Grand openings of new Montana State nursing education buildings in Bozeman, Billings, Kalispell and Missoula planned for September, October

BOZEMAN - The fall grand openings of four new nursing education buildings for Montana State University are fast approaching. Members of the public and the media are encouraged to attend the celebrations, set for September and October.

The planned celebrations will mark the completion of the infrastructure investment, which has been several years in the making for the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing. In September 2025, the first of the five planned new buildings opened to nursing students on the MSU campus in Great Falls.

Founders of Goosehead Insurance, Mark and Robyn Jones, announced their historic and unprecedented $101 million gift to MSU in August 2021. The donation funded construction of new buildings for the five nursing campus locations in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. The modern, state-of-the-art facilities were designed, constructed and opened to students this and last fall.

The dates for each grand opening are listed below. The events will feature remarks from MSU leaders and clinical partners and a walk-through of the building for attendees.

• Bozeman: Friday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. MSU Jones Hall, 1420 S. 11th Ave.

• Billings: Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. 1040 N. 29th St.1

• Kalispell: Monday, Oct. 12, at 3 p.m. 311 Heritage Way

• Missoula: Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. 2845 Fort Missoula Road

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 or Missoula.

Currently, across its five nursing 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.

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 lockers.

MSU contracted with the design firms Cushing Terrell 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.

Generous partners leased MSU space for prior nursing instruction and donated land for the new buildings: Billings Clinic and Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, Benefis Health System in Great Falls, Community Medical Center in Missoula and Logan Health in Kalispell.

In Bozeman, the college moved from its prior space in Sherrick Hall.