Montana Education Excellence

"I matured exponentially during that time," he said, showing off a tattoo he — and the rest of his family — got to commemorate the end of his cancer treatments. The tattoo shows an orange cancer ribbon and the date he entered remission: Dec. 3, 2007. "I feel the need to appreciate life more, and I’ve found in the last few years that I can really help other people and make their lives better too."

The Helena School District has launched an innovative new program in partnership with their Vo-Tech. Called Access to Success, it offers students who have dropped out the ability to come back and work on finishing high school and getting a professional certificate at the same time, while paying only a $30 registration fee.

Faculty, staff, and students in the
Montana University System (MUS) are
engaged in science and technology
research and graduate education that
help build Montana’s economic future.

With growth and self-promotion in mind, Carroll College will run with the big dogs this spring when it hosts a regional engineering conference in Helena, drawing 300 students from major universities across the Pacific Northwest.

If the system works, Pernell said, it could prove revolutionary for raising crops in northern climates.

Rebecca Mahurin, director of MSU’s Technology Transfer’s Office, said she was particularly pleased that the report found that MSU consistently ranks in the top ten for licensing activity on a weighted basis for research funding.

Superintendent Denise Juneau told the body her top priority is to increase the academic achievement of every student in Montana.

The center is the oldest, largest and best-known facility researching biofilm, a slime of bacteria that sticks to surfaces, causing everything from dental plaque to infection in human tissue.

"This knowledge center, as I call the library, will open up the minds of our young people," he said. "The students will prosper. By them prospering, this nation will prosper also."

Perhaps that will be the chairman’s legacy – knowledge that will continue to empower students, thus providing opportunity for the Crow Tribe to prosper.

"MSU is dedicated to helping Montana students to pursue their dreams," Russell said. "We want to help make higher education possible for Montana families."