Bear Briefs

Marshall Scholarship—UM senior Hilary Martens of Missoula has been awarded a prestigious 2008 Marshall Scholarship for two years in graduate school at a British university – all expenses paid by the British government. Martens majors in physics and music at UM, with minors in mathematics and music composition. She is a Presidential Leadership Scholar in UM’s Davidson Honors College. Marshall Scholars are chosen for their distinction of intellect and character, evidenced by both their scholastic attainments and by their other activities and achievements. They also must be adequately prepared for their proposed course of study.

Fulbright Scholars—Two UM faculty members – Elizabeth Crone and William Knowles – currently are lecturing and doing research abroad through Fulbright Scholar grants. Crone, an associate professor in the College of Forestry and Conservation, is conducting research and lecturing at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Her focus is applying theoretical ecology to wildlife conservation and management. Crone has developed an inverse mathematical equation to predict rates of mass seeding in plants and will use part of her time in Finland to study ways of using math to address ecological questions. Knowles, a professor emeritus of the School of Journalism’s radio/television department, is at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, lecturing on broadcast journalism and giving students hands-on instruction in the field.

Peerless Peers—The Curry Health Center’s Peers Reaching Out group was recognized as the most outstanding peer education team in the nation at the BACCHUS conference held Nov. 8-11 in Atlanta. About 800 representatives from more than 150 of the nation’s colleges and universities attended the conference. UM’s PRO group received the award for the Most Outstanding Affiliate from schools with more than 12,000 students, and one of their members, Olivia Shjeflo, received the award for Outstanding Peer Educator. BACCHUS is a network of more than 32,000 student leaders that promotes healthy and safe lifestyle decisions. UM’s PRO students create fun interactive programs and coordinate campus events to help peers make better decisions about high-risk behaviors such as drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse and unhealthy sexual practices.

History Makers—The University’s School of Law made history last month when all three of its student negotiation teams competed in the final rounds of the regional American Bar Association Negotiation Competition. No other law school has advanced all three entrants into Region 10’s final round during the 20-year history of UM’s participation in the competition. The teams were among 20 representing law schools across the northwestern United States and Canada. The event was hosted Nov. 3-4 by the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in Saskatoon, Canada