Faculty News
Dr. David Shively has been awarded a year-long sabbatical for the 2010-2011 school year. Dr. Shively will spend almost the entire duration traveling and doing research. Congratulations on a well-earned award!
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2009-2010 Student Awards
Hayden Janssen was the recipient of the JM Anderson Scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year. The Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Anderson Scholarship was established through the will of Mrs. Anderson in 1983. Mrs. Anderson grew up in the Nine Mile and Lothrup areas of Montana and lived in Missoula for many years. She died in 1982. Her husband died in 1972. Hayden was awarded the largest grant in the history of the scholarship. Congratulations Hayden!
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New Undergraduate BS Degree in Geography Approved September 2009
This September the Montana Board of Regents approved a new undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Geography. This will complement our existing and continuing Bachelor of Arts degree and our new MS degree approved last May. These additions, along with the approval of the Interdisciplinary Minors in Mountain Studies and in Climate Change Studies last spring, are great new options available to our students! We are in the process of updating our web pages to match all of the curricular changes this entails. In the meantime, refer to this link for our New Undergraduate Advising Guide for Fall 2009 or see previous announcements for details on these other programs.
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Colloquium Schedule for Fall 2009
Please open the document to find out who is presenting this fall semester in the Department of Geography Colloquium. The document also list the dates of the presentations and titles.
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Crown of the Continent
The Crown of the Continent Program has now its own link under "Programs" on the Geography department website. Publications, photography, projects and news items that are Crown-related will be posted there. This will also be the home of the Crown E-Magazine.
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New 3 Credit Minimum Policy
The 3 credit minimum enrollment begins Fall 2009 semester. This minimum applies to ALL Students, unless, they meet the criteria listed in policy B3.000 Continuous Registration. If you have any questions, please refer to the Graduate School website policy page at http://life.umt.edu/grad/name/degreestandards#b3.000
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Fall Open House for Natural Resources Conflict Resolution Program
will take place on Thursday, September 3, 2009 from 4 - 6:00 p.m. in the President's Room in Brantley Hall on the UM campus in Missoula. For more information, please see Open House brochure.
New Graduate MS Degree in Geography Approved May 2009
This May the Montana Board of Regents approved a new graduate Master of Science degree in Geography. This will complement our existing and continuing Master of Arts degree. Enrolled students will be given a one-time option to switch into our new program before Fall 2009. We are in the process of updating our web pages to match all of the curricular changes this entails. In the meantime, refer to this link for our New Graduate Advising Guide for Fall 2009.
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Conjunctive Surface and Ground Water Management Conference
The 2009 Montana Conjunctive Water Management Conference is taking place June 8-9, in the University Center Theater at The University of Montana. The conference will examine how conjunctive management of surface and ground water is occurring in Montana, and elsewhere in the West.
The Clark Fork River Basin Task Force and the UM Department of Geography are convening another conference. This time the focus is on the conjunctive management of surface and ground water resources. We will have two panels comprised of experts in the field, and an opportunity for attendees and panelists to consider important questions that relate to this topic as it applies in Montana. Please share with anyone you think might be interested in attending, or in viewing the proceedings that will be published this summer, or plan on attending yourself!
For more information on who should attend the conference and for a list of conference objectives, please view Conference Brochure.
To register please complete the Registration Form.
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Course Numbering Conversion
The Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education has instituted a system-wide common course numbering policy to allow students to easily assess the transferability of classes from one Montana University System institution to another. Use this translation guide to find the new numbers for only those courses that have been renamed and renumbered.
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2008-9 Student Awards
At UM's Conference on Undergraduate Research this April, four Geography undergraduates presented their research projects. Johanna R. Ciampa presented a talk titled "Beyond Words: The Griot
in West Africa", while Emily Dixon shared a poster on “Spatial Analysis of Missoula's Community Gardens”, Lewis Kelley presented a poster on titled “Modeling Future Traffic Demand Within Missoula: How the Downtown Master Plan Affects Infrastructure”, and Andrew Stickney shared a poster describing results from his senior thesis “Park Accessibility and Physical Activity in Missoula, Montana.” Thanks to all of you for participating, you made us proud!!! 
Geography had outstanding representation at UM’s 8th annual Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference. Eleven of our graduate students participated by presenting a talk or poster, including Joel Brown, Mary Buford, Martin Byrne, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Jacob Petersen-Perlman, Jessie Reynolds, Zach Seligman, Shane Thurlo, Ben Weiss, Ashley Williams, and Daniel Yochim. While all gave wonderful presentations, three were selected to receive an Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation award and a prize of $100. Congratulations to Martin Byrne for his winning talk “Glacier Monitoring in Ladakh and Zanskar, Northwestern India”, Ashley Williams for her winning talk on “Local knowledge of Water Quality and Waterborne Disease along the Niger River, Mali”, and Zach Seligman for his winningposter on “Rock Glacier Distribution, Movement and Paleoclimatic Implications in the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountain Ranges, MT, USA”! Dr. Christiane von Reichert also should be acknowledged for helping to organize conference sessions. Congratulations and thanks to all who participated and helped make the conference such a success!
Graduate student Brandon Krumwiede and Dr. Ulrich Kamp have received a Field Research Fellowship grant for $3000 from the American Center for Mongolian Studies to support Brandon'
s thesis research this summer on
"Water Resources and Climate Change in Mönkh Khairkhan National Park, Western Mongolia". Way to go!
Undergraduate Molly Sherlock, has been accepted to the US Arabic Distance Learning Network and will be spending much of the summer in Alexandria, Egypt. Congratulations Molly!
Undergraduate Jordan Hess won the University's Outstanding Student Leadership Award, Autumn 2008. This award recognizes hardworking individuals who strive to make UM a better place for students to live, learn, and grow. Based solely on leadership and service to the University, this distinguished award is given to a student who exhibits ethical, creative leadership and promotes a positive campus climate while remaining in good academic standing. This award includes a semester of free tuition. Congratulations Jordan!
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2009 AAG Conference in Las Vegas
On Friday, March 20 (students and faculty) from the Department of Geography made participated in a field trip to Hoover Dam and Red Rocks. Here are a few photos provided by students.
Geography Department Chair Sarah Halvorson and Visiting Scholar Ia Iashvili
Geography Department Chair Sarah Halvorson and Visiting Scholar Ia Iashvili # 2
Geography Department Chair Sarah Halvorson and Ulrich Kamp
For more information about the annual meeting, the conference program and schedule, please visit the AAG Website.
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2009 Clark Fork Basin Roundtable: Water Supply and Growth in the Clark Fork River Basin
The Clark Fork Basin Roundtable allows representatives of the watershed groups, etc., the opportunity to talk and communicate between themselves about issues, projects, activities, and opportunities in their respective basins/sub-basins. We will be developing proceedings for this conference that will be published here, as soon as they are available. For more information, please see Agenda/Registration Form.
There is a second conference, a Conjunctive Management Conference, scheduled for June 8 & 9, 2009. The agenda is still being planned and will be published on this site as soon as it is available.
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2008-9 Faculty and Staff Awards
Dr. Udo Fluck has been selected to receive the Community Recognition Award presented by the International Student Association and Foreign Student and Scholar Services. The award was presented for his years of support of international students and assistance in integrating them into the Missoula community. Congratulations!
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Interdisciplinary Minor in Climate Change Approved
The University of Montana will offer a new undergraduate Minor in Climate Change beginning Fall 2009. The new minor will combine rigorous training in sciences with course work in ethics and policy to offer students a unique, multidisciplinary understanding of climate change. Students will examine the scientific and social dimensions of global climate change, as well as explore potential solutions. Geography faculty Drs. Ulrich Kamp and Anna Klene were involved in the creation of this program and several of our courses are part of the curriculum. More information is available at: http://www.cfc.umt.edu/CCS/.
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Minor in Mountain Studies Approved
The Department of Geography offers a new undergraduate Minor in Mountain Studies. The curriculum for the minor is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on courses in geography, geosciences, biology, forestry, and recreation management. The participating faculty members bring significant expertise in glacial processes, watershed hydrology, mountain hazards, alpine ecology, mountain-based livelihood systems, and wilderness politics and policy to this program. Field trips and field courses introduce students to the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Alberta, particularly the Crown of the Continent, and high mountain environments of South and Central Asia. Inquiries about the program should be addressed to one of the two co-advisors Drs. Sarah J. Halvorson (sarah.halvorson@umontana.edu; 406-243-2793) or Ulrich Kamp (ulrich.kamp@umontana.edu; 406-243-6469).
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2007-8 Faculty and Staff Awards
Dr. Udo Fluck won the University’s prestigious Nancy Borgmann Diversity Award & the Faculty Recognition Award for the 3rd consecutive year!
Both Dr. Ulrich Kamp and Dr. David Shively were promoted to Associate Professor. Way to go, gentlemen!
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2007-8 Student Awards
Deana Dewire's paper published in the GTU (International Geographical Honor Society) journal GTU Bulletin in fall 2007, “The effects of Pacific Oscillations on snowpack in the Rattlesnake Creek Drainage, western Montana,” won their annual prize for Best Student Paper published in 2007. This includes a cash award of $200. Congratulations again, Deana on a terrific paper!
Graduate student Erin Nock’s poster “A Simple GIS Approach to Predicting Rare Plant Habitat: North Central Rocky Mountains, United States Forest Service, Region One” won 2 awards at the 2008 Intermountain GIS Conference: the First Place for Student Research and Overall People’s Choice Awards. Her winnings totaled $200. Congratulations Erin on winning and on defending your thesis!
Graduate student Jesse Wallace’s poster “Regional Landscape Fragmentation as a Result of Natural Gas Production, Taz Peninsula, Russia” won one of the Outstanding Graduate Student Poster Presentation awards at UM’s annual Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference with a prize of $100. Congratulations Jesse!
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2008 Conference: Water Supply and Growth in the Clark Fork River Basin
Co-convened by the Department of Geography, the Clark Fork River Basin Task Force, Montana Association of Counties, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
The Clark Fork River Basin is one of the fastest growing areas in Montana. The water supply may not keep pace with this growth.
Conference objectives
- Explore the basic facts and issues regarding the water supply and growth in the Clark Fork River Basin.
- Discuss tools for managing both.
Who should attend?
- Local, state, and Tribal government officials and water users/water interests facing decisions involving water allocation. Continuing education credits are approved by the Montana Association of Engineers, the Montana State Bar, and the Montana Board of Realtors.
For more information, please see Conference Brochure.
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January 2008
WE HAVE MOVED!!
We have moved from our previous location in the Social Science Building to the East side of campus, on the second floor of the Old Journalism Building. The Old Journalism Building is located between the Chemistry Building, the Skaggs Building and the Forestry Building. As soon as we have unpacked all of our moving boxes, we will have an open house event to officially show our new accommodations. For the meantime, please come by and visit us:
The Department of Geography’s main office is located in the Old Journalism Building , room 208.
Phone: 406.243.4302
Fax: 406.243.4840
For general inquiries you can also e-mail us.
Our postal mailing address is:
Department of Geography
Old Journalism Building 208
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT. 59812-5040
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2006-7 Student Awards
Geography graduate student Laura Cahill has been awarded a Bertha Morton Scholarship in the amount of $ 2,000 in May. This is a most impressive achievement as it places the recipient among the top five percent of the University’s graduate students in academic performance, research and creative activities. Congratulations Laura from the Geography faculty and all the best wishes for continued success in your studies at UM.
Graduate Student Deana Dewire won second place in the Water Resources Specialty Group’s Student Poster Competition at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. The poster discussed preliminary work assessing the winter-season hydrologic component of an ecosystem process model she is evaluating as part of her thesis research. Way to go, Deana!
Deana was also honored to receive the John Wiley-Strahler Physical Geography Scholarship from Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), the international Geography honorary society. It is the only scholarship that GTU awards to a continuing graduate student each year. The paper Ms. Dewire submitted for the scholarship competition will be submitted for publication in GTU’s scholarly journal the Geographical Bulletin. Congratulations on a job well-done Deana.
Several students won scholarships from the University of Montana for 2007-2008. Shane Thurlo won the Undergraduate Research Scholarship for a research project in the western Himalaya working with Dr. Ulrich Kamp. And Dusty Waltner was awarded a Buttrey Scholarship. Congratulations to each of you!
Matthew Nordhagen was selected to receive funding under the Undergraduate Research Internships funded by Montana NSF EPSCoR for Spring and Summer 2007 on a projection “Examination of the role of habitat and predators on the spatial distribution of ground-nesting species.” Way to go Matthew!
Graduate student and 2nd Lieutenant Benjamin Ravitz was recently appointed as the Gold Bar Recruiter for The University of Montana ROTC. The Gold Bar Recruiter (GBR) is a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant who has been ordered to active duty for the purpose of assisting an Army ROTC Battalion with training and recruiting duties. GBR’s are chosen based on merit and performance as cadets and students at The University of Montana. Gold Bar Recruiters deal in a wide range of cultural backgrounds and are required to communicate with students and peers with a geographical mindset. Lieutenant Ravitz will be the Gold Bar Recruiter until January, 2008.
UM Geography student John Newman presented a paper titled: Shifting Economies, Evolving Attachments: Sense of Place and Tourism in Philipsburg, Montana, at The University of Montana Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference on April 14, 2007. John was awarded one the outstanding paper presentation awards. Congratulations for a job well done. The Geography faculty.
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2006-7 Faculty and Staff Awards
Dr. Paul Wilson received an Instructional Development Faculty Development Grant in May 2007. Congratulations from the GEOG faculty and affiliates.
Dr. Sarah Halvorson was honored to receive the Outstanding Recent Achievement Award from the Mountain Specialty Group at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. This honor is given to active researchers who have made recent contributions to the field of Mountain Geography. Congratulations Sarah!
Faculty member Dr. Udo Fluck, Director of Multicultural Learning Solutions, was selected for the second year in a row for the Faculty Recognition Award by the University of Montana. Vice President Theresa Branch and her staff select individuals from campus who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship and mentorship. Dr. Branch explained that Multicultural Learning Solutions was honored again for its continuous generous support and for the high-quality activities and programs MLS offers to UM students. Honorees were introduced by the Dean of Students, Charles Couture, and the awards were handed out by President Dennison. Dr. Fluck also received the 2006-2007 Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award in Marketing and Management from the School of Business Administration, where he also teaches courses in cross-cultural management and business ethics. In addition, Dr. Fluck was nominated for the 2007 Distinguished Service to International Education Award.
This year Nancy Forman-Ebel was honored at the Faculty and Staff Awards Reception on April 24, 2007 for her twenty-five years of continuous service at The University of Montana. On behalf of the Geography faculty, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to Nancy for her many wonderful contributions to our department.
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Department News
January 2007
The GIS Certificate website is now available at http://www.cfc.umt.edu/academics/giscertificate/default.htm
January 2007
Udo Fluck (first author) and coauthors Nader Shooshtari and Shawn Clouse received the Best Paper Award in January 2007 for a presentation of their research at the Association for Global Business Conference in November, 2006. The presentation title was, "Enhancing Global-Mindedness in International Business Students Using an Online Multicultural Supplement." Dr. Fluck is a faculty affiliate in the Department of Geography, teaching GEOG 417 and 395 this spring semester. Congratulations to them from the GEOG faculty.
December, 2006
Graduate student Deana Dewire was awarded $1205 to support her thesis research through the 4th Annual Transboundary Research Award competition. This program is awarded by the UM Environmental Studies Program with support from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Funded projects support transboundary research in the Rocky Mountain region from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon in Canada that addresses questions of natural and social science relevant to management or policy across boundaries, domestic or international, within the region. Deana's research focuses on modeling snowpack density and duration in the Rattlesnake Wilderness area near Missoula. She is spending much of her time this winter doing fieldwork to validate the model.
September, 2006
Anna Klene and Don Morton (Computer Science) along with Jing Zhang, Xingang Fan, Martha Shulski, and Jeremy Krieger from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, were awarded a contract for the "Beaufort Sea Mesoscale Meteorology Study" from the Department of the Interior. This 2-year grant will compare the ability of several weather models to predict weather patterns along the coast of Northern Alaska. Dr. Klene's work will focus on collecting and assisting with validation efforts using observations. She and Dr. Morton are also collaborating on met studies in the Missoula area.
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Previous Conferences and Events
November 9, 2006
The Clark Fork River Basin Task Force, its University of Montana partners, and the Montana DNRC held a Groundwater Policy Conference. The conference took place at The University of Montana campus. Ground water is increasingly important as a source for new water uses in the Clark Fork basin. The policy conference allowed government entities and water users to exchange information and concerns about the basin’s ground water and its management.
October 5 - 7, 2006
Association of American Geographers Joint Annual Meeting of the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Division and the West Lakes Division, Lincoln, Nebraska
More information is available at: http://www.calmit.unl.edu/aagSeptember 29 - 30, 2006
A Celebration of Local Food, Farming and Community in Missoula
Keynote Address by Anna Lappe and Festival in Caras Park
More information is available at: http://www.umt.edu/cfa
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Faculty Exchange
Dr. von Reichert returned in November 2006 from a faculty exchange to the Republic of Georgia. From August to late November she was leading faculty development workshops on teaching geography at the Tblisis Institute of African and Asia and Kutaisi State University. She also conducted field research on tourism development in the South Caucasus. Below are some photos Dr. von Reichert took during her stay abroad.
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