DATE:   March 16, 2001

MEMO TO:   Montana Board of Regents

FROM:   Stephen Hulbert, Chancellor

 SUBJECT:   Campus Report for March, 2001, Board of Regents' Meeting

NAME CHANGE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA - WESTERN

Passage of SB 214 and action by Governor Martz in signing this legislation implemented the name change for Western Montana College of The University of Montana to that of The University of Montana - Western.

In accordance with the original name change proposal as submitted to the Montana Board of Regents, the effective date for the implementation of the new name will be July 1, 2001. The intervening period will permit the institution the time necessary to affect the changes required to introduce the new name.

Under the leadership of Mr. Tom Yahraes, the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, a University Transition Task Force will conduct the planning effort required to introduce changes in all types of print and electronic publications, stationary, business cards and signage. This group will undertake a communication effort to notify the broader community with regard to the name change.

RURAL EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER

Construction of the new Rural Education Technology Center on the Western campus is well underway. The two-story addition to the Lucy Carson Library is up and under roof. Renovations to the basement and main floor of the existing library building are approximately 80 percent complete.

Federally funded resources amounting to approximately $800,000 are now available to provide equipment and furnishings to outfit the multi-media and other specialized computing facilities in the Center. An Instructional Technologist position funded through a federal grant to the Small School Alliance, of which Western is a member, has been filled, with the new staff member assuming his responsibilities on April 15, 2001. The arrival of the Instructional Technologist will provide additional assistance and expertise in the decisions to be made for the furnishing and equipping of the multi-media and other specialized computing facilities.

The Education Technology Center is scheduled for completion by mid-fall 2001. The new building and its technology facilities will be scheduled for academic program and related service use with the opening of the Spring Semester 2002 in January 2002.