Montana State University – Bozeman
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Montana State University (MSU) is a
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in
Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...
, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fields through its nine colleges. More than 16,700 students attended MSU in the fall 2019, taught by 796 full-time and 547 part-time faculty. In the
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, MSU is placed among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity", one of only two universities to receive this distinction with a "very high undergraduate" enrollment profile. The university had research expenditures of $257.9 million in 2024. Located on the south side of Bozeman, the university's campus is the largest in the state. The university's main campus in Bozeman is home to KUSM television, KGLT radio, and the
Museum of the Rockies Museum of the Rockies is a museum in Bozeman, Montana. Originally affiliated with Montana State University - Bozeman, Montana State University in Bozeman, and now also, the Smithsonian Institution. The museum is largely known for its Paleontology, ...
. MSU provides outreach services to citizens and communities statewide through its agricultural experiment station and 60 county and reservation extension offices. The elevation of the campus is
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.


History


Establishment of the college

Montana became a state on 8 November 1889. Several cities competed intensely to be the state capital, the city of Bozeman among them. In time, the city of Helena was named the state capital. As a consolation, the state legislature agreed to put the state's land-grant college in Bozeman. Gallatin County donated half of its 160-acre poor farm for the campus, and money for an additional 40 acres, which had been planned to hold a state capital, was raised by the community, including a $1,500 donation from rancher and businessman Nelson Story, Sr. This land, as well as additional property and monetary contributions, was now turned over to the state for the new college. MSU was founded in 1893 as the Agricultural College of the State of Montana. It opened on 16 February with five male and three female students. The first classes were held in rooms in the county high school, and later that year in the shuttered Bozeman Academy (a private preparatory school). The first students were from Bozeman Academy and were forced to transfer to the college. Only two faculty existed on opening day: Luther Foster, a horticulturist from
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who was also Acting President, and Homer G. Phelps, who taught business. Within weeks, they were joined by S.M. Emery (who ran the agricultural experiment station) and Benjamin F. Maiden (an English teacher from the former Bozeman Academy). Augustus M. Ryon, a coal mine owner, was named the first president of the college on 17 April 1893. Ryon immediately clashed with the board of trustees and faculty. Where the trustees wanted the college to focus on agriculture, Ryon pointed out that few of its students intended to go back to farming. While the rapidly expanding faculty wanted to establish a
remedial education Remedial education (also known as developmental education, basic skills education, compensatory education, preparatory education, and academic upgrading) is assigned to assist students in order to achieve expected competencies in core academic sk ...
program to assist unprepared undergraduates (Montana's elementary and secondary public education system was in dire shape at the time), Ryon refused. The donation of the Story land to the college occurred in 1894, but Ryon was forced out in 1895 and replaced by the James R. Reid, a Presbyterian minister who had been president of the Montana College at Deer Lodge since 1890. The college grew quickly under Reid, who provided 10 years of stability and harmony. The student body grew so fast that the high school building was completely taken over by the college. A vacant store on Main Street was rented to provide additional classroom space. Both the Agricultural Experiment Station (now known as Taylor Hall) and the Main Building (now known as Montana Hall) were constructed in 1896, although the agricultural building was the first to open. Both structures were occupied in 1898. The university football team was established in 1897, and the college graduated its first four students that same year. The curriculum expanded into civil and electrical engineering in 1898.


Expansion and growth under Hamilton and Atkinson

Reid resigned for health reasons in 1905 and was succeeded by James M. Hamilton, an economist. Determined to make the college into a school of technology, he rapidly expanded the curriculum areas such as biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, and physics. Hamilton also devised the university motto, "Education for Efficiency", which the college continued to use until the 1990s. Further marking this change in direction, the school was officially renamed the Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1913 (although that name was in widespread use as early as 1894). The college's first great rapid expansion of physical plants also began under Hamilton. Constructed during this time were Linfield Hall (1908), Hamilton Hall (1910), and Traphagen Hall (1919). The giant whitewashed "M" on the side of Mount Baldy in the foothills of the Bridger Range was first built in 1916, and in 1917
ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
came to campus for the first time. Hamilton resigned in 1919 to become Dean of Men, and his successor was agricultural expert Alfred Atkinson. Atkinson's tenure lasted 17 years (1920 to 1937). A firm believer in Hamilton's vision for the school, Atkinson worked hard to continue the rapid expansion of the campus. The iconic, barrel-vaulted Gymnasium Building (now Romney Hall) was built in 1922, replacing a dilapidated "drill hall" and giving the school's men's basketball team its first home court. The Heating Plant, Lewis Hall, and Roberts Hall followed in 1923. By the 1920s, the school was commonly referred to as Montana State College (MSC). Herrick Hall followed in 1926. The college was justifiably proud of its academic accomplishments, but its sports teams entered a golden age as well. In 1922, Atkinson hired George Ott Romney and Schubert Dyche as co-head coaches of the football and men's basketball teams. Between 1922 and 1928 (the year he departed Montana for
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
), Romney's football teams compiled a 28–20–1 record. This included the 1924 season in which his team went undefeated until the final game of the year. As a co-head basketball coach, Romney's teams compiled a 144–31 record and invented the
fast break Fast break is an offensive strategy in basketball and handball. In a fast break, a team attempts to move the ball up court and into scoring position as quickly as possible, so that the defense is outnumbered and does not have time to set up. The ...
. After Romney left, Schubert Dyche coached the "Golden Bobcats" team of 1928, which had a 36–2 record and won the national championship. In his seven years as a basketball coach, Dyche's teams compiled a 110–93 record (this included the dismal 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons), but won their conference championship twice. In 1930, the college built Gatton Field, a football field on what is now the site of the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center. In one of President Atkinson's last accomplishments, the Dormitory Quadrangle (now Atkinson Quadrangle) was built. The first three decades of the 20th century were rowdy ones on the college campus. Bozeman had a large
red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...
by 1900, alcohol was plentiful and cheap, and there was little in the way of organized entertainment such as theaters to occupy the student body. President Reid spent much of his presidency cracking down on dancing, drinking, gambling, and prostitution by students. President Hamilton sought to improve the atmosphere for women by building Hamilton Hall, which was not only the first on-campus housing for students but also the first all-women's housing on campus. Access by men to Hamilton Hall was strictly limited to young teenage boys (who acted as servants); adult males were permitted only in the first-floor lounge, and only on Sundays. Atkinson Quadrangle was built on the location of the College Inn, also known as the "Bobcat Lair," a popular student drinking and dancing hangout.


Depression and World War II

The college suffered greatly during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The price of agricultural products (Montana's economic mainstay) soared during World War I, as European and Russian farms were devastated by military campaigns, in which American and European armies demanded food. For a few years after the war, these prices remained high. But as European agriculture began to improve, an agricultural depression swamped the United States beginning in about 1923. State tax revenues plunged, and fewer buildings were constructed on campus after 1923.


The Renne years

In 1943, the state board of higher education appointed MSC economist Roland "Rollie" Renne to be the new acting president of the college; he was named the permanent president of the college on 1 July 1944 and served until 1964.


University status and campus conservatism

In February 1964, Leon H. Johnson was appointed president of MSC. A research chemist who joined the college in 1943, he had most recently been the executive director of the school's Endowed and Research Foundation (at the time, MSC's largest research unit) and Dean of the Graduate Division. Deeply committed to the college's research function, he pushed for MSC to be named a university — a change Renne had since the early 1950s, and which the Montana state legislature approved on 1 July 1965. At that time, the school received its new name, Montana State University (MSU). Bachelor's degree programs in economics, English, history, music, political science, and other disciplines were quickly established, as was the first university honors program. Johnson was a devoted admirer of the arts, and MSU's art and music programs blossomed. Johnson quickly worked to end the acrimonious relationship with the University of Montana, and the two schools began to present a united front to the state legislature. In 1966, Johnson altered and enlarged the university's administrative structure to help cope with increasing enrollment and increasing campus complexity. These changes included creating a 12-member executive council to advise him. The council included newly created vice presidents — overseeing areas such as academic affairs, administration, finance, and research. Johnson was deeply conservative — fiscally, socially, and politically. He was deeply committed to continuing Renne's educational plan but declined to spend money on new buildings (preferring to consolidate and renovate rather than expand). He also continued Renne's policies largely barring from campus speakers who were not clearly in the political mainstream. Johnson's policies were largely supported by the student body and the taxpaying public. MSU practiced a policy known as ''
in loco parentis The term ''in loco parentis'', Contemporary Latin, Latin for "in the place of a parent", refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. Originally derived from ...
'', in which it acted as a "parent" toward the "children" attending school there. To that end, Johnson instituted dress codes, required adult chaperones at dances, banned alcohol, and instituted mandatory military training for freshmen and sophomores. Although many American college campuses were engulfed by student radicalism, MSU's student body was as conservative as Johnson was and accepted these restrictions. For many years, the biggest issues on campus were ending Saturday morning classes and building student parking lots. There were some campus protests, however. The first protest against the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
occurred in 1966 (drawing about 100 students), two underground student newspapers briefly appeared, and some students organized clubs to debate issues of the day. There were minor faculty and student protests when Johnson attempted to prevent English professor James Myers from assigning students to read
James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...
's novel '' Another Country'', and in the summer of 1968 a few faculty organized a symposium on the war. When about 150 students rallied in front of Montana Hall in 1969 to ask for co-ed and "open visitation" dorms (e.g., to allow men into women's dorm rooms, and vice versa), Johnson threatened to call out the city police. MSU's Bobcat Stadium saw its genesis during the Johnson years. Growing student unrest over the football team's use of decrepit Gatton Field (while the basketball team used modern Brick Breeden Fieldhouse) led to a proposal by Johnson in April 1968 to build a 16,000-seat stadium funded by student fees. The proposal failed in December 1968 after students argued that the university should concurrently build a new fitness center as well. President Johnson died of a heart attack on 18 June 1969. He'd suffered a heart attack in October 1968 and then underwent surgery out of state in April 1969. William Johnstone, a professor of education and Vice President for Administration at MSU, took over as Acting President. He was the first and (as of 2013) the only Montanan to become president of MSU. Johnstone pledged to build the fitness center first, and in December 1969 the student body approved the finance plan for the new football stadium. On 2 April 1970, about 250 students engaged in a
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
in Montana Hall to protest Myers' termination, but it ended peacefully a day later. Myers was terminated, and another eight faculty resigned in protest. But during his year in office, the university completed Cobleigh Hall (ironically named for the last individual to be named acting president).


Tough fiscal times of the 1970s

Carl W. McIntosh was named MSU's eighth president in June 1970. Previously the president of 28,000-student
California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...
, McIntosh brought a consultative and deliberate style of decision-making to the university. He faced a poor fiscal climate: The state was entering a decade-long depression brought about by a steep drop in commodity prices, the state's higher education system had grown too large and unwieldy, and Governor Thomas L. Judge had established a blue-ribbon committee to close several of the state's colleges. In 1974, women faculty at MSU sued, alleging
gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...
. They won their suit in 1976, leading to a $400,000 damages award, a back-pay award, and extensive promotions (which also increased salaries). To accommodate these fiscal realities, McIntosh ordered several doctoral and master's degree programs terminated, and all advanced degree programs in the social sciences and liberal arts canceled. But McIntosh also scored several successes. In 1972, he persuaded the legislature to allow MSU to participate in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) medical education program, which allowed 20 (now 30) Montana citizens per year to begin medical school at MSU before completing studies at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
. The College of nursing (Sherrick Hall) was finished in 1973, and after three long years of construction, Reno H. Sales Stadium (now Bobcat Stadium and Martel Field) and the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center both opened. In 1974, the long-planned Creative Arts Complex (Cheever Hall, Haynes Hall, and Howard Hall) was also completed. Unfortunately, major increases in inflation led to significant design changes. Instead of a 1,200-seat concert hall with superb acoustics, a cramped and aurally dead 260-seat auditorium was built. Finally, in 1976, the university completed the new medical science building, Leon Johnson Hall. In 1976, the "hidden million" controversy ended McIntosh's tenure as president. In 1975, Montana's first Commissioner of Higher Education, Lawrence K. Pettit (a former MSU professor of political science) launched an investigation of several Montana colleges and universities. He was particularly interested in MSU, where McIntosh's laid-back governance style was widely considered to have hurt the university. In March 1976, Pettit announced he was confiscating $1 million in surplus student fees from MSU — money he argued the university was trying to hide from state auditors and the legislature. The monies were the result of excessively high enrollment in the 1974–1975 school year and were intended to help see the university through the 1975–1976 school year (when the legislature would not meet, and thus could not provide the needed budgetary boost to handle the over-enrollment). Pettit all but accused MSU and McIntosh of fraud, and McIntosh refused to attack Pettit's statements as mischaracterizations and slander. The public outcry about the "hidden million" led the board of regents to request McIntosh's resignation on 30 June 1977, which he tendered. (Pettit resigned the following year, his combative attempt to turn the commissioner's office into a sort of chancellorship having failed.)


Resurgence and retrenchment under Tietz

William Tietz, MSU's ninth president, arrived in August 1977 just as economic conditions in the state were improving. With three of the four vice presidencies at the university open, Tietz imposed his stamp on the administration almost immediately. This included a strong emphasis on research, faculty development, better teaching, and diversity (particularly for Native Americans, the handicapped, and women). His aggressiveness, energy, and immediate re-budgeting of funds into faculty sabbaticals helped win over professors, who voted against
unionization Unionization is the creation and growth of modern trade unions. Trade unions were often seen as a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Socialism, socialist concept, whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in industrial capit ...
in 1978. Tietz's major goal, increasing research funding, was greatly helped by a 1981 decision of the legislature to refund indirect cost payments back to the university. This led to an immediate 15 percent recovery of federal funds, and in time private foundation funding rose significantly as well. Only two buildings were constructed during Tietz's presidency — the Visual Communications Building in 1983 and the Plant Growth Center in 1987. Most of his focus as president was on raising salaries. A third building, the modern home of the Museum of the Rockies, opened in 1989. But this structure was paid for by bonds. Faculty salaries had declined 23 percent during the 1970s (due to wage freezes) and MSU was in the bottom 10 percent of salaries for faculty nationwide.
Cooperative Extension Service The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an Extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act ...
salaries were dead last in the nation. The state legislature implemented a new salary funding formula that rectified many of these problems. Some university programs were also re-established, such as the honors program, and some new ones were formed, such as the Writing Center. The state once more entered a severe economic downturn in the mid-1980s. Budget cuts totaling nearly 10 percent, coupled with an enrollment shortfall, led to significant retrenchment. Tietz argued MSU should focus on its strongest programs. Thus, a wide array of programs were terminated: Membership in the Center for Research Libraries; sports like skiing, women's gymnastics, and wrestling; degree programs like engineering science, business education, and industrial arts; and the office of institutional research. Departments were merged and downsized, and Tietz proposed closing the School of Architecture. A battle broke out to save it, and Tietz backed off his decision. Tietz increasingly blamed Governor
Ted Schwinden Theodore Schwinden (August 31, 1925 – October 7, 2023) was an American politician from Montana. He was the 19th governor of Montana from 1981 to 1989. He had previously served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Montana and as a member of the M ...
for a failure to support higher education, and lashed out repeatedly against the governor when Schwinden publicly ridiculed MSU's new Tech Park (a project designed to function as a technology incubator). Although a second faculty unionization effort failed in 1989, Tietz resigned in March 1990, frustrated by the constant battles with an "old guard" resistant to turning MSU toward high technology.


Centennial and expansion

Michael P. Malone was named MSU's Acting President on 1 January 1991,"Garfield County Native Named MSU President." ''Lewiston Morning Tribune.'' 6 November 1991. and permanently appointed to the position in March 1991, Malone was named MSU's 10th president.Schontzler, Gail. "MSU President Mike Malone Dies." ''Bozeman Daily Chronicle.'' December 21, 1999.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
He had served as MSU's Dean of Graduate Studies from 1979 to 1988,"Michael P. Malone, 59, Native of Pomeroy." ''Lewiston Morning Tribune.'' 24 December 1999. and then three one-year temporary appointments as vice president for Academic Affairs while a fruitless national search occurred for a permanent replacement. As Dean of Graduate Studies, he'd been critical of what he perceived as the state's unwillingness to invest in high technology education. Malone's governance style was democratic, friendly, and personal. His friendly style made him personally popular with legislators and earned their respect. Nonetheless, he was criticized for focusing too much on how little money MSU had and for criticizing the legislature too much for not investing in higher education.Schontzler, Gail. "Geoff Gamble - A Hard Act to Follow." ''Bozeman Daily Chronicle.'' 29 August 2009. Malone was the first MSU president to preside over the Billings, Great Falls, and Havre campuses. On 1 July 1994, Montana restructured the Montana University System. Eastern Montana College in Billings, Montana Northern College in Havre, and the Vocational-Technical Center in Great Falls lost their independence and were made satellite campuses of Montana State University. Although Montana's seven tribal colleges remained independent (as they are sponsored by sovereign nations), the state required them to integrate their teaching, operations, and academic operations with both Montana State University and the University of Montana to continue to receive state funding. Montana State University celebrated its centennial in 1993. A university history called ''In the People's Interest: A Centennial History of Montana State University'' was published to celebrate the centennial, authored by three Montana State history professors-- Jeffrey J. Safford, Pierce Mullen, and Robert Rydell. During Malone's presidency, Montana State University witnessed "one of the greatest expansions in campus history", as a large number of new buildings were constructed. These included the $1 million Centennial Mall (1993), the $22 million Engineering and Physical Sciences Building (1997), the $10 million Bobcat Stadium renovation, the $13.5 million renovation of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, the $12 million Agricultural Biosciences Building (1999), and the $7.5 million Renne Library renovation (1999). A strong sports fan, Malone's focus extended to sports personnel as well as sports facilities. In 1999, he fired Bobcats football head coach Cliff Hysell after eight losing seasons and hired
Mike Kramer Michael David Kramer (born July 25, 1954) is a former American football coach and former player, most recently the head football coach at Idaho State Bengals football, Idaho State University of the Big Sky Conference. Kramer was previously the h ...
, the winning coach at Eastern Washington University. In October 1999, he fired MSU women's basketball head coach Tracey Sheehan and assistant coach Jeff Malby after an NCAA investigation revealed that the two coaches were overworking their team and causing injuries to student-athletes."MSU Women's Basketball Coaches Sheehan, Malby Fired." ''Associated Press.'' 1 November 1999. Like William Tietz before him, Malone also pushed hard for faculty and the university to seek and win federal funding for scientific research. Federal research funding grew from just $13 million in the late 1980s to more than $50 million in 1999."Obituary for Michael P. Malone." ''Bozeman Daily Chronicle.'' December 21, 1999.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
The undergraduate curriculum was revamped, enrollment hit a historic high of 11,746 students in 1999, and the Burns Telecommunications Center was established. Malone benefitted from a strong economy that eased many of the fiscal pressures Tietz faced. He expanded alumni fund-raising programs and pushed the MSU Foundation to redouble its fund-raising efforts. But the legislature was not forthcoming with salary increases. He weathered a
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
by clerical and administrative support staff in 1992. He was later criticized, however, for initiating projects without having the money to complete them and then using the subsequent construction crisis to raise the funds to finish the project. Tuition doubled during his time in office, angering students, and some faculty criticized his willingness to construct new buildings while declining to pay for teaching equipment. The MSU community was shocked when Malone died of a heart attack on 21 December 1999, at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. He was the second MSU president to die in office, and the second to die of heart failure.


Twenty-first century stability

Malone's successor,
Geoffrey Gamble Geoffrey Gamble (born 1942) is an American Linguistics, linguist who served from 2000 to 2009 as the 11th president of Montana State University. Early life Gamble was born in 1942 and raised on a farm near Fresno, California.Ellig, Tracy. "An Unprecedented President." ''Mountains & Minds Magazine.'' Fall 2009.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
In addition to making the president's executive council more representative and reaching out to the Faculty Senate, he established a new 25-member University Planning, Budget, and Analysis Committee to establish the university budget. Legislatively, Gamble promoted MSU's accomplishments, praised legislators for their financial support (even when it was not forthcoming), and spoke of state funding for the university in terms of investment that led to economic and job growth. According to Cathy Conover, MSU's chief legislative lobbyist, Gamble's style was "a sea change" that led the Republican-dominated state legislature to rave about him. Montana State University also implemented the "Core 2.0 curriculum" during Gamble's tenure as president. This program encourages undergraduate students to engage in research or practice their art before graduation. Gamble also focused on research. Between 2000 and 2009, federal research funding at MSU grew by 61 percent to $98.4 million."MSU Has Record Enrollment." ''Big Sky Business Journal.'' October 6, 2009.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
Gamble
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
ed the name "University of the Yellowstone" to reflect the high level of research MSU conducted in the greater
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
ecosystem. Gamble also made diversity a major effort in his presidency. He appointed the university's first permanent female vice president, and by 2009 women outnumbered men among MSU's deans, five to four. He appointed Henrietta Mann (chair of the MSU Department of Native American Studies, and one of the most prominent Indian educators in the United States) his representative to the seven tribal colleges which participate in the
Montana University System The Montana University System (MUS) was created on July 1, 1994, when the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education restructured the state's public colleges and universities, with the goal of streamlining the state's higher education in the wak ...
and created a Council of Elders to bring leaders of the tribal colleges together twice a year at MSU for discussions. Native American enrollment at MSU rose 79 percent (to a historic high of 377 students) during Gamble's time in office. In 2006, a major sports scandal engulfed Montana State University. On 30 June 2006, former MSU basketball player Branden Miller and former MSU football player John LeBrum were charged with murdering local
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
dealer Jason Wright.Sullivan, Ted. "Wright Murder Case: Anatomy of a Crime.' ''Bozeman Daily Chronicle.'' December 15, 2007.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
After an 18-month investigation, six additional current and former MSU athletes were charged with buying and selling cocaine. Three of the six were charged with running a cocaine smuggling ring that sold of cocaine in Bozeman between June 2005 to May 2007. Court records later revealed that some MSU coaches knew Miller carried handguns in his athletic bag at school and that the murder weapon and other handguns had been secreted in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. In August 2007, ''
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'' ran a front-page article, "Trouble in Paradise", that recounted drug use, violence, theft, intimidation, and illegal activities by current and former MSU student-athletes and the complicity of the low-level coaching staff. An investigation by the NCAA revealed significantly lower graduation rates for MSU football and basketball players under football coach Mike Kramer as well as men's basketball coach Mick Durham, and a large number of athletes on or flirting with academic probation."Former Montana State Head Coach Mike Kramer in Hot Water at Idaho State." ''Bozeman Daily Chronicle.'' October 16, 2012.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
Gamble quickly fired Kramer, who then sued MSU for unlawful dismissal. Kramer and MSU settled out of court, and Kramer received a payment of $240,000. In 2009, Gamble said his hardest time as president was dealing with the sports scandal.
Accessed 10 August 2013.
Gamble announced his retirement on 22 March 2009.


Record growth

Waded Cruzado, the former president of New Mexico State University, succeeded Gamble as president, taking office on 4 January 2010. Since her arrival, the university's headcount enrollment has grown from 13,559 in the fall of 2010 to a record 16,902 in the fall of 2018 – a 24.66 percent increase – making MSU the largest university in the state of Montana. In addition to enrollment increases, the campus has seen the completion of numerous major construction and renovation projects since Cruzado's arrival. In the fall of 2010, the university reopened one of its most heavily used classroom buildings on campus, Gaines Hall, after a $32 million renovation funded by the Montana Legislature. That same fall, the university opened its new, 40,000-square-foot Animal Bioscience Building. The $15.7 million building was funded, in part, by donations from Montana's livestock and grains industry. In addition to classroom and teaching laboratory space, the building is home to the MSU College of Agriculture's Department of Animal and Range Sciences. While the Gaines Hall renovation and the Animal Biosciences building were underway before Cruzado took office, in the fall of 2010 she launched an ambitious 90-day campaign to raise $6 million in private donations for a $10 million project to replace and expand the 38-year-old south end zone of the university's football stadium. The university would cover the remaining $4 million for the project, paying it back from revenues generated by MSU Athletics, including ticket sales. The campaign was successful and resulted in a new end zone opening for the fall 2011 season. The end zone project resulted in a net gain of 5,200 seats for the stadium for a total capacity of 17,500. However, through additional standing-room-only attendance, the stadium thrice exceeded 21,000 spectators in the fall of 2013. The fall of 2010 also marked the official opening of Gallatin College Programs at MSU, offering two-year degrees. The program was previously known as MSU-Great Falls College of Technology in Bozeman and was located away from the central campus, but with the renaming, Gallatin College was also given offices and classrooms in Hamilton Hall, located in the campus center. The program's first dean, Bob Hietala, oversaw a period of steady enrollment growth, with Gallatin College growing from 100 students at its start to more than 800 in fall 2019. The program also expanded into new spaces, leasing empty classrooms in the local high school and space in a commercial building off-campus. MSU marked its 125th anniversary in 2018 with a year of celebratory events. Several thousand attended daylong events on 16–17 Feb. featuring family activities, music, fireworks, and speeches commemorating the university's history. A newly installed statue of Abraham Lincoln by Bozeman-area artist Jim Dolan was unveiled at a ceremony honoring the former president's contributions to
land-grant universities A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
. In November 2019, the board of regents voted to raise Cruzado's salary by $150,000, citing her performance as president and amid reports Cruzado had received a larger offer from another university. Cruzado declined to name the university that wanted to hire her. The 50% raise received support for putting Cruzado's salary in line with other universities' presidents' salaries but also criticism given Montana's median salary ($53,000) and the pay of lower-level employees. In 2020, Cruzado's salary stood at $476,524 per year. Severe snow and cold during the winter of 2019 contributed to the collapses of two gymnasium roofs at the university's Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center. The center's south gym roof fell during the early morning hours of 7 March, followed two days later by the north gym roof. No one was injured in the collapses, and the entire fitness center is in the process of being rebuilt. Two inflatable gym structures, known as North and South Dome, exist as temporary replacements until the new Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center is completed. The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in the spring of 2020 forced Montana's public university system to switch to online and remote course delivery midway through the spring semester. To help stem the spread of the disease, the university canceled events, encouraged students not to return after
spring break Spring break is a vacation period at universities and schools that includes the Easter holiday, and takes place in early Northern Hemisphere spring. Introduced in the U.S. during the 1930s, spring break has been observed in Europe since t ...
, and asked employees to work from home, essentially emptying the campus. The in-person spring commencement ceremony was also replaced by an online alternative.


Allegations of civil rights violations

In October 2023, Montana State officials were notified that the institution was under investigation by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights for discrimination related to the administration's handling of an incident involving death threats received by members of the Queer Straight Alliance, a registered campus student organization, in the Spring of 2023 it was reported that more than 20 students filed complaints with the Federal Agency. Two months later, the university was informed that it faced additional allegations, this time about failing to adequately respond to complaints of harassment made by female and Jewish students on campus. The following month, federal agencies informed university officials of a third civil rights investigation related to allegations of discrimination against a student who had reported incidents of sexual harassment. One month after that notification, MSU received a fourth notice of investigation from the Deptment of Education, alleging discrimination against students with disabilities. This time, the notice was accompanied by a warning from investigators: Also in February 2024, a team of Department of Education lawyers and investigators visited the Bozeman campus and met with select students and administrators to discuss allegations of civil rights violations on campus. At the time of the visit, there were 11 pending Department of Education investigations of violations at Montana State, some going back as far as 2016.


Presidents

(Acting president) Luther Foster - 16 February 1893, to 17 April 1893
1. Augustus M. Ryon - 17 April 1893, to 1895
2. James R. Reid - 1895 to 1904
3. James M. Hamilton - 1904 to 1919
4. Alfred Atkinson - 1920 to 1937
5. A. L. Strand - 1937 to 1942
(Acting president) William Cobleigh - 1942 to 1943
6. Roland Renne - 1943 to 1964 (acting from 1943 to 30 June 1944)
7. Leon H. Johnson - February 1964 to 1969 (died in office)
(Acting president) William Johnstone - 1969-1970
8. Carl W. McIntosh - 1970 to 1977
9. William Tietz - August 1977 to December 1990
10. Michael P. Malone - March 1991 to 21 December 1999 (died in office)
(Interim president) Terry Roark - 21 January 2000 to 30 November 2000
11.
Geoffrey Gamble Geoffrey Gamble (born 1942) is an American Linguistics, linguist who served from 2000 to 2009 as the 11th president of Montana State University. Early life Gamble was born in 1942 and raised on a farm near Fresno, California.
12. Waded Cruzado - 1 January 2010, to present (as of January 2022)


Academics

MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fields through its nine colleges. MSU is the national leader for
Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...
Graduate Fellowships and is among the top ten institutions in the country for recipients of Goldwater Scholarships, having produced 74 of the scholars as of May 2019. The university counts among its graduates several recipients of the
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
and Truman scholarships, and MSU has consistently produced winners of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' Academic
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
honors. Montana State University offers the world's only Master of Fine Arts degree in Science and Natural History Filmmaking, and MSU's Museum of the Rockies is home to the largest T. Rex skull ever found—bigger, even, than "Sue" at the Chicago Field Museum. Academic programs, procedures, and policies are overseen by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. This office handles all teaching-related issues and is responsible for faculty hiring, establishing academic programs and curricula, course scheduling, and accreditation. The position has been held since April 2017 by Robert Mokwa. He succeeded Martha Potvin, who in 2010 became the university's first female provost.


Colleges

* College of Agriculture * College of Arts and Architecture * Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship * College of Education, Health & Human Development * Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering * College of Letters & Science * College of Nursing *
Graduate School Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...
* Gallatin College * Honors College * Roland R. Renne Library


Research

Montana State University maintains extensive research programs, providing opportunities for undergraduates, graduates, and advanced graduate students, as well as some exceptional high school students. The university is in the top 3 percent of colleges and universities in the United States in research expenditures and regularly reports annual research expenditures over $100 million, including a record $138.8 million in the fiscal year that ended in June 2019. In that same year the university said its faculty wrote 1,100 grant proposals, which led to grant awards worth about $485 million which will be spent over several years. MSU's Office of Research and Economic Development coordinates programs that encourage faculty to pursue externally funded research. Its Office of Research Compliance oversees programs that promote ethical and responsible research and ensures compliance with local, state, and federal regulations for research. The Office of Sponsored programs manages financial, reporting, compliance, auditing, and related tasks for externally funded research. The university maintains a technology transfer office to commercialize MSU faculty inventions, spur businesses based on those technologies, and network with businesses looking to license MSU technologies. The office manages more than 500 technologies and 375 patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The Renne Library--or the
Montana State University Library The Montana State University Library (MSU Library) is the academic library of Montana State University, Montana's land-grant university, in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It is the flagship library for all of the Montana University System, Mont ...
--contains, (in addition to supporting the research and information needs of Montana State faculty, students, and the Montana Extension Service) a department dedicated to manuscript materials, photographs, and other historical ephemera called the Merrill G. Burlingame Archives and Special Collections, or the Montana State University Archives and Special Collections.


Gallatin College

Gallatin College is a two-year college for degree-seeking students and is housed on MSU campus to provide access to MSU campus student services including dormitories, library facilities, and health services. As of May 2018, Gallatin College offers six Associate of Applied Science degrees, five Certificates of Applied Science, a Professional Certificate in business management, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science transfer degrees, and a Developmental Education Program. It also offers a Dual Enrollment program for local high school students to broaden their available range of coursework offerings and share educational resources between MSU and local high schools.


Campus

MSU houses approximately 4,200 students in its residence halls, approximately 70 percent of them freshmen. The university also offers housing to families and to graduate students.


Air Force ROTC Detachment 450

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 450 at Montana State University (MSU) hosts the 450th AFROTC Cadet Wing. It was activated in 1952 and has approximately 110 cadets.


Athletics

The MSU athletic teams are nicknamed the
Bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...
s, and they participate in
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I (I- FCS for
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
) in the
Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
, of which Montana State University is a charter member. They field 13 varsity sports. Originally playing as the "Aggies," men's teams compete in football,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, track, cross-country,
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...
,
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
and
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
. Women's teams include
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
, basketball, track, cross-country, tennis,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
, rodeo, and skiing. Montana State University has won several national championships in men's
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
, three national championships in football, and one national championship in men's basketball. Non-varsity (club) sports include rugby, men's
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
, men's
lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
, baseball,
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
,
fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
and ultimate frisbee. Montana State University has an ongoing
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
with the
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...
, most notably the cross-state football matchup, known as the " Brawl of the Wild", but also includes the cross-state club lacrosse matchup, known as the " Copper Cup".


Basketball

The school's basketball teams achieved fame throughout the 1920s by playing "racehorse basketball" and becoming one of the first schools in the nation to employ what is known as the fast break. Montana State College coach Ott Romney, who graduated with a Master from MSC before World War I, pioneered the style of play, and by 1926 had assembled a team suited to playing an up-tempo brand of ball. Cat Thompson, John "Brick" Breeden, Frank Ward, Val Glynn, and Max Worthington were at the heart of the MSC team that won the Rocky Mountain Conference title three straight seasons, and bested Utah State, BYU,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, and
University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...
. The 1928–29 team defeated the AAU Champion Cook's Painters in a two-of-three series, winning the Rocky Mountain Conference title. The team was named National Champions by the
Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
, which also named Cat Thompson one of the five greatest players in the first half of the 20th century in college hoops.


Football

In 1956 the Bobcats
football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
took a share of the NAIA championship in the Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas playing to a 0–0 tie with the Pumas of St. Joseph's College from Rensselaer, Indiana. In 1976 the Bobcats of Montana State won a national football title in NCAA Division II at Wichita Falls, Texas beating the Zips of Akron, Ohio 24–13 in the title game. In 1984, the Bobcats returned to a national football title game played in Charleston, South Carolina, beating the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech 19-6 for their third national football title. The MSU Bobcats football is the only college team with national titles in three different classifications. The team has won 20 conference titles and has made the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.


Skiing

Montana State Bobcats Alpine and Nordic Ski team compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association and the NCAA Western Region and has produced 13 national champions. The Bobcat Nordic and Alpine ski program venues at Bridger Bowl and Bohart Ranch have hosted six NCAA National Championships.


Notable people


Alumni

File:Steve Daines official Senate portrait.jpg,
Steve Daines Steven David Daines ( ; born August 20, 1962) is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
, 2015–present
File:Denny Rehberg, official portrait, 111th Congress.jpg, Denny Rehberg
Member of
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
, 2001-2013
File:Ann Sandberg.jpg, Ann Linnea Sandberg
Immunologist File:Brian Schweitzer official photo.jpg, Brian Schweitzer
23rd Governor of Montana File:JanStenerud.jpg,
Jan Stenerud Jan Stenerud (, ; born November 26, 1942) is a Norwegian-American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs ...

Retired NFL
placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
, member of the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
* Ken Amato, (1998) NFL longsnapper * Rudy Autio, Ceramic Artist * Tony Boddie, USFL and NFL running back * John W. Bonner, 13th Governor of Montana * Marianne Cargill Liebmann, heir and major shareholder of
Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...
. * Erin Cech, sociologist and academic * Kevin Michael Connolly, (2008) Author, Photographer, and Filmmaker * Doug Coombs, (1985) Winner of the World Extreme Skiing Championship, in 1991 and 1993 *
John Dahl John Dahl (born June 15, 1956) is an American film and television director and writer, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre. Early life John Dahl was born and raised in Billings, Montana, the second of four children (his brother is fi ...
, (1980) Director and screenwriter *
Steve Daines Steven David Daines ( ; born August 20, 1962) is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since ...
, United States Senator from Montana * Lance Deal, (1984) 1996 Olympic silver medalist for the hammer throw *
Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) league. He was also the head coach at the University of ...
, (1970) Professional football NFL head coach and collegiate head coach * Zales Ecton, (1919)
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
served 1947–1951 * Charles E. Erdmann, (1972) Circuit Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other persons ...
* Dane Fletcher, NFL linebacker * Jack Gillespie (born 1 October 1947) played for the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association during the 1969–70 season. * Patricia Peck Gossel, medical historian and curator * Jennifer Graylock, photographer * Maurice Ralph Hilleman (1966), Microbiologist and Vaccinologist *
Lester Hogan Clarence Lester Hogan (February 8, 1920 – August 12, 2008) was an American physicist and a pioneer in microwave and semiconductor technology. He grew up as a brother to three sisters in Great Falls, Montana, where his father worked for the Grea ...
(1942), American physicist and a pioneer in microwave and semiconductor technology * Carol Judge (Nursing 1962, M.S. 1983), First Lady of Montana (1973–1980) and healthcare advocate *
Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American television host, actor, comedian, and sports commentator. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' SportsCenter'' f ...
, (1987) TV host, Sportscaster, Actor * David S. Lee, (1960) and Honorary Ph.D. (1993)
Regent of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sys ...
, chairman of the board, eOn Communications Corporation *
Peter Liversidge Peter Liversidge (born 1973) is a British contemporary artist notable for his diverse artistic practice and use of proposals. Personal life Peter Liversidge studied Fine Art in Exeter at the University of Plymouth and film and photography at M ...
, (1994)
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
* John Lovick, (1985) magician *
Travis Lulay Travis Lulay (born September 27, 1983) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. Lulay played ten seasons for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2009 to 2018. In his first season as a full-time starter, Lulay wo ...
, (2006)
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
quarterback * Sam McCullum, (1974) NFL wide receiver * Allan J. McDonald, (1959) aerospace consultant and author * R. C. McDonough, Justice of the
Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court w ...
* Mike McLeod, (1979) NFL safety * Wally McRae, (1958) Rancher, Cowboy Poet, Activist * Jill Mikucki, (2005) microbiologist, Antarctic researcher * Joseph P. Monaghan, (1954) United States Representative from Montana * Duane Nellis, (1976) president of
Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
, former president of the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...
* Frosty Peters, American football player * Wendy Red Star (2004) Photographer, sculptor, performance artist; humanizes misconceptions of indigenous peoples with wit, satire * Larry Rubens, (1982) NFL center * Reno Sales (1898), Chief Geologist of
Anaconda Copper The Anaconda Company, also known historically as the Anaconda Gold and Silver Mining Company (1881–1891), Anaconda Mining Company (1891–1895), Anaconda Copper Mining Company (1895–1899), Amalgamated Copper Company (1899–1915), and Anacon ...
, "father of mining geology," namesake of the Reno H. Sales Stadium * Ann Linnea Sandberg, immunologist * Brian Schweitzer, (MS 1980)
Governor of Montana A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
*
Mary Higby Schweitzer Mary Higby Schweitzer is an American paleontologist at North Carolina State University, who led the groups that discovered the remains of blood cells in dinosaur fossils and later discovered soft tissue remains in the ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' specime ...
(Ph.D. 1995),
Paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
*
Jan Stenerud Jan Stenerud (, ; born November 26, 1942) is a Norwegian-American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs ...
(1966) NFL kicker * Kari Swenson, Veterinarian and 1984 Olympic Women's Biathlon 3 x 5 km relay Bronze Medalist. * Cristina Takacs-Vesbach (1999), Antarctic researcher, microbial ecologist * Joe Tiller (1964), the most successful head football coach in
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
history. Was an early pioneer of the spread formation. * Kirk Timmer, NFL linebacker * Lawrence VanDyke, United States Circuit Judge * Trista Vick-Majors, Antarctic researcher, biogeochemist, microbial ecologist * Peter Voulkos, Ceramic Artist * Sarah Vowell, (1993) Writer,
Journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
, and
Voice Actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...
* Irving Weissman (1961) Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology and Director of the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine


Faculty

*
Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. He wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been publi ...
, taught Creative Writing Spring, 1982 * Bob DeWeese, modern artist and professor, 1949-1977 *
Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, both for acting and screenwriting, and a two-time Golden Globe Award winner for his a ...
, taught Film Workshop, Fall, 2000 *
Jack Horner Jack Horner may refer to: *"Little Jack Horner", a nursery rhyme People * Jack Horner (activist) (born 1922), Australian author and activist in the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship * Jack Horner (baseball) (1863–1910), American professional ba ...
, former Regents Professor of Paleontology and Curator of Paleontology,
Museum of the Rockies Museum of the Rockies is a museum in Bozeman, Montana. Originally affiliated with Montana State University - Bozeman, Montana State University in Bozeman, and now also, the Smithsonian Institution. The museum is largely known for its Paleontology, ...
, taught Paleontology *
Patrick Markey Patrick Markey is an American film and television producer. He has also done production management and second unit directing work. He has worked with filmmakers such as Robert Redford and Sam Raimi. He is currently on the board of directors of th ...
, taught as adjunct professor. * Christopher Parkening, Classical Guitarist (Honorary Doctorate 1983), teaches annual Master Guitar Class * Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, taught creative writing 1959–1961. *
Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...
, taught Theater and active wit
Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
* David Quammen, Science, Nature, and Travel Writer (Honorary Doctorate, 2000) taught and served as Wallace Stegner Professor in Western American Studies, 2006–2008. * Frances Senska, taught Ceramics Arts, 1946–1973. *
Gary Strobel Gary A. Strobel (born September 23, 1938) is an American microbiologist and naturalist. He was co-contributor to the discovery that somaclonal variation occurs in plants and can be used for plant improvement. The discovery of the Ri plasmid in Ag ...
, Microbiologist and Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology, teaches Plant Sciences


Student organizations


Student groups

MSU's Office of Student Engagement organizes programs, events, and services for students. The office registers student clubs and organizations and currently has more than 300 listed groups.


Fraternities and sororities

As of 2020, seven fraternities and five sororities are active.


Notes


References


External links

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Official athletics website
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Bozeman, Montana Tourist attractions in Bozeman, Montana 1893 establishments in Montana