Distinctly Montana Magazine

LIKE MONTANA COLLEGES? COMMENT ON DISTINCTLY MONTANA'S FB PAGE Karen Beiser, Assistant Profes- sor of Business at Rocky Moun- tain College in Billings, agrees, predicting, "I think we've only begun to see the potential as we stress the idea of at least a minimal amount of business education for all majors. For example, a student majoring in art will likely need to know how to operate an art gallery." Scott Bryant, Executive Director for the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship for the New West at Montana State University at Bozeman, cites a number of minors that students can earn in the business curriculum as well as minors in entrepreneurship itself. "We increasingly have people coming from other academic disciplines who real- ize they need to develop business skills." as well as meet another goal: to live and work in Montana. Alex "Papu" Rincon in his shop and on the slopes Katrina Stark, Assis- tant Professor of Busi- ness Administration at University of Great Falls, notes that many of their students come from small towns with a background in small Klaus Uhlenbruck, Associate Dean and Associate Professor at the University of Montana School of Business Admin- istration, says entrepreneurship studies aren't necessarily new, pointing out that the University hosts an annual busi- ness plan competition, one of the oldest such competitions in the country. Still, he sees growing interest in entrepre- neurship programs, as many students see small business as their greatest opportunity to develop and grow their ideas, businesses or farming and ranching. "Our kids aren't likely going to IBM or Dell. They're more likely to stay in Mon- tana and get involved in a small business." Alex "Papu" Rincon graduated from Carroll College in Helena in 2003, with a triple major in Business Adminis- tration, Visual Arts, and Linguistics, with an emphasis on Spanish. He'd worked in retail through high school and college, so had a background in business, but noted that business departments tend to emphasize big business, "I'd challenge them to tailor their teaching to small business— and they responded to that challenge." After graduation he made a point to stay in contact with his teachers at Carroll, meeting them for coffee or lunch and the oppor- tunity to run business ideas by them. In October 2007, he launched four0six, a specialty cloth- ing store on Helena's Last Chance Gulch. Papu believes his MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY – NORTHERN HAVRE ENROLLMENT: 1,304 UNIQUE ASPECT: Campuses in Havre, Great Falls, and Lewistown. MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BOZEMAN ENROLLMENT: Undergraduates: 11,579 GRADUATES: 1,980 UNIQUE ASPECT: Students work alongside faculty experts in a collaborative environment that en- courages them to gain inspired perspectives and solve real-world challenges. www.distinctlymontana.com ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BILLINGS ENROLLMENT: 1,000 students. UNIQUE ASPECT: Liberal arts college that also offers degrees in equestrian studies, aviation, and masters in physician assistant, accountancy, and educational leadership. 79

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