Bird flu. Anthrax. Whooping cough. Smallpox. If the Rocky Mountain region were hit by an infectious epidemic or bioterrorism event, would area health care providers and emergency responders be up to the challenge?

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded a three-year, $4.3 million award to UM and its partners to help answer that question. The funding, shared by UM and St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation in Billings, will help augment current and future collaborative work with the state Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Department of Emergency Services.

The award continues funding for a 2003-04 program in which first responders, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, emergency planners and others were taught basic incident command structure and what to do in the event of a major health care crisis.

Goals include training regional health-care providers and agencies in bioterrorism recognition and response, optimizing communications among agencies and holding workshops on public-health emergencies.

For the eighth consecutive year, a moot court team from the UM School of Law is bound for the national finals.

“This is by far the longest such winning streak in the nation,” said Larry Howell, an assistant professor of law and UM’s moot court team coach. UM most recently won the national championship in 2000.

The moot court team earned a finals berth during the Northwest Regional Moot Court competition at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., Nov. 17-18. Members of the first-place team are law students Jill Peterson of Great Falls and Jonathan McDonald and Paul Shae, both of Helena.

Howell said another UM moot court team won the Best Brief Award “by a landslide” at regionals. Members of that team were Joe Gillis, a student from Connecticut, Becky Rutz of Kalispell and Maggie Weamer of Billings.

The four-day National Moot Court Finals will kick off Jan. 30, 2006, in New York City. The national competition is sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Does just thinking about the financial aid application process stop you from investigating the possibility of paying for college? If so, Financial Aid Night at UM can help you.

Financial Aid Night events are free and open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, and Wednesday, Jan. 4, in the University Center Ballroom.

Financial Aid Office personnel will be on hand to provide information to anyone interested in applying for financial assistance to attend any college, technical or trade school that participates in federal aid programs. They also will answer questions.

Presentations will include:

• step-by-step instructions on how to complete the federal application for financial aid (FAFSA)
• information about scholarships
• details about the Lifetime Learning tax credit
• information about a new program, Montana Partnering for Affordable College Tuition (MPACT), designed for income-qualified Montana high school graduates.

For more information, call UM Enrollment Services, (406) 243-6266, toll-free at (800) 462-8636.

An eight-week spring semester course at UM will offer hands-on instruction working with packing equipment, horses and mules.

Smoke Elser of Wilderness Consulting Group will teach the course, which will be held at his barn located not far from the University in the Missoula Rattlesnake area. Course topics include general horse and mule handling, packing, and minimum impact horse use and camping techniques.

Classes will be held once a week for three hours and run from the end of January through the second week of March. No prior experience is necessary. The course fee is $150 and pre-registration is required.

Students have a choice of class days and times: from 2 to 5 p.m. or from 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays; and from 7 to 10 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays. Classes are limited to 10-12 students per session. One college credit for the course is available through UM Continuing Education.

For more information or to register, call Elser at (406) 549-2820 or e-mail him at telser2820@aol.com.

The high level of instruction offered by the UM School of Education has once again prompted a national organization to renew the school’s accreditation.

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education announced the renewal in November. The rigorous accreditation process involves preparation of a 100-page institutional report and a site visit from NCATE representatives.

The UM education school was first accredited 51 years ago, when it became a charter member of NCATE. The school, which contains 38 tenure-track faculty members and about 1,000 students, was last re-accredited in 2000. This year marked the school’s 75th anniversary of educating teachers.

Looking for unique holiday gifts? Ceramics, sculpture, photos, prints, drawings and paintings will be for sale at the 20th annual Starving Sculpture and Ceramics Students and the Artist Collective of UM sale and juried art show.

The sale will be held Dec. 8-10 at the Art Annex, located next to the Adams Center. Hours are 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9-10. The sale and show events are free and open to the public.

Proceeds from the sale are used for scholarships, student travel to conferences, visiting artist expenses, student equipment and wood for the Anagama kiln firing.

If you’re still looking for the perfect gift for those special people on your list this holiday season, here is a suggestion: a UM Centennial Circle Brick.

Centennial Circle, established when the University celebrated its 100th birthday in 1993, surrounds the landmark grizzly bear statue on the western edge of the UM Oval. The circle is paved with red bricks that can be engraved to honor students, alumni, family members, friends, teachers or anyone you’d like to recognize this year.

The bricks are a great way to give a lasting memento and a piece of UM history. And when you give a Centennial Circle Brick, you really do give a gift that keeps on giving. Funds from the brick sales support UM programs and projects.

Centennial Circle Bricks cost $150 each and may be engraved with up to three lines of 14 characters per line. The deadline for ordering a brick to be engraved for this holiday season is Friday, Dec. 9.

Find out how to purchase bricks by going to the Web site listed below or by calling Erik Leithe at University Relations, (406) 243-2523.

Since 1992, UM license plates sales and renewals have raised more than $1.5 million to help students pay for increasingly expensive college educations.

License Plate Scholarships are awarded each academic year at UM. Fifty-five students received the scholarships in 2005.

Three full-color UM license plates are available at state Motor Vehicle Division offices for any vehicle registered in Montana.

UM’s Main Hall Clock Tower and the Montana Griz logo designs sell for an initial fee of $35 followed by a yearly renewal fee of $30

This year, a new UM sports plate has been added to support student-athletes through UM’s Grizzly Scholarship Association. The new design features a bear paw and “GRIZ” in white behind the license number. It sells for an initial fee of $45 with an annual renewal fee of $30

Montana’s playoff hopes were dashed as Cal Poly running back James Noble rushed 41 times for 188 yards and four touchdowns to lead the 10th-ranked Mustangs to a 35-21 victory over the ninth-ranked Grizzlies last Saturday.

The NCAA Division I-AA first-round playoff game was played in UM’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

UM running back Lex Hilliard, who recently was named to the Big Sky Conference’s first team on offense for the second year in a row, picked up 94 yards on 20 carries and scored all three Griz touchdowns. Hilliard rushed for 1,322 yards this season -- the second highest in single-season history at Montana -- while his 2,884 career yards rushing are the second highest in Montana history.

The UM women's basketball team defense limited Wright State to 26.8 percent shooting and 47 points Saturday in the Lady Griz’s 57-47 victory at Florida State's Seminole Classic tournament in Tallahassee, Fla.

Senior Katie Edwards was the lone Montana player to reach double figures, scoring 24 points and adding five boards to raise her season average to 20.2 points per game.

Sunday in the championship game, Florida State jumped out to a 36-15 first-half lead and went on to defeat the Montana women's basketball team 69-56. Despite the large deficit, the Lady Griz, who dropped to 3-1 with the loss, pulled within seven points with just over three minutes to play, but could get no closer.

Sophomore Dana Conway led Montana with a career-high 18 points. Sophomore Johanna Closson added 12 and Senior Katie Edwards had 11. Edwards was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 17.5 points per game in UM's two-game split.

The Lady Griz are in Laramie, Wyo., this week for tonight’s matchup with the University of Wyoming Cowgirls. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at UW's Arena Auditorium.

Sophomores Andrew Strait and Matt Martin scored 13 points apiece to lead UM’s men's basketball team to a 75-59 win over Utah Valley State Tuesday night in non-conference action. The game was held in UM’s Dahlberg Arena.

Junior Matt Dlouhy added 10 points and five assists for the Grizzlies. The win improved Montana to 3-1 on the season.

UM returns to action tonight with a 7:05 p.m. MST home game against Stanford.