Two years ago, Brock Tessman sat with his wife in the front seat of a moving truck headed for Michigan, wondering if they would ever find their way back to Montana. The couple decided that they would only return to Big Sky Country if the president position at MSU became available — and then it did.

After months of deliberation, Tessman was chosen to be MSU’s 13th president. Before serving two years as the president of Northern Michigan University (NMU), Tessman spent nine years in the Treasure State serving as the Dean of the University of Montana (UM) Honors College from 2015 to 2018 and the Montana Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education from 2018 to 2023.

Despite his time spent at UM, Tessman said his loyalty to MSU has been longstanding, even before his professional career in Montana.

The MSU Exponent