VOL. 7 / Issue 7 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 Fresh news every day at R O C K Y . E D U

Keeping our friends and supporters informed aboutwhat’s new and exciting at Rocky Mountain College

SILVERBTBJ

Continued on back page Continued on page 2

LIFELONG LEARNERALL ABOUT THE STUDENTS

Like many Rocky Mountain College students, Dianne McDermand has a zest for learning, digs being outdoors, practices yoga, and, yes, sports a tattoo.

But, unlike most RMC students, this in-defatigable 72-year-old is a tad older than them. And she isn’t in college for the credits. “I just have always wanted to know. I want to understand the world,” she said. “Getting older hasn’t changed that. That’s how I feel. As long as I can get out and about and am curious, I’ll always be a student.”

Dianne audits, meaning she pays a lower fee for classes, doesn’t earn credit, and must rely on a professors’ willingness to accept someone auditing their courses.

She also enrolls in online courses via ed2go.com, the largest provider of online courses for adults. By accessing via RMC, Dianne says she saves $30 off the regular $120 fee.

She prefers attending real classes on a real college campus, however, which is not easy since she also is a fulltime caregiver, tending to her 95-year-old mother and looking out

Dianne McDermand has found auditing classes at RMC fits into her belief in lifelong learning.

Chris and John Dorr are Honorary Chairs for the Silver Anniversary ofRMC’s annual scholarship benefit.

Cliff Edwards accepted the Rocky Mountain College Philan-thropist of the Year Award on behalf of the Edwards family.

for St. Vincent Healthcare, Planned Par-enthood, YWCA, Billings Studio Theater, All City Grad Parties, United Way Day of Caring, Boys and Girls Club, Magic City Soccer, Special Olympics, and Alberta Bair Theater, chairing many of these.

She is the creator and coordinator of the Billings Public High Schools and Middle Schools Angel Fund that, in 12 years, has assisted over 5,000 less fortunate students.

“I have a passion for making a diff erence and especially for less fortunate children,”

ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIPBENEFIT CELEBRATES25TH ANNIVERSARY

A couple with longstand-ing and devoted ties to Rocky Mountain College will be the Honorary Chairs for the Silver Anniversary of Black Tie Blue Jeans, the college’s annual scholarship fundraiser.

“With John and Chris Dorr, we have the privilege of having two of the most active people in the community and two of the most involved with RMC, pitching in to help with the 25th anniversary of our scholarship benefi t,” said Vicki Davison, RMC director of advancement.

BTBJ, which will be held Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center, features a gourmet dinner, silent and live auctions, and music by the Midlife Chryslers.

Chris Dorr is the consummate commu-nity volunteer. Her experience as a board member includes Alberta Bair Theater, Billings Studio Theater, YWCA, Magic City Soccer Club and the RMC Board of Trustees.

She has been involved with BTBJ since 1998, chairing the event four times and serving on committees the other years. She received the RMC Distinguished Ser-vice Award in 2003.

Chris has worked on fundraising events

Photo: Dave M. ShumwayPhoto Presentation: Monica Forsberg

ROCKY NOW Keeping our friends and supporters informed about what’s new and exciting at Rocky Mountain College

CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES FOR SUCCESSFUL STUDENTSBY MICHAEL R. MACE - PresidentINSIDER

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SILVER BTBJContinued from page 1

Most men are a little better than their circumstances give them a chance to be.

����— WILLIAM FAULKNER

The Nobel Prize winning American writer expressed succinctly a simple truth. It’s a truth I appreciate as a college presi-dent because the students who experience the transformational education at Rocky Mountain College have improved their circumstances.

When they leave they are smarter, more employable, and better citizens. That’s

Rev. Randall Hyvonen enjoys a moment with Dr. Edwin Stickney at the RMC Board of Trustees Emeriti Dinner in the Great Room at Prescott Hall.

she said of her work with the Angel Fund.She has been a YWCA Salute to Women

Honoree and the Association of Fundrais-ing Professional’s Outstanding Volunteer of

the Year.“We are honored to be associated with

this wonderful college. What a jewel in our community,” she said.

Dr. John Dorr teaches RMC Physician Assistant students doing rotations at Or-tho Montana where he is a board certifi ed orthopedic surgeon. He has also lectured students on campus and Ortho Montana has provided the team physicians for RMC athletics.

TO SPONSOR A TABLE OR FOR TICKETS,contact Vicki Davison,RMC advancement director,(406) 657-1005 / Vicki.davison@rocky.edu.On the web: blacktiebluejeans.com

Dr. Dorr has served on the board of St. Vincent Healthcare for six years and serves on two hospital committees. He is currently assistant boys soccer coach for Skyview High School and recently was the West High girls soccer coach, guiding them to two state titles.

“We love RMC,” Dr. Dorr said. “This col-lege provides a fi rst class education, nurtures its students, and produces caring, compe-tent, professional graduates.”

what education does and it’s why education has always been such a critical component of American life. We built the best public education system in the world, supple-mented by public and private higher edu-cational opportunities.

Rocky Mountain College is commit-ted to improving the circumstances of our students because we know it means a brighter, better future for the communi-ties where they will live and work. It’s been the heritage of this college since the days when brothers Ernest and Lewis Eaton

established it as “The College of the Open Door.”

As autumn approaches, this campus explodes with fall colors and nothing makes a more compelling image than students walking to class with the radiant oranges and yellows of sunlit leaves surrounding them. Our friends and donors have created this wonderful landscape for learning. They have sacrifi ced to make a better place for the next generation. We are always appre-ciative of those gifts from those who under-stand what William Faulkner meant. We are as good as the opportunities aff orded us to improve our circumstances. We are in large measure products of our environment.

Recently we had the privilege to honor our past board of trustees, our board emeriti, if you will. The RMC Emeriti Din-ner, we hope, will be an annual tradition to show our appreciation for the service of those who are also often chief benefactors. They recognize how improved circum-stances make for better people. As I visited with many of them they told me stories of someone who helped them out. They wanted to give back in order to pay back that debt to someone who helped change their circumstances.

I hope as we head into autumn, we will all consider whether there are ways we can change a student’s circumstance by con-tributing to RMC’s scholarship endowment. What better way to perpetuate the reality of Faulkner’s words?

CAREER GOES SKY HIGH AT CENTENNIAL AIRPORTFOCUS ON ALUMNI

Ian McKay, right, got the job after competing against 350 applicants for an internship at Centennial Airport, the third largest general aviation airport in the world.

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Ian McKay didn’t miss many classes at Rocky Mountain College, but the day he skipped class to fl y to Denver was time well spent.

McKay, majoring in aviation management with a minor in aeronautical science and busi-ness management, used the day to interview for a paid internship at Centennial Airport, the world’s third largest general aviation airport. After competing against 350 other applicants, McKay landed the job. Having a job in his pocket, a full seven months before graduation, was a great feeling.

“I defi nitely can thank Rocky for preparing me for this opportunity,” McKay said. “I think I had an edge because of the in-depth edu-cation and training I got.”

McKay said when he was a student, he and other students would joke about how much detail was included in classes taught by Dan Hargrove, RMC aviation director.

“But now I know how important those les-sons about everything from how to shake hands to how important character is, whether you have ‘street smarts’ or not, really added up,” McKay said. “It defi nitely made the diff erence. I think Rocky aviation grads do better than grads from other aviation schools just because our program is designed to help you land a job. All those little things count.”

McKay has a one-year contract, split between working in airport operations and planning. It’s a big responsibility for the Whitefi sh, Mont. native. Centennial is a lead-er in private business travel as well as a center for training future fl ight professionals.

“I’m the operations duty offi cer so, in an emergency, I’m the guy who coordinates the

response, from ATC (air traffi c control) to law enforcement and emergency medical responders,” he said.

With between 750 to 1,000 fl ight opera-tions a day – from landings to departures – the likelihood for a mishap is ever present.

“We have one or two every week that are usually precautions, but because it’s a general aviation airport the chance is higher that

something might go wrong,” he noted.An alert may turn out to be nothing or it

could be, as it was recently, something seri-ous like fuel leaking into a cockpit.

“You can never be too careful,” he said. Having the confi dence to handle the

challenges is important and “that’s where I am grateful for the education I got at Rocky,” he said.

McKay learned to fl y at a young age, get-ting his private pilot’s license while he was still in high school. His interest in aviation began even earlier.

“When I was a kid I knew I wanted to do something in aviation,” he said, partly moti-vated by his dad who also had a keen inter-est in aviation. “Rocky helped me focus on professional opportunities.”

The next step for McKay will be pursuing a master’s in space studies. He’s been ac-cepted to the University of North Dakota, which off ers the graduate studies online.

“I’m hoping I can continue working for Centennial and strengthen my resume with the UND degree,” he said. “Whatever I do, what I got from Rocky made a huge diff erence.”

Photos courtesy: Ian McKay

“I DEFINITELY CAN THANK ROCKYfor preparing me for this opportunity,” McKay said.“I think I had an edge because of the in-deptheducation and training I got.”

Fresh news every day at R O C K Y . E D U

FOCUS ON ALUMNI

Scott Kirby, Trevor McDonald and Ron Nelson were inducted into the RMC Hall of Fame.

Rocky Mountain College inducted three alumni into its Herb & Clara Klindt Athletic Hall of Fame on September 8, 2012. Ronald E. Nelson, RMC’64, Scott Kirby, RMC’93, and Trevor E. McDonald, RMC’01, were this year’s honorees.

Each year RMC inducts outstanding scholar-athletes, achievers and friends of athletics into the prestigious Hall of Fame, named for legendary RMC Coach Herb Klindt, and his supportive wife, Clara. In-ductees were honored at halftime of the football game and at the annual Athletic Hall of Fame banquet in the Great Room of Prescott Hall. 

The three honorees this year include a retired vice president of Nike and president of ‘Nike Japan’; an assistant director for fi eld operations at California State University, and the superintendent of the Greenfi eld Union School District in Pacifi c Grove, California.

“We’re proud of their accomplishments when they were student athletes at Rocky, and also for their success after Rocky,” said Robert Beers, Rocky Mountain College ath-letic director. “It’s apparent the character and integrity that made them champions in col-lege served them well in their careers.”

Ron Nelson came to RMC in 1960 on a basketball scholarship after helping lead Gilford, Mont. to the Montana State Class ‘C’ basketball championship. As a member of the Battlin’ Bear basketball team, Nelson was a four-year letter winner and was a start-ing guard for three of those seasons. In addition to his success on the hardwood, Nelson was also a four-year letter winner in baseball and was the starting shortstop for three of those seasons. On the diamond, Nelson helped lead Rocky to three confer-ence titles and the fi nals of the District 12 playoff s. Nelson graduated from Rocky magna cum laude in 1964 with a degree in mathematics. He went on to receive his MBA from the University of Denver in 1965. After completing his schooling, Nelson served in Vietnam as a second lieutenant. When Nelson returned to civilian life in the states, he went to work for Nike and eventu-ally became a Vice President of Nike and the President of ‘Nike Japan’. To this day, he remains a close friend and confi dant to Nike CEO, Phil Knight. In 1998, RMC honored Nelson with an Honorary Doctorate of Law. Nelson continued his contributions to RMC and Battlin’ Bear athletics by providing a sizeable endowment, along with Ron Sovey,

RMC HALL OF FAME WELCOMES SUCCESSFUL ALUMNI

RMC’64, for the Larry Pretty Weasel schol-arship for American Indian scholar-athletes. Even though Nelson retired from Nike, he has been a driving force in helping Nike provide uniforms and apparel to all Battlin’ Bear athletic teams. Nelson splits his time between homes in Oregon and Hawaii.

Scott Kirby was a 1989 graduate of Custer County District High School in Miles City. Soon after arriving on the campus of Rocky Mountain College, Kirby made an indelible impact as a wide receiver and return special-ist for the Battlin’ Bears football team. As a freshman in 1989, Kirby earned fi rst team All-Frontier Conference honors and was named to the fi rst team again as a junior in 1991 and as a senior in 1992. As a sopho-more in 1990, he garnered second team all-conference honors. In 1992, Kirby was named to the All-District 12 team, as well as being named Honorable Mention NAIA All-American in 1989 and 1991, and academic all-conference in 1991. He still ranks near the top in NAIA history and is Rocky’s all-time leader with 262 career receptions. Kirby graduated from Rocky in 1993 with a degree in fi tness science. Following his career at Rocky, Kirby moved to California and earned a master’s degree in management from the University of Redlands. He is currently employed as the assistant director of opera-tions for the fi eldhouse and student union building at California State University San Marcos. Kirby and his wife, Amber, reside in Temecula, Calif. with their two children, Jett and Izabella.

Trevor McDonald came to Rocky on a football scholarship after a successful high school stint at West High School in Billings. While at Rocky, McDonald was a member of the 1999 Battlin’ Bear team that won the Frontier Conference regular season champ-ionship and advanced to the post-season. After his senior season, McDonald earned all-conference honors on the fi eld and aca-demic all-conference for his performance in the classroom. He was also awarded with the RMC Coach’s Award in 2000 and was a member of the Dean’s List. McDonald graduated from Rocky in 2001 with a degree in health and human performance. After leaving Rocky, McDonald played semi-pro football for one season for the Billings Out-laws, where he was selected to play in the National Indoor Football League All-Star game. After his football career came to a close, McDonald took a Special Education teaching job at Alum Rock School District in San Jose, California. Soon after, he received his master’s in educational administration from National University and became the vice principal of an elementary school in the same district. McDonald then came back to Montana to serve as the associate principal at Laurel High School before returning to California and becoming the founding prin-cipal at McEntee Academy, a transitional school in the Alum Rock district. He is cur-rently serving as the superintendent of the Greenfi eld Union School District in Pacifi c Grove, California, where he resides with his wife, Kayleen, and their two daughters.

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FOCUS ON ALUMNI

The Rocky Mountain College Master of Educational Leadership Program received high marks after a review of the program by the Montana Offi ce of Public Instruction in 2010, and it continues to provide quality leadership to Montana schools. The RMC Master of Educational Leadership Program was described as a “model for the state and region” which may be why so many school districts are choosing RMC graduates for leadership roles.

An example of the success of the RMC program is the Laurel School District an-nouncement that three of its fi ve new prin-cipals earned their master’s degree from the RMC program. Two also earned their bach-elor’s degrees at RMC.

The state commendations included praise for the research and evidence-based founda-tion for the development of the program, its leadership, academic excellence, cohort structure, and the two levels of impact that the program is providing -- the development of new leaders and the re-invigoration of veteran educators who work with the pro-gram.

“This team eff ort is rewarded by this praise, but more so by the success of our graduates,” said Dr. Stevie Schmitz, RMC di-rector of educational leadership and distance learning elementary education.

Her words are validated by the three RMC graduates of the Master of Educa-tional Leadership Program, as reported in The Laurel Outlook:

ANDREA MEIERS    Andrea Meiers, who was the assistant

principal at the middle school since 2010, has stepped into the head principal position.

    Meiers was born and raised in Miles City and graduated from Custer County

RMC ALUMNI DEMONSTRATE LEADERSHIP SKILLS

High School. She earned a bachelor of sci-ence degree in secondary education with an English endorsement at Rocky Mountain College and a master’s degree in educational leadership, also at Rocky. Before coming to Laurel, she taught language arts in Powell, WY, for four years.

    She is married to Nate Meiers and they have a daughter named Aubrey.

SARAH SHELDON    Sarah Sheldon is the new assistant prin-

cipal at the Laurel Middle School.    Sheldon, who said she loves school and

people, looks forward to being able to gain leadership experience while “staying close to home.”

    Livingston is her hometown and she graduated from high school there. She studied at Montana State University Bill-ings, earning her bachelor’s degree, and she

earned her master’s degree at Rocky Moun-tain College.

    Prior to her move to Laurel Middle School, she worked as an English teacher at Lewis and Clark and Castle Rock Middle Schools in Billings.

    Sheldon lives with her husband and three school-age children and enjoys read-ing, gardening, cooking, baking, canning and being outdoors.

MELISSA LEE    Melissa Lee will teach Title I this year

at South Elementary School and will also serve as assistant principal.

    Lee is a Laurel native who returned fi ve years ago to teach kindergarten. She taught kindergarten three years at South Elementary School, then fourth grade two years at Graff Elementary School.

    Before returning to Laurel, she worked one year as a special education preschool coordinator and three years as a kindergar-ten teacher for Murphy Elementary School District in Phoenix, Ariz. She also taught kindergarten one year in Glendale, Ariz.

    After graduating from Laurel High School, Lee received her bachelor of arts degree in elementary education in 2002 from Rocky Mountain College and her master of arts in educational leadership in 2008, also from Rocky.

    Lee is married and the mother of four children. Lee is also the sister of Andrew Wildenberg, RMC associate professor of computer science.

-- INFORMATION FOR THIS ARTICLE PROVIDED BY LAUREL OUTLOOK

Sarah Sheldon, Andrea Meiers, and Melissa Lee are three of five new principals hired at Laurel Schools. All three graduated from the RMC Master of Educational Leadership Program.

Photo: Laurel OutlookPhoto Presentation: Monica Forsberg

THE RMC MASTER OF EDUCATIONALLeadership Program was described as a “model for thestate and region” which may be why so many schooldistricts are choosing RMC graduates for leadership roles.

OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS1511 Poly Dr - Billings, MT 59102

ROCKY NOW

LIFELONG LEARNER

Fresh news every day at R O C K Y . E D U

PHOTOSPhotographs appearing in Rocky Now are by Dave M. Shumway, RMC

staff photographer and web content manager.

Credit

for her cancer-stricken husband.“Getting away to attend a class is recre-

ation as well as education,” she said. “Being a caregiver is a lot of work and can tie you down.”

Currently she is taking a digital nature photography course taught by Dave Shum-way, RMC’s web content manager, staff pho-tographer and adjunct instructor.

“I’ve been a Dave Shumway groupie for about fi ve years,” she jokes.

She fi rst met Shumway when she signed up to attend one of his lectures for Rim Country Land Institute. It was in April, she explained, “just a cold, drizzly, miserable day and I almost decided not to go. But I did and when I got there everyone else had bagged it.”

Nevertheless, Dave gave a two-hour pre-sentation that was informative and interest-ing.

“I was sold on Dave Shumway,” she said. “He didn’t act like I was the only one who showed up.”

She’d always been interested in photo-graphy, but until the digital age it was too expensive to buy and have fi lm processed. “I was so particular about what made a good image that I could shoot a whole roll of fi lm and not feel I had anything decent,” she said. “When digital came along, oh my, that meant I could aff ord to do it.”

Her photography is what she hopes will be her legacy for her family. Raised by a dad “who shuffl ed from job to job” she learned to be frugal and to value education. She dreamed of college, but the family’s fi nances wouldn’t allow it and scholarships, even when she had excelled in high school, weren’t as

generous as today. After high school she joined the Air Force hoping she could save enough for college.

“The G.I. Bill only helped veterans during wartime and the only war when I enlisted was the Cold War,” she said.

She trained as a pharmacy technician, earning $100 a month.

“It was too lean a salary to permit much savings for college. The math didn’t work so I didn’t re-enlist. I decided I needed to get my lifeworking,” she said.

She eventually found work in airline res-ervations, a boom industry in the 1960s. She chose an opening in New York City rather than Seattle.

“I wanted something new and exciting and not so close to home,” she said.

Vietnam changed everything. With the country at war, vets could take advantage of the G.I. Bill. By packaging that benefi t, her savings, and a small loan, she could fi nally aff ord college and earned a degree in micro-biology from MSU.

There she met her husband, who became president of the largest heating and air con-ditioning company in Montana. They had a

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daughter, and they enjoyed a life that included a lot of outdoor activities. Being a stay-at-home mom didn’t mean staying indoors. She was active in a legion of organizations that preserved, promoted and protected the state’s rich wildlife and wild land heritage.

“We are outdoor people and the environ-ment is very important, which is why I volun-teered with just about any group that shared that interest,” she said. It’s also why nature photography is of such interest to me.”

RMC represents an outlet for her to pursue that interest.

“I’ve never been a real good book learner” she said. “I like to get out there and see how something is done and do it. That’s how I learn. This course at Rocky is wonderful be-cause it fi ts the way I learn.”

She also brings something special to class, according to Dave Shumway. “She’s so in-tent on learning that she’s a motivator to the younger students. She’s not even earning a credit, but she shows up with her assignments done, and with energy to learn, and her par-ticipation makes the class better,” he said.

People auditing classes like Dianne are not a major revenue stream for the college. While many audit RMC overseas travel trips, only a handful sign up each semester for full term classes. Even so RMC values those who do because they are a link to the community.

“We want to be a resource that is of value to everyone,” said RMC President Mike Mace. “This has always been the ‘College of the Open Door.’ Age makes no diff erence.”

Dianne could not agree more. Her phi-losophy is summed up on her favorite T-shirt: “Youth knows no age.”