MUSings
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Clayton T. Christian
Commissioner of Higher Education
The Montana University System Board of Regents will welcome two new members at its March 11 meeting.
Regent Todd Buchanan fills the seat previously held by Martha Sheehy for a term ending January 31, 2028, and Regent Loren Bough fills the seat held by Paul Tuss for a term ending January 31, 2027. Both were confirmed by the Senate late last month.
Student Regent Amy Sexton also was formally confirmed to her one-year term, which runs through June 30.
Each brings unique strengths to the Board and we thank each of them for dedicating their time and talents to the Montana University System.
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Regent Todd Buchanan
 Todd Buchanan is a Co-Owner and Advisor for Buchanan Capital Inc., based in Billings. Buchanan Capital serves individual and institutional clients, helping share and support asset management and financial planning strategies and plans with their clients across the region.
After graduation from MSU Bozeman, Todd joined the Peace Corps, serving as a Small Business Development Volunteer in Nicaragua.
Todd and his family have had many opportunities to help their communities and stay committed to numerous local, regional and statewide efforts and organizations. Past experience includes serving as a director of the Nature Conservancy Board for Montana, Chairman of Montana Conservation Corps and Chairman of the Billings-based corrections organization Alternatives, Inc.
Todd is a dedicated advocate for greater stewardship of the outdoor, cultural and natural assets of this great state.
Todd previously served a seven-year term on the Board of Regents from 2007-2014 and held a variety of leadership roles (Vice Chairman of the Board, Chairman of Academic and Student Affairs Committee, Chairman of the Budget Committee and Chairman of the Taskforce on Reform).
Raised in Billings, Todd met his wife, Brooke, while attending Montana State University in Bozeman. They have been married since 2003 and live in Red Lodge where they stay busy raising, loving and keeping up with their two active teenagers in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains.
Regent Loren Bough
 Loren Bough is an active community member and philanthropist residing in Big Sky. He has served his community in a number of capacities, including successful efforts to create a public high school, a performing arts center and a local hospital.
As a graduate of one of the smallest public schools in the state, Highwood High School, Loren benefitted from and remains committed to affordable public educational opportunities for all Montana students.
He remains an active angel investor and board member, globally, in real estate, technology and the consumer sector. Loren serves on multiple boards and advisory committees of select portfolio companies.
Loren serves on the board for Harvard University/Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and Chairman of the Property and Environment Research Center, Warren Miller Performing Art Center and Big Sky.
Regent Amy Sexton
 Amy Sexton is a senior at Montana State University Billings studying accounting and math. She works at the campus Academic Support Center as a supplemental instructor in economics and accounting.
After she completes her bachelor’s degree, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Economics and a PhD in Accounting. She hopes to become a professor of Accounting.
Amy works as a Financial Controller for Northwest Industries of Montana, a machine shop in Billings. In her spare time she enjoys weightlifting, running, reading and baking. Amy served as the student representative on the board of the Montana Society of CPAs and on the Leap Council for the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance. She was a senator for the Associated Students of MSU Billings and served as the Vice-President and President for the Accounting Club.
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Student Access & Success
Students awarded Reach Higher Montana Scholarships
 HELENA — Congratulations to more than 80 Montana students who have received the annual Reach Higher Montana Scholarship, many of whom are attending or will attend Montana University System campuses.
Students from Libby to Wyola – and many communities in
between – were selected to receive the $1,000 award for use in the 2021-2022 academic year.
Thirty awards were made to graduating high school seniors and 50 awards were made to students who are continuing their postsecondary education. In addition, one award is given annually to a Montana student with military experience in honor of Carl Valvoda, a Montana service member who tragically lost his life to cancer in 2015. This year’s Carl Valvoda Scholarship recipient is Kevin Watson, a Great Falls High School graduate attending Helena College.
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University of Montana
UM research reveals how bacteria
defeat drugs that fight cystic fibrosis
 MISSOULA — University of Montana researchers and their partners have discovered a slimy strategy used by bacteria to defeat antibiotics and other drugs used to combat infections afflicting people with cystic fibrosis. The research was published Feb. 23 in the journal "Cell Reports."
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits a person’s ability to breathe over time. A common strain of bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa often thrives in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis as well as in wounds from burns or diabetic ulcers. Once a P. aeruginosa infection is established it can be incredibly difficult to cure, despite repeated courses of antibiotics.
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Montana State University
Students from MSU College of Nursing's five
campuses provide support during pandemic
 BOZEMAN — As frontline health care workers across the state of Montana have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, students from the Montana State University College of Nursing’s five campuses have worked to provide support and relief in a variety of ways.
Those efforts have included helping administer COVID-19 vaccines, serving on teams created to provide relief to health care workers at critical access hospitals across Montana, including in many rural parts of the state; working as contact tracers; and helping with COVID-19 testing.
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MSU-Northern
C&B Operations seek enhanced partnership with Northern
 HAVRE — C&B Operations CEO Matt Cronin and corporate executives recently visited the MSU-Northern campus to discuss ways to enhance their partnership with Montana State University-Northern.
With headquarters in South Dakota, C&B operates 37
John Deere dealerships across the northern tier of the United States. C&B officials met with campus administrators and faculty from the Diesel, Agriculture, and Agricultural Operations Tech programs to discuss opportunities to recruit new students to Northern and enhance co-op and employment opportunities for existing students.
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University of Montana Western
UMW and the Montana Center for Horsemanship to host annual Colt Challenge & Sale in April
 DILLON — The Annual Colt Challenge and Sale, hosted by the University of Montana Western and the Montana Center for Horsemanship, is coming up April 2-3 at the Montana Center for Horsemanship in Dillon.
On the first day, students and colts compete in a series of events that demonstrate their wide range of abilities. On the second day, a public auction features the colts for sale, with all proceeds reinvested in the program in order to provide scholarships to Natural Horsemanship majors at the University of Montana Western.
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Montana Tech
Montana Tech Associate Professor Robert Pal presents at the American Association for the Advancement of Science
BUTTE — Montana Tech Biological Sciences Associate Professor and Director of Restoration Robert Pal recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Pal answered questions from colleagues around the world about his work, which focuses on both urban and agricultural habitats.
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Montana State University Billings
Hoops lends a helping hand to Native American students
 BILLINGS — Helping others has always been a top priority for Eva Hoops, who recently joined Montana State University Billings as Native American Success Advisor.
Hoops has always loved working with students and brings a wealth of experience to her new recruiting position. She has worked at Montana Native Vote and the Hardin School District, along with seven years teaching for the Crow Tribal Head Start Program.
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Helena College
Helena College shares the love
in the #helenaloveletter campaign
 HELENA — The Helena College community is writing love letters, telling all about what makes Helena and the HC campus truly special in the #helenaloveletter campaign started by The Local - Helena
Writes Robyn Kiesling, Executive Director of General Education & Transfer:
"Dearest Helena, You provide a community that embraces and welcomes us all. You provide beauty in nature and a local charm, unlike any other town. You provide an entrepreneurial spirit that supports small business. Most importantly, you provide a wonderful place to call home."
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Miles Community College
MCC launches new transfer
pathway in Ag Education and Leadership
 MILES CITY — Miles Community College continues to add to its educational offerings for students interested in pursuing bachelors degrees in agriculture-related fields. The college has recently approved an Associate of Science degree and transfer pathway in Agricultural Education and Leadership.
The program provides two possible pathways for students planning to transfer and pursue further studies – Agricultural Education or Agricultural Leadership and Extension. Depending on education goals and career plans, students can choose between the two options for their sophomore year of study before transferring on to a four-year institution for the last two years of their degree.
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