2007 PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Dear Friends,

“Our Place on the Planet:” The title suggests at once the focus and diversity of the contents for this report. For some, it may also pose new institutional departures. However, I believe the title indicates continuation of rather than break from tradition. From its earliest beginnings, The University of Montana has responded to a global society that is becoming increasingly interdependent — physically, technologically and culturally. The response manifested itself in a variety of activities, from the welcoming reception of students attracted to the University; to efforts to send University students to other countries to enrich their education and develop new competencies; to collaborative research and educational programs that provided benefits directly and indirectly to the participating students, faculty, institutions and countries. Within this historical context, the accomplishments in this report are the culmination of earlier aspirations, even as they raise the level of and set the foundation for expectations of future generations.

Some of the accomplishments merit additional comment. The University until recently boasted only one Nobel Laureate among its alumni or faculty. One within a hundred years may not sound impressive, although I think it merits recognition. Be that as it may, having two Laureates within just a bit over a century adds to the record immensely. Regents Professor Steve Running has served his entire career and conducted all of his work as a faculty member of The University of Montana. We will not know for years the power and impact of his influence on generations of students and colleagues who have had the advantage of working with him over those years.

As for the flow of students and scholars to and from the University and the collaborative activities, the University today ranks fifth among all public institutions in the country for the graduation of Rhodes scholars. And the University has a well-earned reputation for facilitating student, staff and faculty exchanges and building upon those relationships to develop research and collaboration. We have agreements with 76 institutions in 30 countries around the world, and we enroll students and have had visiting scholars from nearly every country of the world. Importantly, we do not maintain agreements without the interest and participation of students, staff and faculty on campus.

New initiatives indicate the trajectory we have in mind for the future. We have had groups of engaged or aspiring teachers and administrators from a number of countries seeking insight about best practices in standards-based education. We will continue to explore how we can assist other countries to develop their educational systems. Also, we seek to extend the expertise of the faculty to assist professionals in other countries as they deal with the challenges of the 21st century, challenges that increasingly require global collaboration to affect and resolve — from climate change to resource conservation to dispute resolution to best business practices to nanotechnology to water management to wildlife management to ecotourism to health care to cultural studies and many more. We have joined the effort to teach and learn critical languages, beginning with Chinese and moving to Arabic, Persian, Korean, Hindi and others. Finally, we have accepted a greater involvement in educating the next generation of world leaders about the functioning of American government, economic and related systems, and civil society and social institutions. The agenda for the future reflects the past even as it seeks to anticipate the future.

I commend this report to you and look forward to your comments.

Sincerely,

George M. Dennison
B.A., ’62, M.A., ’63
President and Professor of History

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