September 2002

Bear Briefs
Better Writing-The University now has a new center to help UM students improve their writing skills. The writing center offers drop-in, scheduled and online tutoring; information about local and Web-based writing resources; and workshops and mini-courses aimed at improving undergraduate writing across all disciplines. In the second half of each semester, the center will add services as needed and schedule evening and weekend hours. Four years ago the University's Faculty Senate instituted a required writing proficiency assessment to ensure that all UM graduates are able to write with "clarity of thought and precision of language." To graduate, UM students must take at least three writing courses and pass the assessment, as well as complete the upper-division writing expectations required in their majors. Nancy Mattina, the writing center's interim director, said the center will play a role in the University's emphasis on writing skills by guiding students toward better writing strategies and by providing regularly scheduled preparatory workshops for the writing proficiency assessment. For more information, call Mattina at (406) 243-2470, or go online to www.umt.edu/writingcenter.

Native Views-Crow elder Alma Snell will impart some of her tribe's wisdom about food and medicinal use of plants during her lecture "Taste of Heritage" at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, in the UC Theater. The audience will get to sample foods such as chokecherry sauce, pemmican, various teas and more. Snell then will give a reading of her book, "Grandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life," at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, in the large meeting room at the Missoula Public Library. Snell is part of the second generation of Crow born into reservation life. Her visit to UM is part of a new lecture series starting this fall that will tackle Native American topics. Sponsored by the Montana Committee for the Humanities and UM's Department of Native American Studies, the Native Views lecture series will bring Indian elders, artists, scholars, activists and others to Missoula in an effort to spark local and regional dialogue about important Native issues. More Native Views lectures will be coming. Call UM's Department of Native American Studies at (406) 243-5831 for more information.

Play Time-UM's Department of Drama/Dance will open its 2002-03 season with Caryl Churchill's play "Cloud Nine." Performances will be held nightly at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8-12 and 15-19 in the Masquer Theatre of UM's Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. Tickets cost $11 for the general public and $10 for students and senior citizens. They are available at box offices in the PAR/TV lobby and the University Center. "Cloud Nine" audiences are transported across time, two continents and a range of human relationships in this gender-bending comedy. The first act tackles colonial and sexual repression in Victorian Africa. The second act is set in London in 1979, the year Churchill wrote the play. "Cloud Nine" is a thought-provoking, humorous work that raises significant questions about societal and personal issues. For reservations and additional information, call (406) 243-4581, Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Health Lectures-An upcoming lecture series at St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center will delve into the complexities of the current health care crisis. The four free lectures will be sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and Humanities, a joint program of the hospital and UM. "Health Care and You: A Healing Place or a Marketplace?" will be held once a week from Oct. 7 to Oct. 30. All presentations will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Conference Center of St. Patrick Hospital, located at 500 W. Broadway. The events will be partially funded by a grant from the Montana Committee for the Humanities. The series will be presented in a town-meeting format to encourage audience questions and participation. For more information, call IMH program coordinator Dixie McLaughlin at (406) 329-5662.

New Tech Program-UM-Missoula's College of Technology now offers a program for students who want to become radiology technologists. The course is a cooperative effort between COT and St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center. Students in the program will complete five semesters of course work that includes training with radiology technologists at Missoula clinics and hospitals. Graduates receive an associate degree in applied science, which prepares them for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists certification exam. The first students registered for the program began classes this fall. "We are very pleased with the response to this new program," said COT Dean R. Paul Williamson. "This fall's classes are full, and we have students on a waiting list. We hope to expand the program in the future." For more information, call COT Admissions and New Student Services at (406) 243-7888.

New Exhibit-"Material + Process," sculptures by Santa Fe, N.M., artist Tracy Krumm and Helena artist Richard Swanson, will be on display Oct. 4 through Nov. 1 in UM's Gallery of Visual Arts. Located on the first floor of UM's Social Science Building, the gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. In their works, Krumm and Swanson explore the notion of transformation through the use of found and natural materials. For more information about the exhibits, call Cathryn Mallory, gallery director, at (406) 243-2813.

Winter Learning-Community members are welcome, residents and nonresidents pay the same tuition, and students are not required to formally apply to attend UM's Continuing Education Wintersession, January 6-24, 2003. From anthropology to welding, economics to outdoor classes and physics to study-abroad opportunities, a wide variety of course options are available. Wintersession is an opportunity to earn college credits, fulfill general education requirements or complete independent studies or work-based learning experiences. Early registration is recommended, as class sizes are limited. For a complete schedule of courses and fees and an application form, go online to www.umt.edu/wintersession or call Peggy Nesbitt at UM Continuing Education, 243-6014.

Coaching Gig-Bob Beers, an All-American linebacker for the Grizzlies during 1967-68, has been hired to coach the Colorado Crush, an Arena Football League expansion team that begins play in February. Beers, 54, was a UM assistant coach, and he coached Western Montana during 1993-94, guiding his NAIA squad to the Frontier Conference title and earning coach-of-the-year honors both seasons. He has coached at all levels, and was offensive coordinator of the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in 1995. For the past seven years, he has been a college scout for the Denver Broncos. One co-owner of the Colorado Crush is former NFL star John Elway. Beers played and coached under Elway's late father, Jack.

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