Collegian 2017 web

Yellowstone Hall, MSU’s newest residence hall, opened Fall 2016

Vol. 94, Summer 2017

Dear Alumni & Friends

Summer greetings from Montana State University,

You hold in your hands the hot-off-the-press 2017 Collegian. The Collegian made its debut in 1924, and its pages have served as a powerful way to share news, information and joy about the people, programs and places that make Montana State University truly unique. I hope you enjoy every morsel that makes this issue so wonderful.

MSU continues to excel on so many fronts—from record enrollments to students who continue to garner national attention like latest Rhodes Scholar Josh Carter, to our worldclass faculty who are teaching and engaging in research, scholarly and creative activity that makes a difference in our world. Our staff at MSU have a profound and uncommon commitment to our students, and they make the difference in so many ways as our campus continues to expand and excel.

Our students, faculty and staff could be anywhere. They are that good. But, they choose to be here and collectively make MSU the world-class university it is today, and they fuel the ambitions that will make MSU outstanding in the future.

Next year, 2018, marks the 125th birthday of MSU. For 125 years MSU has had what it takes to graduate leaders, create knowledge and serve our communities. Generations of alumni, friends and supporters have changed the world as we know it today. To commemorate its 125th birthday, MSU is holding a variety of events and activities to recognize and celebrate the enormous contributions of our land-grant, research university.

There will be many opportunities and ways—in person and virtually—for you to celebrate with us. Go to montana.edu/125 to see the calendar of events, and be sure to “save the date” for the February 17 birthday bash here on campus. It promises to be a memorable year of celebration and connection!

Not coincidentally, next year is also the final year of What it Takes: The Campaign for Montana State University. Publicly launched in 2015, the effort started back in 2010 and has brought about an enormous outpouring of support from every corner of our country and beyond. The generosity and participation of so many who care so deeply about MSU and our future have been truly inspiring.

If you have made a gift (or multiple gifts) to the campaign, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are making a difference for students and their families, faculty and their research, as well as the many people touched by MSU’s outreach and service. If you haven’t yet made a gift, I hope you will do so and play a role in this inspired effort to advance MSU. Your contribution, to wherever on campus you are most passionate about, has the power to transform lives.

Although the campaign has enjoyed much success, we still have work to do. Support for students through scholarships continues to be a growing need as student enrollment has skyrocketed and our commitment to access remains steadfast. The American Indian Student Center, endowments for faculty research grants, graduate fellowships and other crucial initiatives remain underfunded. With your continued and generous help, we can do more—we can go further.

So, join us in 2018 as we celebrate both the university’s 125th birthday and the final year of the largest and most successful fundraising campaign ever undertaken in the state of Montana. It will be an exciting year and one we will no doubt remember for a very long time to come. In the meantime, kick back and read all about the people, programs and places that made a difference in the life of your University last year. Thank you for all you do—and happy reading.

Go Bobcats!

Chris Murray President and Chief Executive Officer, MSU Alumni Foundation

MSU achieves record-high enrollment

MSU has been named among the best colleges for veterans by Military Times, a well-respected military news magazine.

MSU ranks #1 on a list of 30 best colleges in the nation for outdoor sports and recreation. Rankings were made by LendEdu.

$1.3 million to develop virus-fighting technology

Connie B. Chang, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to explore a new method for producing anti-virus strains for flu virus.

MSU researchers test computer technology on International Space Station

A Rubik’s Cube-sized computer prototype, designed by MSU researchers, is now aboard the International Space Station. Brock LaMeres, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, developed the technology to demonstrate an improved method for coping with the radiation of outer space.

Blake Wiedenheft, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, receives the Presidential Early Career Award, the highest honor bestowed to early-career research science and engineering professionals.

Longtime faculty member named dean

Alison Harmon, a professor of food and nutrition and sustainable food systems who has also been serving as interim dean since July 1, 2015, was selected as dean of the MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development.

DeNarius McGhee, ’14, one of the most decorated and popular football players in Bobcat history, joins the MSU staff as quarterback coach.

MSU debuts its latest TV spot highlighting Native American nursing students enrolled in the College of Nursing’s Caring for Our Own Program (CO-OP).

MSU students collaborate with the NASA Eclipse Ballooning Project to livestream aerial footage of the 2017 solar eclipse.

Interdisciplinary MSU team wins regional advertising competition

Fifteen Montana State University students from the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and College of Arts and Architecture place first at the regional level of the National Student Advertising Competition, which was held April 20–22 in Portland, Oregon.

MSU freshmen, class of 2020, gather for a photo in Bobcat stadium.

Bobcat birthday bash poster contest

In honor of Montana State University’s 125th anniversary and birthday bash, the president’s office held a poster contest. Here, you will find the top three posters in each category: alumni, MSU students, community and high school students.

MSU Alumni

2nd place, MSU Alumni

3rd place, MSU Alumni

Danyelle Moore ’14

Michael Dixon ’77

Honorable mentions, MSU Alumni Alexa Audet ’12; Nikki Simon ’07, ’12; Pierce Ware ’13

Montana High School Students

1 1st place, Montana HS Students

Quaid Cey

3rd place, Montana HS Students

Honoroable mentions, Montana HS Students

Addie Kapsner, Trey Linnell, Daniel Marshall

Emi Wilson

2

3

2nd place, Montana HS Students

Leah Becker

Feb. 16-17, 2018

MSU’s anniversary celebration will kick off a year-long series of events and activities to commemorate 125 years of excellence. Save the Date for these events:

JANUARY 25 Business After Hours on the MSU Campus

FEBRUARY 16 Awards For Excellence, Strand Union Building

Help recognize MSU’s top seniors and their mentors and visit with recipients from the past 35 years.

FEBRUARY 17 Bobcat Birthday Bash, MSU Centennial Mall, Romney Oval

All day event featuring ice skating, a Ferris wheel, music and food, tours of campus programs and inspiring lectures.

Student Olympics, Alumni Plaza

Opening Ceremony featuring entrance of the teams and fireworks show

Learn more at: montana.edu/125

ALUMNUS

James Ross and his camera fly high for NASA

BY SKIP ANDERSON

Montana State University alumnus James C. Ross ’87 has what people with an adventurous spirit might consider a dream job. Make no mistake, however; the MSU film and television production graduate thinks photographing aircrafts from the backseat of an F-18 military aircraft zipping along at supersonic speeds is a pretty cool part of his job.

Ross has logged around 850 hours of flight time during his 28 years photographing NASA research projects at the Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base located in Southern California. But his career choice is a bit surprising, given that he’s wrestled with motion sickness since his childhood. In fact, the first time he flew for NASA, his sensitive stomach caused him to use the air-sickness bag not once, not twice, but four times.

“I’m prone heavily to motion sickness,” Ross told The Collegian. “It was the embarrassment factor more than anything else that bothered me. I figured [the pilots] would hate flying with me. But they didn’t have any other photographers at the time to fill the slot. So about two months after the first time, I went back up—and I threw up again, but not four times like the first time. That’s just something that’s always going to be with me. I have built up some level of tolerance, but even today I can still get sick on a roller coaster.”

Not all of his work requires him to juggle his camera and an air-sickness bag while experiencing up to five times the normal pull of gravity. Ross also photo -

JAMES ROSS

graphs land-bound aeronautical research. Sometimes these are relatively routine assignments, such as documenting whether a particular feature of the aircraft—a weather sensor or communications antenna, for instance—became unexpectedly altered during a test flight. Other times, the assignments carry more widespread appeal—especially for fans of space research and human space travel. Among hundreds of such assignments that include photographing the space shuttle piggybacking on a 747, fighter jets in flight, and ground-based photography of other NASA and military hardware, Ross memorably documented a 747 airplane called “SOFIA” that’s equipped with a telescope for earth-based observational research of our solar system and beyond.

“We also document research on experimental aircraft and airborne science,” Ross said. “The work we did on SOFIA was something NASA had never done before. We shot both stills and video of that.”

He and his staff also worked intimately with the space shuttle program before it was mothballed in 2011.

“We have an F-15 aircraft equipped with a fixture for scientists to affix various materials to” in order to subject them to high-speed flight conditions, including the heat-deflecting tiles that lined the underside of the space shuttle fleet, he said. But his involvement with the space shuttle program wasn’t limited to photographing eggshell-thin heat tiles strapped to the bottom of a fighter jet racing along the California horizon at supersonic speeds. Ross and his staff would photograph the condition of each orbiter inside

Ross has logged around 850 hours of flight time during his 28 years photographing NASA research projects at the Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base located in Southern California.

and out after they would touch down in California. They had to work quickly, as did the NASA personnel and contractors who were preparing the orbiter for its next flight into space—and for a cross-country piggyback ride on a 747 jet to the launch facility at Cape Canaveral along Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

“When I first started here in 1989, we were the prime landing sight [for the space shuttle program], so we got all of them,” Ross said.

One shuttle-related task, however, was more somber than the others. In the winter of 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana upon re-entry, killing the seven-member crew. NASA grounded the shuttle program for two years as it investigated the cause of the tragedy. Ross participated in the portion of the investigation that focused upon the heat-shield tiles on the underside of the spacecraft.

“As far as high-speed flight stuff goes, we have an F-15 aircraft that can be equipped with a fixture underneath it,” Ross said. “When they had the incident with Space Shuttle Columbia, they put shuttle tiles beneath so they could do additional testing.”

For his many contributions to the space shuttle program over the years, NASA astronauts

awarded Ross the Silver Snoopy award in 2001.

“I was given it by Commander Eric Boe,” Ross said. In addition to spending nearly a month in space over multiple shuttle missions, Boe flew 55 combat missions over Iraq after the first Gulf War.

Ross has garnered many other awards and accolades over the years, including NASA’s Pubic Service Medal award (2001), its Manned Space Flight Awareness award (2009) and its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal award (2014). His photographs have appeared on 22 domestic and international magazine covers, including Air & Space Smithsonian, Science News and Aviation Week & Space Technology

“I’ve never had a life-threatening circumstance in the air. But once, on an X-43 launch, my pilot’s microphone went out,” Ross said, referring to a jet aircraft capable of surpassing the speed of sound tenfold. “As we went on, he would pass me notes about what I was supposed to say [over the radio]. We also had a rapid-decompression once while we were over airspace [used by commercial air traffic]. We had a checklist onboard that only I could get into. We were able to land safely. One of the medals I got from NASA was from those two incidents.”

Ross’ wife, Angela, also works on the base, as does their son,

Nicholas, 23. Angela is in administration and Nicholas, who holds a degree from California Polytechnical State University, is an avionics engineer for the U.S. Air Force working on the state-ofthe-art fighter jet, the F-35.

“It’s a family affair for us here on the base,” the elder Ross said. “My wife works in our health unit, and my son is in the civil service. He was hired straight out of college and gets to work hands-on with the airplanes.”

Despite spending his career in the California desert, Ross has deep roots in Bozeman. “I was born in Bozeman and graduated from Bozeman High School in 1983,” he said. “My mom, Betty Ross ’76, ’87 M, taught business classes at Bozeman High School, retiring in the late 1990s/early 2000s. She still substitute-teaches there sometimes.”

His father, Howard Ross ’64, ’78 M, was on MSU’s football coaching staff from 1973 to 1979.

“My father was hired by Sonny Holland ’60, ’65 M [former MSU football player and head coach from 1971-77] to be the offensive line coach,” Ross said. “As my dad was coaching, I had access to the sidelines and I photographed the football games. Dad coached until 1979 and then he became the field house manager until he retired in 1992.”

A Cowboy Renaissance Man: MSU graduate as musician, author and teacher

BY JESSIANNE WRIGHT

Debut children’s author Timothy Lee “Buck” Buchanan ’85 has more than one notch on his belt. In addition to his June release of the children’s book DenniJo and Pinto, the Montana State University alumnus and graduate from the Department of Earth Sciences is an accomplished singer and songwriter, skilled carpenter, former middle school science teacher, Gallatin County brand inspector and board member of Bozeman’s Community Food Co-op.

Telling stories

Buchanan grew up on his family’s ranch north of Boise, Idaho, helping with a small operation of 150 black Angus-Hereford cattle.

“When I was a little kid there wasn’t a place to ride a bicycle,” Buchanan said, explaining that the ranch sat just off of the highway. “I told my mom, ‘I just want to be able to ride a bicycle like my friends,’ and she said, ‘but you know how to ride a horse.’”

Not grasping the incongruity of his words, Buchanan recalls saying to his mother, “‘But everyone knows how to ride a horse.’”

Around age 15, Buchanan learned to play music on a guitar his dad purchased for him from JCPenney and realizing not everyone grew up on a ranch, Buchanan began telling his own stories in song.

“I told my dad I hated country music when I was going through my rebellious age,” Buchanan said. “But country music was something that I could play.” Buchanan has been in a band since his teens and actually moved to West Yellowstone with a band, determined to make a USO Entertainment Tour that would take them to Europe.

The boys never made that USO tour, but Buchanan hasn’t put down his six-string. In 1998 he formed his current band, www.Twang, with founding member Russ Olsen. The band also includes Mike Parsons, Mike Gillan and Marcus Engstrom.

The musically inclined Buchanan has worked with notable songwriters that include producer Kenny Williams of Montana Rose, as well as Kostas, who is known for his songs

sung by Patty Loveless, Dwight Yoakam, the Dixie Chicks and George Strait.

The Twangers have recorded 21 original songs, that Buchanan either wrote or co-wrote, and the band is currently recording a fourth album that may be out later this year. Crowds of dancers come to hear Buchanan and his band play at live venues throughout southwest Montana, moving to the toe-tapping two-step, waltz and triple-step tunes.

“It’s all about dancing,” Buchanan’s wife Carol said. “[The music] is fun, it’s danceable, it’s different, yet it has that old country feel.”

Particular song favorites include the fun, yet raucous “Y’all Keep Texas” tune in which Buchanan states, “There ain’t no hills in Texas once you’ve seen Idaho. Rio ain’t so Grande when you swim the

Snake you know. Stare into the ol’ Big Sky at miles and miles of stars. Y’all keep Texas, we’ll stay right where we are.”

The beautiful waltz, “ThreeLegged Dog,” also comes to mind. Buchanan tells the tale of a horse named Worthless, and his threelegged dog: “Those Hollywood cowboys you see on TV bear no resemblance to the life that I lead. Me and old Worthless dusk until dawn. The three-legged dog comes a limpin’ along.”

In 2012 a little girl asked Buchanan to write a song about her, and five years later that song has transformed into the children’s book, Denni-Jo and Pinto, a story about a cowgirl who rides, ropes and helps on a working cattle ranch. The story is the first of a possible four-book series where Denni-Jo, a savvy seven-year-old, learns an important lesson in each book installment.

“I think it takes a lot of people to raise a decent human being,” Buchanan said of the value of including lessons in children’s books. “Every human being looks at things differently and if kids are exposed to [different perspectives] … I think that it makes them a better person.”

Teaching fact

The musician and author decided to go back to school in 1979, having spent a short period studying at Boise State University already and working as a carpenter at the time. Buchanan was interested in MSU’s music degree.

“I had to take a science class as a part of the music degree,” he said. “So I just accidently took this intro to geology class that was taught by Steve Custer.” Buchanan loved the class and switched his major. “I just went, ‘man, that’s what I really want to do.’ I’d always been looking at rocks and mountains as a kid.”

While Buchanan was in school, he and Carol moved to their current residence in Manhattan, northwest of Bozeman. In a serendipitous moment, the Buchanans drove through the small community and spotted a run-down house for sale.

“I can fix the house, but I can’t make trees like these,” Buchanan remembers telling his wife. “[The trees] are really what sold us.”

Throughout his time at MSU, Buchanan was working on their house and playing music. He

graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor’s in geology and a teacher’s certificate and completed his student teaching at Belgrade Middle School before joining the Belgrade school staff in 1987.

During his 22-year long teaching career, Buchanan taught 7th and 8th grade science, helped design a high-school-level middle school science lab and taught computer classes.

“It was hilarious because I didn’t even know how to turn on a computer,” Buchanan said, recalling teaching 7th and 8th grade computers in the late ’80s. “It was wild and wooly, I’ll tell ya.”

Later in his career, Buchanan focused solely on science. He showed kids “that there are real things to do all the time, not just paper work,” and by exposing his students to real world science, Buchanan feels they had a better idea if they were interested in science as a career.

“You have to get your hands dirty before you either know you do or you don’t want to,” he said. “By the time [the students] got done with 8th grade science, they knew if they wanted to do science.”

“[Buck has] received nice letters from students that said because of him they became

scientists,” Carol said through happy tears.

Since retiring in 2007, Buchanan has worked as a Gallatin County brand inspector, certifying the ownership of horses, cattle and sheep in the area. Buchanan is also on the Bozeman Food Co-op Board of Directors, learning about and exchanging ideas for organic farming and sustainable food.

“I think that a real cowboy or a real cowgirl or a real buckaroo has a lot of respect for the animals that they work with,” Buchanan said. While he doesn’t have a horse currently, Buchanan said if he got one he would name it Gentle.

“Hopefully it wouldn’t be something that would throw me off right away, because then it would be Gone.”

Buck Buchanan has been making music with www.Twang since 1998.

MSU purchases red Angus cattle herd, first in university’s history

BY JENNY LAVEY

Thanks to a serendipitous conversation on the Hi-Line, cattle research at Montana State University has received a large boost with the purchase of a red Angus purebred cattle herd.

MSU is the new owner of 51 head of cattle, which the university bought from alumnus Bob ’68 and Rita Dige of Double Tree Red Angus out of Sand Coulee. The herd includes 32 cows, nine bred heifers and ten replacement heifers. It is the first red Angus purebred cattle herd the university has ever owned, according to Darrin Boss ’82, ’07 PhD, superintendent of MSU’s Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Havre.

pact on Montana’s cattle industry, student instruction and university

recordkeeping related to the herd; book that includes breeding stock tionships and genetic background

examine the genetic basis of relevant performance and production traits,” Boss said. “The recordkeeping breeding of the herd provides a critical springboard for genetics and genomics research.”

Thomson, who studies the physiology and biology of economically important traits in livestock breeding and genetics, said the Diges’ recordkeeping will allow MSU to build on the herd’s genetic evaluation and improve predictions of cattle genetic merit that are applicable to the beef industry.

“Our goal as researchers is to identify regions of the genome that harbor genes and variants related to specific traits that are economically relevant to the industry like growth, weaning weight, milk production and reproduction,” she said. “Ultimately, we want to understand and explain all of the genetic variation in a trait so that we can accurately predict performance and tell producers how to utilize genomic tools to meet their goals.”

Well-known for their highly desirable traits such as mothering ability, carcass qualities and heat tolerance, red Angus are also known for their unique docility and progeny value, Thomson said.

Endecott said that although many Montana ranchers raise black Angus cattle, the applied research that will come from the red Angus herd has major economic impact for all Montana livestock producers. And, in an effort to investigate inherited bovine traits, she said some of the red Angus cattle will be bred with the university’s existing black Angus cattle.

“As a university, we’re wellpositioned to take some risks associated with breeding for traits that producers may not be willing to risk,” she said. “With an entire purebred red Angus herd, we can investigate seedstock at a university that has the facilities, people and equipment to deliver research that all Montana ranchers can use.”

Boss said the herd should instigate additional university-wide beef cattle research in livestock nutrition, supplementation, range efficiency and breeding.

“It’s quite a legacy the Diges are making to the future students

of Montana State University and the beef cattle industry of Montana,” he said. “We’re all every excited about it.”

The Diges—who visited the herd when they were in town for a football game last fall—said they miss the cattle but are pleased with how the arrangement with MSU worked out.

“We’re fond of them, of course, but we know they’re in great hands,” Rita said. “Our cows went to college and now we’re looking forward to and excited about getting on with the next phase of our life.”

MSU’s first red Angus purebred cattle herd should instigate additional university-wide beef cattle research in livestock nutrition, supplementation, range efficiency and breeding.

100 years of community

Sorority and fraternity life

BY JESSIANNE WRIGHT

Cody Christman ’91, like many men and women before him, joined a fraternity at Montana State University because he wanted to be a part of something. “I wanted to be part of something that would tie me to MSU. After you graduate, you can’t really go back to North Hedges, but you can always go back to the Pike house and see old and new friends,” Christman said.

In 1986 Christman joined Pi Kappa Alpha—known as the Pike house—one of 11 active fraternities and sororities at MSU, which currently involve approximately 700 university students and thousands of alumni.

This year marks a special chapter in the story of sorority and fraternity life at MSU, as the university welcomes in Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity this fall, and the Greek system celebrates 100 years of community at MSU.

The state college gets social

The first university organization to call itself a fraternity dates back to 1776, when five students at the College of William and Mary founded Phi Beta Kappa in order to encourage the pursuit of education and intellectual fellowship. Many fraternities and sororities followed in the footsteps of this founding organization, and today each nationally recognized chapter celebrates unique traditions, but each also honors the shared values of leadership, scholarship, service and friendship.

In February 1917, twentyfour years after the founding of Montana’s agricultural college, the first nationally recognized fraternal organization formed at Montana State, taking the name Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. That fall, the men’s group Sigma Chi received national approval as well. The first sorority and first fraternity

at MSU

at the university, these groups formed after roughly seven years of disagreement, as students and administrators weighed the advantages and disadvantages of social groups in a university setting, concerned about the formation of social factions but aware of the need for additional campus housing, wrote Montana historian Merrill G. Burlingame ’73 (1901–1994) in A History, Montana State University, a 1968 publication recognizing 75 years of history at MSU.

“Exclusiveness has never been characteristic of Montana State,” Burlingame wrote about student organizations. Speaking specifically about the fraternities and sororities on campus, Burlingame said, “These organizations have provided the spark of leadership in countless enterprises, both academic and extracurricular.”

The Greek chapters encourage student involvement, whether it be athletics, student government or organizations.

Laura Hanson joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority in the ’50s and recalls the early feminist movement on campus.

“We, [Pi Phi], were instrumental in ousting the fraternity from the ASMSU senate presidency,” Hanson said with pride. Hanson was also the associate editor of the Exponent student newspaper during her time at MSU.

Another form of involvement comes from engaging in philanthropy. In the early years, Montana State chapters supported the Frontier Nursing Service, Montana State Orphanage and Arrowmont School of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Bev Townsend ’62, a 1960s member of Alpha Omicron Pi and former Greek advisor, recalls visiting the state orphanage in Twin Bridges with Alpha Omicron Pi, bringing toys and playing with the children.

“Were it not for AO∏, I would never have seen 80 pairs of children’s eyes light up when our sorority spent an entire day

visiting,” Townsend said. Speaking of overall Greek philanthropy, she added, “You always felt like you were doing something good for someone else.”

Dean of Students Matt Caires said the experience of fraternity or sorority life leads to student success. “We know that a fraternity or sorority experience at MSU enriches the overall college life experience for current members,” he said. “Research shows consistently that when students are involved on campus, they are more likely to return to campus and graduate on time.”

“There are so many alumni that were Greek that went on to do amazing things,” said 1966 Sigma Chi graduate Bill Gum Notable individuals include cowboy poet Wally McRae ’58, 1920s Bobcat coach Ott Romney ’16 and Dr. Chelsea Elander Bodnar ’00, pediatrician and Rhodes Scholar.

Changing with the times

The pillars of fraternity and sorority life continue to rest on leadership, scholarship, service and friendship. However, the ways these are expressed have changed.

“As the world behind us changes, the traditions change,” said Rolf Groseth, Montana State University Billings Chancellor Emeritus and former Vice President of Student Affairs at MSU

and MSUB. Groseth is also a former Greek Advisor at MSU. Groseth’s wife, Jaynee ’73, MSU Alumni Association

President Emerita and member of the board of directors for the National Foundation of Kappa Delta Sorority, recalls her time as a student at MSU and member of the since dissolved MSU Kappa Delta sorority in the early 70s.

“In 1973 the big ‘high-five’ was that you were pinned or engaged,” Jaynee said, referring to the tradition of pinning, when a man gave a woman his fraternity pin as a symbol of their dedicated relationship. “Now it’s a career,” she explained, noting the strong professional development programs supported by sororities today.

Terminology has also changed, and words like recruitment, activation and fraternity and sorority life have come to replace rush, initiation and Greek life.

“There are things that always change as generations pass by and there are things that stay the same,” said Christman, who graduated in 1991 and went on to found the Big Sky Alumni Association for Pi Kappa Alpha and Mile High Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association.

Something that hasn’t changed in the sorority and fraternity system is the lively rivalry within fraternities and sororities.

Each spring the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life holds an awards banquet. There is recognition for campus involvement, community service and academic achievement, which acts as a uniting force within individual chapters as a “friendly competition,” Jaynee explained.

Intramural sports and the Greek Week fun days are other examples of heavy fun rivalry within the Greek system. Greek Week has endured for years as a week of trivial competitions held in the spring.

“The bed race was one of my favorites,” Jaynee said, explaining how members would put wheels on a bed and race down Centennial Mall—back when Garfield Street still ran through the center of campus.

“Lip Sync and skits were big when I was in college and I was part of some hilarious entertainment during my college years,” said Kerry Hanson ’93, ’08 M, an Alpha Omicron Pi alumna, sorority advisor and Vice President of Alumni Relations for the MSU Alumni Foundation.

Ultimately, these activities create an important bond among chapter members.

“Fraternity [and sorority] is another way to have someone identify themselves as one of fifty instead of one of fifty thousand,” Groseth said.

A celebration

“Having survived through the Great Depression, the women’s suffrage movement, world wars, social unrest of the 1960s and 70s, and low numbers in the 1990s and early 2000s, it is amazing to me how sororities and fraternities have survived at Montana State,” Hanson said. Each of the existing chapters have endured at the university steadily since their foundings, continuing to provide a sense of community for Montana State students.

“At my most difficult time in life as well the most joyous, my sorority sisters have been beside me,” Hanson said. “We have vacationed, camped, met up for reunions, celebrated milestone birthdays, stood by each other as we got married and served as aunties to each other’s children.”

“You don’t say I was a Sigma Chi at Montana State,” Gum said. “You say I am a Sigma Chi.”

This fall, in celebrating 100 years of fraternity and sorority life, MSU will also commemorate the years of community service, semesters of academic achievement and generations of friendships supported by the fraternity and sorority system. The university also looks to the future, welcoming new members and a brand-new fraternity chapter, with excitement for what is to come.

MSU Chapter Founding Dates

FRATERNITIES

Sigma Chi 1917

Sigma Alpha Epsilon • 1919

Alpha Gamma Rho 1925

Kappa Sigma 1926

Pi Kappa Alpha • 1928

Lambda Chi • 1931

*Phi Sigma Kappa • 1939

Sigma Nu 1952

*Delta Sigma Phi • 1957

Sigma Phi Epsilon 1961

*Phi Delta Theta • 1965

Alpha Sigma Phi • 2017

SORORITIES

Alpha Omicron Pi • 1917

Chi Omega 1920

Pi Beta Phi 1921

Alpha Gamma Delta • 1924

*Kappa Delta • 1924

*Delta Gamma • 1948

*Indicates chapter is no longer active.

“If you worked here and you were going to school, you would never be alone. If you wanted to go hiking or fishing or mountain biking, you always had other people working here that shared the same interests. I considered that very important.”

—Ken Olson

Once a ‘Pickle,’ always a ‘ Pickle’

BY EVELYN BOSWELL

For more than 40 years, Montana State University students have made their way to the Pickle Barrel sandwich shop on the north side of campus. Whether they ordered a seven-pound, 17.5-inch sandwich or worked their way through school as a “Pickle,” many alumni still stop by to reminisce and see if the sandwiches are as good and huge as they remember. Their children drop in, too, some looking for work and others curious about the setting for so many family stories.

The shop has so many visitors, in fact, that it went through 1,800 pickles, 500 pounds of steak, 300 pounds of Monterey Jack cheese and 900 loaves of bread in just one winter week, said owner Jenny O’Brien. Two summers ago, the shop blew through its entire allotment of Heinz pickles, forcing O’Brien to post an explanation for the substitute.

It appears that the sandwich shop he and his wife, Kerry, purchased in 1974 has become an icon, Ken Olson said recently after eating his favorite sandwich, the “Downtown Chicken” with salsa.

Now CEO of the franchise, Olson said he must have hired hundreds and hundreds of employees over the years and 99 percent attended MSU.

He still keeps in touch with many of them, whether it be on Facebook or in person, Olson said. He ran into author and social observer Sarah Vowell ’93, this spring while walking around Bozeman. Former MSU tennis coach Dean Owen ’00 stopped in during a visit from Cape Town, South Africa. Olson was excited to hear that Drew Van Fossen, one of his first employees, now works for the MSU Alumni Foundation.

“That’s the greatest part about this business—employees and the relationships with the employees,” Olson said.

He and his workers became a part of each other’s lives, and it didn’t just happen over dill pickles, Olson said. He organized ski trips to the Grand Targhee Resort and offered opportunities

to “Spend a Day with the Boss.” He even bailed some out of jail.

“There were always ups and downs, but that’s to be expected,” Olson said. “We were very lenient in indiscretions and discretions. We were very tolerant.”

O’Brien—who started working for Olson in 2000 and bought the original Pickle Barrel store in 2013—said, “The fun that all of us have together and the memories that we make each day lead to helping each other out when we most need it. The previous owners have given money to employees for their education and helped them, financially and emotionally, through surgeries and sicknesses.

“As far as the rest of the employees, the examples of charitable work are countless—from

people working for students during finals to coming together to cover shifts so an employee can go skiing in Colorado,” O’Brien said. “They have visited each other in the hospital when ski/bike/climbing injuries occur. They attend each other’s art shows, weddings, and they are huge fans of supporting each other in their musical efforts.”

Olson said, “My goal was always to have fun and enjoy your job. When you are at work, enjoy what you do.

“If you worked here and you were going to school, you would never be alone,” he added. “If you wanted to go hiking or fishing or mountain biking, you always had other people working here that shared the same interests. I considered that very important.”

O’Brien—who said her sociology degree probably benefits her more than a business degree would—said that Pickle Barrel employees refer to themselves as “The Pickles.” In fact, “Whether you are working at the Pickle Barrel now, last summer or 10 years ago, you will always be ‘A Pickle.’”

And those Pickles have plenty of stories.

“I could flap my chapped lips all day long,” long-time baker and ice cream server Carmel Wood said about the “eclectic and great group of kids” that keep her working at the Pickle Barrel. She enjoys her spontaneous dance parties with customers. She reports flickering lights and mysteriously crooked pictures. She recalls most of the names of former employees who were photographed, apparently unclothed, in stainless steel sinks. Wood may or may not have served Robert Redford.

“It’s a fun job,” Wood said. “The worst part about my job is going home at night.”

Van Fossen, who worked at the Pickle Barrel in the ’70s, still remembers hitchhiking and paying for the ride with Pickle Barrel sandwiches. He recalls the secret behind the barbecue sauce and years of smelling like a sandwich. After moving back to Bozeman last year, he walked into the shop, was happy it hadn’t changed in 35 years, ordered a sandwich and took his first bite.

“Almost immediately it took me back to when I was 19 or 20

years old,” he said. “It was pretty profound.”

Mostly the Pickles talk about a tiny shop where they feel like family.

“I love it. It’s my favorite job I have ever had,” said Jake Haivala ’16. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Haivala graduated in chemical engineering and plans to pursue a career in nuclear engineering, but said the Pickle Barrel is a good place for an engineer to practice people skills. He plans to continue cooking and driving a delivery truck until he moves to Oregon this fall for graduate school.

Cook Cory Anderson said his worst day on the job was March 5, 2009, when the downtown Pickle Barrel store exploded 30 minutes before he was scheduled to work. He thought about leaving town then, but an anonymous donor made it possible to stay. Since then, the Pickle Barrel spirit has kept him in Bozeman for almost 10 years.

“They treat us really nice here,” he said. “It’s like another family away from home.”

Madison Rowley, World Beard Champion

Winning the overall contest in his hometown of Portland in 2014, Madison Rowley ’09 was afforded a trip to Austria with his Dad, where he won the World Beard and Moustache Championship in 2015. He will defend his title in Texas this fall and then he may or may not shave his facial hair, depending on how his friends and followers vote in a charity contest. The beard, sort of a whim, has proven to be a serious responsibility and has led to new opportunities for the champion; creating Rides grooming products, writing for Men’s Journal and judging beard contests. Add that to Rowley’s non-beard interests— he’s a cameraman (often collaborating with other MSU alumni), a still photographer (he prefers Polaroids) and a musician (he spent a year touring with Wake Owl)—and you’ll discover an industrious and interesting guy.

In Rowley’s words, “It’s hard to find one thing that fulfills me.”

“Who knew that not shaving could open up so many doors?”

—Madison Rowley

Locati brothers: Paying it forward

Brothers, business partners and fellow alumni are just three of the common bonds uniting Jerry ’97, ’08 M, and Steve ’84, ’08 M, Locati, partners in the Bozemanbased architectural firm Locati Architects and Interiors.

Steve, eight years younger than Jerry, followed in his brother’s footsteps, graduating from MSU’s School of Architecture, while working at the firm all the way through his school career.

“I was a graphic artist in military intelligence and when it was time to get out of the military Jerry suggested I go into architecture,” Steve explained. “He’d said, ‘you’re artistic and so am I, why don’t you give it a try?’”

It was Jerry that instilled in Steve the importance of mentorship, something that continues to drive Steve today. He was selected by MSU’s President Cruzado as one of 15 universitywide alumni for the inaugural college mentoring program.

“I feel privileged to be asked to become a part of the Bobcat Mentors,” Steve said. “I can speak directly to my brother’s mentoring

of me. It’s great because I get to see the enthusiasm in these students. They are so engaged.”

Jerry, who started Locati Architects in 1989 after being a partner in another firm from 1984–89, added that he can see the confidence the students get from their relationship with Steve.

In fact, all the partners at Locati Architects graduated from MSU, and the Locatis feel the firm has become stronger for it. “I think people here have a shared sense of community and a good work ethic instilled in them,” he said.

Montana natives, Jerry grew up in Billings and Steve in Butte, both hold the Montana landscape close to their hearts. They are two of six children and that foundational connection within a family remains an integral part of their business. Their shared aesthetic allows them to work seamlessly together in creating homes that reflect the landscape as well as the people who live there.

“Our style is very similar,” Steve said. “We are both about building relationships and building a solid

BY MICHELE CORRIEL

business. We can speak for each other without worry.”

Jerry added that they often play off each other’s ideas.

“We tell each other what we really feel about a project,” he said. “For us, for all of us, the end result is more important than our egos.”

Currently, their clients span across the U.S. into Canada and the Bahamas. “Right now we’re doing projects in 20 states,” Jerry said. “In every case we bring our unique perspective to different parts of the world, that warm and welcoming feeling when you walk in a room, as well as the scale of a room using a local vocabulary. Good design and proportion is good regardless of style.”

The blue and gold runs deep at Locati Architects. All their interns are enrolled in, or are graduates of, MSU’s School of Architecture. They believe in the school’s dedication to the art and feel the students come away with a comprehensive regard for the discipline.

“I find them to be talented, smart and well-rounded,” Jerry said. “We decided a long time

ago to invest in the School of Architecture.”

In so doing, they created two of the largest endowments for the School of Architecture, providing four to six full-tuition scholarships each year.

“It’s really rewarding for all of us to be able to offer scholarships for students that are currently in a position we were once in,” Jerry said.

Both agree the college produces the best and most qualified candidates. “It may be the outdoor lifestyle that most people who go to school at MSU enjoy,” Steve, who is also a member of the School of Architecture Advisory Council, said. “They want to live in Bozeman, and we do work for people from around the world that want that kind of lifestyle.”

Their belief in Montana State University has been a constant for the Locati brothers and they’re proud to show their Bobcat pride.

“Steve and I both feel that MSU gave us our wings to get started,” Jerry said. “Through our endowments we now have the opportunity to give back.”

Jerry Locati, right, and Steve Locati, left

A special bench on the Centennial Mall, where I can observe the energy of our campus and Leigh Lounge in the SUB, for its elegance and calmness; named for a terrific woman leader

Bobcat Stadium, where I have experienced all four seasons in just one game day, and where -

and throughout MSU’s 125th Year of Celebration, that you will visit these places again and stir up that collegiate spirit within you. You can also send your memories to us at alumni@msuaf.org or

When you are on campus, please stop by the alumni foundation center and tell us where you have been on campus; there is always a cold water or hot coffee and tea to welcome you home

Alumni Advocate Network

As a public institution, MSU deeply appreciates the fiscal support we receive from our state— without that support, we would not be the great university we are today. With state revenues lower than expected however, advocacy for the Montana University System (MUS) was needed more than ever during the 64th legislative session.

The Alumni Advocate Network, a group of over 50 volunteers, became active in September 2016 and worked to educate members of the legislature and Montana communities about the needs of our students and institutions of higher education across the state. The network advocated for legislative priorities affecting operational funding for the university system, the repurposing of Romney Hall for classroom space, a muchneeded pay increase for university employees and support for the Montana Agricultural Experimental Stations and MSU Extension.

Through thousands of letters and emails to legislators, personal visits with legislators and letters to newspaper editors, our advocates made sure the needs of the

Montana University System were clear. “When issues came up, and support was needed, the Alumni Advocate Network rose to the challenge,” said Kerry Hanson ’93, ’08 M, Vice President of Alumni Relations. “Our volunteers pushed through the ups and downs of the session without ever giving up.”

Advocates also partnered with the Associated Students of Montana State University to bring students to the Capitol. This effort gave current students the opportunity to express to their representatives the impact that legislative funding has on their access to college, their experience while attending and the implications it has on their future. Students learned a valuable lesson in democracy, and legislators

heard first-hand the impact of their decisions on Montana students and their families.

There is still much to be accomplished by the Alumni Advocate Network. Looking ahead, we will continue to educate state legislators about the value of supporting higher education funding. Specifically, we will focus on garnering more legislative support for Romney Hall in 2019. We will also be joining forces with the university system’s four-year colleges to advocate for the passing of the 6-mill levy. This legislative referendum has been a primary component of funding for higher education in Montana since 1948. Since then, voters have been asked to re-approve the 6-mill levy every ten years.

What can you do to support MSU and the university system? “Join the Alumni Advocate Network,” said Hanson. “Giving our legislators and communities the information needed to make informed voting decisions is important, not just during the legislative session and election cycles, but before and after as well. The work we do throughout the year illustrates the passion and concern we have for higher education funding and MSU.” Help support future generations of Bobcats by becoming an advocate today.

A message from Allison Hupp, Associate Director of Alumni Engagement and director of the Alumni Advocate Network.

Montana State University students at the Capitol in January 2017.

Tailgates for Bobcat Alumni, Friends, Families and Fans

A social experience held around Bobcat Football away games and Homecoming Saturday

Away Tailgates $20 per person. Includes tailgate, full meal, one complimentary adult beverage and soft drinks/water. Children 18 or younger are $10 per person. Please note that the WSU tailgate is $60 per person.

Homecoming Tailgate $25 per person. Includes tailgate, full meal, one complimentary adult beverage and soft drinks/water. Children 18 or younger are $10 per person.

To ensure we can accommodate everyone, please RSVP in advance for all tailgates at www.msuaf.org/calendar.

BOBCAT FRIDAY NIGHTS

A great reason to gather with fellow MSU alumni and Bobcat fans the Friday night before most away games. See the schedule below for a list of locations with Bobcat Friday night events.

CHEER ON THE ’CATS

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

Homecoming

Each fall, alumni from across the country come home to Bozeman and MSU to see friends, celebrate Blue & Gold traditions, walk campus and watch the ’Cats at Bobcat Stadium. We hope to see you this year!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Homecoming Week 2017

All week: Museum of the Rockies new exhibits:

Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science. Stories from four indigenous communities are brought to life in real-world examples of how traditional knowledge and cutting-edge Western science can be blended together to provide complementary solutions to contemporary concerns.

Memory on Glass: DF Barry on Standing Rock, 1878–1891. David F. Barry photographed Native American men and women, frontier scouts, soldiers, trappers, missionaries and other pioneers, recording the panorama of people who populated the northern plains in the late 19th century.

Saturday, September 23

Rockin’ the M—climb to our M on Mount Baldy

Tuesday, September 26

7:00 p.m. Homecoming Bingo at the Rocking R Bar

Thursday, September 28

6:00 p.m. Hausser Lecture with Philosopher JD Trout

7:00 p.m. Honors College Homecoming Awards: Procrastinator Theatre, SUB

7:00 p.m. MSU Volleyball v. Portland State, Shroyer Gym

9:00 p.m. Go Cats Lighting at Hedges Residence Halls

7:00 p.m. MSU Volleyball v. Portland State, Shroyer Gym

Friday, September 29: Blue and Gold Friday

All Day Coffee Cats at Renee Library, coupons available at MSUAF

10:15 a.m. College of Nursing Homecoming Awards: Leigh Lounge, SUB

10:30 a.m. College of Agriculture Homecoming Awards: Linfield Hall

12:30 p.m. President’s Homecoming Luncheon: SUB Ballrooms

2:00 p.m. College of Letters & Science Homecoming Awards: Leigh Lounge, SUB

3:30 p.m. College of Engineering Homecoming Awards and Scholarship Reception, SUB A & B

TBD College of Arts & Architecture Homecoming Awards: Location TBD

TBD College of Education, Health & Human Development Awards: Location TBD

5:30 p.m. Homecoming Pep-Rally: Downtown Bozeman

6:00 p.m. Fraternity and Sorority Social at The Element Hotel: Downtown Bozeman $15/person

Saturday, September 30: Bobcat Saturday

10:00 a.m.ASMSU Homecoming Parade: Main Street, Bozeman

11:30 a.m. Homecoming Tailgate: along Kagy Blvd, across from Bobcat Stadium $25/person

2:05 p.m. MSU Football v. Weber State

7:00 p.m. Cat/Griz Volleyball, Shroyer Gym

For the most up to date information on events, go to www.msuaf.org/homecoming

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Alumni Chapters

• Billings Area

• Boise Valley

• Columbia River

• Five Valleys (Missoula area)

• Flathead Valley

• Gallatin Valley

• Greater Twin Cities (Minneapolis area)

• Houston Area

• Inland Northwest (Spokane area)

• Mile High (Denver area)

• Puget Sound (Seattle area)

• Sleeping Giant (Greater Helena area)

• Alyson Phillips ’00

• Tom Zimmerman ’10

• Kimberley Klepzig ’00

• Steve Erban ’66

• John Swaney ’76

• Jody Collis King ’89

• Jerod Fehrenbach ’02

• Candy Roberts ’75

Volunteers: Help connect Bobcats to each other and back to MSU by volunteering on a chapter leadership team. For more information, contact Allison Hupp at allison.hupp@msuaf.org.

Alumni Information Updates: Not getting invited to alumni events? It is probably because we don’t have your updated email and/or mailing address information. Visit msuaf.org/info to update your information and to get connected!

Allyson Phillips, left, and Kimberley Klepzig

“As an advisor at the local AO∏ chapter for nearly 40 years, I have seen the cycles of Greek life vacillate. There were times when there were barely enough members living in the chapter house to make ends meet and other times when the walls were bursting at the seams. Yet, this chapter has shown resiliency—with well-chosen members, strong support from alumnae and a clear vision for the future of the fraternity.”

Bev

Townsend ’59, Alpha Phi

Alpha Phi Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi Centennial

Just before her graduation in the spring of 1916, Erma (Collins) Lessel met Mary (Drummond) Danielson ’18 in a dusty room in Hamilton Hall to form a group of like-minded women. With scholarship, leadership, service and campus loyalty as their object, five additional collegians joined to form the Aneves.

When the college administration lifted the ban prohibiting national fraternities, the Aneves, now 13 strong, became Alpha Phi sorority and began the ten-month process to obtain a charter to become the 22nd chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi.

On February 23, 1917, the charter was granted and AOII became the first national Greek organization at Montana State College. Since that date, 2,135 members have been initiated.

In 1920, a home was purchased at 119 South 6th. The chapter house at the corner of Garfield and South 5th was built in 1941 at a cost of $35,000, with the note being signed by alumna Marlyn Judd “Judy” Hauseman Jones ’22. An addition to the house was completed in 1966.

Through the years, the chapter has received international recognition for scholarship, leadership and service. Mary Danielson Drummond became International President in 1937. Two members were named Outstanding Chapter President, Vicki Sherick Hawkesworth ’88 and Andrinne Wheeler Hall ’91. In spring 2017, AOII was named “Sorority of the Year.”

Beta Rho Chapter of Sigma Chi Centennial

One hundred years ago, Beta Rho Chapter was formed by a forward-looking group of Sigma Chi alumni, including then Montana State College President J. M. Hamilton, as the first national fraternity at MSC and the 72nd Sigma Chi active chapter in the nation. Shortly thereafter, the Chapter purchased a large house at 722 South Willson which was used as the Chapter House until 1961 when funds were raised to build a new house on the same site. Since 1917, Beta Rho Chapter members have been active leaders on campus and had a prominent involvement in the evolution of fraternity and sorority activities over MSU’s 124-year existence.

Today, Beta Rho is an 85-member Chapter which prides itself on its involvement on campus and in the community. Brothers participate in student body government, Interfraternity Council, summer orientation leader programs and devote hundreds of hours to local charities. Beta Rho Chapter has earned four Peterson Awards from Sigma Chi International Headquarters in the past five years (only ten percent of Sigma Chi chapters receive this award) and received three MSU Fraternity & Sorority Life awards in the 2017 presentation ceremony including “Fraternity of the Year.”

Commencement Class Reunion

This past May, we celebrated the MSC/MSU classes of 1947, 1957 and 1967 during commencement weekend. There are no words to describe the memories that were made during the weekend. Class members shared stories, attended college tours, received their anniversary diplomas, met students on campus and enjoyed a wonderful weekend.

A special thank you to this year’s reunion committee who helped rally the classmates to attend the reunion weekend: Graeme Baker ’47

Thomas “Ralph” McCormick ’57

Rod Hoxsey ’67

Duane “Dewey” Lammers ’67

Lois (Mackintosh) Floyd ’67

REUNION WEEKEND 2018 SAVE THE DATE!

Revisit your student days and come back to Montana State! We are excited to welcome back the classes of 1948, 1958 and 1968! It is your time to catch up with classmates, take a walk down the Centennial Mall and celebrate this special occasion during MSU’s 125th year! Commencement class reunions will be held May 4–5, 2018. Registration packets will be mailed in January of 2018. For more information on your class reunions visit www.msuaf.org/reunions.

May 4–5, 2018

1948, 1958, 1968 Class Reunions

Get involved! If you are interested in serving on your class reunion committee, contact us. You can help encourage your classmates to come celebrate their reunion and to give back to MSU.

The 2017 reunion class gift amount $627,754

Thank you classes of 1947, 1957 and 1967!

“Commencement reunions are an incredible opportunity to come back to campus and reconnect with friends that we don’t see often. We may be unsure about attending, but when we get here, we realize that even as campus grows and changes, we reconnect to the traditions that always have and always will make Montana State University a special place.”

—1967 MSU Class Member

JAYNEE DRANGE GROSETH SCHOLARSHIP

Legacy: Dayna Klopp ’81, ’84 & David Klopp ’85

Serena

Klopp

Hometown: Belgrade, Montana

Major: Cell Biology, Neuroscience & Studio Art

“I’m incredibly grateful for the Jaynee Drange Groseth Scholarship. I hope to continue my campus involvement and keep up with my studies. Jaynee Groseth has had an incredible impact on Montana State and to receive her scholarship is a true honor.”

JAYNEE DRANGE GROSETH SCHOLARSHIP

Legacy: Karrie Moorhouse ’90 & Judd Moorhouse ’91

Makayla Moorhouse

Hometown: Woodbury, Minnesota

Major: Chemical Engineering

“As a third-generation Bobcat engineer, although I am from Minnesota, I have always had a special bond with Montana, MSU and its College of Engineering. I am so thankful to be receiving the Jaynee Drange Groseth Scholarship, so I can continue to learn and thrive during my college adventure at Montana State University. I want to become an engineer in order to help solve the problems of today, so future people can have better lives. I want to do my part to make the world a better place.”

Legacy: Ann Riley & Sean Riley ’88

Connor

Riley

Hometown: Kent, Washington

Major: Engineering

JAYNEE DRANGE GROSETH SCHOLARSHIP

Legacy: Sonia Swank ’91 & Steve Swank ’90

Mariah Swank

Hometown: Chinook, Montana

Major: Nursing

“I am truly grateful to receive this generous scholarship from the MSU Alumni Foundation! It can be so stressful to find the balance between schoolwork, social time and finances in college. By receiving this scholarship, a large portion of my stress is gone. I now have more time to relax and focus on school. Thank you again to Jaynee Drange Groseth and the MSU Alumni Foundation!”

For application information for any of these scholarships, please visit msuaf.org/scholarships

“I am honored and grateful to be a recipient of the MSU Boeing Employee Alumni Scholarship. I chose to attend Montana State University because of its excellent reputation for providing a quality, relevant and applicable education that ensures its students are prepared to productively contribute to their chosen field post-graduation. This generous scholarship will delay the necessity of obtaining a job while attending college and provide me with the opportunity to focus on academics and immerse myself in the diverse culture and classes offered at MSU.”

MSU BOEING EMPLOYEE ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP

CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES

Investing in PEOPLE

Campaign fundraising aimed at supporting scholarships, fellowships, professorships, chairs and faculty research grants has resulted in nearly $117 million.

Scholarship gifts for undergraduate students have ranged from funding for healthcare oriented majors to support for veterans, student athletes and women in STEM. And thanks to gifts supporting fellowships, graduate students of agriculture, ecology, engineering and computer science, physics, chemistry and biochemistry have more resources available to them.

Higher enrollment across campus increases the need for scholarships and fellowships so they remain campaign priorities. Advancing MSU’s research enterprise is also a top priority. Private support for faculty created through endowments for professorships, chairs, research grants and awards is critical for discovery and innovation where federal and state funding is diminishing.

Investing in PLACES

Incredibly generous donors have stepped up and given over $103 million to build, expand and renovate facilities on campus including the Bobcat Stadium End Zone expansion, Jabs Hall, Norm Asbjornson Hall and renovations to the Brick Breeden track.

Building the American Indian Student Center (AISC) is the focus of fundraising efforts over the remaining months of the campaign. MSU is determined to help Indian students be resilient, stay on track and earn their college degrees. The AISC will be a Native house on campus that will help our sons and daughters feel supported academically and culturally in achieving their dreams.

Investing in PROGRAMS

Our alumni and friends have contributed over $128 million toward innovative programming in every college and in athletics at MSU. New and enhanced programs keep students engaged by integrating classroom learning with hands-on research, creative activities, outreach and service projects to the benefit of students, faculty, staff and the wider community.

Programs supported by donors range from the President’s Fine Art Series to the scientific endeavors of the Thermal Biology Institute and the Center for Biofilm Engineering. The Risa K. Scott Collaboration Lab promotes ingenuity among students in business, and the Caring for Our Own Project supports Native American nursing students.

A new successful program that the university would like to scale up is the Hilleman Scholars Program. The program combines academic and financial assistance with incentives to keep students engaged and on track to graduate. Through 2018, fundraising efforts to endow the program and grow the number of participants is a priority.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

GIVE Help advance MSU by connecting what is most important to you with MSU’s strategic ambitions. msuaf.org/give

JOIN Become part of the MSU Alumni Association and stay connected as your university builds on its history and traditions. msuaf.org/join

UPDATE Receive important news about MSU, event invitations and more by updating your contact information. msuaf.org/update

Fundraising Report*

*as of June 30, 2017

2016–2017 ACADEMIC YEAR

11,604 DONORS

10,805 GIFTS TO MSU

$50.7 MM

TOTAL

Breakdown by

SCHOLARSHIP DISTRIBUTIONS

This academic year, MSU distributed 5,308 scholarships for a total of $5,787,258 in student support.

Endowment by area of support*

*as of March 31, 2017

ENDOWMENT

Donor dollars have grown the MSU Foundation’s endowment to $157.8 million.

The Impact of Giving

Farming for the future

Tyrel Hoferer has grown up working on his family’s farm and ranch in Silesia, Montana, about 30 miles southwest of Billings on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River.

Tyrel chose crop science as a major so he could help advance his family’s farming operation. “I chose crop science over animal science though we run cattle, because I felt that I could do more to improve our farming practices using the latest in agricultural research,” he said.

Donor scholarships awarded to Tyrel have eased the financial expense of college and the debt he will carry after graduating. He also acknowledges that scholarships have “allowed me to focus more of my time on learning everything I can while I’m here and less on finding part-time jobs to make ends meet.”

Tyrel, instead, has a meaningful job on campus working under the supervision of David Baumbauer, the College of Agriculture’s Plant Growth Center and Horticulture Farm manager.

Being able to work in the Plant Growth Center and at the Horticulture Farm enables Tyrel to apply what he has learned about plant systems to soil preparation and conditioning on MSU’s teaching and research farms and on his family’s farm as well.

“I chose MSU because its crop science program is one of the best offered in the region—if not the country—and it’s close to my home.”

Thanks to generous donor gifts towards scholarship funds, Tyrel can pursue his dreams and passion for farming without the worry of financial insecurity.

Brook Filanoski

Path to success

Brooke Filanoski, recent chemical engineering grad, started college feeling more terrified than excited. Brooke is the first in her family to attend college, and she came to MSU from Spokane, Washington. “I didn’t know anyone or anything about Montana,” she explained. Rigorous engineering core classes also made her quickly realize she needed academic support to succeed. “I mapped out every help center on campus—from chemistry to math, writing, physics and ePALS.”

As a scholarship recipient, Brooke directly benefitted from the generosity of donors. Gifts in support of academic success programs also helped her succeed and make a difference for many students like her.

Brooke became an active member of ePALS, or Engineering Peer Academic Leaders, and helped other students find the resources they need. “I am proud to be an engineer, and I want to share the resources I know are available at MSU because they have been there for me.”

Chemical engineering is not the typical undergraduate path to pharmacology, Brooke’s career goal. Additional pre-med courses were required, but with counseling from her academic adviser, Shelley Thomas, she charted a feasible route to pharmacy graduate school through engineering.

At the 2017 MSU Women In Engineering dinner, Brooke was surprised by all the students and faculty she knew. “It made me realize how far I had come in these past few years!”

Tyrel Hoferer

PAT AND VICTORIA CLEVELAND

Living the American Dream and Giving Back

BY SARAH LUDIN

Montana State University holds a special place in the lives of Dr. Patrick (Pat) Cleveland ’66, ’67 M, and Victoria Cleveland. It was at MSU (then Montana State College) that the two friends from Shelby, Montana, began dating, got married and started their family. And it was his experiences at MSU, Pat says, that turned his life around.

“My parents didn’t think I was college material, and I gave them plenty of irresponsible actions to support their position,” Pat said. After finishing a nine-month electronic trade program in Denver, failing to find a career in electronics and working construction for two years, Pat was ready for something different. He enrolled in the med tech program at MSC.

“The only A I got in high school other than P.E. was Biology,” Pat explained. Immediately, Pat discovered that studying microbes and solving scientific problems was what he was meant to do. He switched his degree to microbiology.

In 1966, Pat graduated with his B.S. in microbiology, in the first graduating class of the newly designated Montana State University. He went on to graduate with his M.S. in microbiology from MSU in 1967, after which he quickly landed a research job at Dow Chemical in Michigan.

“MSU launched my career as a scientist. I am mindful of the important role the faculty and MSU played in my development as a scientist, researcher, professor, inventor and entrepreneur,” Pat said.

Particularly memorable for Pat was Professor John Jutila. “[Jutila] could make anyone excited about what he was teaching just because he was so excited.” MSU also gave Pat the advantages of publishing undergraduate research and of working with the new technology of the day—an electron microscope.

After two years at Dow, Pat worked on his Ph.D. in Tumor Immunology and taught at the University of Minnesota. Next, Pat taught at the University of California, San Diego, where he developed new rapid diagnostic tests for viruses and bacteria.

Meanwhile, Victoria studied teaching at MSC, but dropped out to work full-time after the couple married in 1962. Victoria and Pat both worked hard to fund Pat’s education on their own. This value of “bootstrapping it” carried over to their company, V&P Scientific, founded in 1978 in their garage with $1,500 from an inheritance. The company engineers and invents research equipment, specializing in machining and 3D printing to make tools for developing technologies. V&P now owns 13 patents and has produced over 2,000 products.

Pat and Victoria lived ‘the American dream’ and want to give back to MSU. Pat explains, “MSU changed my life. It opened up a new path that gave me passion, meaning and my life’s work.” The Patrick and Victoria Cleveland Microbiology Lecture and Symposium Support Fund will provide funding for the Department of Microbiology

& Immunology’s rotating symposium and Hilleman Lecture Series. Pat and Victoria support the fund through annual gifts during their lifetime, and a gift from their estate will create a permanent endowment.

The gift was inspired by a recent campus visit and tour of the Microbiology & Immunology department. “The quality of research blows my mind. I want to do whatever I can to pay back my education there and to further the work the department is doing,” Pat said.

Pat was also inspired by MSU’s 2016 Hilleman Lecture series, a series that brought international experts to give research updates on vaccine work in Montana and worldwide. It also celebrated Maurice Hilleman, for whom the series is named, a 1941 MSU graduate from Miles City, Montana, who saved millions of lives by developing over 40 vaccines.

Pat and Victoria hope their gift to MSU helps stimulate the students of MSU by bringing in top researchers to MSU through the lectures and symposiums.

“Our goal is to give Montana students exposure to the best science, to help them develop as scientists,” Pat explained.

Pat and Victoria live in Rancho Santa Fe, California, where they continue to work part-time at V&P—Pat inventing and solving problems and Victoria as CFO.

“Looking back,” Pat said, “it’s not too bad for a couple of kids from little Shelby, Montana!”

Putting MSU in your will is one of the simplest ways to support future generations at Montana State University.

Consider Contributing

A percentage of your estate;

• A specific dollar amount or asset; or From the balance or residue of your estate.

Benefits May be modified at any time;

Assets remain under your control during your lifetime;

• Costs you nothing during your lifetime; and

• May help reduce or eliminate your estate tax liability.

To learn more about putting MSU in your will, contact the Estate, Trust and Gift Planning team at the MSU Alumni Foundation: (406) 994-7099 plannedgiving.msuaf.org

MONTANA HALL

Cat Treks

Adventures designed for those who have MSU in common and are eager to expand their cultural and intellectual horizons.

Timeless Beauties: Barcelona to Monte Carlo

May 2–10, 2018 From $2499 per person, double occupancy (airfare included from select cities)

The Riviera welcomes you on this luxury cruise through Southern Europe. Renaissance masterpieces, glamorous resorts and ancient monuments await you as you sail from pristine Spain through to the breathtaking Italian Riviera.

Gems of the Danube: Prague to Budapest

May 14–24, 2018 From $4,699 per person

On this all-inclusive, credit card-free luxury river cruise along the Danube river, you’ll have the opportunity to marvel at magnificent scenery, sample beer at one of the world’s oldest breweries in Regensburg, explore WWII history in Nuremberg, experience a private concert in the iconic Palais Liechtenstein and much more in our, allinclusive Enrich experiences.

Peru with MSU School of Architecture professor Henry Sorenson: Lima to Cusco

May 15–25, 2018 From $2873 per person, double occupancy (airfare TBD)

Take in one of the most spectacular mergers of architecture, landscape and culture in the world—the Sacred Valley of Peru, including fabled Machu Picchu with Professor Henry Sorenson. Sorenson has visited this region on several occasions leading MSU architecture students and it is his intention to offer guidance in documenting your trip through photography and field drawing. For more information contact Professor Sorenson by e-mail (henrys@montana.edu) or Deb Velli with travel-specific questions at Rocky Mountain Travel, (rockymtntravel@live.com) or 406-522-0617.

Gaelic Exploration: Dublin

June 17–28, 2018 From $4799 per person, double occupancy (airfare included from select cities)

Experience the wonders of Gaelic culture as you sail through Ireland and the British Isles. Discover Ireland’s cosmopolitan heart in Dublin and Belfast, delve into its rich history from Waterford to Galway and explore the natural bounty of Glengarriff and Holyhead.

Breathtaking Bordeaux: Bordeaux

July 16–24, 2018 From $3,999 per person (before Aug. 31, 2017)

On this all-inclusive, credit card-free luxury cruise around the Bordeaux region, you’ll have the opportunity to not only taste some of the world’s greatest wines, but also explore the underground catacombs in Saint-Émilion, tour the Château de Roquetaillade in Cadillac and much more in our unforgettable, all-inclusive Enrich experiences.

Majestic Frontier: Seattle

August 16–27, 2018 From $3849 per person, double occupancy (airfare included from select cities)

Stand in awe of massive glaciers and all-enveloping scenery as you cruise up the Alaskan coast. Explore Alaska’s breathtaking natural beauty, unique native culture, famous gold fields and more on this 10-day trip starting and ending in Seattle.

Autumn Inspirations: New York to Montreal

September 13–23, 2018 From $3949 per person, double occupancy (airfare included from select cities)

Experience the explosive colors of autumn as you sail up North America’s immense and beautiful Atlantic coast aboard the Insignia. Delve into America’s revolutionary history in Boston and Newport, admire the natural grandeur of the Gulf of Lawrence and Sept-Îles and discover old-world European charm in Québec and Montréal.

Coastal Vignettes: Rome

October 16–27, 2018 From $2799 per person, double occupancy (airfare included from select cities)

Vibrant cities, alluring beaches and Old World culture await you as you set sail across the Mediterranean Sea aboard the luxurious Marina. Admire Renaissance masterpieces, explore the ruins of ancient civilizations and marvel at fantastical architecture on this cruise through Italy, Spain and beyond.

More information at www.msuaf.org/cattreks.

Class Notes

’50s

Marjorie (Harvey) Smart ’59, and husband, Roy, Sacramento, California, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in September 2016.

’60s

Dorothea (Striebel) Lintz ’63, Port Orchard, Washington, and husband Ralph, received the Spirit of Philanthropy Award at Kitsap Community Foundation’s annual Celebration of Philanthropy. The award honors those who exhibit a deep commitment and heartfelt dedication to philanthropy in Kitsap County, Wash. Dorothea was a founder and Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Center and continues as a volunteer mediator. She served as Board member and Treasurer of the Kitsap Community Foundation for ten years, is currently a board member and treasurer for the Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center and volunteers for AARP’s tax preparation program.

Robert Durado ’67, Palm Desert, California, was inducted into the Alaska School Activities Association Hall of Fame in May. The former MSU Bobcat was recognized for his success as a football and girls basketball coach. His Anchorage East High School football teams won five state championships and went 84-42-3 during his illustrious 17-year career.

Marjorie Pribyl ’68, Cascade, Montana, a retired teacher and lifelong farmer and rancher, was honored with the Montana Cowgirls Association Heritage Award for 2017 at the group’s 58th annual convention in Great Falls in Feb. 2017.

’70s

Carleen Kulbec ’72, Great Falls, Montana, retired after a 42-year career in nursing.

Butch Bratsky ’75, Billings, Montana, was elected to the board of directors of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bratsky is a senior bank executive for Stockman Bank, where he has worked for nearly 25 years. He currently serves as director of the bank’s holding company. Butch and his wife Shannon have been married for 34 years and have two children, Jared and Jamie.

Duane Nellis ’76, former president of Texas Tech University and the University of Idaho, was named the 21st president of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Brian Witt * ’79, Sisters, Oregon, was selected by his peers for the second time to The Best Lawyers in America© 2017 and The Best Lawyers in the Pacific Northwest© 2017 for Financial Services Regulation Law. Witt practices with the Portland, Oregon. law firm Farleigh Wada Witt, voted in 2016 to Top 100 Best Places to Work in Oregon.

’80s

Timothy R. Eddy ’81, Portland, Oregon, was elevated to College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in a ceremony in April 2016. Elevation to Fellow is the highest honor awarded by the AIA and recognizes significant achievements of the individual and contributions to both the profession of architecture and society on a national level. Eddy

Jim Posewitz

BY SARAH LUDIN

When Jim Posewitz ’57, ’61 M was growing up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he lived in a place and a time when wildlife populations were badly depleted.

His passion for nature led him to the wildlife management program at MSU (then Montana State College) when he was recruited to the football team in 1953. Besides his coursework, Posewitz said, “I had two priorities: getting outdoors hunting and fishing and beating the Griz!” He was a proud member of the 1956 championship football team, the year the Cats beat the Griz in Missoula for the first time since 1902.

Posewitz earned a B.S. and M.S. in Wildlife Management from MSU and went to work as a biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP).

In Posewitz’s 32-year career with FWP—15 of those years leading the agency’s ecological program—his proudest accomplishment was helping prevent southeastern Montana from becoming the “boiler room of the nation” during the energy crisis of the 1970s.

42 power plants were proposed along the Yellowstone, with one-third of the water of the Yellowstone proposed to cool the boilers. “We spent seven years competing for the water of the Yellowstone River,” Posewitz said. “And today it remains basically free flowing for about 677 miles, with only four power plants in that area.”

Following FWP, Posewitz returned to MSU as an Adjunct Professor of History & Philosophy, sharing the history and tradition of conservation. Posewitz explained, “I was trained in the science at school; I didn’t learn about [the history and tradition of conservation] until I was in the field. It is so important to teach students the story of conservation, what it took to move Montana from a completely exploited place to what we are proud to call the Last Best Place.”

Posewitz was inducted into the 2016 Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame—honoring his significant and lasting contributions to the restoration and conservation of Montana’s wildlife and wild places.

In Memoriam

An art spirit passes

When Steve Gibbs ’75, quietly passed away on New Year’s Eve at age 64, he left marks indelibly etched into the art scene of the Inland Northwest.

Diagnosed just six months earlier with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Gibbs, the founder and owner of the Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, played a leading role in bringing together the arts and the community in the city he called home since 1997.

He initiated the Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance, the second Friday ArtWalk, Kids Draw Architecture and actively served on the boards of the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the arts and culture alliance, the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association, Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission’s public art selection committees.

Gibbs received a lifetime achievement award in October during the presentation of the Mayor’s Annual Awards in the Arts in Coeur d’Alene and was honored in November with the Karen Mobley Arts Impact Award from Spokane Arts for his work fostering the arts throughout the Inland Northwest.

A South Dakota native, Gibbs spent three years in the MSU College of Architecture before, in his words, he “realized what I enjoyed most was the presentation of it. So I switched majors and earned an art degree with an emphasis on graphic design.”

After a career in graphic design, Gibbs moved to Coeur d’Alene and turned his attention to fine art, eventually opening a gallery as a way to display his own art. In 2002, he purchased a 1905 structure in downtown Coeur d’Alene, transforming it into the vibrant art center that stands today.

In addition to his lifetime love of art, Gibbs was an avid skier and kayaker and enjoyed camping and hiking. He had been making plans to retire and pursue those activities when he received his ALS diagnosis in June 2016.

Photo courtesy of the Inlander

individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers. Christensen’s efforts have focused on inclusiveness by working to increase the number of women who pursue architecture. Last year, she was named associate principal of Montana–based CTA Architects Engineers and has lent her expertise to MSU by serving on the university’s School of Architecture Advisory Council. She has also directed the AIA Young Architects Forum Northwest and Pacific Region and has held multiple leadership roles within AIA Montana.

Stephanie M. Regenold ’07, Boise, Idaho, received the prestigious Burton Award for Distinguished Writing for an article that appeared in Environmental Law News spring 2016 issue. Regenold is an associate with Perkins Coie LLP, an international law firm.

’10s

Ryan Hannahoe ’12, Helena, Montana, had several celestial photographs published on the Smithsonian Air & Space magazine’s official Instagram account. Hannahoe is a science teacher at Clancy School and is executive director of the Montana Learning Center, a nonprofit that provides educational experiences for all in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Troy ’13, and Kacie (Engle) Tempel ’11, were married May 14, 2016, in Gallatin Gateway. The couple lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where Kacie is a Physician Assistant in Neurosurgery and Troy is a Drilling Engineer for an oil company.

Jori Apedaile ’14, Helena, Montana, recently signed with Bindrune Recordings and Nordvis Produktion for the U.S. and European release of his “Eneferens” project on CD, vinyl and digital.

David Norris ’14, Fairbanks, Alaska, received the Pride of Alaska Award for consistent excellence in athletic competition from the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Norris set a course record last year in his debut in the Mount Marathon Race in Seward. The former Bobcat Nordic skier also won the American Birkbeiner, the largest ski marathon in the nation, held each year in Wisconsin.

*Life member of the Alumni Association

Class Notes are compiled from information received from our alumni and friends. MSU Alumni Association members will receive priority listing in Class Notes. To submit information, please send an email to collegian@msuaf.org or drop a line to the MSU Alumni Association, P.O. Box 172750 Bozeman, MT 59717-2750

Dapper Flat Champ

What Champ’s attire would have looked like in 1893. Happy 125th birthday Montana State!

Flat Champ is an exclusive member benefit. To get your very own Flat Champ, join the MSU Alumni Association using the enclosed envelope.