Thank you for participating in the strategic planning process! Our feedback survey is now closed. We will use your responses to help develop final project plans. Stay tuned for updates.

 

Everyone at MSU shares a deep commitment to this university and to the great state we serve. We know there are transformative ideas across our campus and beyond—and we need them now.

A planning team came together to engage with the community in February. They began reaching out to the university, county and state communities for feedback. After 10 months, the planning team will gather that data and send a proposal to the MUS Board of Regents.

  • February – May, MSU Campus Stakeholder Listening Sessions for students, faculty, staff and community members.

  • February – July, Gallatin Valley Community and State Stakeholder Listening Sessions.

  • August – September, Public Feedback and Final Listening Sessions on Draft Statements and Plans.

  • October – November, Final Preparations and Drafting of Final Strategic Plan.

  • November 19, 2026, Presentation and Roll-out of Strategic Plan at the MUS Board of Regents. Meeting hosted at MSU.

Graphic breakdown of timeline showing that gathering input for the strategic plan will be in the spring and summer for students, faculty, staff and community members. In the fall of 2026 the planning team will put together a plan and publish it in November.

 

What We Heard

We invited you to challenge us and help shape the future of Montana State University. Throughout the spring and summer, MSU held listening sessions with students, faculty, staff and community members, circulated surveys, and convened community conversations across Montana. We asked questions such as: 

  • What can MSU do better?
  • How can MSU more firmly root itself and serve Montana? 
  • What is your one big idea (and/or small idea) for MSU's future? This could be a project, program, or any other new initiative. 
  • What is your most brilliant Bobcat moment or impression?
  • Is there anything else that you would like to share to be considered in the development of MSU's next Strategic Plan?
 

Surveys

 

2,400
The university gathered survey responses from February through July.

 

52 counties
Survey responses came from 93% of Montana's 56 counties. 

 

Listening Sessions and Focus Groups

 

100
Total listening sessions

 

1,550
Total participants, 63% of whom represented campus constituencies, 12% from Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley, and 22% from elsewhere in Montana. 

 

20
Feedback sessions visited 20 cities and town in Montana, including stops on the President's Summer Bus Tour. In all, 72% of all sessions were in-person and 28% virtual.

 

One-on-One Interviews

 

35
Interviews conducted with campus/affiliate faculty, staff and students

 

Dean Adams and Champ

Updates on the Strategic Plan

To learn more about what's going on with the strategic planning process, see below for updates from Dean Adams. Find all updates here.

Progress Update-September 2026

Learn more about what's happening next for the strategic plan.

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

MSU’s current plan, Choosing Promise, adopted in 2019 and updated in 2023, has been instrumental in shaping our progress and success. But MSU is always moving forward. New opportunities, new challenges, and new aspirations call us to think boldly once again.

Crafting a plan for Montana’s largest university means listening to the people who know it best—our students, faculty, staff, partners, and Montanans across the state. Your insights will guide the ambitions of the next chapter.

A dedicated Planning Team has been convened to design and coordinate the engagement process. Their role is to create opportunities for broad, meaningful input—not to write the plan themselves.

Planning Team Members

  • Ashley Dahlman, undergraduate student, Elementary Education
  • Steven Davis, assistant dean, Honors College
  • Korrin Fagenstrom, senior associate director, University Student Housing
  • Jasper Gattiker, graduate student, Microbiology and Immunology
  • Sheila Gilbertson, associate director, Advising Commons
  • Sally Moyce, associate professor, Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing
  • Omar Shehryar, professor, Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Ellie Staley, director, Downtown Bozeman Partnership

Leadership Support

  • Dean Adams, dean, College of Arts and Architecture

Administrative Support

  • James Tobin, Office of the President

Marketing and Communications Support

  • Audrey Capp, University Communications