Waded Cruzado, the popular powerhouse president of Montana State University since 2010, is the lead-off speaker in the 2025 season of the Great Falls Bringing the U to You lecture series.
Cruzado’s “Montana State University, Our Land-Grant University” lecture will be 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23 at Great Falls High School’s Davidson Auditorium. Talks in the series will continue on alternate Thursdays through March 6.
Well known for her understanding of the Morrill Act, which created the land-grant university system in the United States, Cruzado is a champion of the land-grant mission of education, research and public outreach.
Under Cruzado’s leadership, MSU has changed dramatically, setting new student enrollment records and becoming the largest university in the state and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. She will retire in June 2025.
Over the last decade, MSU’s research enterprise also has flourished, galvanizing MSU’s stature as an R1 institution in the Carnegie Classification for “very high research activity.”
Since Cruzado took office 15 years ago, the campus has seen numerous major construction and renovation projects, including six new academic buildings, three new student residence halls, two dining halls and a new Student Wellness Center, which provides a holistic approach to student health and fitness. By the numbers, that’s a 33 percent growth in enrollment, 133 percent increase in research dollars and more than $600 million in campus construction during her tenure.
A native of Puerto Rico, she received her education at the University of Texas at Arlington and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. She was the first in her family to attend college.
The other three speakers in the series are Brad Bigelow of the University of Montana speaking on cyber warfare on Feb. 6, Dr. Cara Palmer of MSU speaking on sleep issues on Feb. 20, and Dr. Jason Neiffer of Montana Digital Academy speaking on artificial intelligence on March 6. Those presentations will be in Heritage Hall at Great Falls College MSU.
Brad Bigelow is a retired Air Force officer and former advisor to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Cyber for NATO’S strategic operations command. His talk, “A Layperson’s Guide to Cyber Warfare,” will be 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6.
Virtually every aspect of today’s world is dependent upon cyberspace, and stories about cyber security appear daily. Bigelow’s talk will explain what constitutes warfare in cyberspace and how it fits within the framework of national security and military operations. He will address concerns regarding disinformation and protection of critical infrastructures.
In his talk, Bigelow aims to alleviate fear, uncertainty and doubt that many people feel about the security of the internet and other elements of cyberspace.
Bigelow’s expertise on the subject comes from his experience on the staff of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He has written and spoken on the subject of cyber security and military cyber operations in the U.S. and Europe.
In collaboration with Missoula College, UM’s College of Business has begun offering a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity.
Sleep has become a major health concern across America and on Thursday, Feb. 20, Cara Palmer, director of MSU’s Sleep and Development Lab and co-director of the MSU Sleep Research Lab, will present “Sleep on It: Connections between Sleep and Mental Health.” Her 15 years of research focuses on how sleep patterns relate to a person’s susceptibility to mental health problems and how sleep patterns develop.
Palmer completed her doctoral training in Life Span Developmental Psychology at West Virginia University and a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Houston.
She has received awards and grants for research from organizations including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Sleep Research Society and World Sleep Society. Her expertise includes sleep health, effects of poor sleep, signs of insufficient sleep and sleep and mental health.
Speaking on March 6 will be Jason Neiffer, executive director of Montana Digital Academy, the state’s virtual school. His talk is titled “Learning Reimagined: the Promise and Perils of AI in Education.”
For more than 25 years, Neiffer has pursued ways to combine technology and teaching to make learning engaging and meaningful for learners of all ages.
His professional interests include distance learning, media literacy, digital productivity, artificial intelligence, social studies and humanities education.
He is a graduate of Great Falls High School, Carroll College, Walden University and University of Montana. His first work in educational technology was in 1984, when he set up all of the Apple IIe computers at Roosevelt School in Great Falls as a rambunctious 4th grader.
The Bringing the U to You lecture series is a collaborative effort of the UM Alumni Association and MSU Alumni Foundation. It is organized locally by a committee of alumni from both schools. This is the 24th season.
Series passes, $25, are available at Kaufman’s downtown and Leslie’s Hallmark in Holiday Village and can be ordered by calling 406-899-0277. Tickets for individual lectures also are sold at the door, $10 for adults, $5 for students. For more information, visit Facebook.com/UtoYouGF.
Author: Staff
Our Staff account is used to publish submitted content. If you have content that was published under this account, and wish to have your name as author, please contact us at (406) 952-3021
