Derek Decker, senior offensive gua Other area attractions include “A Carousel for Missoula” (one of the first fully hand-carved carousels to be built in America since the Great Depression), Garnet Ghost Town, the National Bison Range, the Ninemile Remount Depot and Ranger Station, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Wildlife Visitor Center, and the Smokejumper Visitor Center. Missoula Parks and Recreation and the YMCA provide a variety of recreational opportunities in basketball, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, and ice skating. Missoula also serves as a center for education, health care, retail, and the arts. The University of Montana provides educa­ tional opportunities for more than 13,000 college students. Com­ munity Medical Center and St. Patrick Hospital, along with many clinics, make Missoula one of the state’s premier health care com­ munities. The Missoula community supports the arts in all its forms: the­ Summertime in Missoula, the Downtown Association’s Out to Lunch ater productions, dance, art, and music. The Missoula Children’s weekly series. Theater, founded in 1970, moved into a renovated building near Birthplace and hometown of author Norman McLean, who wrote campus and produces plays and musicals by national and local A River Runs Through It, Missoula is also known as the “Garden playwrights for both adults and children. The theater also has an City” for its dense trees and lush green landscape. Missoula is International Tour Project, taking theatrical productions to audi­ nestled in the heart of the Northern Rockies in western Montana. ences outside the Missoula area. The Garden City Ballet and A community of approximately 66,000 residents, Missoula lies in a Missoula Symphony, which is in its 50th season, bring performances mountain forest setting where five valleys converge. Missoula is and concerts to the community year round. The Art Museum of Montana’s most culturally diverse city. It is 140 miles from Glacier Missoula, located in downtown Missoula, sponsors changing ex­ National Park and 270 miles from Yellowstone National Park. hibits and also has a permanent collection that focuses on West­ The search for gold in the West and the completion of the Mullan ern contemporary art. Road, which opened up travel from Fort Benton, Mont., to Walla One of the most desirable places to live in the United States, Walla, Wash., brought people to the valley in 1860. Missoula be­ western Montana has become an attractive residence for those gan as a settlement called Hell Gate when C.P. Higgins and Francis looking for pristine beauty and serenity. Even some of America’s Worden began a trading post to accommodate the travelers. The famous people, such as Liz Claiborne, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, settlement was later renamed Missoula, taken from a Salish Flat­ Phil Jackson, and Charlie Sheen, have made western Montana head Indian word, Imisuletiku, “At the stream or water of surprise.” their home. (Missoula, the Way It Was, Lenora Koelbe, 1972). American Heritage Magazine selected Missoula as the 1999 Early settlers constructed Fort Missoula in 1877 to combat the Great American Place, and Sunset Magazine selected Missoula perceived threat by Native American tribes. Today the Fort as the “Best Community” in the West in 1999, and, according to Missoula Museum remains a testament to the West. the September 2001 issue of Outside Magazine, Missoula was Missoula offers a variety of recreational opportunities. Three selected as one of 10 “dream towns” in America. major rivers run through the area: the famous Blackfoot River to Missoula is easily accessible by either Interstate 90 from the the northeast, the beautiful Bitterroot River to the south, and the east and west or by Highway 93 to the north and south. Missoula Clark Fork, which flows adjacent to The University of Montana International Airport has a number of flights daily in and out of campus. Rock Creek, known for its blue ribbon trout fishing, is just Missoula by the major airlines Delta, Northwest, United, and Hori­ a 20-minute drive from Missoula. zon. Big Sky Airline also lands in Missoula several times a day. It Fly fishermen, rafters, kayakers, and canoers thrive on the wa­ serves throughout Montana, Spokane, Wash., North Dakota and ters of western Montana. Flathead Lake, the largest natural fresh­ Denver. water lake in the western United States, is just 70 miles north of Missoula. Seeley Lake, Georgetown Lake, Placid Lake and Salmon Lake are an hour away. Hiking, biking, camping, rock climbing, and hang gliding are a few activities enjoyed in western Montana. Mount Sentinel, Mount Jumbo, Lolo Peak, and Blue Mountain offer beautiful vistas. Blue Mountain Recreation Area, Pattee Canyon Recreation Area, and the Rattlesnake National Wilderness Area are nearby. The Bitter- root-Selway Wilderness Area, Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, the Mission Mountains, and the Seeley-Swan Range are a short drive from Missoula. Missoula abounds with skiing opportunities. Snowbowl Ski Area is a 20-minute drive from downtown Missoula and features a con­ tinuous vertical drop of 2,600 feet, one of the steepest in the coun­ try. Marshall Ski Area, a short 10-minute drive from downtown, features night skiing and offers a good student program. Big Moun­ tain, Discovery, Lookout, Lost Trail, and Silver Mountain ski areas, all within close proximity to western Montana, provide a variety of A Carousel for Missoula at night at Caras Park in downtown Missoula. options for skiers. 2003 MONTANA FOOTBALL - This is Missoula! 100 President The University of Montana was the state’s George M. Dennison first college. Chartered on February 17,1893, George Dennison, the school opened its doors to its first 50 the 16th president of students. More than 100 years later, The Uni­ The University of Mon­ versity of Montana is the center of liberal arts tana, begins his 14th education in the state. year at the University. The school has gone through numerous He served on the changes over the years. In 1913 the school NCAA Division I Board was renamed the State University of Montana, of Directors from 1997- and in 1935, it was renamed Montana State University. It wasn’t until 1965 that the institu­ 2000, and chaired the Big Sky Conference tion recaptured its original name, The Uni­ versity of Montana. In 1988 Western Montana Presidents’ Council College in Dillon became part of UM, and in during 1992-93. 1994, the Montana Board of Regents ap­ Dennison, a Montanan, came to UM proved a restructuring plan to create two uni­ from Kalamazoo, Mich., where he served versities within the Montana University Sys­ as the Provost and Vice President for Aca­ tem. The University of Montana also includes demic Affairs of Western Michigan Univer­ The University of Montana-Western, Montana sity from 1987 to 1990. In earlier years, he Tech in Butte; The University of Montana-Hel- spent time at the Universities of Arkansas ena, College of Technology; and The Univer­ and Washington before working 18 years sity of Montana College of Technology in The University of Montana has a nine-hole at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Missoula. golf course, located just south of the main At Colorado State he started as a his­ The University of Montana provides a campus. The Grizzly Pool is a seven-lane, tory professor, then served in numerous high-quality, well-rounded education to stu­ 25-yard indoor swimming pool that features other positions. He simultaneously held the dents and a wide range of services to Mon­ numerous classes and programs and has positions of Associate Dean of the College tanans. UM is a major source of research, been upgraded recently. The Fitness and Rec­ of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences continuing education, economic develop­ reation Center, adjacent to the Adams Center, and Associate Dean of the Graduate ment, civic engagement, fine arts and enter­ has undergone a major renovation. Finished School for International Development Stud­ tainment, and serves as a driving force in in Fall 2001, it provides the campus commu­ ies. He also served as Acting Academic Vice strengthening Montana’s ties with countries nity with three levels of state-of-the-art exer­ President, Associate Academic Vice Presi­ throughout the world. cise equipment, racquetball, handball and dent and Director of Admissions and UM’s Missoula campus comprises the basketball courts, and a two-story glass-en­ Records. College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate closed climbing wall, “the wall with a view.” A historian by training, Dennison re­ School, the Davidson Honors College, the The Outdoor Program provides opportu­ ceived his bachelor’s degree with high hon­ College of Technology, and seven profes­ nities for the campus community to partici­ ors in history from UM in 1962. He received sional schools: business administration, edu­ pate in recreational activities such as rafting, his master’s degree from UM in 1963, then cation, fine arts, forestry, journalism, law, and kayaking, climbing, hiking, backpacking and earned his Ph.D. in history from the Univer­ pharmacy and allied health sciences. The Uni­ skiing. sity of Washington in 1967. He has written versity of Montana also has an excellent physi­ UM owns and operates Lubrecht Experi­ numerous publications and made several cal therapy department and offers two-year mental Forest, a 28,000-acre teaching and re­ professional presentations in both history programs in business, trades and industry, search forest, Located approximately 30 and higher education. and technical and health occupations. miles northeast of Missoula, Lubrecht Forest Dennison serves on a number of boards. UM continues to grow with 13,058 stu­ provides the opportunity for students to learn He chairs the Montana Commission on dents. The student body is 53 percent female tree thinning and harvesting techniques in ad­ Community Service and serves on the and 47 percent male.