School news
Doctoral graduate
Cynthia Riley Augé, from Columbia Falls, earned her PhD in cultural heritage studies and applied anthropology from the University of Montana in May 2013. Graduating with a 4.0 grade point average, Augé is a recognized scholar in the field of historical archaeology and specializes in the archaeology of ritual. She is a member of Lambda Alpha, Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key honor societies as well as a VIP member of Worldwide Who’s Who, Marquis Who’s Who in America, and Cambridge Who’s Who. Her doctoral dissertation has just been nominated for the Society of Historical Archaeology’s Kathleen Kirk Gilmore Dissertation Award for its significant contribution to the field of historical archaeology. She is currently an adjunct professor at Flathead Valley Community College, where she has taught for the past 10 years.
National board
Sen. Jon Tester has nominated Barb Riley, of Columbia Falls, to continue serving as director of the National School Boards Association, which has 90,000 school board members. Riley recently completed a three-year term as the regional director for western schools and hopes to continue serviing. Riley joined the Columbia Fall School District 6 board of trustees in 1995 and has served as the president of the Montana School Boards Association and as chairperson of the Montana Schools Unemployment Insurance Program.
UM journalist recognized
Ketti Wilhelm, a 2009 graduate of Columbia Falls High School, recently received a $500 Butte Press Club Scholarship, a $900 Madison S. Turner Scholarship and a $2,000 Bruce M. Kennedy Memorial Scholarship from the University of Montana School of Journalism. The Butte Press Club, the state’s oldest, presents this award to provide “recognition of members of the press club as playing a vital role in the welfare and progress of the community and state.” The Turner scholarship was created by Turner, a native Montanan and 1931 UM graduate who spent many summers as a ranger in Glacier National Park and took an active interest in UM’s journalism program. Kennedy started his newspaper career in 1954 in Wyoming, and his family later acquired two award-winning Montana papers, the Whitefish Pilot and Hungry Horse News.
Journalist awarded
Heather Jurva, a 2007 graduate of Columbia Falls High School, recently received a $300 Dean’s Award from the University of Montana School of Journalism. She is a senior at UM majoring in journalism. The dean’s awards are given to promising print, photo and radio/television students who demonstrate academic excellence. The faculty and dean select the recipients. Jurva worked as an intern at the Hungry Horse News.
Helena graduate
Annette Slish, of Hungry Horse, recently graduated from Helena College University of Montana with an associate of applied science degree in diesel technology.
Western dean’s list
The following local students were named to the spring 2013 dean’s list at the University of Montana-Western in Dillon — Madison Sandefer, of Columbia Falls, and Cole Jones, of Martin City.
UGF honor roll
The following local students were named to the honor roll for the 2013 spring semester at the University of Great Falls — Shawn Erickson and Suzanne Johnstone, of Columbia Falls.