DATE:  March 13, 2001

TO:  Board of Regents

FROM:  Dr. Ronald P. Sexton, Chancellor, Montana State University-Billings

RE:   Campus Report for the March, 2001, Board of Regents' Meeting

  • Establishment of Coca Cola Scholarships.
  • Approved development of First Year Experience to help students be successful in college.
  • Part-time faculty compensation issues under discussion.
  • New Staff Senate is developing new communication linkages to and from the staff.
  • Faculty-Administration Collaborative Committee continues to work together to solve issues.
  • Partnering with Western Wyoming Community College to deliver distance learning courses.
  • Outstanding MSU-Billings Alumni honored: Distinguished Alumna--Tami Strait; Alumni Merit Medalion--James Haugen; and Recognition for Exceptional Contribution Faith Bad Bear, Maria Beltran, Gerald Bronnenberg, Troy Dalton, and Chris Nelson.
  • College of Business Executive in Residence program Spring Semester, 2001, featured High Technology Industry with Chris Nelson, President and CEO of Zoot Enterprises, Bozeman.
  • Clean audit of KEMC/Yellowstone Public Radio.
  • The College of Business sponsored its first semester-long Executive in Residence, Spring Semester 2001. Our first visiting executive was Mr. Bruce Whittenberg, past publisher of The Billings Gazette and current President of Sutton Industries.
  • Distinguished Lecture Series continues bringing community and campus together. Dr. Langdon Winner, currently Professor of Political Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, presented on "Who to be: Technological Change and Human Identity." On April 5, Dr. William Ryan, senior scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, will lecture on Noah's Flood: The Sudden Filling of the Black Sea.
  • MSU-Billings Online served 926 students, generating 1,487 enrollments and 297 semester FTE or 148 annual FTE in FY 01. Online students were located throughout Montana, in 62 different communities, and 9 other states.
  • Jacqueline Weitz, a high school student enrolled in the MSU-Billings High School Connections Program, won the High School Senior Division of the Montana Association of Symphony Orchestras Concerto Competition on January 20, 2001.
  • MSU-Billings Library reported a 10% increase in library hours (hours open in a typical week) and a three-fold increase in the number of students in the library in a typical week of fall semester.
  • College of Business completing third full year of AACSB Candidacy.
  • Held first annual College of Business International Study Day.
  • Partnership signed with the Lee Iacocca Institute for student participation each year in the Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry.
  • College of Education and Human Services received funding via The America Counts Grant to employ AmeriCorps Members (2).
  • We the People Regional Institute was one of five in the nation. A workshop which will serve, a ten-state, north-south region, from Montana to Texas is set for June, 2001.
  • The Montana Youth Leadership Forum, held at MSU-Billings, received the Jeannette Rankin award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, 2001.
  • A video has been completed on the Montana Youth Leadership Program.
  • Montana Center on Disabilities has received $500,000 a U.S. Department of Labor award for a model demonstration project to provide vocational training to persons with disabilities, elderly, and women.
  • A Paraeducator Project is producing of a video on utilizing paraeducators as links to the local community to enhance classroom activities.
  • The Gender Equity Project is planning a weekend program focused on developing self esteem for girls with disabilities, parents, teachers, and mentors to be involved.
  • The Montana Center staff are in the initial planning stages to develop a Hall of Fame for Montana Leaders with disabilities. The Center hopes to recognize the first set of inductees during July 2001.
  • Tami Haaland, Lecturer in the Department of English and Philosophy recently completed her MFA in Creative Writing at Bennington College in Vermont and just won the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize for her book Breath in Every Room.
  • Although 325 institutions received PT3 Capacity Building Grants in 1999 (T5I), the T5II grant, fully funded for MSU-Billings for 2000-2003, was awarded to less than 1/3 of the original group.