2006 PRESIDENT'S REPORT

THE SILVER CLOUD TOUR

If UM had an all-star team, this was it. The most charismatic deans, engaging professors and the best and brightest students were all seated in the gleaming silver train, ready to show Montana high school students why UM is the best thing going.

In September this auspicious group took to the rails in a renovated, luxury train – The Silver Cloud – and traveled to Helena, Livingston and Billings to bring a taste of UM to spots far removed from Missoula. “I think it was a neat thing to do,” said UM Executive Vice President Jim Foley. “It got the focus on UM in a city-to-city campaign that was different.

The main difference between this and most recruiting trips was the mode of transportation, which proved to be a draw of its own. Prospective students and their parents “ooh-ed” and “ahh-ed” as they filed through the train, and then again as UM chemistry Professor Garon “G. Wiz” Smith put on a show complete with medium-sized fireballs.

At each stop, UM professors and administrators went to local high schools to teach classes and talk with teachers over lunch. And in the evening a reception was held at the train station, where prospective students met and chatted face to face with everyone from UM President George Dennison to deans of various schools and Andrea Helling, president of the Associated Students of UM.

The tour was featured prominently in a New York Times article and received a gold award in the Total Public Relations Programs category of the Admissions Marketing Report Advertising Awards Competition.

THE ROLLING STONES

There was no shortage of satisfaction in Missoula under the October sky when UM hosted the Rolling Stones in the biggest concert in state history.

A six-story stage rose out of Washington-Grizzly Stadium and fireworks lit up the sky as Mick, Keith and the band took the stage in front of 21,000 screaming fans of all ages. Those without tickets circled the stadium or found a seat on Mount Sentinel, though the show could be heard throughout much of the east side of town.

The Stones arrived on campus with 70 tractor-trailers and plenty of hype, tickets for the show having sold out only hours after they went on sale. In a testament to the wide appeal of the aging rockers, some students attended the concert with their parents – or grandparents – in tow.

But as taken as fans in Missoula were by the band, the Stones, on their first trip to Montana, were thinking of another British Invasion. “You’ve got beautiful country here,” Keith Richards growled into the microphone. “I’m thinking about moving in.”

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