Montana Education/Business Partnerships

BOZEMAN — For 13 weekends last fall, Tracy Grazino drove 120 miles to Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley to videotape coyotes. By BRETT FRENCH Of The Gazette Staff Working from 4 a.m. until sunset, sometimes…

"In this day and age, we cannot carry the day in the global economy with a weakened university." "Brain power is what’s necessary to carry the day in a global economy expanding with huge centrifugal forces."

"Taylor said she believes it’s important for today’s students to experience what the real world of business is like through similar projects."

BOZEMAN–When it comes to mold, Mike Vogel has seen it all: the rubbery-looking brown stuff that bubbles up in the corner of the shower. The green speckly fuzz that sprouts on window sills. And the…

“We try to use our resources to develop wealth for the state of Montana,” Rudbach says. “We have a lot of entrepreneurs and good ideas in this state, and we need to support and nurture them.”

Participating schools receive a free license to the Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) curriculum, which is a vendor-neutral program created by Planet3 Wireless Inc. of Denver.

"It’s also crucial that a university president make the urban partnership a clear priority in his or her administration, Levin said, recruiting the necessary leadership and providing resources.

In recruiting deans or key staff, "I have made community outreach an explicit goal and a criterion against which performance is measured," he said."

Everyone agrees that no college program can be expected to produce students with the leading-edge skills that are immediately valuable to an employer. But, Grecian points out, if you can encourage area residents to follow the IT route at local schools that are teaching the curriculum that matters most to nearby employers, "they come out with the concepts down and a desire to learn, and they’ll do continuous training at their place of employment."

"Tiberi said that Harvard University owned several dredges in Alder Gulch in the 1800s. The prestigious school, located in Massachusetts, profited off Montana gold to the sum of millions of dollars. Now, members of VCI hope Harvard is willing to reciprocate by offering financial support for the classes at Alder Gulch."

After working for a sign company for 27 years, Paul Cox wanted to get a new perspective on his business. "I wanted to think about things in a different way," said Cox, who is on…