Montana State nursing college sets dates for fall opening of four new buildings

BOZEMAN - The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing at Montana State University has set dates this fall for the grand openings of four new nursing education buildings, reaching a key milestone just five years after MSU received the largest-ever private donation to a nursing college.

Founders of Goosehead Insurance, Mark and Robyn Jones, announced their historic and unprecedented $101 million gift in August 2021. The donation allowed the college to construct new nursing buildings on all five of its campuses located in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. The modern, state-of-the-art facilities were designed, constructed and will be opened to students on an expedited timeline.

"Our growth as Montana's premier nursing college is a benefit both for students and all Montanans, who are cared for by the impressive numbers of Bobcat nurses who have chosen to stay in Montana and serve their communities," said Sarah Shannon, dean of the nursing college. "This additional infrastructure will allow our college to increase enrollment, increase the number of nursing graduates each year and bolster the health care workforce in every corner of the state."

Currently, across its five nursing education campuses, MSU graduates around 300 bachelor's-prepared nurses each year. With the new facilities, that number is expected to increase by 100 students to 400 new registered nurses annually.

The nursing school's "five campuses one college" model allows students to take their prerequisite courses in Bozeman and then apply to complete the nursing program in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula.

The new nursing education building on the Great Falls campus opened to students in fall 2025. Construction is on target for all four of the other nursing education buildings to be ready for students by the start of the fall semester. Thanks to the mild winter, the building openings are ahead of schedule.

The dates for each grand opening are below, all of which are open to the public. Specific times will be announced closer to the events and listed on https://www.montana.edu/nursing/.

• Bozeman: Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in the late afternoon

• Billings: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon

• Kalispell: Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in the afternoon

• Missoula: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in the midday or afternoon

Each of the new nursing education buildings features large classrooms, a foundational skills room and a state-of-the-art simulation center with three separate rooms for maternal and newborn care, adult care and pediatrics. The design prioritizes student-centered spaces, including private study rooms, study nooks and day-use lockers.

MSU contracted with the design firms Cushing Terrel and CO Architects to coordinate the projects with MSU's Planning, Design and Construction team. Different construction companies were engaged in each community to complete the projects, including Sletten Construction in Great Falls, Martel Construction in Bozeman, Swank Enterprises in Kalispell, Langlas and Associates in Billings, and Jackson Contractor Group in Missoula.