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Think Grizzly, It's Friday | May 8, 2009 | Volume 15, Number 15 
 
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 Law School Names New Dean
 

Irma Russell, a legal scholar and national leader in environmental and energy law, will become the next dean of the UM School of Law. She will be the school's first female dean.

Russell is now a law professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law, serving as a National Energy-Environment Law and Policy Institute professor. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where she earned two undergraduate degrees, a master's in English literature and a law degree.

She will begin her new UM duties July 1. E. Edwin Eck, dean of the School of Law since 1995, announced last fall that he will step down from his position at the conclusion of this academic year and return to the law faculty.

UM President George Dennison said, "We are confident we have found the right person to lead the School of Law into the future. The law dean serves not just UM, but is entrusted with leading legal education for the entire state. It's a special position, and Irma has the full complement of skills needed to affirm UM's growing national standing."

Read the Full News Release 



 Students Try Their Hand At Philanthropy
 

Students in a UM School of Business Administration class learned about philanthropy firsthand this spring when they awarded $10,000 to seven local nonprofit organizations.

The class, called Leadership and Motivation, focuses on leadership and management skills and engages students in community-based service learning with local nonprofits. This semester a new element of the class focused on philanthropy through the Learning By Giving Program. With a generous grant from the Sunshine Lady Foundation, students learned about the importance and practice of philanthropy by disbursing grants to Missoula-area nonprofits.

The students issued a request for proposals in March and received 63 submissions from local nonprofits requesting a total of $128,000 in funding to support a variety of programs and services. With only $10,000 to award, the students implemented a rigorous in-class review and scoring process to determine which projects to fund.

In the end, seven Missoula nonprofit organizations received funding. The organizations are the RiteCare Language and Hearing Clinic, 1st Way Pregnancy Support Center, Partnership for Children, Missoula Community Food and Agriculture Coalition, the Flagship Program, Missoula Food Bank and the Missoula Family YMCA. Grant awards ranged from $821 to $2,500.

 


 COT Faculty Members Honored
 

Five faculty members at the UM College of Technology have been recognized for teaching excellence by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development.

The faculty members and their departments are:
  • Thomas Campbell, Business Technology.
  • Josef Crepeau, Applied Arts and Sciences.
  • Deborah Fillmore, Health Professions.
  • Penny Jakes, Applied Computing and Electronics.
  • David Neu, Industrial Technology.


The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development emphasizes the importance of teaching and leadership excellence in institutions of higher education. NISOD works to serve, engage and inspire teachers and leaders through conferences, publications, Web services, partnerships, programs and more.

 


 'Backroads Of Montana' Rolls Out 30th Episode
 

"Backroads of Montana," the popular travelogue series on Montana PBS, presents its 30th episode -- and the first in high definition (where available) -- at 8 p.m. Monday, May 11. The episode will repeat at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 14; at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16; and at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17.

Subtitled "Comin' Round the Mountain," the program climbs aboard one of the famous "jammer" buses in Glacier National Park, observes the spring snowmelt near Lolo Peak, listens in to a ham radio operation with some space-age credentials and joins an archaeology dig for Chinese artifacts in Big Timber.

William Marcus hosts the program on location from the historic Stevensville area in the Bitterroot Valley of southwestern Montana, with stops at Fort Owen, St. Mary's Mission, the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge and Valley Drug.

"Backroads of Montana" is a production of Montana PBS, a collaborative effort of UM and Montana State University. Check local listings for channels.

Montana PBS 


 Students Honored For Volunteer Work
 

Thirteen UM students were honored at the Spring Leadership Recognition Ceremony on April 28 for their service to the Missoula community. The recipients were nominated for the 2009 Volunteer Recognition Awards by the local agencies and nonprofits with whom they volunteer.

Each year, the awards are given to outstanding student volunteers who devote a significant amount of their time and energy to meeting community needs. These awards serve to recognize the contributions of all volunteers, without whose service most agencies and nonprofits would not be able to function. The UM Office for Civic Engagement hopes to bolster the spirit of service by honoring these individuals.

The winners are:
  • Holly Armstrong with the YWCA Missoula.
  • Kimberly Apryle with Women's Opportunity & Resource Development Inc.
  • Mason Giem with the UM Office for Civic Engagement and the Poverello Center Inc.
  • Emily Hachenberger with the Missoula Police Department.
  • Allie Harrison with United Way of Missoula County.
  • Ziyad Khateeb with Missoula Urban Demonstration Project.
  • Jennifer Morrison with the Flagship Program.
  • Laura Olsonoski with the Flagship Program.
  • Jessica Peterson with the Ronald McDonald House.
  • Kaitlin Weber with Wind River Bear Institute.


In addition, three individuals won Outstanding Volunteer of the Year awards. They are:
  • Antoine Brockman with the Montana Meth Project.
  • Laura Mahoney with homeWORD Inc.
  • Heidi Sedivy with the Watershed Education Network.


Office For Civic Engagement 


 Business Plan Competition Returns May 14
 

The UM School of Business Administration will host the 20th annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition with the Montana Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs on Thursday, May 14, in the Gallagher Business Building.

Student entrepreneurs from Montana colleges and universities will present their proposed ventures to the business community in an educational, competitive and fun environment. Thousands of dollars will be offered in prizes.

The authors of top business plans will compete at 5 p.m. in the final round in Room 106. The event is open to the public.

The competition provides a forum for students to interact with experienced business professionals and receive feedback on their work. The event also aims to foster new businesses in Montana.

To attend the event, e-mail catherine.claro@business.umt.edu or call 406-243-4309. For more information about the competition, visit the School of Business Administration Web site.

School of Business Administration 


 High Schoolers To Present Research At UM
 

High school students from Montana, Idaho and Alaska will present their findings from air quality research projects at the fifth annual Air Toxics Under the Big Sky symposium Wednesday, May 20, at UM.

The symposium showcases student research projects that focus on indoor air quality and atmospheric chemistry. It is jointly hosted by UM's Center for Environmental Health Sciences and the Department of Chemistry.

The symposium kicks off at 9:30 a.m. in the North Underground Lecture Hall with a welcome and overview, followed by student presentations beginning at 9:55 a.m. An environmental health fair featuring student posters, interactive exhibits and displays from agencies and community organizations will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Skaggs Building lobby. The public is invited to both events.

 


 Community Walk Seeks Sponsors
 

The Montana Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will host a community walk Saturday, Sept. 12, on the UM Oval to help prevent suicide and end the stigma that surrounds depression and other mental illnesses.

The Montana AFSP Chapter is seeking participants, volunteers and local business sponsors for the Out of the Darkness Community Walk.

The walk is a national fundraising effort that unites thousands of people each year to benefit suicide prevention research, education and support networks, both locally and nationwide.

For more information on the walk, call Kira Fernandez at 858-603-5782 or Leslie Mace at 406-546-0509, or e-mail kirafernandez@ymail.com or lesliemace@ymail.com.

Participants may register as individuals or teams for the 3.25-mile walk on the Out of the Darkness Web site. Donations to benefit the local AFSP chapter and national organization also can be made on the Web site.

Out of the Darkness 


 Cats Beat Griz In Dual Meet
 

Montana State swept both the men's and women's track teams on Saturday, May 2, at the annual Griz-Cat Dual at Dornblaser Field. The Bobcats downed the Grizzlies 109-93 on the men's side and 108.5-91.5 on the women's side. MSU's victories snapped Montana's three-year winning streak in the men's dual and two-year winning streak in the women's dual.

Despite the losses, the Griz men had a big day in the throws, winning the shot put, discus, javelin and hammer. Junior Chris Hellekson was a double winner in the discus and hammer and became Montana's fifth NCAA Midwest Regional qualifier with a hammer throw of 187-4. Sophomore Richard Brumbaugh competed against the top three javelin throwers in the Big Sky Conference and had a career-best throw of 214-9 to win the event by over 10 feet.

The Montana men added seven new Big Sky Conference qualifiers for the outdoor championships, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday, May 13-16, in Missoula. Sophomore Phil Krok was a double qualifier with a pair of career bests, meeting the standard in the 100 and 200 meters with a first-place time of 10.84 in the 100 and a second-place time of 21.60 in the 200. Senior Cody Henning qualified in the 200 meters (third place, career best 21.72). Junior Chris Hicks qualified in the triple jump (second place, 47-8). Junior Dan Beaudin qualified with his second-place throw of 155-11 in the discus. Sophomore Kyle Danreuther qualified in the 400-meter hurdles with a career-best winning time of 54.34 and sophomore Colin O'Neill qualified for the 10,000 meters with his altitude-adjusted time of 15:19.19 in the 5,000 meters.

The women also added seven new Big Sky qualifications. Four of the qualifications came from athletes who were previously not qualified in any event. Senior Nichole Walker qualified with her altitude-adjusted winning time of 2:16.68 in the 800 meters. Senior Kaci Calway qualified in the steeplechase with her fourth-place, altitude-adjusted time of 11:37.71. Junior Jessa Linford qualified in the high jump with a winning height of 5-5, and sophomore Hannah Stanton qualified in the javelin with a third-place throw of 132-8.

Juniors Danica Bates, Megan Betz and Kim Tritz all added additional events to previous qualifications. Bates added the 100-meter hurdles with her second-place time of 14.68. Betz hit the Big Sky standard of 15.00 in the same event with a third-place time of 14.77. Tritz, whose previous steeplechase times this season met the 10,000-meter Big Sky standard, added the steeplechase with a third-place, altitude-adjusted time of 11:31.65.

The Grizzlies will attend a meet at Montana State this weekend, the final event before the Big Sky championships. The Montana men have 23 athletes with 31 qualifications in 15 different events. The women have 23 athletes with 38 automatic qualifications in 18 different events.

Montana Grizzlies