The MSU News Service is always looking for stories to share about Montana State University and the accomplishments of its students, faculty, alumni and staff. This may include news of research accomplishments, as well as stories about student, faculty, alumni and staff achievements and honors. Our staff prioritizes stories that coincide with the goals outlined in MSU's strategic plan.

To submit items that are appropriate to share with the MSU campus community — such as information about on-campus lectures, seminars, and workshops, invitations to retirement receptions and information about new faculty and staff hires — please submit an event to the MSU Calendar or an announcement to MSU Today.

Information about common types of news submissions is included below.

Questions about these guidelines should be directed to Michael Becker, director, MSU News Service, 406-994-4565.

New Faculty/Staff Hires

Briefs on new faculty and staff hires may be submitted to MSU Today. These briefs may also be published on departmental and/or college web sites and in departmental and/or college newsletters. They also may be used in other college-based communications.

In general, the News Service recommends that the briefs be about one paragraph long and include such details as the person's name, title, department and/or college, general duties and previous position.

Media announcements of administrative appointments at a dean's level or higher generally will be handled by the News Service staff and distributed to relevant news media.

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Faculty/Staff Retirements

The News Service will, upon request, write a retirement story on a faculty or staff member if they have worked at MSU 35 years or more. Requests must be approved by appropriate members of university administration and the human resources office, and stories will only be written with the cooperation of the retiree. This process also depends upon News Service staff availability.

Stories will be published as near to the employee's retirement date as is practical while still trying to be in advance of the date. Stories would be no more than 600 words in length, in general, and would contain information about the person's position and general duties/accomplishments while working for MSU. The News Service will coordinate with Visual Media as needed about a portrait of the retiree, provided the visual team can accommodate the request.

Other options for recognizing retirements include listing them in MSU Today and, if there is a reception associated with the retirement, in the MSU Calendar.

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Faculty/Staff Awards

In general, the MSU News Service handles faculty and staff awards as described above and encourages the preparation of such brief items by media specialists in the individual colleges. The exceptions include announcements of honorary doctorates and nationally or internationally prominent honors, such as large research grants and fellowships. These stories are written by News Service staff and distributed to media outlets across Montana. Announcements of university awards conferred during the annual Spring Convocation are also prepared by the News Service.

Student Awards/Scholarships/Honors

The MSU News Service will prepare news releases about student honors, including nationally prominent student awards such as Truman, Rhodes or Goldwater scholarships. News Service staff also prepare press releases about the Annual Awards for Excellence winners and the Torley Award winners. Finally, the News Service will also prepare a graduation list and the regular honor roll using records from the Registrar's Office. The graduate list and honor roll releases are distributed within Montana and to neighboring states.

For more information, contact the News Service writer who covers your college.

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Donations

The News Service recognizes the valuable contributions donors provide to advance MSU and works in partnership with the MSU Alumni Foundation when acknowledging donations in the media. In general, donations to the university may be recognized in the following ways:

  • Inclusion in Collegian magazine
  • Inclusion in the Alumni Foundation pages of Mountains & Minds
  • Social media posts
  • Alumni Foundation website post
  • Post to a related MSU college website
  • Mention in university-wide, college, department or foundation email news messages
  • Mention in Alumni Foundation campaign or annual report
  • On occasion, and in coordination with the Alumni Foundation, the News Service will prepare and distribute press releases for unique donations.

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Press Conferences

The need for press conferences is infrequent in a town with a press corps as small as Bozeman's.

However, when appropriate, and if the topic has university-wide, community-wide or statewide impact, the News Service may invite all local media for press conferences. Such events must be recommended by the director of the MSU News Service and approved by the executive director of University Communications.

Please contact MSU News Director Michael Becker at 406-994-4565 for more information.

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