craighead led UM’s Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit for 25 years and was named by National Geographic as one of this century’s most eminent scientists. His advances led to use of research radio collars on species all over the world.

Tribal Learning—Through a new multicultural education project, students at Missoula’s Lewis and Clark Elementary School will learn more about nearby American Indian tribes. The project was made possible by a $7,000 Community Action Grant awarded to the American Association of University Women Missoula Branch from the national AAUW Foundation and by a $3,000 grant from the Montana Committee for the Humanities. The goal of the project is to bring the wealth of indigenous knowledge of the Salish, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai tribes to area teachers and their students. During workshops, American Indian educators, UM faculty members and elementary teachers will design and develop materials and processes to incorporate into K-5 curricula. For more information about the project, call (406) 721-4691 or (406) 728-2400 ext. 4350.