Education: Higher and hire

The topic of higher education — specifically, its tie to economic development — was on the plate at last week’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Great Falls.

Carol Donaldson of the Alliance for Montana’s Future promoted the importance of higher education at Montana’s six four-year institutions, five colleges of technology, seven tribal colleges and three private colleges.

The statewide campaign will conclude in April, Donaldson said. The alliance’s television commercials and print advertisements feature eight Montana business leaders, including Ian Davidson of Davidson Cos., Great Falls; Dean Folkvord of Wheat Montana Farms and Bakery, Three Forks; Karen Barclay Fagg of HKM Engineering, Billings; and Dave Keck of Advanced Silicon Materials, Butte.

"We are merely trying to convince the Montana public that education is key and one of the most important things we can do for economic development," Davidson said. Following a July 2000 economic development summit in Great Falls, the Economic Development Action Group was formed, and the Alliance for Montana’s Future ultimately grew out of that.

In Montana, per capita spending on higher education in 2001 was $157, compared to $287 in North Dakota, $310 in Wyoming and $229 in Idaho. There is a direct link between per capita spending and per capita income, Donaldson told the group.

For information, visit http://www.montanasfuture.com.

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