Bear Briefs

Internet Improvements—As the use of Internet technologies has soared, so too has demand on The University of Montana’s computer network, resulting in sometimes frustrating slowdowns.The University has announced a plan to address the situation, said Ray Ford, associate vice president for Information Technology. “In order to provide a better safety margin, IT will move ahead as soon as possible to implement this plan,” he said. The plan involves separating on-campus from Residence Life traffic; assigning each to their own external network links; increasing net bandwidth to campus by 50 percent – from 90MB to 135MB; dedicating 90MB of bandwidth to on-campus traffic and the other, separate 45MB to Residence Life; dedicating a newly purchased “filtering box” – which reduces extraneous network traffic – to the on-campus load, while switching the older unit to Residence Life traffic. For more information about Information Technology on campus, visit http://www.umt.edu/it/.

Correction Curriculum—Montana’s parole and probation officers deal with a diverse group of offenders who are increasingly mentally ill, chemically dependent and sexually violent. To meet the demands of this offender population, the Adult Community Corrections Division of the state Department of Corrections has hired UM to design an online training program to assist its officers in dealing with these difficult cases. “This training is absolutely needed,” said Tim Conley, the assistant professor in UM’s School of Social Work who spearheads the project. The Web-based training will be offered through UM Continuing Education, which has a wide variety of online course offerings. Conley said the project should save taxpayer dollars because officers won’t have to travel to other cities and stay in hotels for training as they do now. Also, this means department’s training dollars will be spent in Montana, rather than on out-of-state training courses.

Buying Bricks—Become a permanent part of the UM-Missoula campus by having your name — or another special person’s — engraved on a brick in Centennial Circle. Paved with red bricks, the circle surrounds Rudy Autio’s landmark grizzly bear statue, located on the western edge of the Oval. With its classic Main Hall and Mount Sentinel backdrop, the circle is a favorite place for picture-taking. The bricks cost $150 each and may be engraved with names or brief messages. A Centennial Circle brick makes a great Christmas gift. For more information, go online to http://www.umt.edu/urelations/bricks.htm.

Bus Redux—It turns out there is such thing as a free ride. Two of them. For the second time in as many months, UM is the recipient of a bus donated by the City of Missoula’s Mountain Line bus system. The Associated Students of UM Office of Transportation will now have two backup buses on the Park-N-Ride routes, making maintenance and repairs easier and less disruptive. The extra carrying capacity of the longer bus also helps alleviate riders having to wait for the next bus during peak times, especially on the busy South Campus route. ASUM President Andrea Helling said that because of breakdowns and other required maintenance, the donated buses couldn’t have come at a better time. “The current buses are 1988 and 1989 models,” she said. “Most cars don’t even run that well when they’re this old.” Before the newly donated bus runs its first route, it must undergo a paint job to cloak it in UM maroon and white with Park-N-Ride logos. “In our budget we can barely afford to have them painted,” Helling said. “There’s no way we could afford new buses. We’re just tremendously thankful to Mountain Line.”

Best Buy—UM was chosen to appear as one of 247 colleges and universities in the 9th edition of Barron’s “Best Buys in College Education.” Inclusion in the volume is based on various criteria, including tuition rates and the results of questionnaires filled out by students and the dean of students. President George Dennison indicated his gratification about UM’s inclusion, since these listings make clear to potential students the value received for the value given. “We try hard to earn the ‘best buy’ billing by emphasizing affordability and quality,” he said. Colleges covered in the book range from publicly supported schools that are virtually tuition-free to moderately priced ones that provide quality education at bargain prices.

Knowles Acknowledged—UM radio-television Professor William Knowles, the man known to thousands of students for his Introduction to Mass Media class, was recently honored with a national award for his contribution to broadcast journalism. Knowles received the prestigious Edward L. Bliss Award for Distinguished Broadcast Journalism Education at the 2006 annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The award is named for legendary CBS newsman Ed Bliss, a longtime writer and producer for Walter Cronkite. Knowles has taught at UM since 1986. His students have won nearly every award bestowed on college journalists, including Emmy Awards, Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards, and Associated Press and Montana Broadcasters Association honors. Before coming to UM, Knowles worked in the profession for 22 years. He was a news producer and executive for ABC News in bureaus in Los Angeles and Atlanta and in Washington, D.C., where he covered a number of historic events during Watergate.

Cookie Cook-Off—Students, staff and faculty will take the stress out of finals week by baking cookies to help those in need at UM’s annual Great UM Christmas Cookie Cook-Off. The event will take place Thursday, Dec. 14, in the Food Zoo. Volunteers from the campus community are invited to bake cookies for their families and more importantlt, for those in need. This year’s theme is “The Bear that Cares,” and Monte will make an appearance along with Santa Claus. Last year nearly 280-dozen cookies were donated to 13 local charities and more than 22 campus departments participated in the event. Supplies are provided by University Dining Services and donors. For more information or to donate supplies, call University Dining Services at 243-6325.

Feel The Burn—UM health and human performance students have two goals in mind by hosting the Freezer Burn Run to be held Saturday, Dec. 2. One is to motivate people of all ages to keep moving despite the colder weather. The other is to raise funds for the University’s Human Performance Laboratory. The event, which includes a 13-mile run or a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) run or fitness walk, begins at 10 a.m. at the Frenchtown High School parking lot. To preregister and get a long-sleeved T-shirt with the run logo costs $15. Registration deadline is Monday, Nov. 27, to get the T-shirt. A $5 registration fee also is available that does not include the T-shirt. For UM students with a Griz Card who do not want a T-shirt, registration is free. Register online at http://www.soe.umt.edu/hhp or at the following locations: the Runner’s Edge, 325 N. Higgins Ave.; UM’s HHP office, McGill Hall Room 101; or UM’s Fitness and Recreation Center. Registration and check-in begin at 9 a.m. the day of the event. For more information, call HHP Adjunct Assistant Professor Carla Cox at 406-243-4291 or e-mail carla.cox@mso.umt.edu.

COT Tours—The UM College of Technology in Missoula now offers tours of its east and west campuses at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Prospective students and their families, school classes and other interested groups may schedule tours by calling the COT Admissions Office at 406-243-7882 or e-mailing COTAdmissions@umontana.edu.

Kids’ Art—Two new and exciting exhibits – “Children of the Permanent Collection” and “Children’s Art from the Community” – are on view at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture at UM. “Children of the Permanent Collection” highlights more than 55 exquisite artworks from the museum’s Permanent Collection – paintings, drawings, prints and ceramics that depict unique portrayals of children as seen through the eyes of the artists. “Children’s Art from the Commun­­­ity” features artwork created by Missoula’s elementary school children in grades K-5. The artwork portrays adults at work and play, at family gatherings and engaging in every day activities. The exhibits will be at the museum’s Meloy and Paxson galleries, located in UM’s Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center, through Saturday, Dec. 23. ­Museum hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, from 4 to 8:30 p.m. There is no charge for admission and free parking is available near the northwest corner of the PAR/TV Center. For more information, call 406-243-2019, e-mail museum@umontana.edu or visit the museum’s Web site at http://www.umt.edu/montanamuseum.