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Sept. 8, 2008 | Vol. 37, No. 6

In this issue:

Glaciologist Helps Project Sea Level Rise
Bee Researchers Make Breakthrough
Hiroshima Survivor To Speak At UM
'For UM, For Us' Campaign Takes Off This Week
Join In Homecoming Festivities
Lifelong Learning Registration Open
Book Signings: 'The Original Man'
Information Technology Training
IT Lecture Open To UM Employees
Work Parties Set For Homecoming Float
Staff Senate Meeting Schedule
Faculty Senate Meeting Schedule
President Dennison's Office Hours
Faculty/Staff Socials
News About U
Publications

Campus Links

Welcome to ForUM, the e-newsletter for University of Montana staff, faculty and administrators. ForUM is published weekly during the academic year except during scheduled academic breaks.

If this issue of ForUM is truncated, the problem can be resolved by going to the following IT announcement: Truncated E-mail Messages Resolution.

Glaciologist Helps Project Sea Level Rise

When Joel Harper talks about calving, it has nothing to do with cattle.

Harper, a UM glaciologist, studies the melting and movement of the world's ice sheets. For him, calving is what happens when ice sheets meet the ocean and break apart to form icebergs.

Now Harper and his research partners suggest there needs to be a whole lot more calving going on to make the direst climate-change predictions of sea level rise come to fruition by 2100. In fact, glaciers and ice sheets would have to reach never-recorded sustained speeds to make the most extreme ocean level rises come true according to the researchers' new methodology, which is laid out in the Sept. 5 edition of the journal Science.

"We hope our research will help give people a better number to work with," Harper said.

His partners in the study and co-authors of the Science article are Tad Pfeffer of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado and Shad O'Neel of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.

Read the News Release

Bee Researchers Make Breakthrough

UM researchers and their University-related company, Bee Alert Technology Inc., have employed a powerful new tool created by a U.S. Army lab to discover a honeybee virus invading North America.

The invading virus was discovered in two honeybee samples collected in the southeastern United States by biology Professor Jerry Bromenshenk and UM research scientists.

The new virus does not cause Colony Collapse Disorder, but the method used to find the virus may help scientists unravel the mystery of the malady depopulating beehives around the globe.

Read the News Release

Hiroshima Survivor To Speak At UM

Shigeko Sasamori, a survivor of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, will speak about the experience at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, in the University Center Ballroom. She will be accompanied by Steven Leeper, chair of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation.

Sasamori's presentation is part of "The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," a semester-long exhibition at UM to educate the community on the attacks and the aftermath, raise awareness about the consequences of nuclear war and share a message of peace. All events are free and open to the public.

A film series featuring five movies about Hiroshima and Nagasaki begins with "Barefoot Gen," which will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the University Center Theater. Other films in the series will be shown Oct. 1, 15, 29 and Nov. 12.

The exhibition includes the display of 30 posters through Dec. 1 in the lobby of the Mansfield Library. For more information, call Assistant Professor Charles Exley at 243-5301 or Assistant Professor Noriko Seguchi at 243-2693.

'For UM, For Us' Campaign Takes Off This Week

The UM Foundation will launch the 2008 "For UM, For Us: A Faculty and Staff Campaign for The University of Montana" on Saturday, Sept. 13. The annual campaign provides UM faculty and staff an opportunity to make a gift to the University in support of areas that are most meaningful to them.

More than 60 of your co-workers from departments across campus will serve as representatives for this year's campaign. They will reach out to you during the months of September and October to encourage you to consider a gift.

"Because state funding provides only 12 percent of UM's operating budget, private support and revenue from other sources is vital to keeping the University competitive," said Krista Frederikson, UM Foundation director of annual giving. "Gifts of all sizes are vital to the University's future."

Last year, gifts from campus totaled more than $400,000, providing support for scholarships, undergraduate research opportunities for students, classroom equipment and technology, professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, Grizzly Athletics, the Mansfield Library and numerous other programs.

To volunteer to work with the campaign or for more information, call Frederikson at 243-6209 or e-mail krista.frederikson@mso.umt.edu.

Join In Homecoming Festivities

The UM Alumni Association will host a celebration to kick off Homecoming 2008 from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Southgate Mall Clock Court. The Homecoming theme this year is "Back to the Future -- The Future is U!"

Cheer on the Grizzlies and head coach Bobby Hauck at the Yell Night! Grizzly Growl Pep Rally, which begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, on the UM Oval. The event includes a bonfire and fireworks and the traditional Singing on the Steps and lighting of the M.

The annual Homecoming Art Fair will take place in the University Center Atrium from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 18-20. A Homecoming buffet will be available at The Food Zoo in the Lommasson Center from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18.

The 2008 Homecoming parade takes off from downtown Missoula at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. UM then will take on UC Davis in the 2008 Homecoming football game, which begins at 1:05 p.m. Saturday in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

A Homecoming events schedule is on the Alumni Association Web site. For more information, call 243-5211.

UM Alumni Association

Lifelong Learning Registration Open

Community members 50 and older can explore topics ranging from art, music and writing to history, politics and global warming in fall courses offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UM.

The courses, taught by dynamic UM and community educators, will take place Sept. 29-Nov. 7. Courses also will be offered on Mondays and Tuesdays, Oct. 6-28, at the Daly Mansion in Hamilton.

Registration is now open for all fall courses. An annual Osher Lifelong Learning Institute membership fee of $20 is required to enroll. The registration fee for each course is $50.

Registration forms, complete course information and details about instructors are on the Web site. For more information, call UM Continuing Education at 243-2905 or e-mail dannette.fadness@umontana.edu.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Book Signings: 'The Original Man'

Several book signings will be held this month for "The Original Man: The Life and Work of Montana Architect A.J. Gibson" by UM Professor Hipólito Rafael Chacón.

Chacón worked with the University's Mansfield Library K. Ross Toole Archives and the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula to create the first complete biography of Albert John Gibson, Missoula County's best-known and most beloved architect.

The book, released last month, was published by the Montana Museum of Art & Culture and The University of Montana Press. It is available for purchase at MMAC and at The Bookstore at UM.

September signing events are:

Sunday, Sept. 14: 11:30 a.m., University Congregational Church, 405 University Ave., Missoula.
Tuesday, Sept. 16: 7 p.m., Fact & Fiction, 220 N. Higgins, Missoula.
Friday, Sept. 19: 5-6 p.m., during the public opening of "The Original Man" traveling exhibition, Holter Museum of Art in Helena. (In conjunction with the American Institute of Architects Montana Chapter meeting.)
Saturday, Sept. 20: 1-3 p.m., Montana Historical Society, Helena.
Wednesday, Sept. 24: 2:30 p.m., The Springs Continuing Retirement Community, 3710 American Way, Missoula.