Dear friends,

It’s a wonderful time to be a Bobcat! Your university is thriving: This spring semester, MSU experienced its second highest spring headcount on record, as well as the highest ever graduate student spring enrollment and increased retention of first-time students. Your university’s research enterprise is soaring, with our most recently reported expenditures hitting an all-time high of $193 million. Students, faculty and staff are providing important outreach and assistance to communities across our state and beyond, with their work making a real difference in the lives of thousands of people.

In these pages, you’ll read about some of our related efforts in teaching, research and outreach. In “The future of farming,” you’ll learn about how precision agriculture may change what farm management looks like. In “Hit the ground running,” you’ll see how Gallatin College MSU is laboring to meet local workforce needs while simultaneously preparing its graduates for strong, well-paying job opportunities. You’ll also read about the impacts of a recent unprecedented investment of $101 million to our nursing college, a gift that will truly transform health care across the state, as well as an update on our hero building Romney Hall, which has become a bustling student hub. And the stories in these pages of our student-athletes, including Duncan Hamilton and Tommy Mellott, represent just a few of the numerous extraordinary student-athletes we are proud to have at Montana State in our football, basketball, skiing, tennis, track and field, cross-country, golf, volleyball, rodeo, as well as our fantastic club sports like hockey.

While in my opinion, every year at Montana State could qualify, I think this one in particular has earned the title “Year of the Bobcat.” Thank you for your support of your university. I hope you enjoy these stories.

In Blue and Gold,

Signature of MSU President Waded Cruzado

Waded Cruzado
President Montana State University