April 2003

Bear Briefs
Job Juncture-The Office of Career Services hopes to match students looking for full-time summer work with Missoula employers on- and off-campus at its first Spring Student Job Fair. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, in the University Center Ballroom and is free to employers and students. Employer parking, as well as reserved tables, snacks and setup assistance will be provided. For more information, call Valerie Marsh at 243-5460.

A Special Event-UM will be the primary site of the Special Olympics Montana State Summer Games on May 21-23. Roughly 3,000 Olympians, coaches and their families are expected to flood Missoula for the games, along with hundreds of volunteers. The theme this year is "Discover the Joy." Missoula will host the games the next three years. Many people and businesses donate their time and resources to make these heartwarming and inspiring games a success. If you would like to get involved, go online to www.specialolympicsmt.org or call Special Olympics Montana at (800) 242-6876.

Author Honors-The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association honored two members of UM's English faculty with 2003 regional book awards at a banquet last month in Santa Fe, N.M. Adjunct Assistant Professor Judy Blunt won the adult nonfiction award for her book "Breaking Clean," and Assistant Professor Debra Magpie Earling's book "Perma Red" won the adult fiction prize. They received a $500 prize, and their books will be featured on the back of the MPBA regional catalog, Reading the West. "Breaking Clean" is a series of essays that tell the story of Blunt's coming of age on a remote ranch on the harsh and beautiful prairies of eastern Montana in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, and the wrenching separation from the only life she had ever known. In "Perma Red" Earling tells the story of Louise White Elk, a young woman growing up in perilous circumstances on a reservation and the consequences of her often contradictory desires.

Law Leader-President George Bush has nominated Harry A. Haines to be a judge on the U.S. Tax Court in Washington, D.C. Haines earned his law degree from the UM School of Law in 1964 and has remained active with the school, previously serving as an adjunct professor. He is now a partner in the Missoula law firm Worden Thane and Haines, where he has worked since 1966. Haines is the first Montanan nominated to the federal tax court. If his nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Haines will be one of about 19 judges that travel a circuit throughout the United States hearing federal tax cases.

All That Jazz-Top jazz clarinetist and part-time Montana resident Buddy DeFranco will celebrate his 80th birthday at the UM jazz festival named in his honor. The Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival takes place on campus Friday and Saturday, April 25-26, with 7:30 p.m. concerts planned each evening. The concerts will feature a stellar lineup of jazz musicians, accompanied by local favorites the All-Star Jazz Trio and UM Jazz Band I. On Friday, DeFranco will welcome old friends and fellow jazz masters Butch Miles on drums, Bill Watrous on trombone, Joe Cohn on guitar and Fabrice Zammarchi on clarinet and saxophone. The festival also will feature daytime clinics for more than 500 students from across the region. For concert tickets, call TIC-It-E-Z at (406) 243-4051 in Missoula or (888) 666-8262. More information is available online at www.umt.edu/defrancojazz or by calling (406) 243-5071.

Leadership Quality-Dawn Payne, a student at UM's College of Technology, has been awarded the fall 2002 Outstanding Student Leader Award from the UM Center for Leadership Development. Payne lives in Missoula and is earning an associate of arts degree. She was one of a dozen outstanding students nominated by UM faculty and staff members for the award, which honors a student who exhibits strong ethics, creative leadership and outstanding service to the University community. She was selected for developing a COT leadership organization and working closely with the Associated Students of UM, the University's student government organization. Payne received a tuition waiver for spring semester, and her name will be engraved on a plaque in UM's University Center.

Spring Art-Two spring exhibits at UM-Missoula will showcase 19th century Japanese prints and contemporary works by a Montana artist. "Geisha, Good Wives and Bad Wives" will be shown in the Paxson Gallery and "Dana Boussard: A Celebration" in the Meloy Gallery through Saturday, May 10. Both galleries are in the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, located in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. The shows are free and open to the public. In her exhibit, Boussard presents new works on paper and textile that explore recurring themes familiar to western Montanans, particularly the relationship of people to animals and the land. In "Geisha, Good Wives and Bad Wives," David Earhart, MMAC's director of programs and publications, explores the interconnections of woodblock-printed artwork and books in depicting the ideal of female beauty as Japan confronts modernization in the 19th century.

Lewis and Clark Art-UM's Montana Museum of Art and Culture will mark the beginning of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial with two related exhibits, "Centennial and Bicentennial: Lewis and Clark in Perspective." The exhibits open May 16 and run through Sept. 6, with an opening reception set for May 28 in conjunction with UM's "Confluence of Cultures" conference, which will offer American Indian perspectives on Lewis and Clark. The exhibits will feature western artists who have depicted the Corps of Discovery, including Edgar Paxson and his "Sacagawea" and Ralph DeCamp and his "Gates of the Mountain." Contemporary artists will offer perspectives often tinged with humor and irony.

Campus Construction-A portion of UM's Campus Drive will be closed to through traffic for the next five months during construction of the new north-end seats in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Vehicle traffic on the UM thoroughfare will be blocked off between the stadium's northeast corner by the labor shop and the northwest corner near the parking compound. Signs will direct vehicle traffic away from the road closure. The closure is effective until Sept. 1, while an additional 4,000 stadium seats are under construction.

Mansfield Manager-Administrator C. Wesley Snyder has been named interim director of UM's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center. President George Dennison said a national search is in progress for a permanent director of the Mansfield Center, and one should be in place by July 1. The Mansfield Center provides courses, seminars, public lectures, conferences and cultural events regarding Asian studies and ethics in public affairs. Snyder joined UM in 1998 as an education professor and later became associate dean of development and applied research for the School of Continuing Education. He previously served as interim director of UM's Office of International Programs.

Bargain Bricks-Be a part of UM history and support its future with a Centennial Circle Brick. The bricks encircle the grizzly bear statue on the Oval and are engraved with names of special people like you, current or future UM students, family members, friends or anyone else you would like to honor. If you place your $150 brick order by April 25, your brick will be on the Oval by Commencement. Your money will help fund University promotional projects. Call University Relations at 243-4520 for more information or to place an order.

University Relations | Cary Shimek, Editor
The University of Montana-Missoula
32 Campus Drive | Missoula, MT 59812
phone (406) 243-2522 | fax (406) 243-4520
© 2004 The University of Montana