- Mailing Address
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32 Campus Dr
Missoula, Montana 59812 - Phone
- (406) 243-0211
- Email address
- admiss@umontana.edu
- Website
- https://www.umt.edu/
- School Information
- "Think critically. Live ethically. Explore creatively. These are the ideals to which our students, faculty, researchers and staff aspire. As Montana’s flagship university, we set a high bar for academic studies, creative accomplishments and scientific exploration which benefit our students, our community and the world at large. "The University draws a diverse, global population to Missoula – our home and the state’s second-largest city – and helps cultivate an educated, engaged and vibrant community. Our students receive a world-class education in a broad range of subjects that include the trades, liberal arts, sciences, graduate and postdoctoral study and professional training. "Our main campus, nestled in the heart of western Montana’s stunning natural landscape, spans 56 acres at the base of Mount Sentinel and along the Clark Fork River, and includes the park-like Oval at the center of campus, more than 60 architecturally unique buildings and a 25,200-seat football stadium. UM's 180-acre South Campus offers student housing, a golf course, soccer fields and an outdoor track facility. Missoula College occupies two sites, one just across the river from the main campus, and one on the southwest side of Missoula." The university enrolls over 11,000 students, has a 19:1 student-faculty ratio, and offers associate's, bachelor's, master's, first-professional, and doctoral degrees, as well as technical certificates. (Source: https://www.umt.edu/about/) (Source: https://www.umt.edu/admissions/um-facts.php)
- General Information
- Although the university's leadership has encouraged students to take certain courses and donate to advocacy groups, as well as providing ample anti-racism resources. No mandatory Critical Race Training sessions are yet required of students. However, see developments below:
Actions Taken
- Admissions Policies
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The University of Montana Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (updated October 2023) states that the university "must be designed for an increasingly diverse student body and workforce" and that it would "[e]ncourage departments to commit to diverse advertising and sourcing when recruiting." Additionally, the university has distributed the "McNair Scholars list to departments to encourage recruitment of a diverse pool of talented applicants."
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- Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
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The University of Montana Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (updated October 2023) states that it would "[e]ncourage all search committees to complete implicit bias training."
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The University of Montana Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (updated October 2023) states that it would "[d]evelop and deliver diversity, discrimination, and harassment training for students, faculty, and staff." Additionally, the university has "[provided] anti-bias training each semester for ASUM senators."
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University of Montana has an Inclusive Excellence for Student Success series, which provides training and mentorship.
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- Disciplinary Measures
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The Bias Response Team at UM "consists of experts on campus who advocate and support students who experience or witness biased-related incidents" and "Active Bystanders or Allies, including students, faculty, and staff who are aware of the incident, can notify any member of the BRT that a UM student has experienced bias-related incidents."
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- Program and Research Funding
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The goal of the Alliance for Minority Participation program is to "increase the number of Native American students successfully completing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields."
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As part of the 2023-2024 academic catalog, students at UM who pursue a B.A. in Anthropology can also take the "Cultural and Ethnic Diversity Concentration."
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- Resources
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The university president encouraged students to donate to the African American Studies Program, the Diana Riley Fund, and the Diversity Advisory Council on Juneteenth.
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Students were also encouraged by the university president to engage in "self-education" by taking summer courses such as "The New Jim Crow to Black Lives Matter" and "Dismantling Racism: From Theory to Practice".
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The university's library compiled a list of anti-racist resources which included links to bail funds and books such as "Rules for Revolutionaries" and "Tweets and Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism".
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The university offers an online Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certificate program which consists of courses such as "Dismantling Institutional Racism: From Theory to Practice."
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The School of Social Work declared its commitment to anti-racism and proceeded to provide a list of its principles.
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An "antiracist" TikToker posted a story online calling out a professor at the University of Montana.
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The Associated Students of the University of Montana established an anti-racism audit of ASUM and "recommended departments introduce content warnings in classrooms" at its April 6 meeting. A $5,000 down payment was allocated to a third-party consulting group to conduct the audit.
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In response to the BLM protests in 2020, the university is offering three anti-racism courses, which include topics such as "dismantling Racism in predominantly white institutions, The New Jim Crow to Back Lives Matter, and a survey of African American History."
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English Faculty Professor Quan Manh Ha lists "critical race theory" as one of his research interests and teaches a course titled Critical Race Theory.
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The University of Montana Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (updated October 2023) states that it would "[p]romote the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion related questions in interviews as it relates to the position."
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The University of Montana Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (updated October 2023) states that it would "[e]ncourage and support faculty efforts to design curricula to be inclusive of cross-cultural/BIPOC and LGBTQ authors/thinkers, and non-western ways of knowing."
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The school has a Branch Center which is described as “the space for student diversity and inclusion at the University of Montana.”
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- Symbolic Actions
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University leadership (the president's cabinet) was considering ways to "embed anti-racist, inclusion, and equity work into our operating rhythm, policies, and practices."
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The University of Montana Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (updated October 2023) states the following: "[K]nowing that racism has consistently been ignored or underemphasized in predominately white institutions, we explicitly call out our commitment to communities of color...we recognize the gravity and pull of historical systems and their impacts today."
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The UM Humanities Institute hosts the "Making Humanites [sic] Public lecture series" which has included a racial justice speaker series. The institute states that is has "made a commitment to develop programming that addresses and encourages discussion about racism, its history, and its impact" and that it "acknowledge[s] the damaging legacy of racial discrimination and the ongoing realities of police brutality, systemic violence, educational and economic inequality, bigotry, ignorance, indifference, commodification, and degradation of African-American life and culture." The institute has been "inspired by Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement."
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