Dennison delivers bittersweet State of the University Address

Staring across a dim auditorium on Friday morning, a slight smile comes across University of Montana President George Dennison's face. A smile that says it all.

The speech he's about to give is one that he shouldn't be giving at all.

"Neither I nor anyone else anticipated my presence here to open another year for my alma mater," he says to the crowd of students and staff gathered in the Montana Theater. "I have learned, however, during my years in the academy not to place too much faith in well-laid plans. Details frequently change, even if the direction remains the same."

The detail that changed is that the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, established by UM and the Board of Regents, have yet to find a replacement for Dennison, who had planned to retire over two weeks ago on August 15, twenty years to the day that he took the position in Main Hall's corner office. Until a replacement is found, he has agreed to stay on board as the institution's chief executive.

In a press conference following what is likely to be his last State of the University address, Dennison gave little hint as to who will replace him, adding that he has had little to do with the search. He did, however, reveal that Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Royce C. Engstrom is on the shortlist and that if he is selected, the transfer of power would take place sometime during the autumn semester. If someone else from another school outside of Montana is chosen, the transition may take place after the semester, in late December or early January, allowing time for the replacement to relocate to Missoula.

While much attention has been placed on who will replace him, being a lame-duck was not on Dennison's agenda as he outlined his plans for the coming months in a speech that at times took a bittersweet tone.

The address outlined many issues facing the University in the coming years, focusing on funding which has been hampered due to a sluggish economy.

Yet while less money is rolling onto campus, more students are, and Dennison estimated that over 15,000 students will be enrolled in classes this fall. The increase in students will put a strain on a campus that is already stretched for resources, including staff, class space and student housing.

A specific case involves the College of Technology, built in 1965, which has seen more and more students enrolling in recent years. The facilities were expected to house 700 students, but some 45-years later that number has ballooned to 2,200. To deal with rising costs and the possibility of less state funding, Dennison suggested that student tuition may increase anywhere from 3 to 5 percent.

While many were interested in the facts and figures of the institution's future, many were also interested in the man who has led it for over two decades and how he now enters his final days of a long and storied career. It is a fact that was certainly not lost on Dennison as he concluded his speech, in what could be his last chance to speak before the University community as President.

"Recognizing this as my last State of the University Address, I want you to know that I regard it as a high honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to return to UM after nearly thirty years and reciprocate in some small way for all that I received," he says, as his normally monotone voice begins to crack with emotion, a rare display for a man known for by-the-book and to-the-point answers.

"The University of Montana gave Jane and me a fine start, and now also witnesses the close of a wonderful career. I wish you all the best."

With that, he slowly backs away from the podium for the last time, as applause rings out from the darkness and that smile again spreads across his normally emotionless face. A smile that could say a million things at once. A look of relief. That twenty years of days that ended well past dusk were finally coming to an end. A look of confidence. That he was leaving the institution to which he has given his heart and soul in capable hands. Or maybe it's that look we all get in the beginning of autumn. A look of hope and endless possibility.  

justin.franz@umontana.edu