From the Desk of the Dean
Hello MRJCON friends, colleagues, and alums,
Happy Spring!
Spring in Montana stutters into existence, lasts one beautiful weekend and then abruptly gives way to summer. But in academia, “spring” lasts an entire semester and concludes with the satisfaction of completing a great academic year. The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing is working hard this spring and has much to celebrate in May and beyond. In this newsletter, we are proud to share exciting news about our five new buildings, program developments, faculty work, and student achievements.
Construction on our five new nursing education buildings is progressing well. We anticipate occupying our new building in Great Falls first, possibly as soon as Fall 2025! Our other four buildings will be ready sometime in 2026 with Bozeman and Billings completed during spring 2026 and Missoula and Kalispell hopefully ready by Fall 2026. These new structures will allow the college to expand undergraduate enrollment from our current production of 300 bachelor’s-prepared nurses each year to over 400 BSNs annually by 2030.
We are delighted with the impact of our new Direct Entry into Nursing program! This program guarantees placement in the MSU BSN program to all Montana high school graduates who enroll at MSU to complete their pre-requisites, maintain a 3.0 GPA, and receive a C- or better in all required pre-requisite courses. Direct Entry applicants are guaranteed admission to the nursing degree and submit a placement request with their rank ordered preference for their upper division nursing campus. The number of participants in the Direct Entry into Nursing program grows each year helping us to better serve Montana’s rural, frontier and tribal communities.
Nursing is an amazing career. Many people go into nursing because of the flexible hours; others for the excellent pay and job security. In this newsletter, you will read about a Bobcat Nurse alum, Vicki Gashwiler, who created a unique and satisfying career in clinical trial research. You will also read about two alums, Dena Richter and Kim DesRosier, who were recognized for their impact as nursing professionals and advocacy for MSU and the College of Nursing. Choosing to become a nurse or advanced practice nurse is an excellent economic decision for students seeking an exciting career. The MRJCON has five campuses but truly is one college with a single mission to serve Montana.
Thank you for being a part of our story,
Five New Nursing Education Buildings for Montana: Construction Update
"Everyone knows it’s the nurses that actually take care of you.” Mark Jones
The new MSU Bobcat nursing education building in Billings will be located at the corner of 11th Ave. North and North 29th Street, immediately adjacent to the campuses of both Billings Clinic and St. Vincents Regional Hospital Intermountain Health. Langlas Construction placed the last steel beam in early March. Wall sections are being constructed off-site and will be installed this spring. We anticipate occupancy by Fall Semester 2026.
Construction on the new Bobcat nursing education building in Bozeman, Jones Hall, is progressing well. Martel Construction has erected all structural steel and is currently working on the second-floor metal decking. Located at the southeast corner of W Grant and S Eleventh Streets, Jones Hall will be next door to the recently opened Student Wellness Center and across the street from the soon-to-be expanded Visual Communications Building, home of Montana PBS. Full occupancy is anticipated Fall Semester 2026.
Sletten Construction has made steady progress on the new Bobcat nursing education building in Great Falls located on 29th Street South between 16th Ave S and 18 Ave S. Most of the exterior and interior structure is complete. Next, the interior ceiling will be installed along with an elevator and painting will be completed. Just as Great Falls was the first MSU nursing campus established in 1937, it will now be the first campus to occupy their new building. We anticipate teaching in the building in Fall Semester 2025.
The new Bobcat nursing education building in Kalispell will be located on the northern side of the Logan Health campus on the corner of Windward and Heritage Way. Swank Construction is in the final signature process and then work can begin in earnest. We anticipate occupancy by Fall Semester 2026.
Jackson Construction has begun preliminary work on the new Bobcat nursing education building located on the Community Medical Center campus just off Fort Missoula Road. Final permits are being executed to allow foundation work to begin. We anticipate occupying the building by Fall 2026 or Spring Semester 2027.
“Our motto is five campuses – one college – serving Montana. We have a simple goal – to improve the health of all Montanans.” - Dean Sarah Shannon
President Waded Cruzado tours new Great Falls building
During a recent visit to Great Falls, President Waded Cruzado donned a hard hat and toured the new Great Falls building with Assistant Campus Director Amanda Mauws. She was particularly excited to see the outdoor, second floor terrace where future students will be able to have lunch, study and enjoy the fresh air.
“The building represents profound educational opportunities for Montana State University students." President Waded Cruzado
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson and Partner Dr. Bernadette McCrory open BioRed Hub on campus
Assistant Professor, Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Johnson, Associate Professor Bernadette McCrory from the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering and Associate Professor Laura Stanley from the Gianforte School of Computing, are the co-directors for the new BioRed Hub. These innovative faculty have created an interdisciplinary space for solving design issues for health care and beyond.
"We can't advance the discussion about the health of Montanans in rural communities without taking into consideration our engineering colleagues, computer science colleagues and those that help design our systems of care,” said hub co-director Elizabeth Johnson, assistant professor of nursing, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the new facility.
Crow mother and daughter graduate together at 2024 Montana State University fall commencement. Click on the button below to read the full story by KBZK
The Caring for Our Own Program has graduated nearly 170 American Indian/Alaska Native nurses over its twenty plus history. The CO-OP program has become a 'family affair' with siblings, cousins and now, a mother-daughter, completing their bachelor's degrees in nursing. At the special Honoring Ceremony for CO-OP graduates, families of graduating students share their pride and joy, and often, the other members of the extended family who also have graduated with a degree from MSU College of Nursing.
Congratulations to Dena Richter
Recipient of the MRJCON 2024 Alumni Achievement Award
Awarded during the Fall 2024 Homecoming celebrations, former alum and long-time MSU and MRJCON advocate, Dena Richter, received the Alumni Achievement Award from the college of nursing. Dena serves on the Dean's Advisory Council.
Congratulations to Kim DesRosier
Recipient of a 2024 Blue and Gold Award from Montana State University
Kim DesRosier was the recipient of a Montana State University Blue and Gold Award during the Fall 2024 Homecoming celebrations. A 1974 graduate of the MSU College of Nursing, Kim has been an inspirational and effective leader in her Blackfeet tribal community. Working with young children through elders in the community, Kim has personified the impact an MSU graduate can have in Montana.
MRJCON WINS CAN THE GRIZ COLLEGE COMPETITON AT MSU
The Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing took home the Can the Griz Trophy in the competition between colleges at MSU for donating the most! Nursing rallied its five campuses around the state to participate and earned the top award with 303.9 points, followed by College of Agriculture with 122. 8 points and College of Letters & Science with 20.7 points. The MRJCON students, faculty and staff raised a total of $18,501 and 6,713 lbs. of food for the MSU food pantry located in the new Student Wellness Building. See msu.food.pantry if you would like to make a donation for MSU students.
Congratulations to Dean Sarah Shannon
Montana State University’s Dean of Nursing Sarah Shannon received the State Advocate Award from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
In recognition of her advocacy for nurse practitioners and all advanced practice nurses, Dean Shannon received the State Advocate Award for Montana from the national association representing nurse practitioners.
Congratulations to Dr. Margaret "Marg" Hammersla
Assistant Professor Marg Hammersla received a national award for the state of Montana for Outstanding Contributions from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Congratulations to Dr. Marg Hammersla as the recipient of the AANP State Award for Outstanding Contributions for Montana. A long-time nurse practitioner, Dr. Hammersla, is a leader at the national and state level ensuring nurse practitioners are able to contribute to the health and health care. Click on the link below to read the full story by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
In December, the MRJCON celebrated eight new graduates from the Caring for Our Own Program. CO-OP graduates receive a blanket at the Honoring Ceremony held after the college recognition event where all graduates receive their MSU nursing pins.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Vicki Gashwiler, Class of 2000
Vicki Gashwiler exemplifies the breadth of career options available to a MSU Bachelor's of Nursing graduate! Vicki completed her studies on the Great Falls Campus of MSU College of Nursing in December of 2000. She was so excited to go into bedside nursing and started on the cardiac floor at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. After 18 months, she moved into critical care and worked for two years in the St. Patrick Hospital's ICU. Unexpectedly, Vicki had an opportunity to work part-time as a Research Coordinator for a group of cardiologists associated at the International Heart Institute at St. Patrick's. This was her first exposure to the world of research clinical trials. The role was a natural fit for a Registered Nurse as it required patient chart reviews, detailed informed consent discussions and documentation, health assessments and screening tests/labs, safety monitoring and long-term follow-up assessments. A whole new world opened up for Vicki in her nursing career! She used her nursing background and cardiac/critical care experience extensively in this role and worked with a team of HCPs to enroll and manage patients during long-term follow-up for the clinical trials.
After a few years as the Research Coordinator, Vicki had been exposed to the many roles involved in clinical trials and knew she wanted to take her career further into this industry. She was exposed to all of the people involved in getting a new experimental drug or device approved by the FDA and to patients including Scientists, Engineers, Pharmacists, Investigators (typically a physician), Research Coordinators, Medical Monitors evaluating safety throughout the trial, Clinical Research Associates training and assessing the trial at sites, Data Managers receiving and processing the data from patient exposure, Project Managers organizing the clinical trial, Biostatisticians and Medical Writers collating the results of the data, and many others. Vicki accepted a position with a large cardiac medical device manufacturer (Abbott Vascular) as a Clinical Research Associate and from there, her career grew.
Vicki was able to use her knowledge of patient care to help bring novel new devices to market globally. As a MSU Bobcat Nurse, she found her education had prepared her for this unique opportunity." Dean Sarah Shannon
To this day, Vicki is faced with hurdles where she reaches back to her nursing education and experience to help solve problems. She works with other healthcare professionals many of them nurses. Products and indications that Vicki has worked on over her career include cardiac/vascular indications (rhythm management, CAD, valve repair/replacements, peripheral/vascular disease), endocrinology (PCOS, diabetes, weight management), oncology, ENT indications, orthopedic indications (pain management, joint replacements, osteoarthritis), women's health (fertility, dysmenorrhea, incontinence, HRT) and novel diagnostic products for a wide array of diseases. Vicki has progressed into leadership roles helping large pharmaceutical and device companies bring their products to the global market.
Currently, Vicki leads the MedTech team within ProPharma. ProPharma’s MedTech team is made up of industry experts in the medical device field that support device development from concept to approval, including regulatory strategists, quality management professionals, medical writers, clinical strategists and clinical operations professionals. With almost 25 years in healthcare as a Registered Nurse and 20 years in Clinical Research, nursing alum Vicki Gaswiller demonstrates the power of a BSN degree in charting an exciting and engaging career.
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
Credits:
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