Our Environment
Jeannette Rankin Hall
EVST's home, Jeannette Rankin Hall, is at the center of UM's campus. The building served as the library from 1908 to 1923, then as Law School until 1961, then as the Psych building until 1983, when it was renamed Jeannette Rankin Hall.
EVST shares the building with the Social Work program. JRH is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is the University's only example of neoclassical architecture. We're proud of the building, and even prouder of its namesake.
Jeannette Rankin Hall is named for Jeannette Rankin, the UM grad (1902) who became the first woman elected to Congress. Rankin is shown here, speaking from the balcony of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Standing behind her is suffragette Carrie Chapman Catt. Rankin was greeting a crowd of admirers en route to her swearing in on April 2, 1917. After the ceremony, President Woodrow Wilson asked the new Congress to declare war on Germany. Rankin cast one of the few votes against that declaration and lost her seat at the next election. Ironically, she returned to Congress later, just in time to cast the only vote against the declaration of the Second World War.
Montana's Environment
Montana is an excellent site for the motivation and training of effective advocates for the environment - not simply because of the geography, but also because of our dedicated and knowledgeable conservation community.
Few universities offer a setting with such spectacular beauty and recreational resources. Missoula, with 70,000 people in the region, is surrounded by mountains and located at the confluence of three major rivers: Clark Fork of the Columbia, the Blackfoot and the Bitterroot.
Both Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks are within easy driving distance, and the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area can be reached easily by bicycle or city bus. Downhill and cross-country ski areas are located within a few miles of campus.
UM was recently named one of the top 10 universities in the nation for canoeing, kayaking and rafting by Paddler Magazine (Sept./ Oct. '98 issue). Outdoor Program Manager Dudley Improta and his staff maintain a fleet of canoes, rafts and various inflatables, and Campus Recreation offers paddling classes, trips and rentals.
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