Julie Schwartz has been named the new assistant director of alumni relations. Julie earned her master’s degree in public administration from UM in 1996, and comes directly from three years as executive director of Missoula’s Downtown Association. While there she oversaw the construction of the Caras Park Pavilion and coordinated “Out to Lunch,” “Soul of Missoula” and the ’98 and ’99 Street Jams. Julie is currently president of the Missoula Youth Homes board and was nominated for the Downtowner of the Year award.

A Cincinnati native, Julie’s lived in Bellingham, Wash.; Louisville, Ky.; and Bristol Bay, Alaska. She has an undergraduate degree in public policy from Montana Tech.

Julie’s duties as assistant director include membership, marketing and the budget. She oversees the office in the director’s absence and attends campus meetings, always with an eye toward strengthening ties among campus, the Missoula community and alumni. Julie’s done plenty of fundraising for nonprofit organizations--a skill that translates perfectly into her UMAA position. “I’m a professional beggar,” she laughs. With her easy-going manner, it’s hard to imagine many folks telling her “no.”

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During ceremonies at this year’s Grizzly home football games, UM honored 13 Montana alumni and friends for their support of the University and its outreach in their communities. Recipients received a plaque and were guests of the University throughout the weekend. This year’s Community Service Award recipients were Mary Brennan Harstad ’29 of Glendive, Carol ’64 and Jim Lucas ’50 of Miles City, Avis and Bill Mitchell ’50 of Miles City, Gen ’69 and Jim Beery ’67 of Wolf Point, Barbara ’52 and Clayton Huntley ’52 of Wisdom, JoAnn ’56 and Marlyn “Huz” Jensen ’54 of Kalispell, and Tina ’94 and John Mercer ’79 of Polson. The University of Montana Alumni Association and Grizzly Athletic Association sponsor the Community Service Award program.

- President Dennison congratulates Community Service Award recipients JoAnn and Huz Jensen and Clayton and Barbara Huntley at the Oct. 23 Griz football game.

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In Memory of David "Moose" Miller 1929-1999
by Bill Johnston

I knew Moose Miller from my early days in Libby. My family often went to Kalispell and we knew about Moose's Saloon, as do so many others who've come to see it as synonymous with the Flathead Valley.

Years later, working in UM's admissions and alumni offices, I came to know Moose and his wife, Shirley, as tireless advocates for the University and education. The Millers hosted countless events at their Kalispell and Flathead Lake homes for alumni, University friends, and current and prospective students. "Let's do this one for the alumni," Moose often said, never asking to be reimbursed.

Moose had another passion -- to return the Sigma Chi bell to campus. The bell was given to the Sigma Chi fraternity in the 1930s. It disappeared in 1955, the year Moose graduated from UM. In 1978 the bell reappeared at a fraternity house in Bozeman. It soon found its way back to Missoula and was housed on the front lawn of the Sigma Chi house in a supposedly thief-proof mount. The bell disappeared again in 1979. It was rumored to be back at a fraternity in Bozeman, in someone's garage, in Flathead Lake, perhaps in Wyoming.

In 1989 Moose called me about helping him find the bell. Would I, along with a colleague from Bozeman, mediate between the Missoula and Bozeman fraternities? I would. Negotiations continued for nearly ten years. I was in for the duration. The bell eventually resurfaced in MSU's 1998 homecoming parade. I was to make sure it got back to our campus.

I drove to Bozeman and retrieved the bell just in time for our '98 Homecoming. News coverage mistakenly gave me credit for finding it. I called Moose to explain. "Bill, it only matters that the bell is back," he characteristically replied. The bell will soon be housed in the lobby of UM's Adams Center. The display and plaque explaining the bell's history are tributes to the men of Sigma Chi and to David Moose Miller.

David R. "Moose" Miller died October 3, 1999, in Kalispell.

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A fellowship to keep UM business faculty members on the cutting edge in management information systems is the brainchild of alumnus Jeff Hamilton ’67.

With support from alumni employees of Andersen Consulting, a global consulting firm, Hamilton is helping Dean Larry Gianchetta achieve one of his highest goals for the School of Business Administration.

Hamilton, an Andersen Consulting managing partner, encouraged 70 percent of his fellow UM alumni employees to join him in support of a faculty fellowship for what Andersen considers the Montana business school’s hottest area--management information systems.

Dean Gianchetta’s highest priority for private funding in the school is a series of faculty fellowships to improve retention of junior faculty members in all of the school’s emphasis areas. It was an idea that appealed to Hamilton, who praised the business faculty for teaching him the core analytical skills necessary to serve his clients successfully. The quality of instruction he received had a tremendous impact on his own career, Hamilton says, adding that UM continues to graduate candidates with the abilities Andersen seeks.

The Andersen fellowship is one of the charter faculty fellowships to be established in the business school, according to the dean, who hopes others will soon follow.

Commitments from Andersen employees, several of whom work with Hamilton out of the San Francisco office, resulted in Andersen UM alumni increasing their participation rate in foundation fund raising programs by 56 percent over the previous year. And, with the one-to-one match from Andersen Consulting Foundation (up to $2,500 per employee) the fund is well on its way to reaching full endowment level.

Jeff Merrick ’98, who served as project manager in collecting the funds, says, “It was really pretty easy to raise the money.” UM alumni employees recognize how much the University and business school professors helped them develop the ‘real world’ skills necessary for working with a firm like Andersen and “they went out of their way to participate,” Merrick says. He hopes their track record of support for UM will continue beyond the current campaign.

The Andersen campaign was an all-electronic effort underscoring the firm’s interest in hiring UM grads armed with the latest office techniques. Communication with prospective donors and solicitation were handled via Web site and e-mail and, according to Merrick, the alumni are making their gifts electronically through payroll deduction.

About 250 major donors heard Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer, when he spoke at the UM President’s Club Dinner Homecoming weekend.

Evans chose "Why Montana" as his topic and explained how, as an Englishman, he became interested in writing stories set in Montana. His friendship and association with UM researchers were a major factor in his spending time here and learning about the westerners who appear in his bestseller, The Horse Whisperer, and his latest novel, The Loop. Evans charmed the audience with stories about his writing experiences, as well as his experiences in the state, and then entertained questions from dinner attendees.

Nancy Davidson, who served as mistress of ceremonies for the dinner, marveled at Evans’s ability to become so entrenched in the character and culture of the West. "Montanans, who believe the uniqueness of our home area shaped our people’s character, must see the authenticity of Nicholas Evans’s work," she noted.

Donors of at least $1,000 during the preceding fiscal year, members of the Heritage Society who have committed planned gifts for UM and members of the Benefactors Society with lifetime giving of $100,000 or more are invited to the annual Homecoming event. Evans himself has been a member of the President’s Club.

In his remarks to the membership, President Dennison thanked the donors for their support, which he says has a major impact on continuing the University’s history of providing an outstanding educational environment for students.

(CAPTION) Featured speaker Nicholas Evans (left), Fred Lee, UM Foundation president and CEO, and UM President George M. Dennison mingle with guests at the annual President's Club Dinner. Club members say the annual dinner with a renowned speaker--along with the opportunity to help UM--are highlights of membership in the President's Club.

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The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has awarded UM’s journalism school $200,000 to bring in visiting professional journalists for one- or two-week residencies.

UM is only the 25th school to get such a grant since the foundation began awarding them. Professor Carol Van Valkenburg credits the late Joe Durso Jr., interim dean of the school during 1997-98, who worked tirelessly in following the proposal to Hearst for two years and who finally convinced its board of directors to award the grant to UM. Van Valkenburg said Durso was adamant about assuring that UM students receive the finest journalism education available. It was out of his commitment to give the students the experience of exposure to working professionals that he labored so diligently with the UM Foundation to secure the grant, she says.

For a number of years, UM journalism students have fared well in the national Hearst writing competitions. UM’s reputation earned there and in other student writing, photography and broadcasting competitions, coupled with the strong case Durso and others made for the need for UM students to meet and work with journalists from news media hubs helped to convince the Hearst board of directors to make the award.

UM hopes to host its first Hearst visiting professional this spring.

- Jim Gallea, Seeley Lake (right), tells his benefactor, Richard Krumm ’60, of Elizabeth, N.J., how he learned he had been awarded the Richard Childers Krumm Silver Presidential Scholarship.

Gallea’s parents met him in Nome, Alaska, when he completed the 1999 Iditerod Race with the letter from UM announcing the award. Gallea and his family have been racing and breeding sled dogs since 1985 and have competed in races in Alaska and Montana.

Penny Wagner Peabody ‘61, ‘67 of Mercer Island, Wash., was elected vice chairman of the foundation board to complete the unexpired term of Bruce Cook ’57, who died in August.

Peabody, who had been serving as treasurer of the board, was selected during the board’s October meeting. Named to complete her term as treasurer was Deborah Doyle McWhinney ’77, Tiburon, Calif.

Six new trustees were elected to three-year terms. They are:

Robert F. Burke ’54, Missoula
Gwen McLain Childs ’63, Big Timber
Betty Stoick Lohn ’58, Missoula
Judith Blakely Morgan ’60, La Jolla, Calif.
Donald L. Oliver ’58, Woodland Hills, Calif.
Everit A. Sliter ’66, Kalispell