DATE: 25 September 2001

TO: Board of Regents

FROM: G. M. Dennison, President, The University of Montana

RE: Campus Report for the September 2001 Board of Regents' Meeting

        The Montana Space Grant Consortium awarded Space Grant Fellowships to UM-M graduate students Treg Christopher and Cindy Wilson. In addition, UM-M undergraduate student Adam Goldammer received a Space Grant Scholarship. These students join an elite group of approximately 1,900 Space Grant Scholars and Fellows nationwide.

        Residence Life completed the installation of network wiring and fire sprinklers in a wing of Craig Hall this summer. All residence halls, except two wings of Craig and Elrod Hall, are wired for direct connection and sprinklers for fire safety. Completion of the remaining areas will take place during the next capital cycle.

        Effective 1 October 2001, the offices of Admissions and New Student Services (ANSS) and Financial Aid will merge to form a new Office of Enrollment Services. Dr. Frank Matule, formerly Director of ANSS, will serve as the Executive Director of Enrollment Services, and Mick Hanson, formerly Director of Financial Aid, will act as the Associate Executive Director. The merger will provide integrated services and comprehensive information to students and prospective students.

        Residence Life opened Fall Semester 2001 with 107 students in interim residence hall housing by accommodating them in study lounges, doubling singles, and tripling large double rooms. As of 21 September 2001, all but 23 men (4 freshmen and 19 upperclassmen) received permanent rooms. After 30 days from the first day of classes, the University will release any freshman remaining in interim housing from the Freshman Residency Requirement.

        The School of Business Administration will offer a three-month certificate program, MBA Essentials, Fall Semester 2001. The program will give participants a sharply focused overview of the theoretical and practical foundations of business administration, without the commitment needed to pursue a masters degree.

        UM Sociology Professor Paul Miller and Ann Steffens from the Montana Child Support Enforcement Division serve as co-directors of a unique study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to determine the cost of raising a child in Montana. They will ultimately determine the cost of providing minimum necessities for the overall well being of a mentally and physically healthy child.

        Professor Paul Miller, Department of Sociology, received the Kenneth Wilkinson Rural Policy Award from the Rural Sociological Society in August 2001.

        The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library plans to have the Voyager integrated library management system on line in December 2001. Vogager will manage more than 1.5 million volumes for more than 15,000 students and 700 full-time faculty.

        The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) named Natalie R. Hiller, UM-M student and former standout soccer player, the 2001 NCAA Woman of the Year for the State of Montana. Students from all NCAA divisions remain eligible for this award based on athletic performance, academic achievement, and community service.

        Overall paid headcount stands at 12,197--or 99.4 percent of the projected final--with one more day's enrollment activity to go, while revenue projections appear quite healthy. Enrollment and revenue for summer school were also slightly above expectations.

        Six outstanding individuals recently received the 2001 Distinguished Alumni Award: 1) Roberta Carkeek Cheney, freelance writer, poet, editor, teacher, and historian; 2) the late Jeffrey G. Cole, internationally known journalist; 3) Sara S. Foland, Vice President, Newkirk, Engler, & May, a private foundation ensuring the relevance and availability of science to society; 4) Margaret E. MacDonald, Executive Director of the Montana Association of Churches; 5) Richard A. Shadoan, psychiatrist and advocate for the severely mentally ill; and 6) Jean Turnage, formerly Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court and currently in private law practice.

         The following alumni and friends received the Community Service Award for fall 2001: William and Peggy Kayser, Bozeman; Tom and Carol McElwain, Butte; Ted and Patsy Lympus, Kalispell; Jim and Patty (OLoughlin) Murphy, Billings; Mike and Karen (Walker) ONeill, Butte; and Doug and Tammy Mason, Corvallis.

        In August 2001, E. Edwin Eck, Dean of the Law School, was an invited speaker at the investiture of U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon.

        The Department of Political Science's chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society, was selected to receive a Best Chapter Award. Professor Ramona Grey serves as faculty advisor to the chapter and was recognized for extraordinary leadership and dedication to Political Science students.