Regents Professor William Woessner and Professors Michael DeGrandpre and James Gannon are UM's newest Fulbright Scholars.

The three UM faculty members received Fulbright Scholar grants for the 2010-11 academic year. They join 1,200 experts from the United States who are traveling abroad this year on the U.S. government's flagship academic exchange program, designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those in other countries.

Woessner will be a visiting professor of natural science teaching, conducting research in groundwater modeling and hydrogeological field techniques in a newly established research and teaching institute, NAWI Graz, Austria. The institute is a cooperative program in the fields of chemistry, technical and molecular biosciences, mathematics, and geosciences that links research and graduate programs at the Karl-Franzens University and the Technical University of Graz.

DeGrandpre will work with scientists at the Universidad de Concepción to study the uptake and release of carbon dioxide by the Pacific Ocean near the Chilean coast. He also will teach a course titled The Ocean Carbon Cycle during the university's Austral Summer Institute. Students from South America and around the world attend the one-week intensive courses, held on the Universidad de Concepción campus.

Gannon will spend six months on the island of Mauritius, where he will join an international group researching the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in the local food supply. Campylobacter is a bacterium and is the No. 1 food pathogen in the world at this time.

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center of UM has awarded more than $12,000 to University students pursuing internships and research projects in the area of public policy.

The center's Public Policy and Leadership Initiative offers the Pat Williams Scholarship for internship and research awards in the areas of public policy and leadership to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The scholarships are part of a project to foster civic responsibility in future leaders and further civil dialogue on domestic policy considerations. The initiative emphasizes the global nature of responsible decision-making, the ethical imperatives of leadership, and the skills necessary for careful policy analysis and development.

The Pat Williams Scholarships are awarded competitively to UM students pursuing internships and research related to public policy across a broad range of fields. This year 16 individuals and one group received scholarships.

The scholarships and select upcoming lectures are named in honor of Williams, who was a U.S. Congressman from Montana during 1979-97 and a strong proponent of the federal legislation that started the Mansfield Center. Williams has taught at the University for 14 years and is a Senior Fellow at UM's O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West.

The scholarships are funded under a congressionally directed grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education, with appropriations of $238,000 in fiscal year 2009 and $200,000 in fiscal year 2010. The funding proposals were championed by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg.

Two students from the UM School of Journalism have been chosen to provide news coverage of the Montana Legislature's 2011 session for scores of newspapers and radio stations across the state. The session begins Jan. 3.

Cody Bloomsburg, a second-year graduate student from Lewiston, Idaho, will provide coverage for newspapers affiliated with the Montana Newspaper Association, which helps fund the work.

Brittany Wooley, a senior in radio-television from Idaho Falls, Idaho, will provide daily reports to more than 50 radio stations. Her coverage is made possible by grants from the Greater Montana Foundation and the Montana Broadcasters Association.

The students' work this session will be supervised by journalism Assistant Professor Ray Fanning and Professor Dennis Swibold. The 2011 session marks the 10th time journalism students have covered Montana's regular biennial legislative sessions for newspapers and the fourth time they have provided coverage for radio stations.

Newspapers interested in receiving the coverage should call Swibold at 406-243-2330 or e-mail dennis.swibold@umontana.edu. Radio stations should call Fanning at 406-243-4747 or e-mail ray.fanning@umontana.edu.

As the economy emerges from the worst recession since the 1930s, the damage is apparent: diminished personal income, uncertain housing markets, high unemployment rates, permanent closures in key industrial facilities and budget pressures on state and local governments. As the country grows impatient, where is Montana in the recovery process and where do we stand in rebalancing the economy?

Patrick Barkey, director of the UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research, will discuss what has already happened, and what still needs to happen, to bring growth back into balance at the 36th annual Economic Outlook Seminar titled "Paying for the Recession -- Rebalancing Montana's Economy."

The half-day seminar and luncheon will highlight the latest economic trends and forecasts for local, state and national economies. Bureau economists Barkey and Paul Polzin will present economic outlook forecasts for each seminar city. Other researchers and experts will provide outlooks for key industries in Montana.

The seminar runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be held in nine Montana cities during January, February and March 2011. Registration costs $80, which includes a proceedings booklet, lunch and a one-year subscription to Montana Business Quarterly, BBER's award-winning business journal.

Following is the schedule for seminar cities:

• Helena -- Tuesday, Jan. 25, Best Western Great Northern Hotel 
• Great Falls -- Wednesday, Jan. 26, Hilton Garden Inn
• Missoula -- Friday, Jan. 28, Hilton Garden Inn
• Billings -- Tuesday, Feb. 1, Crowne Plaza
• Bozeman -- Wednesday, Feb. 2, Best Western GranTree Inn
• Butte -- Thursday, Feb. 3, Holiday Inn Express
• Kalispell -- Friday, Feb. 11, Hilton Garden Inn
• Sidney -- Tuesday, March 15, USDA/Agricultural Research Station
• Miles City -- Wednesday, March 16, Bureau of Land Management

For more information or to register for a seminar, visit the BBER website or call 406-243-5113.

Joel Berger, a professor in UM's Division of Biological Sciences, was featured in the Science section of The New York Times on Monday, Dec. 13.

"Musk Oxen Live to Tell a Survivors' Tale" was written by Natalie Angier and highlighted Berger's musk ox research, including the animal's unique story and how it can be used to help other endangered large land mammals facing extinction.

Berger spoke last week about preliminary results from his and other collaborators' field studies of the musk ox. He talked about the challenges that studying the animals raises, as well as surprising findings like the musk ox's elephant-like social structure.

UM has received more than $400,000 in funding from the Wyss Foundation to fund up to 13 Wyss Scholars over the next five years as part of the Wyss Scholars Program for Conservation of the American West.

First funded at UM in 2005, the program has provided major support to graduate students through scholarships and professional internships. Scholars are selected based on financial need and demonstrated commitment to conservation in the western states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho and eastern Oregon and California, as well as their outstanding promise as future conservation leaders.

"Wyss Scholarships enable future conservation leaders to attend the University of Montana and gain valuable skills for their work as environmental professionals," said Len Broberg, director of UM's Environmental Studies Program. "We are honored to be recognized as one of the premier programs in the nation."

The Wyss Scholars Program supports the graduate-level education of a new generation of leaders in western land conservation. Wyss Scholars learn the latest in conservation science and policy and apply that knowledge in careers at land management agencies and nonprofit conservation groups.

Wyss Scholarships are awarded to students currently enrolled at one of the four host schools. In addition to UM, the program supports students at Yale University, the University of Michigan and Northern Arizona University.

UM's Wyss Scholars may be selected from graduate programs in law, business, communications, geography, political science, economics, history, biology or anthropology in addition to the University's Environmental Studies Program and College of Forestry and Conservation.

Four UM music students were winners of the University's annual Concerto Aria Competition held Dec. 11.

Winners are:

• Heather Barns of Helena, soprano: Mozart arias.
• Damian Garvey of Jackson Hole, Wyo., piano: Tchaikovsky piano concerto.
• Alyssa Baty of Missoula, clarinet: "Debussy Premiére Rhapsody."

Jacob Thomas of Eugene, Ore., soprano saxophone, won honorable mention.

The students will perform their competition pieces with the full UM orchestra at the annual spring Honors Convocation, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, in the University's Music Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UM (MOLLI) will offer several special courses and events for members during its winter 2011 term.

MOLLI's fourth annual "Behind the Scenes at the Symphony" will examine the making of a Missoula Symphony Orchestra performance. Two class sessions will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8 and 15, in UM's Todd Building. Members then can attend the symphony's rehearsal, which will feature virtuoso pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, in the University Theatre. The event is free for all MOLLI members.

"Questions of Connoisseurship," taught by Montana Museum of Art & Culture curator Brandon Reintjes, will use MMAC's special exhibition "Renoir, Magritte, Gauguin and Other Masterpieces from a Private Collection" to increase students' appreciation of connoisseurship, masterpieces and great art. Classes will meet from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Fridays from Jan. 21 through Feb. 25 in the Todd Building.

Music Professor Anne Basinski will teach "MOLLI at the Met! A Look at Italian Opera as Done by the Metropolitan Opera in NYC." The course will alternate each week between lectures and private screenings of three operas broadcast in high definition. Lectures will examine the fascinating production of the operas. All lectures and screenings will start at 9 a.m. Thursdays from Jan. 20 through Feb. 24 at the Roxy Theater, located at 718 S. Higgins Ave. An additional $25 screening fee will apply.

Registration also is open for MOLLI winter courses, which allow community members ages 50 and older to explore topics ranging from theater and music to history and sustainability. The courses are taught by dynamic UM and community instructors, and most classes will start in January. An annual MOLLI membership fee of $20 is required to enroll in all courses. Individual course registration costs $60 plus fees, when applicable.

Complete course schedules, descriptions, locations, times, instructor information and registration are available on the MOLLI website. For more information or to register for courses, call the UM School of Extended and Lifelong Learning at 406-243-2905 or e-mail dannette.fadness@umontana.edu.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UM (MOLLI) will offer several classes on campus open to students of all ages as part of First Night Missoula festivities from noon to 4:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31.

Following are the MOLLI courses offered, which will be held in Todd Building rooms 203 and 204 unless otherwise noted.

• Noon-12:45 p.m.: Annika Johns, "Incredible Edible Bugs"
• 1-2:30 p.m.: Glenn Govertsen, "Mr. G Science Show" (North Underground Lecture Hall)
• 3-3:45 p.m.: Margaret Johnson, "Let's Act for the Young & Young at Heart"
• 4-4:45 p.m.: Hal Stearns, "More Montana Tales"

First Night Missoula is a New Year's celebration organized by the Missoula Cultural Council to honor art and community. It aims to provide an accessible, affordable, alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration for the entire family.

Buttons are required to attend all First Night Missoula events, including the MOLLI courses. They are $12 in advance and $15 on Dec. 31. Children 7 and under are free. Buttons are available at 20 locations throughout Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley. A complete list of locations is available on the Missoula Cultural Council website.

Missoula Cultural Council

Richie Havens, known for his high-energy performances for 45 years, will not appear at UM on March 24, 2011, as scheduled.

Recent health issues have made Havens' typical touring schedule demanding and exhausting, and although it was a difficult decision for him, he felt compelled to follow the advice of his doctor and cancel all his upcoming appearances.

Tickets for the March 24 performance at UM that were purchased with credit cards will automatically be refunded.

Those who purchased tickets with cash or check will need to visit the Adams Center Box Office to receive a full refund. For more information, call the box office at 406-243-4051.

Senior center Brian Qvale had career highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds, and sophomore guard Will Cherry added 22 points and five steals to lead the Montana Grizzlies to a 71-66 nonconference victory Dec. 15 over Oregon State at Dahlberg Arena.

The win over the Beavers was the second victory this season over a Pac-10 opponent for the Grizzlies (6-4) after defeating UCLA 66-57 on Dec. 5 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The Grizzlies travel to Moscow, Idaho, to take on former Big Sky Conference member Idaho in the Kibbie Dome Saturday, Dec. 18.

Montana jumped out to an eight-point halftime lead, but Idaho outscored the Lady Griz by 21 in the second half to rally for a 69-56 victory Dec. 8 at Memorial Gym in Moscow, Idaho.

Senior Sarah Ena finished with a season-high 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Sophomore Katie Baker went five for nine for 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

On Dec. 12 Portland junior Natalie Day scored 16 second-half points and 21 for the game to lead the Pilots to a 62-55 comeback victory over the Lady Griz at Dahlberg Arena.

The Lady Griz, who finished at 36.4 percent shooting, struggled with turnovers the entire game. Nine of the 10 players who saw action had at least one turnover. The team's freshman point guards, Torry Hill and Lexie Nelson, coughed it up 14 times against the quicker Portland guards, who had 14 of the team's 16 steals.

At 3-7, Montana is off to its slowest 10-game start in coach Robin Selvig's 33-year coaching career. The Lady Griz are back in action at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, at home against Wyoming.