Montana State celebrates opening of new nursing education building in Kalispell

KALISPELL - When fifth-generation Montanan Kayla Anderson returned home from her work delivering more than 100 babies in the Philippines, she was looking for opportunities to further her education. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she didn't have to look further than her hometown of Kalispell and alma mater of Montana State University to do just that.

Anderson, who earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from MSU's Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing a decade ago, returned to enroll in the college's Doctor of Nursing Practice nurse-midwifery program this year. She is one of countless students impacted by a historic $101 million donation from Mark and Robyn Jones to MSU, which allowed the college to fund and staff the nurse-midwifery program - providing a home to Montana students who previously did not have that educational option.

The 2021 gift - the largest donation to a U.S. nursing school at the time - is helping equip the college to serve the healthcare needs of Montanans today and in the future. $92 million of the donation was allocated to build brand new, state-of-the-art nursing education buildings on MSU's five nursing campuses in Billings, Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. The buildings provide a home for students, replacing a patchwork of older and mostly leased spaces the college operated out of before completion of the five major construction projects in 2025 and 2026.

MSU President Brock Tessman spoke about Anderson's story Monday at the grand opening of the new building in Kalispell. Looking out at a picturesque view of the snow-dusted Swan Mountains, Tessman spoke to a crowd of more than 100 students, faculty, clinical partners and other supporters of MSU who had come to celebrate the opening, watch the ribbon cutting and tour the building.

"There are lots of different ways to conceive of the land-grant mission and think about how it makes a difference for the state of Montana," Tessman said. "The biggest thing we do is offer a transformative educational experience to any and all Montanans so that they can go back to their communities and make their families healthier, happier and more vibrant than they have been."

A major part of the educational experience is having a supportive learning environment, and since the Kalispell nursing campus opened in 2002, the college has bounced across six different spaces, including a windowless basement, said campus assistant department head Sarah Wangerin. But the college's seventh landing place - a two-story, approximately 20,000-square-foot building equipped with modern technology and student-centered spaces - is ideal for the 67 nursing students currently studying in Kalispell, Wangerin said.

"Our students have said they feel like they're at MSU when they step into this space," Wangerin said. "The building has given our students a campus and a place to build community. They have spaces to study together. We find them studying on the picnic tables, on the patio upstairs and in the conference rooms. They can support each other in ways that they could not before."

The building is across the street from clinical partner Logan Health, which donated the plot of land it stands on. It features three large classrooms and a foundation skills room where students learn key tasks such as health assessment and insertion of IVs and catheters. It also includes a simulation center where students practice care on computerized manikins, with three rooms dedicated to labor and delivery, pediatric care and adult care, each with a control room and three pre-brief/debrief rooms. Students said they appreciated the many spaces to study and connect with peers, including study rooms, study nooks, a break room and an outdoor terrace overlooking campus.

"The building is great. I think it's set up in a way that really facilitates learning," said junior nursing student Ian Robinson from Stevensville. "There are plenty of places to study. I love our classrooms and all the boards that we have. They spared no expense when it comes to the labs and equipment, too."

In her remarks, nursing college dean Sarah Shannon thanked those who were involved in bringing the building to life, including the contractor, Swank Enterprises, architecture firms Cushing Terrell and CO Architects, MSU's Planning, Design and Construction team, and Logan Health for the land donation.

She also announced that the simulation spaces in all five buildings would be named in honor of Anna Pearl Sherrick, the founding dean of MSU's nursing college. And, a $2.5 million donation from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust equipped all the simulation labs with state-of-the-art technology, demonstrating the growth and continued outside support and investment in the college.

"Our college's vision is to transform the lives and the health of Montana's communities," Shannon said. "We are so grateful for the support of everyone here today who has allowed us to continue pursuit of that mission."

All together, the five new buildings will help increase the number of Bobcat nurses who graduate each year by around 100 students. That means across the five campuses, by 2030, MSU will graduate around 400 bachelor's-prepared nurses each year, about 70% of whom choose to stay in Montana to start their careers, Shannon said.

Before the ribbon cutting, a go-'Cats-go cheer and much applause, MSU Alumni Foundation President and CEO Fran Albrecht told the crowd how much the Jones' gift will improve healthcare for Montanans and address the state's nursing shortage.

"The true measure of this gift will not be found in these walls," Albrecht said. "It'll be found in healthier communities, exceptional care and generations of nurses whose careers begin right here in Kalispell."