2008 PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Message From the President:

For the 2008 President’s Report, we have much to present, given the intention to highlight the collaborative work with St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center and some people who have helped to make our programs noteworthy. In the final analysis, people, programs and place set The University of Montana apart, giving it an identity readily recognizable. Thus, it seems only natural for the annual report to parallel that observation.

The University began its collaboration with St. Patrick Hospital in the late 1980s, focusing initially upon the critical importance of the humanities to the quality of health care. The Institute of Medicine and Humanities, the first such endeavor, has not only withstood the test of time, but also has grown in scope and involvement, assuming responsibility for team management; for integrating the educational experiences of nursing students, clinical interns and pharmacy students; and for assisting with pre-med advising and other functions on campus. Over the intervening years, three additional institutes have emerged, each with a specialization corresponding to some of the most acute medical challenges in the world. The work done through these institutes will demonstrate the value of collaboration for translational research and other path-breaking developments. As some pundits have observed, we may have found an approach in Missoula that puts a premium on the absence of a medical school.

But, as everyone knows or should know by now, the personalities of the faculty lead to programs with truly transformative experiences for the students. Dan Pletscher has provided the leadership that has assured a world-class Wildlife Biology Program for the University. Place makes a difference, with the laboratory just outside the door, but people matter, as always. Denise Dowling, Martin Burke, Debra Magpie Earling, Colin Henderson, Teresa Beed, Bharath Sriraman, Janet Finn, Dan Reisenfeld, Stephen Kalm – the list continues in a representative way for the wonderful array of talented people who constitute The University of Montana. With so many outstanding people, we will need many more reports to cover them all adequately. These few examples will have to suffice for now.

I commend to you this annual report for 2008. Because of the contributions of wonderful people and the continued support of generous donors, The University of Montana has weathered many a previous storm and will manage the current financial one as well. Looking back provides ample warrant for the comment of Professor H.G. Merriam that “success may come through the overcoming of difficulties.”

George M. Dennison
President and Professor of History

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