Fall semester begins at Montana State University Billings on Wednesday, Sept. 3, ending a summer filled with events and preparation for another great school year. Welcoming students in the fall is one of the best parts of my job. As Chancellor of MSU Billings, I am grateful to be among a team of dedicated faculty and staff who work together for the success of our students. For our new students, since this is their first experience in college, we do everything we can to help them feel a sense of belonging on campus. During Welcome Week, students will participate in a variety of activities and events including the annual BBQ and Bands, water slides, the Price is Right, movie night, and Service Saturday. It is an opportunity for students to become familiar with campus, meet new friends, and learn what MSU Billings has to offer.
To ensure that our students succeed, faculty and staff assist students to make meaningful connections and navigate the rigor of their classes. At MSU Billings, we are reinventing how we do things and changing our systems to support student success. By improving our processes, we are taking on bold new ideas, changing our paradigms, and implementing data-informed practices to ensure students are retained and graduate.
A 2024 Montana Department of Labor and Industry study showed that 79% of MSU Billings graduates work in Montana one year after graduation, which is 13% higher than the average across other Montana colleges. Biology, Medical Laboratory Science, and Registered Nursing report the highest median wages among bachelor’s degree programs at MSU Billings, earning over $60,000 a year after graduation. Many of those jobs are right here in Yellowstone County.
For nearly 100 years, Billings and Yellowstone County have embraced MSUB as their local university by investing in our facilities, programs, and the future of our students. Coinciding with the approach of our centennial year in 2027, we will begin the next cycle of strategic planning and will invite community members to participate. Look for upcoming opportunities to engage with us in this process. Your partnership is an integral part of our work.
It is a privilege to be a part of our students’ educational journey. Whether we welcome them as freshmen just out of high school or as professionals embarking on a new career, we witness the transformation of higher education every day. The impact on our students, their families, and our community is profound. I am inspired by the dreams MSU Billings students work to achieve and the support they receive from our Yellowstone County partners to turn those dreams into reality.