December 2006
Fall Semester Ends
Wednesday, December 20 2006
The Holiday Break begins Thursday, Dec. 21. Spring Semester classes begin Tuesday, Jan. 16.
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Ag Conference Set For February
Wednesday, December 20 2006
Production, profit, and innovation are key themes of the University of Montana Western’s Sixth Annual Ag Conference scheduled for Feb. 8, 2007 in Dillon, Montana.
The conference features two general sessions, eight breakout workshop sessions, and a banquet and keynote speaker. Speakers will cover topics ranging from marketing for the agricultural community to estate planning to Yellowstone buffalo issues. Conference meals feature Montana food products.
For conference information visit umwestern.edu online or contact the School of Outreach at 406-683-7537.
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Final "On The Rocks" Presentation of Fall Semester
Thursday, December 14 2006
"On the Rocks" is a guest speaker series sponsored by the Department of Environmental Sciences and Program in Mathematics at the University of Montana Western.
The final program of the 2006 Fall Semester is Monday, Dec. 18 at 4:15 p.m. in Room 311 of Block Hall. The presentation features Montana Western students Jennell Day and Steve Lubinski.
Day’s presentation is titled “In Patient, Out-Patient, Aquatics and In-Home Rehabilitation in a Rural Area.” Lubinski’s presentation is titled “Resource Management at The Big Hole Battlefield.”
"On the Rocks" provides a forum for the presentation of topics of interest to the scientific community. Neither Montana Western nor the Department of Environmental Sciences is advocating any particular view or any policy or position.
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Holiday Sing-a-Long Set For Saturday, Dec. 16
Thursday, December 14 2006
The Montana Western Music Department is a hosting a Holiday Sing-A-Long, Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Dillon Depot Theater at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
There will be singing, cookies and cider. There will be a silent auction with proceeds to benefit Montana Western students on a cultural tour of Austria during the 2007 spring break.
Auction items include Candy from Bunz and Bro, an oil change from MD Automotive, gift certificates from McDonald's and Pizza Hut, windshield repair at Jim's Auto Body, free bowling at Ned-Eva Lanes, a scented candle from Montana Candleworks, doggie things from Nightwind Training, a plant arrangement from the Dilmart.
The activities include a raffle drawing for a trip for two to London. Raffle tickets may be purchased at the door or from a Montana Western music student.
For more information, call 683-7046.
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Montana Western Music Department Concert
Monday, December 11 2006
The University of Montana Western music department’s Fall and Christmas Concert is Thursday, Dec. 14, 7:30 P.M. in the Small Auditorium of the Montana Western Main Hall.
The program will include selections by the Montana Western/Dillon Community Band and Choir and the Montana Western Jazz Band.
The concert will feature of a variety of selections including holiday and a patriotic salute to World War II.
There is no admission charge.
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Montana Western Professor Holds Book Signing
Monday, December 4 2006
Sid Gustafson, Bozeman author and University of Montana Western professor of Equine Sciences, will be reading passages from his latest novel, “Horses They Rode” and signing copies at The Bookstore in downtown Dillon on Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 from 6-8 p.m.
“Horses They Rode” is a dramatic story of love, family, and changing cultures. It takes place along the rugged Rocky Mountain Front in Montana, where ranchers and Native Americans uneasily share the vast landscape with each other, wild animals, and fast horses.
Bruised from a divorce, Wendel Ingraham abandons his hardscrabble life as a racehorse trainer and returns to the mountain foothill ranch where he was raised. There he confronts his past and tries to build a future with his young daughter. The novel lyrically weaves his journey through women, children, horses, and Indian spirituality, culminating in a dramatic horse race.
Gustafson’s beautifully crafted writing limns the intense and complex interactions between men and women, fathers and daughters, Native Americans and whites, and animals and nature. His storytelling and language is full of rhythm and surprise.
Gustafson was born and raised in Montana, growing up near the Blackfeet Indian Reservation (the main setting of “Horses They Rode”). A tribal member with whom he rode the range taught him Blackfeet culture.
Gustafson is a practicing veterinarian and the author of the popular guidebook, “First Aid for the Active Dog”. He is an authority on horses and was quoted in a New York Time’s story on Barbaro, the injured racehorse.
Gustafson’s father is Rib Gustafson, a long-time veterinarian along the Rocky Mountain Front and the author of several books. Rib may be best known for “Under the Chinook Arch”, a book of his veterinary experiences similar to James Herriot’s “All Creatures Great and Small”. Since most of the story takes place on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, we are pleased to use a painting by a Blackfeet artist on the front cover.
“Horses They Rode” has already drawn the interest of Hollywood movie producers.
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"Dances With Words" Features Montana Western Faculty
Monday, December 4 2006
The University of Montana Western English department is sponsoring a series of readings of area poets and writers during the 2006 Fall Semester titled "Dances With Words."
The final reading of the semester is in the Great Room of the Swsgood Technology Center, Thursday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. featuring six members of the Montana Western faculty.
Each person will present an eight-minute rapid-fire reading of his or her work. The genres covered include fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Fiction readings include Di Francis from her new fantasy trilogy and Sid Gustafson from his new novel “Horses They Rode.” Non-fiction contributions are from Bethany Blankenship from one of her popular columns and O. Alan Weltzien with excerpts from personal essays. The poetry readings come from Rebecca Knotts and Gary Lundy. Lundy has had 33 poems published in the past 16 months.
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Honors Program Fund-Raising Dinner
Monday, December 4 2006
The University of Montana Western Honors Program is holding a fund-raising dinner on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2006 at 6 p.m. at the Dillon Elks Lodge, 27 East Center.
The evening features a Virginia ham dinner, a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle. Proceeds from the evening will help Honors students travel to Washington D.C. during the 2007 Spring Semester.
Education at Montana Western is all about experience. By traveling to the nation’s capital, students will get a firsthand view of the workings of the government.
Tickets for the dinner are $20 for individuals, $30 for couples and $30 for a family (plus $3 per child eight and older).
To purchase dinner tickets or 50/50 raffle tickets, call 683-7360. Remember, all proceeds the Montana Western honors program.
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