This Week:
Monday, April 30, 2012
Dear MSU Community,
Good morning! For our university, spring marks more than simply the changing of seasons. Of course, I'm referring to Commencement -- an important celebration of our graduates and their hard work and dedication. Commencement is also a wonderful time to recognize our graduates' family members and friends, as well as our faculty and staff members who have helped them succeed. Today, let's celebrate all of our graduates and those who have supported them along the way!
Spring Commencement ceremonies are set for this Saturday on our campuses in Bozeman, Great Falls and Havre, while we celebrated graduates at a commencement ceremony at MSU-Billings this past weekend.
On all of our campuses, we expect large and potentially record numbers of graduates, including 2,679 on our Bozeman campus, 326 in Great Falls, and 294 at Northern. At MSU-Billings, a record 1,028 students graduated on Saturday and listened to the Hon. Sidney Thomas, a justice with the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals, deliver the commencement address.
During our Commencement ceremony in Bozeman, we'll honor 1952 Montana State alum Jake Jabs with an honorary doctorate degree. As many of you know, Mr. Jabs grew up in a home in rural Montana with no indoor plumbing, electricity or running water. Today, he is president and CEO of American Furniture Warehouse, one of the largest retail furniture companies in the U.S. and one of the largest privately held businesses in Colorado. He has also been a great role model and inspiration to our students, hosting them at his factory in Denver, regularly serving as a guest speaker in their business classes and providing generous financial support. Like our honorary degree recipients from previous years, Mr. Jabs' achievements help our graduates appreciate what is possible in the future as a result of their education. Congratulations to Mr. Jabs and to each of our graduates!
On a different note, thanks to all of you who submitted recommendations for our 2012 MSU Summer Reading List! (Please also join me in thanking Doralyn Rossmann at the library for her efforts in compiling it.) This is a wonderful collection of titles, and the suggestions will undoubtedly provide insight and enjoyment during the summer months. To browse through your colleagues' recommendations, please visit http://guides.lib.montana.edu/summerreading.
Finally, please note that this will be our last Monday Morning Memo of the semester. We'll break over the summer months but will resume the memos again with the start of the fall semester. If you have recommendations in the meantime, please send them to me at president@montana.edu.
Have a great summer!
Waded Cruzado
President
A graduate from MSU-Great Falls shares the celebration with a young family member during last year's Spring Commencement. MSU-Great Falls' 2012 commencement will be held at 10 a.m. May 5 at the University of Great Falls McLaughlin Center. A reception will follow the ceremony on the MSU-Great Falls campus in Heritage Hall.
Alicia Meyer, left, and Liz Collins will be representing MSU-Billings and the local Student United Way organization this week in Nashville, Tenn., as the MSU-Billings group is honored with three Student United Way awards. The awards are given by United Way Worldwide: Campus Organization of the Year, Student Leader of the Year and Campus Adviser of the Year. Meyer is the recipient of the Campus Adviser of the Year award, while Collins will be recognized as Student Leader of the Year. Congratulations!
The American Indian Business Leaders group at MSU-Billings recently received first place at a national conference for its business plan to develop an eco-tourism business near Pryor. The conference was held in Denver. Senior Angela Deputee, pictured here, is president of the American Indian Business Leaders presentation team. Others on the team included business students Nik Wong, Joe Lilienthal and Erika Austin.
MSU-Bozeman French professor Ada Giusti recently took several students to a remote village in Morocco for a service-learning project. Students Tessa Mosdal, Samantha Hinckley and Christie Blaskovich are pictured here in the back row from left to right. Prof. Giusti is pictured in the second row from the back on the right. Student Bronwyn Rolph is pictured in the third row from the back, second from the right.
The Bobcat Cycling Club gathered for a team photo at a recent evening meeting. The club represented MSU at seven races across the Pacific Northwest this year. Despite a major snowstorm, it also hosted the Bobcat Classic earlier this month! Collegiate Nationals begin May 4.
MSU-Northern recently hosted the 41st annual statewide SkillsUSA leadership and skills conference. SkillsUSA is a club for high school and college students that offers competitive opportunities to help students learn skills needed in the workforce. More than 350 competitors representing 38 schools participated in the event.
