College News
Doing Good by Giving Back
By Paul Hood, Director of Gift Planning, The University of Montana Foundation
I had the opportunity to visit recently with Suzanne Morin Peterson ‘78, a Trustee of The University of Montana Foundation, who, together with her husband, Dave ‘67, created a deferred charitable gift annuity at year end. The gift will benefit the Peterson Opport
unity Endowment for the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences. This is the couple’s seventh gift annuity!
Suzanne and Dave operated a business headquartered in Missoula, Quality Supply, for many years before selling out to Murdoch’s in 2011 in order to devote more time to their wide ranging charitable and civic pursuits. Suzanne remarked about how it was good business to give back to the community, and their business frequently supported charitable and civic endeavors.
Suzanne is a proud and active alumni member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She says that she was first introduced to philanthropy in the fifth grade while selling Christmas cards door-to-door to support the school. Suzanne said that she recognized at that time how important it was to do that well. At her sorority’s national convention when the scholarships were awarded, she marveled at how many scholarships were awarded. Suzanne said that she knew that someone had to make contributions in order to make all of those scholarships possible, and that was when she decided what she wanted to do: finance scholarships.
Suzanne contributes to the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences, where she is a former member of the College Advisory Board, because she thought that the College could benefit the most from her gifts and talents. She notes the importance of the Montana Endowment Tax Credit, saying that the credit really made their gifts possible.
The Montana Endowment Tax Credit allows each person a credit of up to $10,000 against their Montana state income tax for planned gifts such as the deferred charitable gift annuity. The Montana Endowment Tax Credit is up for renewal in the Montana legislature this year, and Suzanne hopes that the credit will be extended into the future because of the number of gifts that the credit makes possible.
If you are curious about how a planned gift such as the deferred charitable gift annuity could work for you, contact me at 800.443.2593 or send me an e-mail to paul.hood@mso.umt.edu.
UM Celebrates New Biomechanics Lab
An open house was held Friday, Nov. 16, to officially launch the new Biomechanics Laboratory at The University of Montana. The new facility is part of the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences.
Directed by UM researcher Matthew Bundle and housed in the Phyllis J. Washington Education Center, the lab will study the science of human movement for the Department of Health and Human Performance.
Bundle said the facility was made possible by the support and leadership of UM President Royce Engstrom and Dean Roberta Evans.
“It will expand the research capabilities at The University of Montana and allow students and faculty to pursue study in a world-class facility,” Bundle said. “The equipment here is found at only a select few universities around th
“This lab and the internationally recognized work being performed in it are helping to grow not just the reputation of the PJW College of Education and Human Sciences, but The University of Montana as well,” Evans said.
Bundle said the lab investment complements the existing strength and expertise that already exist on campus in the area of health and human performance.
“The measurement capabilities that we have put in place will allow our undergraduate students to gain marketable scientific skills and provide an opportunity for our graduate students to receive advanced training and be competitive with scholars from any university,” Bundle said.
Hired in 2011, Bundle studies the limits of human performance. His research discoveries have recently been applied to understanding the gait differences of amputee runningand to the maximum speeds athletes can attain.
Dr. Brent Ruby appears on ABC News
| Dr. Brent Ruby, director of the Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism laboratory speaks to ABC News about the physical stresses woodland firefighters face on the job. WPEM strives to mesh the research world with the operational field environment by combining study models that integrate the control of the laboratory with the hostilities of the field. |
Athletic Training Education Program Students Win the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Public Relations Contest
Eight students in the Athletic Training Education Program, a division of the Department of Health and Human Performance, have won the NATA PR Contest in the category of “Best Student Effort.” The winners will each receive a $150 gift certificate to the ATA Store and recognition at the NATA Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO.
College Welcomes New Faculty Hires
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction is pleased to announce that Kate Brayko and Lucila Rudge have accepted offers to join the faculty next year. Kate is completing her doctoral studies in Curriculum and Instruction: Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Washington this spring. She has extensive experience teaching reading, language arts and English language to a wide range of student groups, including work in Native American and international communities. Lucila comes to UM from The University of Ohio where she has led a graduate program in Holistic Education and managed an extensive international student exchange program with Indonesia, Brazil and the United States. She holds degrees from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the University of Central England in Birmingham U.K., and The Ohio State University. Thank you to all who made these two searches successful. We're looking forward to welcoming them into our community.
Dr. Rita Sommers-Flanagan to Present in India
Counselor Education Chair Dr. Rita Sommers-Flanagan is presenting a workshop at a conference in India. It is being sponsored by the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala for School Counselors in the Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration.
Learning and Belonging Pre-school Ends Year with Accreditation
The Learning and Belong (LAB) Pre-school was notified May 11th by NAEYC that the program’s National accreditation has been maintained. Congratulations to Karen Martin, Kristin Horejsi and all the faculty and staff.
Dr. Trent Atkins Attends NCATE Clinic to Represent State
Curriculum and Instruction Chair, Trent Atkins, attended the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Clinic in Denver on behalf of the state of Montana. The conference was focused on renewing state partnerships given the launch of the new accreditation organization called the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). CAEP consolidates the work of NCATE and TEAC (Teacher Education Accreditation Council) with a strengthened mission to raise the performance teacher, administrator and other school professional candidates as practitioners in our nation’s P-12 schools.
CoEHS Student Featured in the Missoulian Preceding Commencement
Health and Human Performance student Frank Big Man was featured in the Missoulian on Friday, May 10th. Frank walked across the stage this past Saturday as the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He credits his family and the HHP faculty and staff with helping to make his dreams a reality. Read more from The Missoulian.