From the Desk of the Dean:
Hello MRJCON friends, colleagues, and alumni,
Happy January! Montana weather is known to change on a dime, and this year has certainly proved that to be true. As winter break wraps up and students return for another semester, we are crossing our fingers for campus to again become a winter wonderland. The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing had much to celebrate this fall semester, notably almost 100 BSN students graduated at Fall commencement. We are so excited for every one of our graduates and cannot wait to see the impact they will make on our state! This fall marked the first semester that students spent in one of our brand-new nursing buildings, made possible by the generous investment from Mark and Robyn Jones. Our Great Falls campus moved into their new facility in time for Fall Semester. The response from students has been overwhelming positive as they enjoy the state-of-the-art simulation lab, modern classrooms, day-use lockers and study rooms. The space was carefully designed to maximize learning opportunities and peer connection – and it has exceeded all of our expectations! We will open our other four new buildings during 2026 and invite you to attend one – or all – of the grand opening celebrations being planned for Fall Semester 2026. Please join us for a tour of these game-changing facilities. This edition of our Bobcat Nurse shares a few of the exciting things happening at the MJRCON. Here are a few highlights:
- After three years of refinement, Dr. Elizabeth Johnson’s life-saving invention to help clinical trial patients will soon be commercialized and available to hospitals. The device, developed in collaboration with the MSU Geospatial Core Facility, is currently being featured at the Florence Nightingale Museum’s exhibition on health care design in London.
- MSU’s Montana Office of Rural Health and Area Health Education Center is supporting an AmeriCorps program that will place 14 community health workers in rural areas across the state starting in January.
- The MRJCON’s accelerated bachelor’s of science in nursing program appeals to non-traditional students and people seeking a career change. Read about why four of our current and former students decided to make the shift to nursing and why they chose MSU.
- In November, eleven of our senior BSN students and two of our DNP nurse practitioner students joined Drs. Molly Secor, Marg Hammersla and Kaki Mendius for a study abroad experience to Kenya. The students gained valuable clinical experience at a teaching hospital, several rural clinics, and in the community working alongside local nurses and doctors. Overwhelming, students pronounced the experience “life changing”.
Please enjoy these stories and others in this newsletter. As always, thank you for being a friend of the MSU College of Nursing. We are grateful for your support every day.
With gratitude and excitement,
Montana's future Nurses still need your help!
We need your help to finish our five new buildings located in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. With the sharp increases in construction costs over the past few years, we need to raise additional funds to purchase the furniture and audio-visual technology for these facilities. With our new buildings, we will be able to increase our BSN graduates from 300 per year to 400 annually, and we will double the total number of advanced practice registered nurses graduating each year. This is the workforce needed to meet the nursing, primary care, mental health, and maternal health needs of our rural, frontier and tribal communities. Please help us to put the heart into our new buildings!
Student Spotlight:
For the first year, MRJCON has been recognized for the excellence of its graduates by an anonymous donor. This donor seeks to celebrate graduating BSN students who have demonstrated exceptional promise in clinical practice, academic achievement, leadership, service, and patient-centered care. These awards were established by the donor in honor of Dr. Jasper Erwin Tolarba, whose visionary commitment to nursing practice, education, research, and innovation inspires future generations. All three awardees are Montana residents graduating with a 4.0 GPA who were honored at this winter's pinning ceremony on December 11.
Aksana Ashbaugh Kalispell campus Aksana’s leadership among her cohort and strong commitment to community engagement is demonstrated through her multiple volunteer experiences. She has been a steady, compassionate leader on the Kalispell campus, offering consistent encouragement and academic support while balancing the demands of nursing school and raising two young children.
Shannon Dooley Billings campus Shannon is a high-achieving student who demonstrates empathy, professionalism, and critical thinking in all aspects of her nursing education and consistently supports her peers. Her extensive volunteer involvement in the community reflects a true dedication to both personal and professional growth.
Meghan McNiven Missoula campus Meghan is a non-traditional student with school-age children. She commutes 81 miles (each way!) to go to school from her home in Deer Lodge to our campus in Missoula. She has been an excellent student coming to class and clinical on time, takes on additional opportunities, and helps her classmates to also be successful.
Alumni Spotlight:
Dania Block MSN, RN, NEA, BC Chief Nursing Officer, Billings Clinic MSU Class of 2000
Recently Dania was awarded the Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing Alumni Achievement Award for her work at Billings Clinic. Her career spans critical access hospitals, rural and acute care and leadership as the current Chief Nursing Officer for Billings Clinic. Dania has been a visionary force, focusing on elevating nursing practice, enhancing nursing-sensitive quality indicators, fostering professional development, and championing the prestigious Magnet program. With the help of her stewardship, Billings Clinic has consistently maintained its Magnet designation, a mark of nursing excellence that stands out across Montana.
Supporting non-traditional students seeking a career change
“At MSU, we are driven by a goal to bolster the nursing workforce throughout Montana. We are committed to supporting anyone, no matter their age or past career, to become a professional nurse,” said Sarah Shannon. “Our accelerated BSN program provides a rigorous, comprehensive option for students looking to earn their degree as quickly as possible. Our ABSN graduates are sought out by employers across Montana and the nation.”
Mission accomplished: Transformative Montana State nursing education building opens in Great Falls
Members of the Montana State University and Great Falls communities celebrate the grand opening of the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing facility Monday, Oct. 6, 2025 in Great Falls, Mont. MSU photo by Kelly Gorham
Considering
returning
to school?
The mission of the Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing is to enhance the healthcare in our rural, native, and frontier communities, and beyond. To meet this mission, our graduate nursing programs are taught via a distance-delivery model so that our students can continue to serve their communities while receiving their graduate education.
Bobcats Abroad!
The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing strives to educate nurses with a global view of health. Our international programming offers opportunities for undergraduate and graduate level students to participate in service-learning projects, clinical rotations, and nursing research in countries around the world. Recently T4 and DNP students were studying at the P.C.E.A Chogoria Hospital in Kenya
The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing continues to expand its programs, grow enrollment, and create knowledge to improve health. Become a part of our journey by making a donation to an area of passion for you!
Please contact our MRJCON Development Director, Alex McGee at 406-994-2433 or alex.mcgee@msuaf.org, with any questions around giving to the MRJCON