Long-time MSU alumni director Jaynee Drange Groseth set to retire
Jaynee Drange Groseth - the long-time director of the Montana State University Alumni Association - is retiring effective July 1. In recognition of her long service, she will be given the title president emerita of the MSU Alumni Association.
"All across Montana and even in faraway states, MSU alumni and friends know the name 'Jaynee Groseth'," said MSU President Waded Cruzado. "Throughout her career, she has been an exceptional advocate for MSU and laid the foundation for so many of the university's current successes." more
Whitlock among three faculty members named Fellows for outstanding contributions in their fields
Cathy Whitlock, professor of earth sciences and MSU director of the Institute on Ecosystems, was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This leading scientific organization advances science around the world and across all disciplines.
Whitlock was one of 701 AAAS Fellows selected this year and one of only 19 who specialize in geology and geography. more
White House appoints Cruzado to post
President Barack Obama has announced his intent to appoint Montana State University President Waded Cruzado to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.
Cruzado is among seven individuals the White House appointed to various posts.
The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, BIFAD, advises USAID on agriculture and higher education issues pertinent to food insecurity in developing countries. The President appoints members, who primarily represent the academic community. more
MSU receives $3.4 million to help broaden participation of women faculty
Montana State University has received a $3.4 million grant to help broaden the participation of women faculty members by improving the work environment for the entire campus.
An open house to celebrate will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, in Leon Johnson 319. MSU President Waded Cruzado invites the entire campus and community to join her and the grant team there.
Announced Sept. 15, the five-year ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Grant from the National Science Foundation focuses on ways to broaden the participation of women in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the SBS fields of social and behavioral sciences. Those are two areas where MSU women are outnumbered by men. continued
Cruzado announces formation of MSU President's Commission on Status of Women
Montana State University President Waded Cruzado has formed a 24-member commission to study, evaluate and advise her on issues related to diversity and gender equity.
Cruzado said the President's Commission on the Status of University Women, to be chaired by Anne Camper, associate dean of the MSU College of Engineering, will identify institutional strategies to improve campus climate, alleviate the isolation of women in academic and work units through hiring and retention initiatives and accommodate the needs of diverse workers.
"My charge to the commission is to identify areas of concern and to help us go forward," Cruzado said. "Together, we will become the best university possible, a university where differences of any kind are respected and where bias of any kind is nonexistent." continued
President's Commission on the Status of University Women website
Monahan named associate dean for MSU College of Letters and Science
Sue Monahan, an MSU sociology professor specializing in organizational sociology and sociology of religion, has been named as the new associate dean for programs and curricular development in the MSU College of Letters and Science. Monahan replaces Adele Pittendrigh, who retired in February. Monahan will begin her position on Aug. 15.
Monahan also has been involved in a number of institutional initiatives. As one of the original co-PI's (principal investigators) of MSU's National Science Foundation-funded ADVANCE Leadership Award, she managed a three-year mini-grant program and organized numerous workshops designed to build community among MSU's women faculty. more
Martha Potvin named next MSU Provost
Martha Potvin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of biology at the University of North Dakota, will be the next provost and vice president for academic affairs at Montana State University in Bozeman. She plans to begin the position in January 2011. "Dr. Potvin will be a wonderful addition to our university," said MSU President Waded Cruzado. "Her background and qualifications make her an excellent fit for MSU. Dr. Potvin has ample experience, and she thoroughly understands the role and responsibilities of a successful provost."
Potvin will assumed her duties in January, said Doug Steele, MSU's vice provost and director of MSU Extension who served as chairman of the search committee.
Potvin, 57, has a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Connecticut, a master's degree in botany and plant ecology from Michigan State University and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska in ecology and evolutionary biology. more
MSU receives grant to fight wheat rust
Montana State University plant geneticist and pathologist, Li Huang, was recently awarded a $1.3 million BREAD (Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development) grant from the National Science Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help fight Ug99, a wheat rust that threatens food security in Africa and the Middle East.
About 50 percent of the world's wheat is grown in developing countries where it serves as a staple food source for most subsistence farmers. Wheat is subject to a variety of diseases, including rusts. more
Montana, Colorado and Idaho universities partner on study of fire and climate change
Faculty at Montana State University, the University of Colorado, the University of Idaho and collaborators at the USDA Forest Service received a $3.85 million grant to study fire and climate change in sensitive forests in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.
The National Science Foundation is funding the project, which starts September 2010, through their Partnerships in International Research and Education (PIRE) program.
"Our goal is to better understand fire as a global process, one that is driven by changes in climate and human activities around the world," said Cathy Whitlock, an earth sciences professor at MSU and lead principal investigator on the grant. "Fire is the same everywhere -- it threatens human health and livelihoods as well as vital ecosystem processes and services. It makes sense to look at fire in a variety of settings, because the more we can understand and predict fire occurrence and its effects, the better we can adapt and plan for it." more
MSU nursing professor inducted into Hall of Fame
Clarann Weinert, a professor in Montana State University's College of Nursing, is one of 22 nurse researchers recently inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. The recognition honors members of the Sigma Theta Tau International's Honor Society of Nursing who have achieved long-term, broad national and/or international recognition for their work, and whose research has impacted the profession and the people it serves.
The induction award ceremony was held Friday, July 16, at the International Nursing Research Congress in Orlando, Fla.
The honored nurses are leaders, mentors, scholars and role models whose research projects have been focused on areas such as patient/family outcomes, community wellness, national or international health care policy and health care interventions.
Weinert studies healthy management of long-term chronic health problems. Her research focuses on individuals and families, rural health, the role of social support in chronic illness, the research application of technology as an intervention modality and instrument development. (7/10)
Inauguration of the President
Dr. Waded Cruzado
The 12th President of Montana State University
A two-day celebration was held for the Inauguration of Dr. Waded Cruzado on Thursday, September 9th and Friday, September 10th, 2010. The activities commenced with a ribbon cutting for Gallatin College Programs. Additional events featured student research and creativity, faculty excellence, a public forum and a leadership panel. photo feature
Hogan says she's proof that students of all backgrounds can flourish in grad school
When Shelly Hogan first came to Montana State University as a student 17 years ago, she nev
er imagined herself as a scholar.
"I was a first-generation college student and from a lower income Montana family and reallybelieved that the outstandingly scholastic and privileged students were the ones who went on to earn Ph.D.s," said Hogan from her office in Montana Hall.
Yet, Hogan did recently earn a doctorate -- hers is in food science from Virginia Tech -- and is now helping other bright MSU undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds earn graduate degrees.
Hogan is the new director of the MSU McNair Scholars Program, a support program that serves low income, first-generation college students as well as students from minority backgrounds who intend to go on to graduate school. More (2/10)
Cruzado named Montana State University's next president
BOZEMAN, October 14, 2009 - The Montana Board of Regents announced today that Waded Cruzado has accepted the offer to be Montana State University's next president.
Cruzado will become MSU's 12th president. She will also be the first woman and first minority to hold the presidency in the university's history.
Cruzado, 49, is currently executive vice president and provost of New Mexico State University. She holds a bachelor's in comparative literature from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; a master's in Spanish from the University of Texas, Arlington; and a doctorate in humanities from the University of Texas, Arlington. More
Five MSU Presidential Scholars Selected as Research
Interns
The VP Research Office has selected four new Presidential Scholars, Karsen Cullen, Alyssa Hjelvik, Micayla Lakey, and Erin Ryan, as interns for the program "Undergraduate
Research Internships for Enhancing Diversity in Science
and Engineering" beginning Fall 2009. This program is part of a campus-wide effort to enhance diversity in the science fields and increase the number of women majoring in science and engineering, and to increase the opportunities for women to be involved in undergraduate research at MSU. (10/09) More
MSU administrator awarded fellowship from the American Council on Education
Jill Thorngren, associate dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Development at Montana State University, has been awarded a fellowship through the American Council on Education (ACE).
The ACE Fellows Program gives educators the chance to spend an extended period of time on another campus, working with senior-level administrators. Thorngren is one of only 42 educators this year who were selected for the prestigious award. She will spend the academic year working directly with the president of Utah State University in Logan, Utah. (10/09) more
MSU math researchers receive $3.5 million grant to study instructional coaching
Five Montana State University math professors have received a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study how instructional coaching helps elementary schools teach math to students across the country.
"Congress has recognized the need to improve K-8 students' skills in math and science," said David Yopp, an MSU math professor and one of the principal investigators on the grant. "Coaching seems to be one way to address that need and help students succeed." In addition to Yopp, MSU mathematics professors Beth Burroughs, Warren Esty, Mark Greenwood and Jennifer Luebeck are working on the project, as well as researchers at RMC Research Corporation in Denver. (9/09) More
MSU professor wins nearly $1 million from NSF with research team
A Montana State University professor and an international team of researchers have won nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to help decrease unusually high rates of sexually transmitted infections among people living in Greenland.
Elizabeth Rink, a health and human development professor in MSU's College of Education, Health and Human Development, said the $959,000 grant will allow her and the team of researchers to work with three communities in Greenland for three years.
The researchers hope the program will increase understanding in Greenland about healthy sexual behavior and help lower the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which can lead to infertility. (7/09) More
Merzdorf receives NSF CAREER award to study development of brain
Christa Merzdorf, an assistant professor of cell biology and neuroscience, who studies early development of the brain has received the largest National Science Foundation CAREER Award in MSU history -- a five-year grant totaling $765,677. With it, she plans to continue her research, develop a research-based course for advanced undergraduate students and create an educational module for middle school students around Montana. (5/09) More
MSU business professor wins $100,000 NSF grant with research team
A Montana State University professor and a team of researchers have won a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to expand their study of virtual organizations.
Laura Black, a management professor in MSU's College of Business, said the grant will allow her and the people with whom she is working to study how virtual organizations - or businesses and organizations made up of people who are not physically in the same place -- can be more effective. (11/08) More
Michele Hardy and other PIs receive $6 million to analyze alternative medicines
Montana State University researchers will receive $6 million over five years to study alternative medicines that target the intestine and lungs, university recipients announced Wednesday.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a component of the National Institutes of Health, will provide MSU with $1.2 million a year for three new research projects in the Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, said professor and recipient Mark Jutila. Each project will examine a different approach to the use of alternative medicine. Each will be led by an established investigator -- Jutila, David Pascual and Michele Hardy -- and involve junior faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and undergraduate students. (10/08) More
Five MSU Presidential Scholars Selected as Research
Interns
The VP Research Office has selected five new Presidential Scholars, Elizabeth Flesch, Samantha Forsythe, Hanna Gertiser, Erin Gunnink, and Morgan Mends, as interns for the program "Undergraduate Research Internships for Enhancing Diversity in Science and Engineering". This program is part of a campus-wide effort to enhance diversity in the science fields and increase the number of women majoring in science and engineering, and to increase the opportunities for women to be involved in undergraduate research at MSU. (9/08) More
MSU librarian receives Fulbright to help set up new national library in Bahrain
Elaine Peterson, an associate professor and information systems specialist at Montana State University's Renne Library, has won a Fulbright Senior Specialists project award to travel to Bahrain.
While there, Peterson will help develop a new national library located in Riffa, just south of Bahrain's capital city of Manama.
Peterson will be the first of four American Fulbright award-winners to assist with the set-up of the new library.
"My primary role will be to consult and advise on the organization of their information," she said, adding that she expects to address both physical and electronic materials. The library is just one part of the Issa Royal Cultural Center, a multi-purpose building housing the national library, a conference center and museum.
Peterson will be in Bahrain for just more than a month; she plans to depart for Bahrain July 10 and return to Bozeman Aug. 20. more AND story following visit
Linda Hyman - Piloting Montana's medical future
As MSU's Vice Provost for the Division of Health Sciences, and the head of the Montana WWAMI Medical Education Program, Linda Hyman directs students at MSU during their medical school careers. The WWAMI program is a cooperative program of the University of Washington School of Medicine and the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, which lack stand-alone medical schools. Montana's WWAMI medical students spend their first year on the MSU campus before continuing at the University of Washington. Just as the students' route to medical school sometimes has challenges, Hyman's career and arrival at MSU in 2004 has not followed a predictable path. More
Susan Capalbo wins 2007-2008 Marie Tharp Fellowship
The Earth Institute at Columbia University is pleased to announce the 2007-2008 Marie Tharp Fellows — four women who are making noteworthy contributions to the study of the natural world. Among this year's Fellows is Susan Capalbo, Director of the Big Sky Regional Partnership and Professor of Agricultural Economics. Each of the Marie Tharp Fellows will spend three months working at the Earth Institute and will receive $30,000 to support their project. The Marie Tharp Fellowship is funded by the Earth Institute ADVANCE Program, a program funded by the National Science Foundation. Capalbo will be working with the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy to systematically address potential regulatory and economic roadblocks for the early commercialization of carbon capture and storage technologies. She has been involved in the economics of climate change, carbon sequestration, and integrated policy analysis for the past ten years. She has been the Director of the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership since its inception in 2003, and works closely with the Montana Governor’s Office as a member of his Science Advisory Panel. She received her Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of California-Davis.
(2/08) More
MSU receives $6.5 million grant for health research partnerships with Montana tribes
Linda Hyman, Director of Health Sciences at Montana State University, has received a $6.5 million grant to develop partnerships that will address health disparities in Montana's Indian communities.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded the five-year grant to fund the Center for Native
Health Partnerships at MSU. The funds will allow partnerships to be developed between Native American communities and researchers.
The center's pilot projects will include research into men's health disparities on the Crow reservation, water and food contamination on the Crow and Ft. Belknap Reservations, indoor environmental asthma risk factors for children on the Blackfeet Reservation, and prevention of Type II diabetes among Crow and Blackfeet women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The center will also support an established partnership between members of the Crow tribe and MSU microbiologist Tim Ford focusing on cancer risks associated with contaminated water and food. "The Center's goal is to decrease health disparities of Native Americans in Montana through research partnerships," said Linda Hyman, MSU's vice-provost for the Division of Health Sciences and principal investigator of the new NIH grant. (11/07) More
Thorngren and Rossmann complete higher education administration institute
Jill Thorngren, associate dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Development at Montana State University, and Doralyn Rossmann, assistant director for systems at Montana State University Libraries have completed a Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration. The institute is sponsored jointly by Bryn Mawr College and Higher Education Resource Services, an educational non-profit based at the University of Denver and is held on the Bryn Mawr College campus. The 70 selected participants were from 30 states, Guam and South Africa. Participants in the program gain knowledge, skills and perspectives for leading in the challenging environment of higher education. The curriculum includes analysis of political and economic trends affecting higher education, skills in managing change projects and conflict resolution, as well as strategic planning for academic excellence and effective resource management. During the institute, each participant was asked to design a localized leadership project that could be implemented at the home institute. Thorngren worked on a project targeted at increasing student retention and success at MSU. (11/07)
Three MSU Presidential Scholars Selected as Research
Interns
The VP Research Office has selected three new Presidential Scholars, Jane Johnson, Tiphani Lynn, and Jacquelyn Sweiger, as interns for the program "Undergraduate Research Internships for Enhancing Diversity in Science and Engineering". This program is part of a campus-wide effort to enhance diversity in the science fields and increase the number of women majoring in science and engineering, and to increase the opportunities for women to be involved in undergraduate research at MSU. (10/07) More
MSU professor wins prestigious National Science Foundation award
Montana State University professor Sarah Codd has won a prestigious $400,000 Career Award from the National Science Foundation for her work in magnetic resonance microscopy, a technique that allows researchers to see the inner workings of devices as small as one-tenth of a millimeter in size. (4/07) More
Lutz named dean of MSU College of Letters and Science
Paula Lutz, the current dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Missouri-Rolla and a biologist actively researching the effects of lead on children's immune systems, has been hired as dean of Montana State University's largest college.
MSU Provost David Dooley said Lutz will begin her duties July 1. (1/07) More
Conover named Associate Commissioner of Higher Education
Cathy Conover, Montana State University's chief spokesperson and lobbyist, has been chosen as Montana Associate Commissioner of Higher Education for six months beginning December 1st. Sheila Stearns, Montana Commissioner of Higher Education. Conover replaces Dave Gibson, who is resigning his post as associate commissioner of technology, research and communications to become the Montana president of Qwest. (10/06) More
Four MSU Presidential Scholars Selected as Research Interns
The VP Research Office has selected four new Presidential Scholars, Krysta Buska, Pavielle Haines, Katy Hansen, and Erica Wineman, as interns for the program "Undergraduate Research Internships for Enhancing Diversity in Science and Engineering". This program is part of a campus-wide effort to enhance diversity in the science fields and increase the number of women majoring in science and engineering, and to increase the opportunities for women to be involved in undergraduate research at MSU. (10/06) More
Agre-Kippenhan named dean of MSU School of Arts and Architecture
Susan Agre-Kippenhan, chairman of the art department at Portland State
University who has a background in both fine art and graphic design, has
been named as the dean of the College of Arts and Architecture at Montana
State University. Agre-Kippenhan will begin her MSU duties on Aug. 7, supervising a college
that includes popular courses of studies that include film, media and theatre
arts, graphics and fine arts, music and the School of Architecture. (7/06) More
Talbott named
head of MSU Foundation
Connie Talbott, the associate
vice president for capital support and
campaign director at Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg, Va., has been named the
new president and chief executive officer
of the Montana State University Foundation.
She began her duties at MSU on June
5, 2006. More
Myers reaches for common
humanities in medicine
Interaction between doctor and patient
has been the grist of literature for centuries.
Recently, however, the doctor/patient relationship
has become the primary focus of medical humanities,
an interdisciplinary melding of science and art,
according to Kimberly Myers, an English professor
at Montana State University. Myers studies, teaches
and writes about medical humanities in addition
to her work in English and Irish literature. More
Equal
pay laws first drop women's employment, then
increase earnings
Research shows that equal-pay laws
increase women's pay, but only after six years.
Wendy Stock of Montana State University and David
Neumark of the University of California at Irvine
used census income and employment data to determine
whether race and sex discrimination laws improved
the employment and incomes of women and blacks
compared to white males. More
Professor's film selected
for Sundance Film Festival
MSU film professor Cindy Stillwell's
"High Plains Winter" has been selected
for the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. It is the
first time an MSU-affiliated film has made it
into the prestigious film festival to be held
in January in Park City, Utah. It will also
screen at the International Film Festival of
Rotterdam at the end of January. More
MSU receives grant to quantify
benefits of increased diversity in SET fields
Susan Capalbo and Anne Camper, MSU,
and Nicole Ballenger, U of Wyoming, have received
an exploratory grant from the National Science
Foundation entitled "Investing in People:
Valuing a More Diverse Engineering Workforce."
Evidence is mounting that the science and engineering
departments with strong records of graduating
diverse undergraduate populations exist within
universities that are committed to improving the
cultural climate for women and have gender-focused
initiatives. More
Mary Murphy named to Malone Professorship
Mary Murphy, Montana historian and
author of "Hope in Hard Times," is MSU's
new Michael P. Malone Professor in History. Murphy
was chosen for her nationally-acclaimed research
on western American history and for her distinguished
record as a teacher and mentor. Her appointment
runs three years.
The Malone Professorship honors the late Michael
P. Malone who was a history professor and MSU
president before his 1999 death.
More
MSU Presidential Scholar Katie
Baldwin Selected as Research Intern
The VP Research Office has selected
a new Presidential Scholar, Katie Baldwin, as
an intern for the program "Undergraduate
Research Internships for Enhancing Diversity in
Science and Engineering".
This program is part of a campus-wide effort
to enhance diversity in the science fields and
increase the number of women majoring in science
and engineering, and to increase the opportunities
for women to be involved in undergraduate research
at MSU.
More
MSU economist Capalbo awarded
$17.9 million grant from DOE
The U.S. Department of Energy has
announced funding to a multi-state partnership
headed by Montana State University to further
develop ways of capturing and storing greenhouse
gases, especially carbon dioxide, in underground
geological formations, cropland and forestland.
MSU economist Susan Capalbo is director of the
Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership,
which includes scientists from Wyoming, South
Dakota, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, tribal nations
and international collaborators. More
Statewide Networking Symposium
for Undergraduate Researchers and Mentors held
at MSU
On May 22-24, 2005, Montana State
University’s Women in Science and Engineering
(WISE!) group hosted a statewide Networking Symposium
for Undergraduate Researchers and Mentors. Approximately
75 attendees – undergraduate students involved
in research and their faculty mentors –
descended on the campus from all over Montana.
Represented campuses included MSU Northern, UM-Western,
Montana Tech, the Montana Tribal Colleges, and
private institutions such as University of Great
Falls. The symposium offered a number of activities
to provide positive role models and support to
students considering research careers. More
Wilmer looks at human rights
from yet another angle
When Franke Wilmer, Montana State
University political science professor and head
of her department, tells her students that public
service is an honor, they know that she is someone
who practices what she preaches. Gov. Brian Schweitzer
recently appointed the MSU human rights activist
as the head of the Montana Human Rights Commission,
which meant that while colleagues were basking
on the beaches in southern climes, Wilmer spent
her spring break pouring over paper boxes crammed
full with notebooks containing case appeals and
listening to testimony. More
Montana State University has chosen
Elizabeth Nichols, dean of the University of North
Dakota College of Nursing, to be the next dean of
MSU's College of Nursing. More
Nichols named MSU College of Nursing dean
New director named for MSU's Animal
Resources Center
Steen named Dean of MSU College of Letters and Science 