In our last editorial we posed the question, "Does The Montana Professor have a future?" We are happy to report that it does! Through our campus representatives, we have received assurances from the CEO's of all the MUS units that they will be willing to support TMP beginning with the fall 2001 issue. We thank President George Dennison, University of Montana, Chancellor Stephen Hulbert of Western Mt. College-UM, Chancellor Frank Gilmore of MT Tech-UM, President Geoffrey Gamble of MSU-Bozeman, Chancellor Ron Sexton of MSU-Billings, and Chancellor Alex Capdeville of MSU-Northern for this expression of confidence in our publication.
The spring 2001 issue--the first to be published without MFT support--will be funded in part by Yellowstone Public Radio which will purchase a series of ads and in part by the Montana Committee for the Humanities through a small grant.
During the next couple of years TMP will also investigate other sources of support, e.g., funds drives. Recognizing that to be successful in fund raising we need to have tax-exempt status, we have drawn up and filed with the Secretary of State in Helena our articles of incorporation as a nonprofit public benefit corporation named "The Montana Professor." We can now make application for 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status. We will also draw up the necessary by-laws for the governance of this new organization. These by-laws will provide for the means to manage the funds. This spring the board will draw up plans for the first funds drive, which will be conducted during the 2001-2002 academic year.
We do not anticipate any change in our editorial policy, indeed our tax exempt status requires that TMP not engage directly in political activity or partisan advocacy, just the way we have operated for the past ten years.
Suggestions on any of these matters are welcome. You can contact our representative on your campus (see the list in our Fall 2000 editorial) or you can reach the editor at <mtprof1@attbi.com> or (home) 406-259-2861 or (office) 406-657-2124.