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Oct. 20, 2008 | Vol. 37, No. 12

In this issue:

Renowned Poet, Author To Speak At UM
Donated Sculpture Newest UM Public Art
Zoological Museum Wins Design Award
UM Scientists Help Map Interstellar Boundary
National Award Goes To Montana PBS
First Of Two Photography Events Today
Costume Closeout Sale Oct. 24
ASUM Seeking Paper
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.

Renowned Poet, Author To Speak At UM

Paul Mariani, American poet and professor at Boston College, will give the next installment of the President's Lecture Series at UM on Monday, Oct. 27.

Mariani will present "The Catholic Intellectual and Writer Today" at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. The lecture will explore the Catholic intellectual tradition and its importance today.

Earlier that day from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m., Mariani will give a seminar titled "Writing about the Life of Gerard Manley Hopkins" in Gallagher Business Building Room 123.

The events, presented in collaboration with the Lorica Catholic Studies Visiting Speakers' Fund, are free and open to the public.

Mariani is the author of the forthcoming "Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Life," as well as four other literary biographies and numerous collections of poetry and criticism. His biographies "The Broken Tower: The Life of Hart Crane" and "Lost Puritan: A Life of Robert Lowell" were named New York Times Notable Books of the Year.

President's Lecture Series

Donated Sculpture Newest UM Public Art

A captivating sculpture recently acquired by the Montana Museum of Art & Culture now is positioned on the lawn southwest of UM's Don Anderson Hall. The sculpture, "Noah Releasing the Raven," was created by Canadian artist George Burton Wallace in 1984. It is a generous gift from ongoing MMAC donor Helen Cappadocia.

The artwork, welded from corton steel and standing 9 feet tall, reflects Wallace's unique techniques and larger-than-life subject matter. The expressive piece offers an unconventional portrayal of Noah -- bald, beardless and clothed in a short tunic. His face is turned skyward and he releases a raven, hands and arms raised. It is both a welcoming and provoking piece.

UM serves as an important venue for the display of public art and currently hosts artworks across campus. The displays aim to further public accessibility to the arts, as well as promote a diverse and stimulating cultural environment to enrich the lives of Montana residents, campus visitors and UM faculty, staff and students.

Helen Cappadocia, who dedicated this gift to her late husband, Ezio Cappadocia, has been a passionate art collector for more than 40 years.

Montana Museum of Art & Culture

Zoological Museum Wins Design Award

UM's Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum has been selected to receive first place for design in the Mountain-Plains Museum Association's 2008 awards. Designed by curator Dave Dyer and UM dance and media arts senior Johanna Ciampa, the museum won the award in the Invitation, Development or Promotional Package category for institutions with operating budgets under $250,000.

The museum holds the largest zoological collection in Montana and is one of the major collections representing the northern Rocky Mountains. With more than 24,000 specimens of vertebrates -- primarily mammals, birds and fish -- the collection provides important resources for research, teaching and education outreach programs.

Begun in the 1890s, the collection contains specimens from as early as the 1860s to the present. Philip Wright took responsibility for the museum in 1939 and continued to add specimens until he died in 1997. The museum was named in his honor that year.

Today, under the direction of Dyer, the museum continues to grow and move forward as the leading zoological collections repository in the region. Located in Room 212 of the Health Sciences Building, the museum is open by appointment only. For appointments, call Dyer at 243-4743 or e-mail dave.dyer@mso.umt.edu.

Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum

UM Scientists Help Map Interstellar Boundary

UM scientist Dan Reisenfeld helped design one of two primary instruments on a NASA spacecraft called IBEX, the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, launched Sunday, Oct. 19.

Both Reisenfeld and fellow UM researcher Paul Janzen are part of the core payload team for the spacecraft, which will create an all-sky map of the interstellar boundary.

The IBEX will send back information about the vast teardrop-shaped bow shock around our solar system as the sun moves along its orbital path. Though astronomers have photographed the bow shocks around other stars, we know precious little about our own.

The two primary instruments on the 5-foot-wide spacecraft -- IBEX-Low and IBEX-Hi -- detect a range of energetic neutral atoms that are energized at the boundary of the solar system. Reisenfeld designed a section of IBEX-Hi that ionizes, steers and accelerates the particles to where they can be detected.

UM News Release

National Award Goes To Montana PBS

Montana PBS recently received the Public Broadcasting Service's top award for Excellence in Development for its successful fundraising activity. Lisa Titus, Montana PBS development director, accepted the award at the PBS Development Conference held Oct. 2-4 in San Antonio.

A collaborative service of KUFM-TV at UM and KUSM-TV at Montana State University, Montana PBS has members in more than 220 communities. The service has seen double-digit increases in membership revenue in each of the past three years and has received significant major gifts to its Campaign for the Future.

"Montana PBS has demonstrated a renewed commitment to its mission and vision through the success of its development program," said Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO. "The station has laid the foundation for its long-term health, as well as for improvements in infrastructure and investment in local programming. I congratulate Lisa Titus and her colleagues in the development department on their success and this national recognition."

Montana PBS

First Of Two Photography Events Today

Correction: Rick Graetz's title was wrong in last week's ForUM. He is senior lecturer in UM's Department of Geography.

Two special photography events, focused on Montana's impressive mix of geography and history, will be presented this month by Rick and Susie Graetz. The presentations are keyed to faculty, staff and administrators new to Montana and the University, but are open to all who would like to attend. Both events will be held in Urey Lecture Hall.

Today -- 7 to 8:30 p.m.: A photographic tour with narration of every corner of Montana to visually acquaint participants with the physical landscape of the state. The commentary will describe both the past each place experienced and the present.
7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28: Rick Graetz will present a lecture and some photos describing the seven regions of the state as outlined in his course Montana: A Geography/Geographic History.

The events are sponsored by the Provost's Office. For more information, call 243-4689.