MEMO TO:        Montana Board of Regents

 

FROM:� ����������� Stephen T. Hulbert

����������� ����������� Chancellor

 

SUBJECT:        Campus Report for January 2002 Board of Regents� Meeting


�         Rural Education Technology Center � The University of Montana � Western took substantial completion of the new technology building on December 7, 2001.� While the contractor continues to have punch list items to complete, the building will be available for class and conference use for the Spring Semester 2002.� Western�s Agriculture Conference and Expo was the kick-off event for this new state-funded facility.� The installation of $800,000 of federally funded technology and furnishings is ongoing.

 

�         Agriculture Conference and Expo � From January 7-9th Western conducted its first Agriculture Conference and Expo which attracted 150 participants including 30 vendors.� The Conference featured seminars and workshops on varied topics suggested by the agricultural community including recent tax law, niche marketing, futures and options, rural energy, technology and change, geo-spatial technologies and the rural landscape, grain industry and transportation issues and undaunted stewardship among others.� Speakers included Chuck Swysgood, David Gibson, Rick Haines, Marc Mattix and Sharron Quisenberry.� Baxter Black, the cowboy humorist and poet, entertained conference participants and joined in featured workshops. Discussion is continuing regarding other agricultural related conference and non-credit related programming.� The 2003 Conference and Expo has been scheduled for January 6-8, 2003.

 

�         Land Acquisition - On January 4th, 2002, The University of Montana - Western Foundation took possession of the Crosswinds Restaurant and apartments.� This property is in the University�s acquisition zone and is located adjacent to the campus entrance on East Poindexter Street.� For the foreseeable future the property will continue to be operated in its current capacity.

 

�         Faculty Activities -

 

A book by Professor Alan Weltzien of the English Department has been published by the University of Utah Press.� �The Literary Art and Activism of Rick Bass ,� is the first attempt to address the works of this Montana author.� Weltzien edited the contributions of fifteen scholars in reviewing the essay collections, non-fiction, short story and novella collections and one novel by Bass.

 

Dr. Jim Sethi, Professor of Business, presented a keynote paper on Strategic, Ethical, and Ergonomic Issues in Information Technology and E-Commerce Systems at the International Business Economy Conference 2002 in San Francisco, January 3-5, 2002.� The conference was an international gathering of experts in international management, drawn from more than thirty universities in the United States and other countries in addition to several sponsoring organizations.