From the Desk of the Dean
Hello MRJCON friends, colleagues, and alums,
This issue of the Bobcat Nurse newsletter is bursting with good news! The college has had a busy and productive Spring Semester, and we are delighted to share some highlights with you.
In 1937 the founding dean of the Montana State University nursing college, Anna Pearl Sherrick, envisioned a program that would meet the needs of the state for nurses, nurse leaders, nurse educators, and since the 1980s, nurse practitioners. This spring, the college embarked on a new, exciting chapter in its history. We broke ground for five new buildings located in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula designed specifically for education of Bobcat nurses. Read more about the groundbreakings in this newsletter. We anticipate occupying these new buildings by Fall Semester 2026 allowing us to increase our annual bachelor’s prepared graduates from the current 300 to 400 per year.
This spring, we also admitted our first cohort of nurse midwifery students. Montana’s maternal health outcomes are 6th from the bottom among the states. This new option within the existing Doctor of Nursing Practice program will double the number of nurse midwives in Montana within approximately five years, creating the workforce needed to care for moms and babies across the state.
The MRJCON faculty are committed to meeting Montana’s needs through education of the nursing workforce, community engagement, and as nurse scientists. In this newsletter, you will meet Dr. Liz Johnson whose research is developing technology solutions to provide health care for people living in rural communities. You will also meet one of our graduate students, Dr. Alicia Crane, who received her DNP degree in May to become a family nurse practitioner. Her doctoral project, and those of her DNP classmates, have a direct impact on health for Montana’s rural, frontier and tribal communities.
The college stands on tall shoulders. Anna Pearl Sherrick envisioned a nursing program that would serve all of Montana. We are honored to uphold and expand her vision.
Thank you for being a part of the college,
Montana State breaks ground on 5 new nursing education buildings
It started with an email. Mark Jones wrote to Montana State University President Waded Cruzado asking how he and his wife, Robyn, could use their resources in partnership with the university to better the state’s health care system.
"Everyone knows it’s the nurses that actually take care of you.” Mark Jones
Three years later Cruzado and other university administrators and partners, sometimes joined by the Joneses, toured the MSU nursing college’s five campuses to don hard hats and ceremonially break ground on new nursing education buildings in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. The new buildings will provide faculty and students with state-of-the-art facilities and allow for increased enrollment to help offset Montana’s shortage of health care professionals.
Each groundbreaking event drew hundreds of people. While speaking at the Bozeman ceremony, Mark Jones acknowledged the nurses in attendance, saying, “Everyone knows it’s the nurses that actually take care of you.”
“You are there at all of the key intersections of our lives,” he added. “You’re there when we’re born. You’re there when we’re sick, at our worst, and you’re there when we make our way out. We are so proud to be associated with helping expand nursing in Montana. It is the nurses that really are the heroes.”
In 2021 Mark and Robyn Jones, co-founders of Goosehead Insurance, made a $101 million philanthropic investment to MSU’s nursing college, now known as the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing. Part of that money will fund the construction of the new nursing education buildings.
Designed by the architecture firms Cushing Terrell and CO Architects, each building will be two stories and house multiple classrooms and simulation laboratories, as well as break and study areas for students who often spend many hours of their days on campus. Construction at all five sites is expected to begin this summer.
Except for the Bozeman facility, which is being constructed on the MSU campus, health care partners of the nursing college donated land for the buildings. Previously, the MSU nursing college operated out of leased facilities in Billings, Great Falls, Missoula and Kalispell.
“The building represents profound educational opportunities for Montana State University students." Waded Cruzado
In Billings, Billings Clinic and Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital donated land in the 1000 block of North 29th Street. Benefis Health System donated two acres at 29th Street South and 18th Avenue South in Great Falls. Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell donated land at the northeast corner of Windward and Heritage ways. Community Medical Center provided the land for the Missoula building, which will be erected at 2825 Fort Missoula Road.
“The building represents profound educational opportunities for Montana State University students,” Cruzado said at the Bozeman ceremony. “Within its walls, future health care professionals will be nurtured and empowered. They will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and compassion to excel in their profession. This building will lead to innovation and provide an environment where students are inspired to pursue knowledge and service.”
MSU’s nursing college is the largest producer of registered nurses in Montana with more than half of all newly licensed Montana nurses graduating as Bobcat Nurses. About 80% of the MSU nursing graduates remain in the state to work after finishing their degrees. The college hosts the state’s sole doctoral nursing program educating nurse practitioners and is opening a nurse-midwifery option this fall to help meet the college’s mission of providing care to all residents in the state, especially those in rural, frontier and Native communities.
“Our motto is five campuses – one college – serving Montana. We have a simple goal – to improve the health of all Montanans.” - Sarah E. Shannon
“Our mission is to transform the lives and the health of Montana’s communities, and we seek to do that through cutting-edge education, creation of new knowledge and meaningful service,” said Sarah Shannon, nursing college dean. “Our motto is five campuses – one college – serving Montana. We have a simple goal – to improve the health of all Montanans.”
Expanding maternal health care: Montana State announces new nurse-midwifery program
The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing at Montana State University has taken another step toward improving health care for state residents, particularly those living in rural, frontier or Native communities.
The nursing college has been authorized by the national Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education to start a nurse-midwifery track in its existing Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The preaccreditation allows MSU to enroll students in the first nurse-midwifery program rooted in Montana.
Nurse-midwives are trained to give prenatal and post-partum care as well as attend births. They are also able to provide primary care to women from adolescence on. The new program will provide many more Montanans – especially rural residents – better access to women’s health care, according to Sarah Shannon, dean of MSU’s nursing college.
“Montana is a great place to raise a family. We want to help make it a great place to start a family.” - Sarah E. Shannon, Dean
MSU is planning to admit about eight students to the inaugural class, which begins in August. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing and be Montana residents. Applications for the nurse-midwifery track in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program will be accepted immediately.
Upon the graduation of the inaugural class, the nursing college will be eligible to apply to the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education for full accreditation, which is good for five years.
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson was selected to participate in MSU's Inaugural InterFACE (Faculty Academy for Competitive Excellence): NIH R01 Program
CONGRATULATIONS DR. ELIZABETH JOHNSON!
Co-developed by research development professionals at Montana State University, the University of Idaho, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Utah State University, and The AtKisson Group, InterFACE (Faculty Academy for Competitive Excellence) is a multi-institutional initiative to support faculty developing competitive proposals for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.
In 2024, InterFACE will focus on the strategic development of R01 (research project grant) applications. MSU’s Office of Research Development (ORD) will select a limited number of R01-ready faculty to participate in the program through a university-wide application process. Dr, Johnson's project is titled "TrialWear: A Novel Wearable Device-Platform for Shared Information Exchange of Pediatric Clinical Trial Participant Safety Information in Low-Resource, Rural Settings."
I can’t say enough good things about this program. I’ve grown so much. I would recommend this a million times over! - Elizabeth Johnson
Congratulations to Dr. Alicia Crane!
Dr. Alicia Crane is the 2024 Harold C. and Jessie M. Hudson Trust Endowment Award Recipient
The Harold C. and Jessie M. Hudson Trust is a long-standing student award. This $1,000 award is gifted to the MRJCON’s outstanding graduate student of the year.
MRJCON was excited to give the award to Dr. Alicia Crane this year. Alicia's DNP scholarly project was on improving follow-up postpartum care in the rural critical access hospital setting. Her project is expected to have far reaching effects for the State of Montana. Faculty support for her nomination included statements such as “an exceptional student” with “vision for the needs of Montana’s health care” and “excellent communication skills with patients and colleagues.” Alicia was presented with the award at the May 2024 Graduate Nursing Student Poster Presentations. MRJCON is sure she will be on the cutting edge of change for advanced practice registered nurses regarding improving the health and lives of citizens.
Montana State University Commencement Ceremonies were Held on May 10, 2024
Montana State University’s 140th commencement ceremonies were held on Friday, May 10. The university expected degrees to be awarded to 1,855 undergraduates and 371 graduate students. A total of 218 Gallatin College MSU students were expected to receive associate degrees or certificates.
MRJCON Celebrated the following awarded degrees:
39 Doctor of Nursing Practice
8 Master of Nursing
201 Bachelor of Science in Nursing