Fall 2014 Newsletter - Davidson Honors College

http://www.dhc.umt.edu/
Newsletter
December 2014
Get After it!
B y
E a m o n
O r m s e t h
I would like to tell you a little bit about my own
journey at the University of Montana. In my freshman
year, I started by pursuing my manifold interests. I
enrolled in a table tennis class and now instruct a few
classes of my own. I fulfilled my Gen Eds wherever
possible with Honors courses. At the end of the year, I
ran for the ASUM Senate. “Vote for Eamon, you will,” my
Yoda-themed campaign poster said. My two-year stint
with ASUM taught me more than I ever expected to learn.
I got a glimpse of the nuts and bolts of how this
University functions, and learned that through shared
governance any student can voice their concerns about
issues at UM.
And, boy, have I made mistakes. During my
sophomore year, my work with ASUM brought me down
to the State Capitol for an internship lobbying on behalf of
students. My supervisor at the time, the University’s
Lobbyist and Director of Alumni Relations, Bill Johnston,
loves to tell the story of how I got up in the middle of a
committee hearing and casually treated myself to the
coffee and cookies I didn’t know were reserved for the
legislators. I’ve learned that maintaining balance between
your academic, social, and extracurricular lives is an art
and a skill to be practiced, not a static equilibrium.
Waking up at a desk in the library or ASUM office will
teach you that. That semester wore me down, but when
the Montana Legislature finally agreed to freeze tuition
and we broke ground on the new Missoula College
Eamon Ormseth with UM Arabic teacher Samir Bitar in Lion’s Square,
building just a few months ago, I remembered the sweet
Ramallah, Palestine
taste of that cookie.
As my junior year progressed, I realized my interests were shifting. Studying Arabic language and culture filled me with
wanderlust. So I sent off an application to study Arabic in Jerusalem for the summer, and I received funding from the DHC and College
of Humanities and Sciences. My trip opened me up to new perspectives and ways of knowing, and I now serve as the President of the
Mount of Olives Arabic Language and Culture Club and as co-president of Griz for UNICEF. There are many different ways to lead,
and even more places to do it in.
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It is tempting to think that once you find the right major, you will eventually find the right job, and be set, but I hope you will discover
instead that finding your bliss through education and then following it are ongoing processes. Sometimes, it might seem like you are
going in a million different directions, but stick with what makes you passionate, and your interests will coalesce in a strange way, and
new teachers, mentors, and friends will come out of the woodwork to lead you on your way. I hope you find your bliss, as I hope to
pursue mine after graduation by working with refugees in Lebanon or Jordan. Thank you.
Eamon Ormseth is a Presidential Leadership Scholar and National Merit Scholar from Great Falls, Montana. He is a history major with
minors in economics and Arabic. He is a former ASUM senator, president of the Mount of Olives Club, and co-president of Griz for
UNICEF. He spent last summer studying Arabic in Jerusalem.
The Dean’s Column
This autumn semester has been an exceptionally productive time for
the Davidson Honors College. We are especially pleased to
announce that the number of Presidential Leadership
Scholarships awarded this year to incoming freshmen has
increased to 33. In October we held a reception to honor those 33
new Presidential Leadership Scholars, whose group photo appears
below (page 5). Eamon Ormseth offered welcoming remarks,
published above in this newsletter, encouraging everyone present to
“stick with what makes you passionate.”
Davidson Honors College freshmen swept the 2014 First-Year
Reading Experience Essay Contest, which called for essays on
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. The contest winners were
Libbey Barsness (for a personal reflection essay) and Nathaniel
Smith (for a scholarly analytical essay).
The 2014 DHC Summer Research Fellows were highly successful
in their research endeavors. This program provided funding to four
DHC students (Hannah Fay, Jesse Rowan, Sara Thane, and
Jessy Weiss) each of whom carried out a summer research project
under the guidance of a UM faculty mentor. Each student-faculty
team was awarded $5,000 in summer research funding. All of the
research teams accomplished their planned research goals in
diverse fields of discovery: microbiology, creative writing, political science, and psychology. These students affirmed that their summer
research experiences will have a lasting and transformative effect on their intellectual and professional development.
It is with mixed feelings of felicity and regret that I announce my impending departure from the Davidson Honors College. I will be leaving
UM in January 2015 to become Founding Dean of the Honors College at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Over the last ten years,
I have had the privilege of working with some of the most incredibly talented and highly motivated students whom you will find anywhere
in America. The Davidson Honors College has seen remarkable changes during that time: we have introduced many new Honors
courses across the disciplines, greatly enhanced scholarship support for Honors students, and completely renovated the main floor of the
DHC building. Even more ambitious plans are in store: over the next year, you will see the garden level of the DHC building
renovated and re-dedicated to the essential purposes of Honors education, thanks to a generous donation from Ian and Nancy
Davidson. It is truly a pleasure to see the Davidson Honors College moving forward on such a positive trajectory. But I will certainly miss
working with UM’s outstanding Honors students!
Jim McKusick
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Advisor’s Corner
B y
L a u r e
P e n g e l l y
D r a k e
Professor Ron Perrin Retires
“Try not to become a person of success but rather a person of value.” Albert Einstein
We learned recently that Professor Ron Perrin is going to retire at the end of this
semester from the Honors College, which means that he is teaching his last Ways of
Knowing class this fall. Ron’s learning and his dedication to students and society as well
as his great kindness and humor will be missed here at the DHC. I share the sentiments
of Gary Hawk, one of Ron’s colleagues in the Ways of Knowing course: “I have always
had the sense that anytime we lose our way, Ron finds the path. I have sensed this
when we have felt confused about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, when we have
struggled with how to maintain the core readings in Ways of Knowing, and when we
have become confused about the real priorities of a university. I always look to Ron's
compass and his kind and generous heart.”
In 2011 Ron won a Governor’s Humanities Medal that honored his exemplary service to
the humanities at the national, state, and local levels, through his academic research,
volunteer work, and teaching. Ron published Max Scheler’s Concept of the Person: An
Ethics of Humanism in 1992 and many other articles, essays, and reviews in his fields.
Among other contributions, Ron has served on the Board of the National Federation of
State Humanities Councils and the Board of Missoula Cultural Council and has lectured
for the Humanities Montana speakers’ series. After he retired from the University, where
he won the Distinguished Teaching Award, he returned to teach Ways of Knowing at
the Honors College. He helped to develop and taught a new course in our curriculum,
Ways of Knowing II, which draws on his unusually strong academic preparation in both
philosophy and political theory.
For many years, Ron has provided a wonderful plenary lecture for the Ways of Knowing
classes called, “The Passage from Mythology to Philosophy in Ancient Greece.” Ron’s
lecture reveals his true commitment to teaching; it is a “you are here” map that provides guidance for further study while pushing us off
the older paths of our preconceptions about the inexorable nature of “progress.” As a teacher, Ron is an all-purpose talent—lecturing,
leading discussion, evaluating writing and teaching the writing improvement process, opening students’ minds to a larger world, and
developing the skill of critical thinking. Professor Richard Drake has offered a tribute to the impact of that critical thinking: “What a
loss Ron Perrin’s retirement is for UM. For more than three decades on our campus he has represented the democratic and
republican values of the American Enlightenment. As a critical intellectual—the only kind worth bothering about—Ron has lived by
Mark Twain’s rule for patriotism: ‘Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.’ Our students could not
have had a better example before them than they had in Ron of what it means to be an active and engaged citizen-scholar.”
Faculty Corner
B y
E r i n
B r o w n
S a l d i n
Surfing the Senior Project
I’m always so excited to hear about students’ Senior Projects. I love the way that someone can
blend field study with science illustration, or practice the art of radio programming while also
studying the intersection of literature and music. This year, I have been able to work closely with
a few students as they prepare their Senior Projects, and I’m happy to say that the Projects are
becoming bolder and more expansive than those I’ve seen before. For anyone who is starting to
think about a Senior Project, I say this: Don’t be afraid to try something different, to blend your
interests, and to think creatively. A Senior Project shouldn’t be the last thing you check off your
list of required Honors courses. It should be a fun exploration of something meaningful and
challenging—something you might want to continue studying or practicing in the years after
graduation.
Find Us on Facebook!
For important dates and deadlines, events, scholarships, and more, like us at http://www.facebook.com/
DavidsonHonorsCollege.
ALUMNI AND FRIENDS! Our Facebook group is a place for alumni and friends of the Davidson Honors College at The
University of Montana to reconnect, catch up, share photos, and tell stories. Join the group at http://
www.facebook.com/groups/164884334563/
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Graduate success story
B y
L a u r e
P e n g e l l y
D r a k e
Recent political science graduate Kathryn Tokle won the New York State Labor History
Association's 2014 Barbara Wertheimer Prize for her senior research project, "In the
Wake of Disaster and Disease: Widowhood in Butte." The project, which focused on
mining widows from 1900 to 1920 in Butte, Montana, examined archival records,
including mortuary, paupers' assistance, and mothers' pension records as well as
correspondence and oral histories. Using the economics concepts of externalities and
market failure, Kathryn showed that Butte widows "bore the social costs of the mining
industry, unaccounted for in market prices." Professor Anya Jabour of the Department
of History served as faculty mentor for the project.
Honors student association
B y
T e s s a
R i c h a r d s
This last semester has been a busy one for the
Honors Student Association. We kicked off the year
by electing new officers: Tessa Richards as
President, Chase Ellinger as Vice President,
Audrey Brosnan as Secretary, Lander Crissman
as Treasurer, Sarah Gaulke as Director of
Personal Relations, Emily Hurst as Director of
Communications, Emily Curtiss as Director of
Donations and Fundraising, and Jeb Rosen as
Director of Social Media. At the beginning of the
semester we hosted Grizzlies in the Arab World, a
presentation of five students on their experiences in
the Middle East. There were 65 people at the
event, including 12 high school students studying
Arabic at local schools.
We continued our tradition of collecting
food for the Missoula Food Bank with Trick
or Treat So Missoula Eats. This year, we
broke a record with 115 volunteers
collecting over 1,600 pounds of food! Next
up is the second annual Davidson Honors
College Holiday Party, where we will
decorate sugar cookies, watch a holiday
movie, and relax before finals week. We
are looking ahead to our events in the
spring semester and are very excited to see
what our new members have in store for
us!
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Presidential Leadership Scholars, class of 2013
University of Montana Presidential Leadership Scholarships have been awarded to 33 exceptional incoming UM freshmen. The
scholarships recognize outstanding talent, academic performance, leadership and contribution to the community.
This year’s scholarship winners were chosen from a field of more than 400 qualified applicants. Scholarship recipients become
members of UM’s Davidson Honors College and receive a four-year tuition waiver plus an additional $5,000 to $7,500 per year.
Montana’s crop of 2014 Presidential Leadership Scholars are Conner Becker of Belgrade; Nicole Evans, Carter Webber and Jennifer
Zundel of Billings; Natasha Colson-Sullivan, Martha Krebill and Kurt Swimley of Bozeman; Noah Johnston of Butte; Lindsay Ashton of
Clancy; Kian Bertin of Colstrip; Jed Syrenne of Florence; Andrew Honken of Frenchtown; Erika Ackerlund and Bethany Crouse of
Helena; Lander Crissman of Kalispell; Austin Gilbert, Katerina Hall and Parker Lund of Missoula; and Jebediah Rosen of Victor.
Fourteen Presidential Leadership Scholars will come to UM from other states. They are Erin Goudreau of Anchorage, Alaska; Victoria
Gifford of Agoura Hills, Calif.; Alicia Leggett of Kentfield, Calif.; Reid Hensen of Englewood, Colo.; Tessa Leake of Evergreen, Colo.;
Claire Dalman of Lakewood; Ill.; Kaitlyn Strickfaden of McHenry, Ill; Madeline Matia of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; Megan Franz of Tigard,
Ore.; Nathaniel Smith of Moab, Utah; Sarah Gaulke of Fairfax, Va.; Cassandra Sevigny of Everett, Wash.; Carly Stinson of Lacey,
Wash.; and Emily Hurst of Puyallup, Wash.
“We have recruited an impressive group of students for this prestigious scholarship program,” said James McKusick, dean of the
Davidson Honors College. “These students will contribute to the entire campus through their aspiration to academic excellence and their
engagement in leadership and service. We expect tremendous accomplishments from them.”
Dean James McKusick, Erika Ackerlund, Lindsay Ashton, Conner Becker, Kian Bertin, Natasha Colson-Sullivan, Lander Crissman,
Bethany Crouse, Claire Dalman, Nicole Evans, Megan Franz, Sarah Gaulke, Victoria Gifford, Austin Gilbert, Erin Goudreau, Katerina
Hall, Reid Hensen, Andrew Honken, Emily Hurst, Noah Johnston, Martha Krebill, Alicia Leggett, Parker Lund, Madeline Matia, Jebediah Rosen, Cassandra Sevigny, Nathaniel Smith, Carly Stinson, Kaitlyn Strickfaden, Kurt Swimley, Jed Syrenne, Carter Webber, Jennifer Zundel. Not pictured: Tessa Leake
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The Office for Civic
Engagement Newsletter
The Office for Civic Engagement, a program of the Davidson
Honors College, is honored to serve as University of Montana’s
primary agent of community activism and civic responsibility.
Office Location:
DHC. Rm 015
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
Project and Program Updates
Phone: (406) 243-4442
Email: [email protected]
UM Tutoring Project
The UM Tutoring Project
(formerly America Reads/
America Counts) works to improve reading and
math skills in area elementary school students. By
placing UM student volunteers in local schools,
working one-on-one and in small groups in the
classroom, the tutors evolve and grow as
educational leaders, and the kids gain valuable
reading and math support. As one principal
commented: “Without this program, our students
would not receive the extra help they so
desperately need!”.
If you are interested in
becoming a tutor, we ask
for a minimum of one
hour a week commitment,
and we will work to find a
classroom need that fits
with your schedule. Work-study pay may
also be available to those who qualify. For
more information contact Leon at 243-5521
Service Saturdays
Do you want to volunteer but are unsure how much
time you can dedicate?
Service Saturdays can
help! The Office for Civic
Engagement organizes 2
to 3 Saturday volunteer
opportunities each month.
This is a great way to
meet people, develop
skills, and make a
difference. It is also a great introduction to various
nonprofits in the area and a helpful way to make
positive connections in the community. Past Service
Saturdays have included helping at the
Poverello Center, Animeals, Garden City Harvest,
Zootown Arts Community Center, and much more! If
you would like more information e-mail
[email protected].
Volunteer Missoula
Are you still looking for that perfect volunteer
placement site? Or are you looking to fill
some time during the holiday break with
something meaningful? Check out volunteermissoula.org
for listings of local volunteer needs. Over 50 organizations
are posting opportunities that you can sort through by
topic, duration, group activities, etc. It is easy to get
involved!
Davidson Honors College
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
Phone: 406-243-2541
Fax: 406-243-6446
Civic Leadership: HONR 272
Are you interested in social change, civic
engagement, and developing your leadership
skills? Register for HONR 272 for Spring
semester! This is a 3-credit course offered
Tues and Thurs from 2:10-3:40 This class
will explore leadership theories, engage in
community service, and help you develop
your personal leadership style.
Thank you!
Scholarship Winners
Undergraduate Research Scholarships
Undergraduate Research Scholarships
support student/faculty research teams.
Breanna Barber, major: Liberal Studies,
with Tobin Shearer, African American
Studies, “The Prophetic and Pastoral Style
of Fannie Lou Hammer”
Kylie Bull, major: Communicative
Sciences and Disorders, with Amy
Glaspey, Communicative Sciences and
Disorders, “Dynamic Assessment: Speech
Sound Disorders”
Nikita Cooley, major: Biology, with Dr. Art
Woods, Biology, “Can big beetle larvae
take their own heat?”
Hailey Duffin, major: Political Science,
with Sara Rinfret, Political Science, “The
Influential Role of the Secretary of State's
Office in the Pacific Northwest”
Sarah Fink, major: Communicative
Sciences and Disorders, with Ginger
Collins, Communicative Sciences and
Disorders, “Written Language Sampling in
Middle School Students”
Jordan Frotz, major: Elementary
Education, with Matt Roscoe, Mathematics,
“Understanding Factors: Pedagogy for
Elementary School Teachers and
Compartive Study Between Elementary
Students and Pre-Service Teachers”
Mariah McIntosh, major: Biology, with Lila
Fishman, Organismal Biology and Ecology,
“AMF Dependency, Local Adaptation, and
Specificity in Two Populations of Mimulus
gutattus”
Michelle Nemetchek, major: Biochemistry,
with Diana Lurie, Biomedical and
Pharmaceutical Sciences, “The Effect of
Bacopa monnieri on the Release of the
Proinflammatory Cytokines TNF-a and IL-6
from LPS Activated Microglial Cells”
Stephanie Quist, major: Music, with
James Randall, Music, “Performance
Anxiety: Overcoming Stage Fright through
Teaching Mental Practice”
Mona Schwartz, major: Political Science,
with Christopher Muste, Political Science,
“Truth Commissions and Collective
Memory in Latin America”
Lauren Steinmetz, Communicative
Sciences and Disorders, with Amy
Glaspey, Communicative Sciences and
Disorders, “Dynamic Assessment: Speech
Sound Disorders”
Rennie Winkelman, major: Wildlife
Biology, with Lisa Eby, Wildlife Biology, “Is
there competition between westlope
cutthroat trout and sculpin in tributaries of
the Bitterroot River, Montana?”
Michael Workman, major: Art, with
Elizabeth Dove, Art, “The Touch’
DHC Study Abroad Scholarships
These scholarships offer funding to
students who intend to participate in a
study abroad program.
Brady Baughman
Major: French
Country of travel: France
Thomas Colligan
Major: Geology
Country of travel: Tanzania
Peregrine Frissell
Major: Journalism
Country of travel: Thailand
Marissa Ginnett
Major: Human Biology
Country of travel: Tanzania
Sarah Hamburg
Major: Spanish
Country of travel: Mexico
Matthew Hanson
Major: Finance
Country of travel: Tanzania
Julia Read
Major: Communicative Sciences and
Disorders
Country of travel: Tanzania
Meg Smith
Major: English Literature
Country of travel: Greece
Kansas Suenram
Major: Exercise Science
Country of travel: Tanzania
Charlotte Westwater
Major: Religious Studies
Country of travel: Tanzania
Taylor Wyllie
Major: Journalism
Country of travel: Tanzania
DHC Merit Scholarships
Carl and Bella Nelson & Ellsworth and
Mable Nelson Scholarship
Mariah Meyer
Major: Biology
Andrea Sliter Goudge Honors Scholarship
Spencer Sheehan
Major: Accounting/Management
Information Systems
Wayne and Sallie Linnell Scholarship
Johnathan Bush
Major: Mathematics
Andrew and Wendy Davidson Scholarship
Haley Hatfield
Major: Anthropology
Country of travel: Tanzania
Natalie Black
Major: Business Administration/Accounting
Conor Hogan
Major: English
Country of travel: Argentina
Drs. George C. and Kathleen Schroeder
Roth Scholarship
Audrey Brosnan
Major: Pre-Med
Melinda Horne
Major: Ecological Restoration
Country of travel: Chile
John F. Ramsbacher Scholarship
Emma Fewer
Major: Business Administration/Accounting
Mackenzie Lombardi
Major: Political Science
Country of travel: France
Don Stanaway Family Scholarship
Mariah Johnson
Major: Pre-English
Mackenzie Martin
Major: Psychology
Country of travel: Tanzania
Patrick R. and Mary Kitte Robins
Scholarship
Soren Ormseth
Major: Mathematics
Claire Michelson
Major: Psychology
Country of travel: Tanzania
Jenniefer Miller
Major: Exercise Science
Country of travel: Ireland
Mickey and Jeff Sogard Honors Scholarship
Morgan Jones
Major: Pre-Journalism
Weeks-Mattelin Legacy Scholarship
Katie Webb
Major: Biology