CAMPUS REPORTS
Board of Regents Meeting
January 20-21, 2005
Helena, Montana
Montana State University-Billings
Chancellor Ronald P. Sexton
Montana State University-Billings Downtown Campus celebrated its official
opening on Friday, December 3, 2004, of which Billings Mayor Charles Tooley proclaimed
to be MSU-Billings Downtown Campus Day in Billings. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony
was held at the North Broadway facility, with music provided by the MSU-Billings Jazz
Ensemble. The University opened its doors to the community for tours and refreshments.
Professor Tom Hinthone received the Ad Hoc Reviewer of the Year award at the annual North American Case Research Association (NACRA) conference in Sedona, AZ. The award was presented to Professor Hinthone on Friday evening at a dinner including some 175 business case authors. This is a prestigious award presented by the editor of the Case Research Journal.
Dr. Sheila McGinnis and the health administration faculty have been awarded a contract to conduct a feasibility study for health care services in Livingston, MT. Dr. McGinnis is partnering on this project with faculty not only in the College of Allied Health Professions, but also in the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Montana State University-Billings Piano Performance student Jacquelyn Weitz, a senior from Billings, MT., recently returned from the Netherlands where she was chosen as one of 30 students from across the globe, and the only student from the United States, to compete in the Young Artists Competition of the Netherlands.
Senator Max Baucus, MT, arrived at the College of Technology on November 1, 2004, for a casual get-together with faculty and students. Senator Baucus toured the college facilities stopping for program and equipment updates in the areas of Process Plant Technology, Welding Lab, Auto Technology, Diesel Technology, Tool Room, HVACR Lab/Classroom, Computer Systems Technology, and Health Occupations. A post-tour meeting was held with faculty/staff in attendance in the COT Conference Room where Senator Baucus explained his interest in the importance of two-year institutions providing technical training in skilled labor areas and his intention to assist in funding for the upkeep, improvement, and continuance of such programs.
Montana State University-Billings, in partnership with Montana-Dakota Utilities, demonstrated an innovative, cutting-edge source of fuel cell energy, on Tuesday, November 16, 2004, at the Billings Armed Forces Reserve Center. The first of its kind in Montana, the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell holds great promise of a new energy source for the future. The project was funded through an $185,000 contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), to MSU-Billings and Brian Gurney, Energy Program Manager for the MSU-Billings Center of Applied Economic Research.
Dr. Randolfi and the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) have been informed they will be receiving continuation monies for tobacco prevention.
Ron Lambert recently joined MSU-Billings as Director of Marketing. Mr. Lambert came to Billings from Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he was director of Creative Services. He has received regional and national recognition, including a national Gold Award for a print advertising campaign from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
The Colleges of Business, Technology, and Lifelong Learning co-sponsored a booth at the Chamber of Commerce's 2004 Business Showcase held at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana. This event, attended by over 1200 people provided great exposure to the campus and its many programs. Students from the College of Business's professional selling class manned the booth as a class assignment. This experiential learning component was favorably received by all students learning how to apply theory to practice.
Montana State University-Northern
Chancellor Alex Capdeville
MSU-Northern Nursing Program The Montana State University Northern nursing program announces the pass rate results
for nursing students graduating in May 2004. Of the three sites, Havre with 15 students,
Great Falls with 12 students and Lewistown with 13 students, all campuses report a
100% pass rate with all students successfully passing the NCLEX exam on their first
attempt. Throughout the past year, the nursing program has been going through some
significant changes. One of the most important changes has been a change in leadership
for the program. Mary Pappas, Director of Nursing, has been working very hard to implement
more frequent and positive communications between faculty and students, and between
MSU-Northern and its community-health partners. The nursing program continues to make
progress on its short-term and long-term plan for continued improvement. The program
is also in the final preparation stage for its visit by the National League Nursing
Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) on March 1-3, 2005. NLNAC is recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education as the national accrediting agency for nursing education programs.
Cabin Fever Cabin Fever Institute is a partnership between MSU-Northern Extended University Department and the County Extension Offices in Hill, Blaine, Liberty and Chouteau Counties. The mission of the Cabin Fever Institute is to provide an opportunity for individuals to participate in a wide variety of educational offerings, sometimes including ones that might not otherwise be available in this area. Cabin Fever is designed to be self-supporting and the course fees generate the income to pay the expenses associated with this program. This year's Cabin Fever Program will be held December 20-22, 2004 and January 3-7, 2005. If you would like further information, please contact MSU-Northern Extended University at 265-3730.
We Love MSU-Northern Ball The 19th annual We Love MSU-Northern Ball sponsored by the Soroptimist International of Havre will be held on Saturday, February 26, 2005. This event has a long track record of serving excellent food and providing great entertainment. During the past 18 years the Soroptimists have raised many thousands of dollars for scholarships for non-traditional students. I invite everyone to attend. Please contact my office for further information.
Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology
Dean Mary Sheehy Moe
Senator Baucus Roundtable Both of Montana's United States Senators visited the College during Fall Semester.
On October 27, Senator Max Baucus toured the campus and met with students, faculty
and staff in the South Commons. There he engaged them in a discussion of a bill he
is co-sponsoring with Senator Enzi to improve affordability, access and opportunity
in higher education. On December 1, Senator Conrad Burns met with the College's management
team to discuss economic development initiatives that would help North Central Montana.
To market, to market Five artisans from the TRACE pilot project were recently selected to participate in Kentucky Crafted: The Market, scheduled for March 3-6, 2005, in Louisville, KY. Over 500 retailers, in addition to 14,000 members of the public, attend the Market annually. Kentucky is one of the few states in the country to sponsor a wholesale show for its craft businesses. The Market serves as a major sales outlet for the Kentucky craft marketing program and generates two to three million dollars in sales annually. Through an arrangement made by the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, Kentucky Crafted has generously offered to help boost creative entrepreneurship in Montana by reserving six booths for Montana artisans.
Dental students serve the community - The College's Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting students had a display at the Run, Walk or CrawlBenefis Healthcare Baby Fair, a free event to give families useful health care information for their infants and children. The dental hygiene students also gave dental information to shoppers at Holiday Village Mall to recognize October as Dental Hygiene Month.
3rd Annual Art Auction sponsored by the Auto Body Department Once again, auto body students transformed the scrap metal from welding classes into art for a silent auction funding auto body scholarships. The art ranged in style from race cars and outhouses to the family farm. The art auction has been very popular in the past, and has been sold to collectors as far away as New Mexico and California.
Instructors honored in Whos Who Among America's Teachers: Every two years members of the academic community are recognized for educational excellence. This year Leonard Bates, Mark Plante and Colleen Hazen have been chosen by members in the community as the most influential educators in our college and have been listed in the 2004 edition of Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
MSU - Northern Great Falls Campus Open House: An Open House celebrating the new location of the MSU-Northern offices on the Great Falls COT campus was held on Nov. 16. The Great Falls Chamber of Commerce facilitated the Ribbon Cutting ceremony with Chancellor Alex Capdeville and Dean Mary Moe officiating.
Dawson Community College
President Terry Hetrick
On Friday and Saturday, December 3 and 4, 2004, the DCC Music Department,
under the direction of Lisa Shields, conducted its annual Madrigal. As in years past, this event attracts over 100 individuals
to each of the two performances for a medieval style dinner and musical performance.
This was the thirteenth consecutive year of this event.
On Saturday, December 4, 2004, DCC conducted its first fund-raising Telethon on KXGN Television in Glendive. This two and a half hour event helped raise nearly $17,000 for the colleges major facilities expansion project. William Marcus, host of the PBS program Backroads of Montana served as co-host with Terry Hetrick, DCC President. During the course of the Telethon, pre-recorded videos of interviews with college faculty, staff and students were shown to emphasize the need for the new facilities. In addition, pre-recorded entertainment by two local bands and student choirs were shown.
On Thursday and Friday, December 16 and 17, 2004, Darrel Hammon and Terry Hetrick traveled to Billings, Roundup and Sidney to meet with area legislators in preparation for the upcoming legislative session. Each of these three meetings was very productive and helped inform legislators of the role and mission of the community colleges.
Construction of the new physical education and performing arts centers continues. The majority of effort to-date has centered on pouring concrete for the structures footings and support walls. Fisher Construction has informed the College that the structural steel for the physical education center is scheduled for shipment at the end of the first week of March and will arrive on site by the end of the second week. Concrete work for the adjoining performing arts center has now commenced. In addition, the architectural plans for the library/learning center are under review.
Flathead Valley Community College
President Jane Karas
Interim Vice President of Instruction Kathy Hughes has accepted the position of Vice President of Instruction, effective December 15. Hughes brings to the position 30 years of experience in education
and more than 20 years of administrative experience at FVCC. Prior to serving as Interim
Vice President, Hughes served as Director of Continuing Education and Workforce Training
at FVCC from 1986-2004.
Flathead Valley Community College was awarded the Association of Community College Trustees(ACCT) Community Economic 2004 Best Practice Award for the Western Region for its role in the Flathead Business and Education Council (FBEC).
FVCC held its 11th Annual Scholarship Award Luncheon October 28. Nearly 200 students were recognized for receiving private donor scholarships totaling over $130,000. The scholarship donors were also recognized for their generous contributions.
The Board of Nursing recently approved Flathead Valley Community College's proposal to begin a feasibility study to offer a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program.
Flathead Valley Community College and Montana State University-Bozeman recognized MSU's first upper division nursing class graduates in the Flathead Valley in December. The program, that MSU began to offer in the Flathead Valley January 2003,provides Valley residents the opportunity to earn nursing degrees without leaving the area and to secure nursing jobs locally.
Coordinated through MSU's nursing program at the University of Montana, the program was made possible through the partnerships of both MSU and Flathead Valley Community College along with Kalispell Regional Medical Center and North Valley Hospital. Many of the eight graduates fulfilled their general education requirements at Flathead Valley Community College and earned associate degrees before enrolling in the MSU-Bozeman program.
Four Flathead Valley Community College surveying students have been named recipients of Montana Association of Registered Land Surveyors (MARLS) 2004 Scholarships. The students were among five in the state of Montana who were awarded the $2,000 scholarships. The recipients include Eric Konop of Rice Lake, Wis.; William Morrison of Whitefish; Wayne Lockman of Kalispell; and Richard Harrison of Whitefish.
Flathead Valley Community College advanced sign language students utilized the skills learned in class for Kalispell Community Theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnes in November. As part of the college's Service Learning program, the students interpreted all five performances for the hearing-impaired patrons.
Flathead Valley Community College Service Learning partnered with Flathead Valley Habitat for Humanity to honor Make a Difference Day October 23. To commemorate the national day of doing good for others, FVCC staff and students assisted a Habitat for Humanity homeowner with preparing her yard for the winter season.
The Flathead Valley Community College Service Learning Office and Student Senate hosted two holiday giving trees to benefit children of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). The college's initial goal to collect 75 toys was exceeded nearly 300 percent by the generous donations of over 200 toys from FVCC faculty, staff, students and community members.
Flathead Valley Community Colleges Design I class, instructed by Gayle Hegland, painted a muralfor the Kalispell location of Sportsman Ski Haus.Painted by 11 students, the mural portrays Montana's countryside and wildlife scenes throughout the four seasons. The mural is sponsored by Sportsman Ski Haus and was displayed in the store permanently December 15.
Flathead Valley Community Theatre is taking its summer hit "The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr" to area high schools. The tour began in December at Summit Preparatory School in Kalispell, Eureka High School and Bigfork High School and will continue in January. The high energy comedy centers on three actors trying to perform all of Shakespeares 37 plays with a modern-day twist in less than two hours.
Flathead Valley Community College hosted over 200 local third grade students November 17 for Seussville University, a day-long celebration of Dr. Seuss that encourages local children to read. Activities included art and music classes, games, storytelling and a theatre production, each of which was centered on a Dr. Seuss book. Eight third grade classes from Canyon Elementary, Cross Currents Christian School, Helena Flats, Lakeside Elementary, Kalispell Montessori, St. Matthew's and Smith Valley schools participated in the event. Approximately 50 FVCC students participated in the event through the Service Learning program.
Flathead Valley Community College hosted its 12th Annual Native American Thanksgiving Celebration for Kids November 22. Approximately 500teachers, assistants and children in kindergarten through fourth grade from area public elementary schools attended the event. Local artist Jack Gladstone educated the children about Native American culture through performances of songs and historical presentations.
Miles Community College
President Darrel Hammon
For the "Techno Savvy Career Pathways" grant project, Brett Bratland, IT Support, flew to Austin, Texas, for an A+ certification camp. He was among only
3 of 9 at the camp who passed the exam. Brett is now working on the A+ certification
curriculum for Miles Community College with the assistance of other IT faculty.
Miles Community College has now become a testing center for the IC3 computer literacy certification program. The first courses for the program will be offered Spring semester.
Foundations of Art students; Miles Community College instructor, Kathy Wankel; and Lindsay Farber and Whitney Wankel, two dually-enrolled high school students volunteered to help the elementary art teacher with "Native American Days," which was part of the Enrichment unit in the art curriculum of the district art program. Students were involved in teaching first graders in the following areas: LaCrosse, spear-throwing, dance, clay pottery, sign language, face painting, naming animals with symbolic labels, and shield painting.
The Miles Community College library catalog is online with the State of Montana library and on our online library reference page. Teena Friesz and Wendy Hodgson, Library staff, completed the training with the state concerning our catalog and circulation software.
The Automotive Technology students at Miles Community College provided a free "Winter Check" for Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) members. The students performed a 41-point inspection of the vehicles. They performed minor service, made written recommendations for any major repairs, and then went over the check list with each owner. Each owner was then provided with a copy of the report. The response from RSVP was very positive with the students checking 33 vehicles.
The Building Technology students at Miles Community College volunteered their time, equipment, and manpower to set up the Miles City Youth Hockey Association hockey rink in the Agri-Sports Complex at the county fairgrounds. The students spent two days surveying, leveling, and constructing the rink.
The Miles Community College HOSA chapter has once again been very active. Since the October blood drive, they have held three fundraisers and nearly reached our $300 annual goal this semester! Additionally, HOSA decorated the residents' doors for Christmas at Holy Rosary Health Center long-term care. They will return on December 15th to wrap residents' gifts during their Christmas Gift store event.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.
Montana State University-Bozeman
President Geoff Gamble
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS accounting students placed 6th in the nation for first-time pass rate on the 2003
CPA EXAM. For the 17th time in 21 years, MSU students have ranked in the top 10. CARLEN MARTINELL of Great Falls received the Montana Society of CPAs George D. Anderson Gold Medal
Award for a Montana university or college student with the highest overall score.
MAUREEN WALSH, a senior from Great Falls, was recently named Regional Resident Hall Advisor of the Year by the seven-state intermountain region of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls. A Family Sciences major, Walsh will compete in the national competition this spring.
NEIL CORNISH, physics professor, is named as a contributor for one of Discover magazine's top 100 discoveries of 2004. Cornish whose work in determining the size of the universe has been internationally recognized in numerous venues over the past year is credited in an article titled, "Astronomers Measure Cosmos Width" on page 58 of the January 2005 issue. In addition, Cornish's work is part of an American Museum of Natural History exhibit that recently went online.
ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS, under the direction of Professor CHRIS LIVINGSTON and his project foreman, MSU graduate WAYNE SELLERS, donated more than 13,000 hours to design and build an annex to the Network Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse shelter. The addition includes two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and a modern kitchen, and provides immediate relief from overcrowding and a bright, cheery atmosphere for victims and their children. Professor JERRY STEPHENS and his CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS collaborated on the project as well.
BETTY MCCOY, director of program planning for Montana 4-H, was recognized with the Air Force Recruiting Salute award, a prestigious lifetime achievement award given to just one 4-H leader in the country per year. McCoy was recognized for creating a positive image for Extension and its 4-H programs through her exemplary leadership and citizenship.
MARIAM STEWART (junior - nursing, Crow Agency), DENEAN STANDING (junior cell biology and neuroscience, Ft.Peck) and KHENA BULLSHIELDS (junior psychology, Bigfork and Canada) each earned national awards at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science conference. The women were part of an American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) team. AIRO is a consortium of Montanas seven tribal colleges and MSU. More than 3,000 student researchers competed at the competition, entering over 500 posters.
The ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEPARMENT is one of ten university programs recognized by Micron as an elite "Key School". Micron, considered the world's leading provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, supports the department through scholarships, in-kind donations, prime career opportunities and a vigorous internship program. Thirteen students recently received a total of over $50,000 in scholarships.
MSU winter wheat breeder PHIL BRUCKNER developed MSU's first herbicide-tolerant wheat. Part of the Clearfield winter wheat line, the variety has been licensed to WestBred, LLC, a Bozeman-based plant breeding company with six associate seed companies around the state. WestBred associates now have about 12,000 bushels of the seed in the ground, primarily in the state's Golden Triangle and Judith Basin areas. Craig Cook, WestBred's winter wheat breeder indicates that most of what will be harvested next summer will be certified seed available to Montana growers for fall planting.
Montana Tech of The University of Montana
Chancellor W. Franklin Gilmore
The Mineral Museum received two grants through the Montana Lewis and Clark
Bicentennial Commission and the National Park Service to develop the traveling exhibit
Montana Geology and Geographythrough the eyes of Lewis and Clark, which focuses on geologic and navigational aspects of the expedition.
Montana Tech and its collaborators have received support in the recently completed FY2005 Federal budget for nearly $7,000,000. These funds will support the continuation of collaborative programs in mine reclamation and advanced separation technology for the minerals industry, and Montana Tech programs in graduate student international exchange and chemistry of the Berkeley Pit. New programs in titanium fabrication and energy technology feature collaborations with industry and federal research laboratories.
Montana Tech graduate students participated in record numbers in the thesis abroad program. Ten master's degree students spent the fall semester with research partners in Argentina and Australia working on a variety of topics from heart valve engineering to advanced mineral processing.
Graduate enrollment increased by 10% in the fall of 2004 compared to last year. The increase was driven by growth in our on-line offerings in Project Engineering Management and Industrial Hygiene. International admissions continue to recover from the 9/11 decrease.
Professor Willis Weight, Geological Engineering, had a book chapter, Level Measurements in Groundwater Monitoring Wells, published in a new John Wiley and Sons (2005) book entitled "Environmental Instrumentation and Analysis Handbook." He was also invited to make a presentation at Little Big Horn College on October 15th on a new public water supply well design for the Crow Agency and Lodgegrass communities developed by Chad Kraus, a senior in Geological Engineering.
Professor Robert Ziegler, Liberal Studies, has been invited to present a paper at Bristol University's (UK) Conference on the Art Novel in late February 2005. His paper, "The Oedipal Murder of Naturalism in J.-K. Huysmans's Early Fiction," stems from work on his second book, "The Mirror of Divinity: The World & Creation in J.-K. Huysmans," published by the University of Delaware Press.
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering (MetE) had three MS students spend two months each in Australia doing research on their theses through the Student Abroad Program which is supported a State Department grant through the Research Office. Darby Stacey was at Monash University, Melbourne, working on Alkaline Sulfide Leaching of Gold; Josh Junkert was at Griffith University, Brisbane, working on Gold Thiosulfate Recovery by Modified Carbon Adsorption; and Dave Douglas was at James Cook University in Townsville, working on Simultaneous Electrowinning of Cupric and Ferrous Ions.
Dr. Courtney Young, MetE, concluded efforts organizing a symposium for the Annual SME Meeting to be held in Salt Lake City February 28-March 2, 2005. The symposium consists of 32 invited papers with five plenary lectures in honor of his former PhD advisor, Dr. Jan D. Miller. This is among the first that SME has allowed honoring one of its more prestigious members.
Professor Diane Wolfgram, Geological Engineering, was an ABET evaluator for the Geological Engineering program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in November 2004.
Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene Professor John Amtmann's article, Perceived Effects of a Service-Learning Health Education program, was accepted for publication in the Correctional Education Association's refereed Journal of Correctional Education.
John Amtmann's articles: "Weight Management" and "The Paradigm Effect" appeared in the Fall and Winter issues (2004) of High Performance Training. "The Paradigm Effect" was coauthored by Seth Schutte.
The University of Montana-Missoula
President G.M. Dennison
The seventh-ranked University of Montana Grizzlies (12-2 & 6-1/1st Big Sky
Conference) advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship game in Chattanooga
Tennessee on 18 December.
The University of Montana Office of Civic Engagement will provide University of Montana students with the opportunity to travel next summer to Southeast Asia and take part in the academic, travel and service course. They will work at a school for homeless children, visit a nature preserve, work with children with disabilities and visit Luang Prabang, Laos-a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A University of Montana Journalism student, Joe Friedrichs, placed in the latest round of the national William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program.
Sue Griffin, a University of Montana Forestry and Conservation doctoral student, was awarded a Canon National Park Science Scholars Program Scholarship for her marmot research in Olympic National Park, Wash. The scholarship, grants selected Ph. D. students $78,000 in scholarship funds to conduct research essential to the conservation of national parks.
The Montana Committee for the Humanities was honored earlier this month with the Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for Excellence in Public Programming.
Harry Fritz, who has taught history at The University of Montana for nearly four decades, has been named the 2004 Montana Professor of the Year The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. This is the fifth year in a row that a University of Montana faculty member has won the prestigious award.
Two University of Montana student athletes, Shane MacIntyre and Vasi Jankovich, were rewarded with the Montana Athletes in Service Award by the Montana Campus Compact.
For an unprecedented seventh year in a row, University of Montana law students have won the right to compete at the National Moot Court Finals in New York City. A University of Montana team, Jeff Roth, Matt Thuesen, Whitney Welsh, placed first in the Northwest Regional Moot Court competition at the University of Washington in November.
The University of Montana School of Law's American Bar Association negotiation competition team, Katie Olson and Doug Schultz, advanced to the final round of the Region 10 competition held November.
According to the 2004 NCAA Division I Graduation-Rates Report, University of Montana graduates 70 percent of its student-athletes. The average student-athlete graduate rate for all Division I schools is 62 percent.
The University of Montana has been awarded a three-year, $890,000 grant aimed at increasing the number of American Indian pharmacy students and faculty members.
The University of Montana Western
Chancellor Richard Storey
Experience One Implementation Progress
Western's large freshman class is currently signing up for next semester's Experience One courses. Departments are busy developing course schedules for academic year 2005-6 and beyond. The goal is to have tentative schedules developed two years in advance so that students can more easily plot out their course to graduation.
One advantage of Experience One scheduling is that it allows for less than a full semester's commitment by adjunct faculty. This has already proven to be advantageous in recruiting faculty to teach Experience One courses. Also, several students have already taken advantage of the Experience One scheduling by beginning classes at Western after block one courses have been completed. This would be impossible under traditional scheduling.
Advising Center
Western's new Advising Center, under the direction of David Moore, is assisting faculty advisors in advising students who will be transitioning to the Experience One format next year. Advisors are working with individual students to devise a graduation plan that will make it possible for all students to graduate within the same time frame that would have been possible under the continuation of traditional scheduling.
On-line Courses
Fall semester Western had 270 students enrolled in 19 different on-line courses, mostly offered using WebCT courseware. Many of these students are placebound and would not be able to take face-to-face courses if those were the only ones to be offered. Asynchronous internet courses are also a good choice for students whose work or extracurricular activities make it difficult to attend all class sessions of face-to-face courses. In keeping with its mission, Western strives to make its on-line courses as active and experiential as possible. Current enrollment totals 53 full-time equivalent (FTE) students or about 5 percent of Western's total FTE.
Western Elderhostel Programs
The University of Montana Western is the eighth largest sponsor of Elderhostel programs in the western region. Western offers between 50 and 70 programs each year to people from all over the country. Elderhostel is a national non-profit organization that promotes learning and travel opportunities for people 55-years and older. Western's programming efforts infuse millions of dollars into southwest Montana's economy. Over the last three years Western's annual revenue from these programs averaged $803,000. Those revenues are spent in 11 communities, support 20 hotels, 46 restaurants, 29 natural heritage centers (parks, education centers, museums, etc.) and 24 transportation companies. In addition, the estimated $200 to $500 that each program participant spends out-of-pocket contributes an additional $200,000 -$500,000 each year to the state economy.
Faculty Accomplishments
Dr. Jim Sethi, Western Professor of Business continues to be highly active as a scholar with a number of recent publications and presentations to his credit. These include the following conference presentations:
E-Commerce Global Trends and Challenges: Lessons for CEOs and Strategic Managers, Ottawa: Institute for International Marketing, August 9, 2004.
Information Technology and Technostress: Strategic, Ergonomic and Ethical Strategies. Ottawa: Institute for Leadership Excellence Workshop, August l6, 2004.
A Model of Strategic Self-Reengineering for Managing Stress, Technostress, and Burnout: Implications for HRM and HR Managers, Mountain Plains Management Association, 46th Annual Fall Conference, October l4-l6, 2004, Mesa State College, Grand Junction, Colorado.
Professor Sethi has also had or will have the following articles published in journals:
Strategic Ethical Issues for Contemporary Organizations: An Interest-Based Model, Human Resource Development Review, [in process]
A Framework For Ethical Leadership for Strategic Analysis of Balancing Profitability and Ethical Equity: Implications for CEOs and Team Leaders", Journal of International Business Economy, Fall 2004
Teamwork and E-Business: A Guide for CEOs and Team Leaders. Journal of Comparative Sociology & Ethics, Volume XXXI, 2004, pp.3-145.
Strategic Self-Reengineering: Toward An Integrated Model of Human Resource Management. Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Economics. [in process].
Finally, Dr. Sethi has had the following book published:
An Integrated Model For Human Resource Management For the Internet Economy. Universal Publications, 2005.
Dr. Craig Zaspel, Western Professor of Physics and very productive scholar, has recently had two more articles accepted for publication:
"Magnon Modes in Permalloy Nanorings" with coauthors: Boris A. Ivanov, Institute of Magnetism, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
"Collective Modes in Magnetic Dot Arrays", Boris A. Ivanov, A. Yu. Galkin, Institute of Metal Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Dr. Zaspel's research is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Both of his most recent articles deal with potential problems that can arise when using nanoscale magnets for high-density information storage.
Another active scholar at Western is Dr. Rita Moore, Associate Professor of Education. Her second book, (authors: Rita Moore, UMW and Carol Gilles University of Missouri-Columbia.) Reading Conversations: Retrospective Miscue Analysis with Struggling Readers Grades 4-12 will be out in February 2005 with Heinemann Publishers.
Dr. Moore has also had an article accepted with Teacher Educator (Ball State) entitled Validating Teaching and Learning Communities for Teacher Education Reform. About building trust and sharing resources in professional development settings.
As part of the INBRE program, Western Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Michael Morrow has received a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to continue his research at Western. This grant has many purposes. While it is largely a research grant to be used to further Dr. Morrow's studies on how proteins are secreted from the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, it is also designed to seriously strengthen the biomedical education capacity of Western. Some of the major goals include getting more Western students interested in the biomedical sciences, providing opportunities to these students to learn current cell/molecular biology techniques by participating in individual research projects, and significantly building the infrastructure of Western's cell/molecular biology labs. The grant funds will largely be used to purchase major pieces of lab equipment and lab supplies, make lab/facility improvements that will benefit the entire sciences area, provide student employment opportunities to do research during the summers and academic year, fund opportunities for Dr. Morrow and students to travel to national and regional meetings to present research results, fund travel to other Montana institutions to utilize equipment that is not present at Western, and employ a full-time laboratory technician.
Professor of Geology Dr. Rob Thomas's Geology 432 - Depositional Environments students presented their work in that class from last spring at the national meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, Colorado in early November. The title of the talk is: Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of the Mid-Miocene Beaverhead Graben in Southwest Montana. The national meeting of the Geological Society of America is the largest gathering of geoscientists in the world, attracting some 7,000 geoscientists from around the globe.
At this same meeting, Dr. Thomas was an invited speaker for a special topics session entitled "We Can Do Better: Alternatives to the Same Old Lab-Lecture Format in the College Classroom. The paper, which was co-authored with Dr. Sheila Roberts is entitled: Making a Field-Based Geoscience Curriculum Work by Teaching One Class at a Time: The University Of Montana Western. Dr. Thomas was invited to give this talk based on the buzz around the geoscience community that Western was making significant changes to the traditional geoscience curriculum with our Experience One format.
Western Associate Professor of English Dr. Diana Francis continues being successful with her creative writing and had her second novel published in December. Its title is Path of Honor. It is the second of her trilogy begun with Path of Fate.
August's Montana State of the Arts had Dr. Francis article "Publishing Your First Commercial Novel" in it. She will be teaching a workshop on fantasy writing and acting as guest critiquer at the October Write On the Sound Writers Conference in Edmonds, Washington. Dr. Francis also recently had her short story "Native Spinsters" accepted for publication in the literary journal Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet.
Upon the nomination of a former student, David Moore, Academic Assistant to the Provost, has had his biography accepted for publication in Who's Who Among America's Teachers 2003-2004. In its award letter to Mr. Moore, Who's Who stated that You have obviously made a difference in the life of the student who nominated you.
Professor Alan Weltzien has a creative essay, Fathers and Sons, Trails and Mountains, that's included in a new book, Eco-Man, edited by Mark Allister and published (2004) by The University of Virginia Press. This book blends men's studies with current trends in environmental studies.
Dr. Weltzien also has an article, Higher Education Down Under, appearing in the Fall 2004 issue of The Montana Professor. This article distills some of his experience as a visiting scholar at Charles Sturt University, in New South Wales, via the UM-CSU exchange agreement, January - July 2003.
Professor Julie Bullard and Western's Early Childhood Education Program was awarded a $68,000 grant from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. The grant will be used for recruitment, retention, articulation, and enhanced degree quality. One component of the grant will be a coach/mentor program. Research will be conducted on the effectiveness of the mentor/coach model on student retention.
Dr. John Xanthopoulos has accepted the invitation from Walden University in Minneapolis Minnesota to join and become a founding member of Walden University Social Change Task Force.
Dr. Sean Eudaily's first book, The Present Politics of the Past: Indigenous Legal Activism and Resistance to (Neo)liberal Governmentality (Routledge-NY, 2004), was publish this past July.
Professor Sheila Roberts has reported the following publication based on her research: R.J. Spencer, W. Yang, S.M. Roberts and H.R. Krause, 2003, Hydrology and climate change (200 to 100 ka), Death Valley, California, USA, in Desertification in the Third Millenium, edited by A.S. Alsharhan, W.W. Wood, A.S. Goodie, A. Fowler and E.M. Abdellatif: Swetz and Zeitlinger Publishers, Lisse, Netherlands, p 117-122.
Professor Craig Zaspel has had the article Excitation of vortices using linear and nonlinear magnetostatic waves accepted for publication in Physical Review. This is some theoretical work that has applications in the area of microwave electronics and signal processing. The idea began during a trip to Kiev in June, 2000. Coauthors are A. D. Boardman and L. Velasco, Joule Physics Laboratory, University of Salford, Salford, U.K., Yu. G. Rapoport, Physical Faculty, Kiev National University, Ukraine, V. V. Grimalsky and S. V. Koshevaya, National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics, Puebla, Mexico
and B. A. Ivanov, Institute of Magnetism, National Academy of Sciences, Kiev, Ukraine.