Kopriva portrait

Phil Kopriva. Photo courtesy of the Kopriva family.

In 1991, a 1957 MSU microbiology graduate, Phil Kopriva, created endowments for the College of Letters and Science to fund the Science Seminar Series, Graduate Student Fellowships and Faculty Lectureships. Kopriva, who died in 2002, set up the endowments to provide support and opportunities for researchers in the College of Letters & Science, particularly in the biomedical sciences.

Kopriva Science Seminar Series

With support from the Kopriva endowment, the College of Letters and Science established the Science Seminar Series to disseminate and discuss ongoing scientific research at MSU and around the country. The seminars focus on multi and interdisciplinary research in biosciences and biochemistry. "During my graduate school days, some of the most informative and enjoyable times were the many and varied seminars and colloquia I either led or simply attended," Kopriva told The Montana State Collegian in 1999. "I wanted the Kopriva Seminar Series to provide students with experiences similar to mine. That is, to nurture and promote their professional, intellectual and personal growth and those ethereal things called memories."

Kopriva Graduate Student Fellowship

Graduate Student Fellowships are awarded to recognize and support the research of outstanding graduate students in physiology and/or biochemistry. The fellowships are designed to provide financial assistance to the selected graduate students. "Graduate school demands in studies and research are of a nature that they require full-time attention by the student," Kopriva told The Montana State Collegian in 1999. "Many excellent students with a productive potential are lost to us because of financial needs."