Board of Regents Meeting
Kalispell, Montana

July 10-11, 2003

 

Flathead Valley Community College
Jane Karas, President

         FVCC's commencement ceremonies were held on Friday, May 16. The College awarded 255 degrees and certificates to 198 students from the Kalispell Campus and 35 students from the Lincoln County Campus. 176 Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees were conferred, along with 69 Associate of Applied Science degrees and 10 certificates. Mr. Arnold E. Sherman, Executive Director, Montana World Trade Center, and Adjunct Professor, School of Business, University of Montana was commencement speaker.

         Flathead Valley Community College presented its prestigious Eagle Award to Annie Beall, FVCC Adjunct Faculty Member and Coach of the Logger Sports Team, at the President's Annual Donor Dinner on May 8. FVCC established the Eagle Award in 1991, and the award is given once a year to honor an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the development of the College.

         The FVCC Board of Trustees elected officers for the 2003-2004 academic year at their regular Board meeting on Monday, May 19. Bob Nystuen was elected Board Chairperson, John Engebretson was elected Board Vice-Chairperson, and Mark Holston was elected Secretary to the Board. Carolyn Shriver was reappointed Clerk of the District.

         The Glacier Orchestra Summer Symphonic Pops Concert, "Romancing the West," will be performed under the summer sky on FVCC's Kalispell campus July 25th at 7:30 PM. The concert will include selections from the movies "The Prince of Egypt," "Legends of the Fall," and "The Horse Whisperer," as well as a moving variation of the Star Spangled Banner.

         FVCC is pleased to host Montana State University's Shakespeare in the Park production of "As You Like It," cosponsored with the Bigfork Players, on Friday, August 15, at 6:00 PM. The performance will take place on the FVCC Campus, behind Blake Hall.

         Two sessions have been scheduled for New Student Orientation this summer. The first session will be held August 1st and the second, August 20th. Fall classes begin September 2nd.

         The FVCC Foundation held their Annual Board Meeting on Thursday, June 5th. The meeting was followed by the dedication of FVCC's new Donor Wall, celebrating the successful conclusion of our "Connecting for the Community's Future" major gifts campaign. The College surpassed its $3.4 million campaign goal, raising over $4 million for student scholarships and technology. Campaign Chair, Mick Blodnick, told those gathered for the campaign celebration, "The dollars raised through the campaign will provide students with additional resources and access to a quality education now and into the future." Blodnick served as Chair of the FVCC Foundation and is President and CEO of Glacier Bancorp, Inc.

         In partnership with the Flathead Builders Association, FVCC students recently completed construction of their seventh house.

Montana State University - Great Falls College of Technology
Dean Mary Sheehy Moe

           The Great Falls Cisco Academy was selected by the Area Academy Manager in recognition of its outstanding success in implementing the Cisco Networking Academy Program. Bruce Gottwig, faculty/Cisco coordinator,has been invited to share the story of the College's success at the Academy Conference in Orlando, Florida.

           The Central Montana Tech Prep Consortium will hold a two-day workshop on Best Practices in Dual Credit for secondary and postsecondary administrators, counselors, and faculty at the College of Technology on July 24 and 25. Featured will be information on the variety of dual credit mechanisms currently available to Montana students, the role of Tech Prep and other advanced placement programs in Montana, and sessions presented or facilitated by guests from Illinois who have seen success with dual credit agreements.

           The Health Sciences Department has formed a local chapter of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). Student, Tracy Bossie, and faculty, Susan Cooper, will be traveling to Atlanta, Georgia from June 17-22 to attend the HOSA national meeting. Cooper has been elected Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Montana Health Occupations Students of America.

           The Montana Dental Association bestowed its "Friend of Dentistry" award on Will Weaver, former Dean of the MSU-Great Falls College of Technology, at their 100th meeting in Helena on May 16. The award is given by the MDA for outstanding public service on behalf of dentistry and the people of Montana. The MDA is Montana's professional association of dentists, to which nearly 90% of the state's dentists belong. Past recipients of the award include Senator Conrad Burns and Rep. Bill Thomas, retired dentist from Hobson and member of the Montana Legislature.

           MSU Great Falls is proud to announce that it is an Authorized Prometric Testing Center. Prometric testing allows the College to offer certification testing in a wide range of disciplines from Health Care to Information Technology.

           Central Montana Tech Prep has teamed up with the College to offer four workshops for teachers wanting to learn more about using technology in their classrooms. Creating a website and using multimedia and other electronic classroom tools will give teachers the skills and resources they need to integrate technology into their curriculum.

           Summer camps for kids on campus this year include:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Camp featuring a costume birthday party, magic wands for Hogwart students, Potions, an Underground Labyrinth and an opportunity to design your own t-shirt. Lessons in science, journaling, calligraphy and reading are interwoven into each week.

Computer Camps for Kids are held in two sessions -- one for ages 8-10 and one for ages 11-13. The inner workings of computers, working with graphics, text and hypermedia and exploring the Internet are included.

Xpose Yourself to Health Care Careers This free camp will give participants the chance to engage in various health care activities such as taking an x-ray, performing a blood pressure reading, taking a dental impression, and other functions. Geared for 7th - 10th graders, it is designed to give the children the chance to explore the operating room, a dental office, physical therapy labs, a nursing home, and other health care sites.

           The MSU Libraries on the Great Falls Campus held a unique fundraiser this spring. Departments were encouraged to create and donate a theme basket which was raffled off by the library. Funds raised will be used for Library beautification.

As students in the Auto Body and Refinishing program polished their welding skills, they used metal scraps to create works of art that were put on display and then raffled to benefit a local charity. The Auto Body program is one of the College's partnerships with Great Falls Public Schools to offer high school students dual credit.

Montana State University-Billings
Chancellor Ronald P. Sexton, Ph. D.

           Students Jeb Eberly and Tammi Walker have been selected to receive full-year Montana Space Grant Consortium Scholarships. They join an elite group of approximately 1,900 Space Grant Scholars and Fellows nationwide. The Montana Space Grant Scholarship program at MSU-Billings is directed by Dr. Matt Benacquista.

           Dr. Daniel Benge, with support from the Grants Office directed by C.A. Carey, was awarded a U.S. Department of Education grant in the amount $318,833 to support the Upward Bound Program.

           The College of Business in collaboration with Clear Channel Communications-Billings hosted the Maverick Marketing Seminar on May 6, 2003, at MSU-Billings.  This event drew over 110 small businesses from Eastern Montana and Northern Wyoming to learn about new methods of marketing.

           The College of Technology hosted its first annual "Career Exploration Day" on April 10, 2003. Over 130 high school students from surrounding schools attended. Students toured the campus and observed demonstrations in all of the two-year/one-year certificate and degrees programs. Demonstrations included paramedic, electrical controls in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, web-page design, etc.

           The Economic Development Summit met on May 28-29, 2003, at MSU-Billings and focused on business recruitment, retention, and clustering. The summit drew 1,000 - 1,300 participants from across the state and region. Speaker panels and breakout discussions focused on attracting new businesses and creating more jobs in Montana.

           Professor Sue Hart, English, was honored in a major feature article in the Billings Gazette that discussed her outstanding lifelong commitment to community service.

           The Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound Programs sponsored a variety of student events including a visit to Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming, a ditch clean up community service project, an MSU-Billings college tour, and an ACT prep workshop.

           Student Opportunity Services presented informational workshops for students and has been involved in the following activities: A Tea and Dessert Graduation Ceremony for SOS graduates, Friendship Day, and election of new officers for the 2003-2004 academic year. The SOS staff completed the MAP cycle with all employees meeting or exceeding their goals.

           United Campus Ministry sponsored "Prayers for Peace" each Monday from 12:05 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. An e-mail newsletter to local churches, persons and organizations about the campus "Issue of the Week" highlighted issues related to higher education and ministry. A forum was conducted titled Iraq: Talking About War. Campus Ministry continues to explore ways to partner with others on campus and in the community to connect with students, faculty and staff.

           The Office of Admissions and Records sponsored the following: "College Is Possible" with 70 participants in attendance, Admission Counselors met with middle school students regarding the advantages of college. Orientations Sessions and Preview Day were conducted at the University, and MSU-Billings booths were staffed at the FFA Convention, the Science Expo and the Jobs Jamboree.

           The College of Business and the College of Professional Studies and Lifelong Learning awarded three academic scholarships to senior high school students attending the 2003 Future Farmers Convention in Billings.

           Professor Tom Hinthorne presented a paper at the National Management Academy, Northwest Region in Portland Oregon.  Professor Hinthorne addressed challenges and opportunities in the livestock industry in Eastern Montana in 2003. 

Montana State University-Northern
Chancellor Alex Capdeville

         New Athletic Director - Montana State University--Northern has appointed a new Byron Ophus to the position of Athletic Director. This appointment is the result of an internal search to replace Ted Spatkowski who resigned earlier this semester. Ophus will assume the position on June 15. Ophus will continue to teach part-time. As Athletic Director his responsibilities will include: fundraising, overseeing the athletic department's budget, improving departmental communications, maintaining NAIA relations and standards, community development and overseeing scheduling of athletic events.

         Little Sullivan Award Winner - MSU-Northern wrestler Emmett Willson was named The Montana AAU Male Little Sullivan Award Winner for the year 2003.  The award recognizes the outstanding male and female athlete from Montana and is based on leadership, character, sportsmanship, and the ideals of amateurism. Emmett also recently won his second straight NAIA wrestling championship at 197 pounds and was named Outstanding Wrestler for the national tournament. Emmett follows in the footsteps of another great Northern wrestler Turk Lords who also won the Little Sullivan Award in his junior year.  

         Community Technology Education Center C-TEC celebrated its one-year anniversary on May 21, 2003 with a live videoconference with Senator Conrad Burns in Washington, DC. This was an opportunity for Northern to discuss the future and impact of technology on rural Montana. A presentation of the mobile technology lab project (a bus retrofitted into a mobile community technology center to serve the Hi-Line) was also given.

         Summer School - Summer school enrollments are good. At the time of this report, enrollments had reached 400 FTE. We are very optimistic that the numbers will increase and are hoping for FTE numbers similar to last year.

         Lewistown - There is a fundraising campaign being conducted in the City of Lewistown in order to build a Community Education Center in which MSU-Northern programs will be housed. The group is quite ambitious and has, in six short weeks, raised over $300,000. Administrators from Northern will be visiting Lewistown soon to assure the folks there that Northern has a strong commitment to the community and will continue to serve them well into the future.

Montana Tech of The University of Montana
Chancellor W. Franklin Gilmore

         Montana Tech's Human Powered Vehicle team took second place at the recent competition held at the University of California-Davis.

         The U.S. Department of Education announced that the Upward Bound program at Montana Tech will receive a $1.1 million award, which will sustain the eight-year-old program for another four years.

         The Safety, Health & Industrial Hygiene Department received approval for endorsement of the Applied Health Science undergraduate major as part of the ACSM University Connection Program.

         Dr. Curtis Link, Geophysical Engineering, received a Defense University Research Instrumentation Program grant in the amount of $142,220 to purchase a 96 channel 24 bit distributed seismograph system, a set of four 24 channel gimbaled geophone land streamers, and an accelerated weight drop seismic energy source mounted on an all terrain vehicle with trailer.

         Drs. Andrea and Don Stierle and the undergraduate research assistants in their lab recently published two papers on their work with microbial secondary metabolites. The first included collaboration with pharmacologist Keith Parker at The University of Montana: A Novel 5-HT Receptor Ligand and Related Cytotoxic Compounds from an Acid Mine Waste Extremophile, J. Nat. Prod., in press, 2003 and Sequoiamonascins A-D : Novel Anticancer Metabolites Isolated from a Redwood Endophyte, J. Organic Chemistry, in press, 2003.

         Dr. Donald Stierle is one of the Program Directors for the upcoming Northwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, June 12-14th, 2003.

         Butte High School student Alexandra Antonioli took first place and grand prize in Biochemistry at the International Science Fair in Cleveland, Ohio last week. Alexandra has been working in the Stierle's lab for the past three years on microorganisms in the Berkeley Pit Lake ecosystem.

         Dr. Pat Munday, Professional & Technical Communication, has prepared curriculum materials for the American History Teachers: A New Corps of Discovery, and will be working with the participating teachers on a Summer Institute bus tour in June. The program is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education and is administered by the Anaconda School District. Thirty High School history teachers from around Montana will participate in the institute and earn six graduate credits from The University of Montana for researching and writing an original history paper relating to Lewis and Clark in Montana.

         As head judge representing the SouthWest Montana regional science fair, Dr. Pat Munday, PTC, accompanied five students to Intel's International Science Fair in Cleveland, Ohio, in May. Four top award winning high school students from the SW Montana fair competed in the Intel Fair, receiving numerous awards including one first place. The other student attended as an observer, an award given to the best 8th grade project at the SW Montana fair.

         In May, Dr. Pat Munday, PTC, delivered a presentation on Clark Fork River environmental remediation and restoration to students in Flathead Community College's environmental studies program.

The University of Montana-Missoula
President G. M. Dennison

         David Gachigo, senior in Wildlife Biology, was awarded the Outstanding Student Leader Award of Spring Semester 2003. This distinguished award is given to a student who exhibits ethical, creative leadership and outstanding service to the University community while promoting a positive campus climate.

         Foreign Student and Scholar Services has finished entering all foreign student data into SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitors Information System) 3 months prior to the deadline established by the Department of Homeland Security.

         Laura Brehm, currently vice president and national director of development for the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land, will join the The University of Montana Foundation 1 August as president and chief executive officer. She will succeed Sharen Peters, who retires 30 June.

         The Montana World Trade Center at UM-M is inviting state businesses to participate in a trade mission to Ireland and the United Kingdom. The trade mission will take place June 28-July 4.

        UM-M Broadcast Journalism students received two of four possible nominations for the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards. Their programs, in the student category, titled "Business: Made in Montana" and "Montana Journal: First on the Scene," received widespread praise and acclaim.

         UM-M Broadcast Journalism students Aaron Flint, Jessica Hamner and Marci Krivonen, all junior Radio-Television majors, won three of the four scholarships awarded by the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

         UM-M Journalism students earned seventh place in the Hearst Journalism Intercollegiate Competition, up from tenth last year, with thirteen students winning individual Hearst Awards. UM was the only Northwest school to place in the Top 10.

         The Spring Dance Concert, presented by the UM-M Department of Drama/Dance, featured and recognized the top nine dance performances of the Academic Year. A panel of faculty members and students selected the finalists from more than forty entries at the fall and spring dance showcases.

         Eleven UM-M Student Volunteers have been recognized for their outstanding volunteer work in the community during the past year. The honorees were selected by the UM Office of Civic Engagement after being nominated by the Missoula organizations for which they performed volunteer work.

         Davidson Honors College announced the selection of fourteen Presidential Leadership Scholars. The students will enroll at UM and in the Honors College for the Fall Semester 2003. The scholarships are the largest and most prestigious presented by the University. The recipients are from high schools in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, South Dakota and India.

         The School of Fine Arts sponsored a spectacular evening of entertainment in presenting 2003 Odyssey of the Stars A Celebration of Artistic Journeys. This showcase event, a benefit for the Scholarship Fund, featured internationally acclaimed jazz singer Dee Daniels and award-winning artist Dana Boussard, both UM alumni.

         The Practical Ethics Center hosted the first Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl, providing fourteen teams from five universities with the opportunity to showcase their analytical moral reasoning skills. The judges awarded UM teams first and second place.

         Health & Human Performance students and faculty participated in the annual meeting of the Northwest American College of Sports Medicine. Two UM Undergraduate and two Graduate students were Outstanding Student Research Award Finalists. Additionally, an Undergraduate student and a Graduate student received Student Research Poster Awards.

         The Department of Biological Sciences reported that the acceptance rate of UM students applying to medical schools this year was 78%.

         The UM School of Forestry and the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station will participate, and play a significant role, in the June 17-19 Western Governors Meeting on Healthy Forests. More than 200 participants will participate in a field trip to the Lubrecht Experimental Forest that will include UM-M faculty led demonstrations, presentations and panels.

         A School of Forestry ecologist will appear this month in a new two-hour PBS Special about one of the most important scientific treks in American history, the Harriman Alaska Expedition. Dr. Paul Alaback participated in the month-long retracing of the original expedition route exploring changes that have taken place in the intervening 100 years.

         The work of School of Forestry professors Ramakrishna Nemani and Steve Running is highlighted in the current edition of "Science" magazine. Their two-decade study of global climate changes, in collaboration with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, Boston University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, has shown that the earth is becoming a greener and wetter place to live.

         In collaboration with Missoula hospitals, the College of Technology Radiology Program has completed its first full year. With a waiting list of two hundred fifty students, twenty students are admitted each fall. Academic Year 2002/2003 saw seventeen students complete the first year of their two-year program.

         Four UM Japanese majors have won scholarships to Japan for FY 03-04. Mike Foster, Jessica Polichetti, Ryan McAlpin, and Julia Holz will spend the upcoming academic year studying in Japan.

Dawson Community College
President Terry Hetrick

         Work continues on the architectural plans for the new Physical Education/Performing Arts Centers and the library expansion. At the present time, the firm of DG Architects estimates the completion of the blueprints for the Physical Education/Performing Arts Centers by the end of July thereby facilitating construction bids to be let the following month. The library expansion will not be ready for construction bids until after the first of the year (2004).

         Three members of the Men's Rodeo team qualified to participate at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. This event commenced June 8 and will run through June 14, 2003.

         From June 16 through June 20, fourteen students spanning 12-14 years of age will be on campus to attend this year's Gear-Up program. This is the fourth year DCC has conducted this program. This year, the focus is on History and the Arts with a culminating activity of a mini-Madrigal.

         The DCC Women's Fast Pitch Softball Team members won their respective regional championship, advanced to national competition, but were eliminated from advanced play early in that tournament.

         From June 23 through June 27, DCC is hosting an Elderhostel program which provides senior citizens the opportunity to participate in several activities highlighting a 3-day cattle drive and a full-day excursion to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota.

         The college received a favorable focused interim evaluation report of its Internet course delivery system (CCCOnline). The report was submitted to the Northwest Association, Commission on Colleges and Universities, for consideration at its June, 2003 meeting.

Miles Community College
President Darrell L. Hammon

          Robin Gerber, history professor, wrote and coordinated Miles City's fourth annual Ghost Tour. The Ghost Tour is a tour of various historical sites in Miles City. Over 300 people took the 2003 Ghost Tour, which covered the east Main Street historic district. The main purpose of the Ghost Tour was raise awareness of Miles City History. Each year, Ms. Gerber covers another section of Miles City history.

          Paul VanCleave, Maintenance Department, has announced his retirement after 23 years at Miles Community College.

          Shawn Neary, Men's Basketball Coach at Miles Community College announced that the men's basketball team finished the year with a team GPA of 3.20. This marks the sixth straight year that the team will be named an NJCAA Academic Team of the Year. Last year, our men's basketball team had the highest in the NJCAA with a 3.42 GPA.

          Annette Gorton, FIPSE Project Coordinator, attended the annual Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where she judged the Job Seeking Skills event (interviews portion).

          The Miles Community College-sponsored R.O.C.K.S. (Raising Our Community Kids Safely) program recently received Honorable Mention in the Community College Innovation Awards Program contest sponsored by the College Planning & Management magazine. This contest was open to community colleges across the nation to submit in writing innovative ways how their community colleges service their communities. Joyce Vera, R.O.C.K.S. Program Director, and Carol Hudson, Director of Institutional Research, submitted the application. College Planning & Management published the winners in its May 2003 edition. Other winners included representation from Florida, Texas, Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, and New York.

          One of Miles Community College's freshmen students, Jarrett Monroe, posted a score of 73.5 in round 1, 66 in round 2 and 59 in round 3. In championship round posted a score of 77 to take 2nd in the championship round, vaulting Monroe from 6th in the average to 3rd place overall and a top III national ranking in saddle bronc riding. He was also ranked 3rd in the Men's Rookie standing.

          On June 14, 2003, MCC sponsored a "Campus Beautification Day." Several faculty, staff, and community members joined in planting trees and flowers and spreading bark and river rocks. Caleb Brown completed his Eagle project by staining the Pioneer wagon house and repairing, replacing, and painting picnic tables and benches for the College.

          Mary Haydal, RSVP Director, and Ron Clem, retired police officer in Kalispell, spent two hours recently on the Northern Broadcasting Network's "Mornings with David Berg." Their topic was methamphetamines. Mary shared the tragic story of her daughter, a high school senior, who died from the use of methamphetamines. Ron told his story about his daughter's addiction, and he gave statistics and resources.  Governor Martz recorded a message. Then, David Berg opened the show to calls from around the state and their affiliate stations.

          The new student housing facility continues on track for fall semester opening.

          Miles Community College was the host for the annual Stockgrowers Association and Farm Bureau joint conference. Over 400 people crowded the halls of MCC. President Gamble attended the conference and was supposed to leave extra funding for MCC but did not.