Bear Briefs

UM Makes Top Colleges List—UM was ranked 132nd out of 258 national universities by the Washington Monthly in its annual college rankings, released last month. The magazine judges schools based on three criteria: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students); research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and doctoral degrees); and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country). UM ranked 196th, 143rd and 54th in the respective categories to earn its overall ranking of 132. To view Washington Monthly’s rankings online, visit http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide.

Administrator Earns National Award—The Council for Opportunity in Education awarded Ray Carlisle, director of TRIO Student Support Services at UM, a 2009 Walter O. Mason Award at its annual conference Sept. 10 in San Antonio. The prestigious award is the highest national honor given by the council for distinguished service and leadership. Carlisle was one of only three administrators to receive the award this year. The council created the award in 1988 to honor outstanding education opportunity professionals who exemplify the leadership and ideals of Mason, one of the founders of the federal TRIO programs that help economically disadvantaged students receive quality educations at the postsecondary level. More information about UM’s TRIO Student Support Services program is online at http://www.umt.edu/triosss.

Grants Brings Arabic Classes to Missoula—After a nationwide competition, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a five-year, $764,000 grant to Missoula County Public Schools to create a full Arabic language and culture program for area students. The grant will create the school district’s first critical language program in collaboration with UM. A joint team of district and University personnel working under the direction of Alex Apostle, MCPS superintendent, and Mehrdad Kia, UM associate provost for International Programs, developed and wrote the grant. Kia said program development will begin during the 2009-10 school year, with the first Arabic classes beginning in fall 2010. Ultimately, Arabic will be taught in MCPS’ three middle schools and three high schools. At the end of the Arabic courses of study, MCPS seniors will be eligible to enroll in advanced Arabic classes at UM.

UM Upgrades Classroom Technology—UM took the first steps of a seven-year plan to install high-tech teaching tools in nearly all of its 160 classrooms this summer. A dozen classrooms were equipped with new presentation technology capabilities before the start of fall semester. About 20 classrooms will be equipped during each of the next six years. Each high-tech classroom has a standard suite of equipment, including a networked computer, a Blu-ray Disc player, a document camera and other audio and video capabilities. Each classroom installation costs about $12,700 for equipment and labor. A team made up of individuals from Information Technology, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and Administration and Finance worked to develop the plan to finance it with existing student fees. A Web site has been created to provide progress reports on the classroom technology project. The site is at http://www.umt.edu/classrooms.

American Indian Pharmacy Program Gets Boost—The Office of Student Services in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at UM has been awarded a $1.2 million grant to expand and establish programs for American Indian pharmacy students. The grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides continuing support to UM’s Native American Center of Excellence. The NACOE program was developed to improve American Indian student academic performance and to provide opportunities for Indian faculty development. The NACOE program is headed by Lori Morin, assistant dean for Student Affairs, and Estella Anderson, director for pre-pharmacy advising. The program also will establish a consortium of staff, faculty and researchers from UM-affiliated colleges and tribal colleges across the state, as well as several Montana organizations involved in health care. For more information, visit http://www.umt.edu/coe.

Wildlife Society Honors UM Educators—Several UM College of Forestry and Conservation faculty members were honored at the annual conference of The Wildlife Society, held Sept. 20-24 in Monterey, Calif. Jack Ward Thomas, UM’s Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation Emeritus, gave the plenary presentation at the conference. Professor Dan Pletscher, director of the University’s Wildlife Biology Program, was awarded Honorary Membership in The Wildlife Society. UM Associate Provost Perry Brown received the society’s Wildlife Publication Award for editing the book “Wildlife and Society: The Science of Human Dimensions.” In addition, UM Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation Paul Krausman was elected to a four-year term on the society’s Executive Council, and wildlife biology graduate student Jonathan Derbridge will serve as student liaison. Derbridge is a Boone and Crockett Fellow in the University’s Boone and Crockett Wildlife Conservation Program.

Educators Among Irish Voice Top 100—Irish Voice newspaper has named UM faculty members Traolach O’Riordain and Katie Kane and UM Executive Vice President Jim Foley to its inaugural Irish Education 100 list, which honors the nation’s top 100 education professionals of Irish descent. Kane, professor and director of UM’s Irish Studies Program, teaches courses on ethnic studies, 17th-century Ireland, and the colonial and postcolonial experiences of the Irish and American Indians. O’Riordain, an adjunct assistant professor raised in County Cork, Ireland, teaches UM courses in Irish language, nationalism, literature, history and philosophy, as well as Gaelic culture. Foley has served as UM’s executive vice president since 2005. He was integral in building the partnership between UM and Ireland that led to the establishment of the Irish Studies Program, which was launched in 2006. The recipients were honored at an awards ceremony Oct. 8 at the American Irish Historical Society in New York City.