2009 PRESIDENT'S REPORT

2009 Highlights

Scott Mills Named Guggenheim Fellow

The impressive achievements and exceptional promise of wildlife biology Professor L. Scott Mills earned him a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship. Mills has been working on conservation planning issues in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan during his fellowship, as well as developing an international investigation of climate change’s effects on seasonal camouflage in snowshoe hares and other mammals.

Dennison Wins Governor’s Humanities Award

UM President George M. Dennison was among five winners of the 2009 Governor’s Humanities Awards, which were presented by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Humanities Montana at a ceremony in the state Capitol in Helena. The awards honor achievement in humanities scholarship and service and enhancement of public understanding and appreciation of the humanities. A historian by training, Dennison has served on numerous boards and is a tireless advocate of the public purposes of higher education – community service, service-learning, volunteerism and civic engagement.

Enrollment Nears 15,000

The troubled economy was reflected in UM’s 2009 enrollment numbers, for both good and bad. Enrollments set records spring, summer and fall semesters, with a fall headcount of 14,921. That’s 714 more than a year earlier and the largest one-year enrollment jump in two decades. The institution also set a new record for full-time equivalent students at just more than 12,757, meaning more students are taking more credits. (An FTE represents 15 undergraduate or 12 graduate semester credits.) However, FTEs among nonresident students dropped 65.95 from last year, and with them, out-of-state tuition receipts.

Princeton Review Names UM
Among Best Colleges

UM was again listed among North America’s top four-year colleges and universities by the Princeton Review. The 2010 edition of “The Best 371 Colleges” includes only about 15 percent of higher education institutions in the United States and Canada. It is based on data and surveys of undergraduates, who shared comments like, “Academics at UM are facilitated by great instructors.” UM also achieved high marks in the publication’s “Quality of Life” and “Green” categories.

next >

contents|um home