UM Professor Richard Bridges joined an elite group Nov. 18 when the state Board of Regents unanimously voted to name him Regents Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Regents Professor is the top rank awarded to faculty members in the Montana University System. Bridges is only the ninth UM professor to earn the title since the policy of naming Regents Professors started in 1991.

Regents Professors must demonstrate unusual excellence in instruction, scholarship and service, as well as distinctive impact through their work. The rank is awarded by the Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the University president.

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In response to students' interest in more dynamic learning spaces, UM has created a new Tech Lounge, located in University Center Room 220.

The Tech Lounge is open to UM students, faculty and staff, and users can access the technology by logging in with their NetIDs. It offers a comfortable, tech-friendly, collaborative learning and lounging environment. The lounge is open during regular UC hours: 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday.

Some Tech Lounge features include:

• Movable furnishings that can accommodate individuals or groups and chairs that are equipped with tablet arms for laptop or mobile device use.
• Movable whiteboards for collaborative study sessions.
• LCD monitors mounted in the lounge area and in two multimedia conference rooms for presentations or group study.
• Full-coverage wireless access points for Internet usage on demand.

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The fourth-seeded Montana Grizzlies football team will take on the fifth-seeded Northern Iowa Panthers at 6 p.m. (MST) Friday, Dec. 9, in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The game will air nationally on ESPN.

The Grizzlies defeated the Central Arkansas Bears, 41-14, on Dec. 3 to advance to the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal game.

Tickets are $26 each and are available on GrizTix.

GoGriz.com

Residence halls will close at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, for winter break, and reopen for spring semester on Saturday, Jan. 21. Students planning to return to their building for spring semester do not need to remove their belongings but must leave their room key or access card at the front office of their hall before they leave. Students will be charged $17 per night if they do not leave their key or card.

Students with roommates moving out at the end of autumn semester are not guaranteed a single room for spring. Students should keep all their belongings on one side of the room to be prepared for a new roommate to move in.

Students may stay in the residence halls over winter break for $17 per night. Students who plan to stay any time between Saturday, Dec. 17, and Friday, Jan. 20, will need to sign up at the Residence Life Office in Turner Hall by Tuesday, Dec. 13. Students who make arrangements after the deadline will be charged a $35 late fee.

Residence Life encourages students planning to live on campus for the 2012-13 academic year to submit an application as soon as possible. Residence Life assigns rooms based on the date students turn in their housing application and deposit. The sooner a student completes the application, the more likely they will be assigned their top housing preference. Call Residence Life at 406-243-2611 with additional questions.

Thirty students in Garry Kerr's Introduction to Anthropology course at UM are among the winners of the Public Anthropology Award.

More than 4,000 students from 25 schools competed for the awards, which are presented by the Center for a Public Anthropology, a nonprofit that encourages scholars and their students to address public problems in public ways.

The names of the UM Public Anthropology Award winners and their award-winning opinion pieces are online.

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UM graduate Ashleen Williams has been named the University's first Mitchell Scholar.

Selected from more than 300 applicants, Williams is one of 12 students who will pursue postgraduate studies at universities across Ireland and Northern Ireland during the 2012-13 academic year. Williams, who currently is a U.S. Fulbright English teaching assistant in Bahrain, will study peace and conflict studies at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

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UM seniors in the Radio-Television Department in the School of Journalism produced a half-hour television program for MontanaPBS. "Montana Journal: Home Grown" will premiere at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.

Traditionally Montanans have lived close to the land, but ask a group of first-graders where their food comes from, and they'll tell you "the grocery store." The concept of a local food movement puts most people in mind of farmers' markets or small businesses. But can the grow-your-own concept work on a larger scale? That's the question addressed in "Montana Journal: Home Grown."

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Jakki Mohr rehearsed her TED talk so many times, she was saying it in her sleep.

"There were a couple of nights where I was ostensibly sleeping, but I was actually giving my TED talk in my sleep," said Mohr, a Regents Professor of Marketing at UM. "This was still a month out, and I thought, 'this is way too soon for this to be happening!'"

The dozens of hours spent fine-tuning paid off Dec. 3 when Mohr delivered her talk at the TEDxSanDiego event. "Unleashing the Promise of Biomimicry for Sustainable Innovation" promoted recent developments in biomimicry, which uses the designs and processes of nature to inspire solutions for human problems.

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Art lovers can view student work and purchase holiday gifts at the 26th Annual Holiday Juried Show and Sale Dec. 8-10 at UM.

Filled with works by UM School of Art students and faculty, events will be held in the Art Annex adjacent to the Grizzly Pool and the Adams Center. An opening celebration with live music will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, with an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. The sale will continue from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.

This two-part event is sponsored by UM Emerging Ceramic Artists, a student group formerly known as Starving Sculpture and Ceramic Students.

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A graduate student at UM recently won a national award for an interactive campus map he created.

Erik Samsoe took first place in the interactive category of the North American Cartographic Information Society's 13th annual Student Dynamic Map Competition. The award included $500 in prize money. Samsoe's map also is displayed on the society's website.

Samsoe worked with UM's Information Technology department to use existing data and Google Maps technology to create a next-generation map. The final version of the map is still in development, and others can contribute information online.

The map includes the location of art galleries, parking lots, bus stops and dining options, as well as accessibility information such as curb cuts, snow routes and automatic door locations.

Once the interactive map is completed, it will appear on the UM home page.

The works of two of the state's most prominent early 20th century artists will be on display at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture at UM through Feb. 25.           

The major exhibitions feature the work of Fra Dana and Frances Carroll Brown, two significant females who played a compelling role in Montana art history. The exhibitions, "Fra Dana: American Impressionist in the Rockies" and "Frances Carroll Brown: Bitterroot Portraits," will reveal new research recently uncovered on each artist.

The museum's Meloy Gallery will feature the Dana exhibition, and the Brown exhibition will be located in the Paxson Gallery. Both exhibitions are free and open to the public.

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The Grizzly Scholarship Association's State Board of Directors voted unanimously at its most recent meeting to commit $500,000 in matching funds to the athletic facility improvement project at UM.

"Beginning now and continuing through the annual spring football game in mid-April, the GSA is asking Griz fans everywhere to commit to this project," said Mike Persha, president of the board. "The GSA will match all new donations to the much-needed facility improvements up to $500,000."

The athletic facility improvement plan calls for the construction of a new student-athlete academic center, renovation of the weight room and locker room, and the installation of lights at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. A fundraising goal of $6 million has been set, with nearly $2 million already collected and pledged.

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Residence Life is now accepting applications for the 2012-13 resident assistant staff. RAs are returning students who build community in the residence halls by providing social and educational programming and serve as a resource for students. RAs are compensated with an on-campus room, meal plan and stipend.

To be considered for a resident assistant position for the 2012-13 academic year, candidates need to complete an application available on the Residence Life website and participate in a selection process. The selection process includes one individual interview and a group interview. Applications are due Feb. 17, 2012.

• Friday, Dec. 9: Last day of autumn semester classes
• Monday-Friday, Dec. 12-16: Finals week
• Friday, Dec. 16: Residence halls close at 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 3: Wintersession classes begin
• Monday, Jan. 16: Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
• Friday, Jan. 20: Last day of Wintersession classes
• Saturday, Jan. 21: Residence halls open for spring semester
• Monday, Jan. 23: Spring semester begins