Montanan Feature Stories

Recent Magazine Features

President's Perspective

UM President Seth Bodnar shares his hope that each student at UM develops a confident personal voice.

Voices of the Moment

Black student-athletes in Grizzly Athletics share their vision for a brighter future for all.

Photos by Tommy Martino

Justice For All

The new director of the Montana Innocence Project has a UM law degree, a gift for fundraising and a lifelong commitment to racial and social justice.

All In The Band

The New Big Sky Singers look back at 50 years of musical memories, friendship and a band of brothers that began at UM.

Facetime: Larry Hufford

Managing a college is complex task, but Larry Hufford, evolutionary biologist and the new dean of UM's College of Humanities and Sciences, is used to life's intricacies.

On the Cover

Robby Beasely, a UM freshman on the men's basketball team, shares his reflections and hopes for a brighter future.

President's Perspective

UM President Seth Bodnar shares how Grizzlies are rising to the challenges posed by the pandemic with innovation, courage and selflessness.

Tobin Miller Shearer parlays the personal and professional into his students and scholarship as a white man directing UM's African-American Studies department. It's not easy. But nothing important ever is.

Ahead of the Data

UM’s College of Business pivots in programs and curriculum to maintain its standing as the top business college in the Big Sky Conference, relying on innovation to prepare students for the rapidly changing world of business.

From Kafka to Climate Change

Celebrating the impact of 50 years of environmental studies at UM.

Facetime: Ryan Hansen

Ryan Hansen, UM alumnus and entrepreneur, operates LumenAd, one of the country’s top software companies. He says the journey from UM to recognition in Inc. magazine takes some Montana scrappiness and Grizzly grit.

On the Cover

Rhys McKinstry, UM alumnus, shares his reflections on graduating from UM in the time of COVID-19.

President's Perspective

UM President Seth Bodnar and Dr. Chelsea Bodnar share their vision for S.E.A. Change

The Long Haul

For one UM alumna, a career in the male-dominated trucking industry took some Montana grit and a liberal arts degree.

UM Special Victims Unit Detective Shelagh More

SAFE

S.E.A. begins with 'S' because safety rests at the heart of the University of Montana's mission to provide access to a quality education.

S.E.A. Change Spotlight: Libby Metcalf

Through teaching, mentoring and leading, Metcalf advances S.E.A. Change at UM

UM Trailblazers

Front-runners, trailblazers and fearless champions for others. At a sweeping time for women, here are seven UM student leaders making their mark.

WLI participants gathered in a classroom

Programs that Empower and Accelerate Women

Learn about campus programs that support all women while advancing gender equity

President's Perspective

UM President Seth Bodnar shares University highlights.

A Forester's Workshop: Lubrecht Forest is ground zero for UM forestry.

For 82 years, Lubrecht Experimental Forest has served as UM's largest outdoor classroom.

Divine Scholarship

Karen King keeps the faith in the liberal arts at Harvard.

Moxie at 50

When the UM Advocates lead others ̶ they find passion and purpose.

President's Perspective

UM President Seth Bodnar shares University highlights.

Journeymen

Facilities crew maintains UM's hertiage through trades.

Colton Smith and Jack Steward share the wonder of America's National Parks.

Adventure with an Audience

UM duo shares the wonder of America's national parks as hosts of award-winning television series "Rock the Park."

Mountains and personal meld for Sue Purvis.

Lost and Found

Sue Purvis recovers the fatal and finds herself.

The dawn sky behind Main Hall lightens as the sun rises.

A Campaign for UM

Historic effort invites supporters to Think Big. Be Bold.

Scholarships Launching Lives

Donors have gifted and pledged more than $100 million for student support during Campaign Montana.

Programs for Progress

New UM programs have far-reaching impacts.

Student Success: The Heart of Everything

Our mission is to ensure a high-quality education is accessible to all walks of life.

Dynamic spaces for an innovative education.

Thinking Big With Buildings

Building dynamic spaces that are conducive to innovative learning.

Funding Elite Educators

Supporting UM's legacy of research and public education.

Lynne Avril illustrates on her deck in Polson as character Amelia looks on

Coloring Outside the Lines

Lynne Avril illustrates bestselling children’s books, composes museum-quality paintings and sketches strangers on bar napkins. She also plays the blues.

UM student Ellie Hanousek spent her summer interning at Nike Inc.

The Business Builder

In the past 100 years, the College of Business has helped 20,000 graduates launch careers

Dave Dickenson throws a pass in Griz uniform

15 Looks Back

Griz Great Dave Dickenson reflects on his career as he enters the national College Football Hall of Fame

Native Knowledge

Blackfeet Scholar at UM a Rising Star in Ethnobotany

A Century of Soldiers

For 100 years, ROTC cadets have attended regular classes at UM while also training to become U.S. Army officers

Lee-Gray Boze ’07 explores the interior of a glacier

To the Arctic and Beyond

UM Geoscience Grads Succeed in a Changing Field

125 Years and Counting

UM celebrates milestones of academics, achievement and growth

The Big Picture

Photographer Holly Andres cultivates dual careers in fine art and high-end editorial worlds

Mission Accepted

New President Seth Bodnar brings passion for service and high achievement to UM

An art mosaic decorates an outside space.

A River Runs By It

New Missoula College Building opens doors to students

Harvest on Prairie Heritage Farm involves many crops, including heritage and ancient grains.

Riding the Lentil Underground

An insider’s view of what ‘renegade farming’ looks like in Montana

A young vendor ties a bracelet on Morgan’s wrist in the Copper Canyon area of Mexico in 2011.

A Traveler's Path

Determination, adventurous heart help Brian Morgan build a business around doing what he loves best – exploring the world

Today, more than 23 gardeners ensure over 300 species of native flora blossom and thrive in the areas designated as their habitat.

50 Years and Growing

UM's Botanic Garden manages to flower 50 years after its initial planting in 1966

Erick Greene checks out the Hellgate Canyon nest near the new Missoula College Building this past spring.

Flying Lessons

Montana Osprey Project brings beauty, knowledge, inspiration and a bit of drama to fans worldwide

Artifacts: Who Boosted Bertha?

One ritual in particular leading up to the Forester's Ball involves the kidnapping of Bertha the moose, who has been called the 'First Lady of Forestry'

A Bugs Bunny mural is painted on a wall inside a bunker below a U.S. Air Force base. “The painting is an homage to a World War II bomber crew,” says Jeff MacDonald, a CIRE investigator pursuing his doctorate at UM.

Preserve and Protect

Boosted by a $45 million research award, UM’s Center for Integrated Research on the Environment works with Army Corps of Engineers to solve problems across the country

Dani Walker, a former star at Powell County High School in Deer Lodge, races to first base.

It’s A Whole New Ballgame

Built from scratch, Griz softball team is off to a hot start

Tim Ryan Rouillier picks his guitar while chatting inside UM’s Dennison Theatre. Ryan, a country music artist in Nashville originally from tiny St. Ignatius, will debut his symphonic memoir, “Play Me Montana,” inside the same theater on June 17.

Circles Never End

‘Play Me Montana’ brings Tim Ryan Rouillier back to where it all began

Raelynn Cameron, a master’s student in early education, wears a GoPro camera while she works with Henry Hamilton, age 4, at her in-home family child care center in East Missoula.

Shaping the Future

UM takes innovative approaches to prepare the teachers of tomorrow

UM Regents Professor of Marketing Jakki Mohr sits in her office on the third floor of the Gallagher Business Building. Mohr has taught at UM since 1997.

What Makes a Great Teacher?

We sought out some of UM’s best and brightest to shed light on the topic

Art Almquist teaches a drama class at Tucson Magnet High School in Tucson, Arizona.

If You Can Read This, Thank a Teacher

From Arlee to Arizona and beyond, UM-trained teachers educate, inspire and make adifference

UM’s 1929 Yell King Nelson Fritz, center, and his Yell Dukes and Duchess, from left: Billie Burke, Alexis Anderson, Edith Conklin and George Husser.

Artifacts: Traditions Unlike Any Others

Traditions are part of what makes UM unique and help build lifelong memories and connections

Dr. Megan Svec graduated in July as part of UM’s first class of family medicine residents. She recently started practicing medicine in Ronan. (Photo by Michael Gallacher/Missoulian)

In the Best of Health

New initiative aims to open opportunities for UM to solve the most pressing medical issues plaguing our population

UM photojournalism student Kira Vercruyssen, right, and translator Aimal Noori interview a group of young people living in a refugee shelter in the Berlin neighborhood of Karlshorst.

Learning by Doing

UM students travel to Germany to gain hands-on experience telling stories of refugees

Selvig coaches his squad – which ended up being his last group – this past winter.

Thats All, Folks

Legendary coach Robin Selvig calls it quits after nearly four decades with Lady Griz

The Grizzly Battalion ROTC cannon sits in front of Schreiber Gymnasium.

Artifacts: Behind the Boom

Learn the history behind one of the loudest sounds you'll hear at a Grizzly football game

UM Professor David Firth, left, and Tom Stergios, vice president of Advanced Technology Group, have created a unique partnership that helps keep talented UM graduates in Montana working high-paying, high-tech jobs.

The Cutting Edge

UM partners with growing high-tech sector to create high-paying jobs, keep talented graduates right here in Montana

A sign welcomes visitors to Libby on a bridge crossing the Kootenai River. Residents of Libby are ready to move on from its tarnished past and focus on the future.

The Rebirth of Libby

With help from UM, a small town in Nothwestern Montana takes on a rebranding effort to heal from its rocky past

Center Stage

Lily Gladstone is a star on the rise, but her Blackfeet identity and UM roots keep her grounded in the capricious world of showbiz

Dr. Jack Burgess, who played basketball at UM in the early 1940s, went on to play in The Secret Game in Durham, N.C., in 1944. (Photo courtesy of Burgess family)

Planes, Brains, and Civil Resistance

To measure how tall Dr. Jack Burgess ’43 stood, look no further than The Secret Game he played in an empty gym in 1944

Carla Dove, who graduated from the University of Montana in 1986, works at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History studying bird collisions with airplanes for the sake of making travel safer. David Price/Smithsonian Institution

Her Name Says It All

Carla Dove ’86 soars as the nation’s top expert on identifying birds that collide with planes, even when only “snarge” remains

The First Folio (Photo courtesy of The Folger Shakespeare Library)

Artifacts: Friends, Grizzlies, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears

Shakespeare's First Folio set to visit UM

UM produces alumni who work, study, and discover new knowledge across the universe, include Mars, Pluto, and beyond.

The Last Best Space

UM graduates are unlocking the mysteries of space—what other planets look like, how astronauts can visit them, and whether there is, or ever was, life beyond Earth

UM history Professor Anya Jabour poses with Hannah James, who plays Emma Green in the new PBS Civil War drama Mercy Street. Jabour served as a historical consultant for the series, which premieres in January. (Photo courtesy of Anya Jabour)

A Proper Fit

UM History Professor Anya Jabour’s expertise plays a critical role in the new PBS Civil War drama Mercy Street

Whitney Williams ’94, founder and CEO of williamsworks, walks along a street in Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Williams and actor Ben Affleck started the Eastern Congo Initiative in 2009. (Photo by Fredrick Coubert)

Just Ask Whitney

When some of the world’s most powerful people want help changing it, they call Whitney Williams ’94

UM alumni Charlie and Barbie Beaton own the Big Dipper, the popular ice cream spot on Missoula’s Hip Strip.

What's the Scoop?

From humble beginnings to its iconic status today, Big Dipper Ice Cream has grown into one sweet success story for UM grads Charlie and Barbie Beaton

Artifacts: Rocky Mountain Roots

UM Herbarium grows with addition from the Craighead family

Staff Sergeant Adam McCaw, now a student at UM, poses at the Fallen Soldier Memorial on campus.

A Multilingual Military

Right here at UM, one of the nation’s best intensive language programs teaches our military the languages of war—and of peace

Music to Our Ears

Readers respond with memories of their concert experiences at UM

Lindsey Hall ’14, a former Montana Grizzly track and field star who now trains professionally with the Mountain West Track Club, runs on a high-speed force treadmill inside UM’s Biomechanics Lab, which is directed by Professor Matt Bundle, right. UM senior Madi Worst, left, and graduate student Michelle Buechner, rear, control the treadmill and measurement tools through computers.

Healthier & Happier

In a wide array of studies, UM’s HHP Department makes significant impacts on the well-being of the people of Montana and beyond

J.K. Simmons in a scene from Whiplash (2014)

Family Ties

On the biggest stage in Hollywood, Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons ’78 delivers a simple yet potent message: Call your mom and dad, because he can’t call his

Artifacts: For Those About To Rock

Hopefully the posters pictured here will conjure nostalgia and spark memories. Please share your stories by sending an e-mail to themontanan@umontana.edu.

César Pattein (French, 1850-1931), Doing the Wash, 1905, oil on canvas, donated by Dr. Caroline McGill.

A Work of Art

MMAC celebrates 120th anniversary with 120 pieces from the Permanent Collection

Christensen helps a young fan spin a basketball on her finger at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Photo by Harlem Globetrotters International, Inc.)

Hoop Dreams

Scooter Christensen dribbles, drives, and dishes his way to stardom with the Harlem Globetrotters

UM Professor Doug Emlen displays a replica skull of a saber-toothed cat

Armed and Advantageous

In his new book, UM Professor Doug Emlen explains that from beetles to humans, animals develop weapons for similar reasons, with similar consequences

Game Changer

Professor’s $45 million cooperative agreement with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is largest in UM history

Don't Forget to be Awesome

Internet sensation Hank Green aims to decrease ‘worldsuck’ one nerd at a time

The More Things Change

100 years later, UM School of Journalism imparts new skills, timeless values

Students explore hats from around the world at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Missoula.

A Man of Many Hats

Udo Fluck’s Global Gateway program inspires K-12 students to learn global competence

A True Trailblazer

Renée Haugerud turns lessons learned at UM into unique success on Wall Street

Aaron Thomas, a chemistry professor at UM, directs Indigenous Research and STEM Education, a program that seeks to bring more Native American students into science, technology, engineering, and mathematical fields.

Native Knowledge

Program inspires future generation of Indian scientists

Extended Learning

MOLLI breathes new life into continuing education at UM

Sarj Patel and Tom Rau standing in a lab

Think Tank

UM’s new Brain Initiative puts professors’ heads together to explore what’s inside them

Students listen to UM Professor Michael Murphy in the Understanding and Making Movies class.

Planting A Seed

High schoolers get taste of UM at Schwanke Institute

Making a Difference

UM Doles Out Awards for Promoting Campus Diversity

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

Boondockers Day Generates Excitement for Foresters’ Ball

Mama Margo

Food Zoo Employee Margo Kratz is Much More Than a Cashier

Good Humor

Stand-up Comedian, UM Alumnus Chris Fairbanks to Entertain Crowds at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Angela McLean, Montana’s new lieutenant governor

One Giant Leap

UM Alumna Angela McLean Dives Head-First into Politics

Riding Through History

Mansfield Library Exhibit Delves into African-American History

Funny Girl

Career in comedy comes full-circle for UM grad Maggie Carey

The Best Medicine

UM’s pharmacy program takes students outside the classroom and into real health care settings.

Science: Try It

With locations on campus and in downtown Missoula and its popular mobile science program, spectrum Discovery Area lets kids across Big Sky Country get their hands dirty for science.