2006 PRESIDENT'S REPORT

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR

Legal Eagles • The University of Montana School of Law gained national exposure as student teams went on to the final rounds in the American Bar Association Negotiation Team competition and the National Moot Court Competition. This year marks the ninth time a UM team has competed in the final rounds of the National Moot Court Competition and also is the fourth consecutive trip to the finals for a UM negotiation team.

Under New Management • UM’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Development took over the administration of the Montana Natural Heritage Program, the state’s source for information on the status and distribution of native animals and plants. Previously managed by The Nature Conservancy, the program was established by the Montana Legislature in 1983 and is based at the Montana State Library in Helena. The Montana Natural Heritage Program is part of a network of more than 70 similar programs spanning all 50 U.S. states, as well as Canada and Latin America. Montana’s program is widely considered to be one of the best.

Celebrating Differences • Diversity and tolerance were highlighted topics during UM’s first “Day of Dialogue,” a day of events aimed at facilitating conversations about the importance of diversity. Events included workshops, exhibits, lectures, films, panels and roundtable discussions led by faculty, staff and students from varied campus departments. Event organizers stressed that diversity is about more than race, and seminars included “How Poverty Divides Us” and “Fasting Ramadan and Hiking the M.” The keynote speaker for the event was Manning Marable, founder of the Institute for African American Studies at Columbia University.

More the Merrier • The University set another enrollment record with a total of 13,961 students on campus for fall semester 2006, an increase of 359 over the fall 2005 headcount. In addition, the entering freshman class boasted increased diversity, with more American Indian, Black, Hispanic and Asian-American students, as well as a slightly better academic profile than the class of 2005. Students enrolling in fall 2006 had an average high school GPA of 3.3 and an ACT score of 23. The class includes 10 National Merit Finalists, 32 Presidential Scholars and 123 valedictorians.

Spiritual Ceremony • Preparations began for the University’s future Native American Center when spiritual leaders from each of Montana’s 12 tribes gathered together for the first time in 100 years to bless and heal the building site in October. The ceremony to consecrate the site took place on the Oval and included raising a lodge (teepee) used by UM American Indian students. The Native American Center will house the University’s Native American Studies program and American Indian Student Services office, as well as provide gathering space for cultural events and other related campus programming.

A Good Read • Students had the chance to meet best-selling author, igloo-builder, hunter, trapper and Alaskan Seth Kantner when he paid a visit to his alma mater to discuss his debut novel, “Ordinary Wolves.” The book, which received rave reviews in the New York Times Book Review and Outside magazine, was chosen for UM’s first-year reading experience. The program encourages all first-year students to read the same book so they have one more thing in common as they begin college. “Ordinary Wolves” is a story loosely based on Kantner’s life as a young white boy coming of age as a minority in a remote part of the Alaskan tundra. Kantner is a 1991 graduate of UM’s School of Journalism.

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