From MSU News Service
BOZEMAN — Gallatin College Montana State University Dean Bob Hietala, who has led the comprehensive two-year college during an era of unprecedented growth, will retire at the end of June, university officials announced today. The university plans to begin a national search for Hietala’s replacement in the coming months.
“Having the privilege to serve as dean of Gallatin College for the past 9 1/2 years has been the most meaningful chapter in my career,” Hietala said. “To see the students that have come though the college and are working in our area businesses is incredibly rewarding.”
Hietala has served as dean of the Bozeman-based college since Aug. 2009, when it was then known as the MSU-Great Falls College of Technology. In May 2010, it was renamed Gallatin College Montana State University to more accurately reflect the college’s location and offerings.
Under Hietala’s leadership, Gallatin College MSU’s enrollment growth was the fastest of any college or university in Montana. Gallatin College has grown from serving approximately 100 students pursuing certificates and associate degrees in 2009 to more than 700 today. Additionally, the college serves hundreds of Montana State students pursuing other degrees through developmental courses in math and writing.
Simultaneously, the college’s students have excelled. Hietala noted that since 2014, Gallatin College MSU has achieved the highest scores among two-year colleges in the Montana University System’s performance funding measures. These critical measures of a college’s performance include student retention and graduation rates, among other measures.
Hietala is quick to credit the success of Gallatin College MSU to its people.
“The success of Gallatin College is the direct result of the great work of the committed and talented faculty and staff at the college,” he said. “I have had the pleasure of supervising teams in most of my positions and was fortunate to get to work with this all-star team for this final chapter of my career.”
The college has also worked closely with the local business community to start programs to address local workforce needs. Since 2009, the college’s degree and certificate programs have grown from four to 14. Those programs include aviation, bookkeeping, business management, CNC machining, design drafting, health information coding, medical assisting, surgical technician, interior design, welding, photonics and laser optics, information technology networking, cyber security and culinary arts.
“Gallatin College has had incredible support from our local business community and other community leaders,” Hietala said. “These folks recognized the benefits of building a comprehensive two-year college to provide opportunities for students from our community and help build the skilled workforce that is required by our growing local economy.”
Robert Mokwa, MSU executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, acknowledged Hietala’s successes in “developing new academic programs that are in demand from students and that meet local workforce needs, such as photonics and laser technology, culinary arts, network technology, interior design and business management to name a few.”
“Through Bob’s leadership, Gallatin College has provided hundreds of students with an advanced education and technical skills that opens doors to opportunities leading to rewarding fulfilling careers,” he said. “Our community is a better place because of Bob’s leadership of Gallatin College over the past 9 1/2 years.”
In addition, in the spring of 2011, Gallatin College initiated dual enrollment classes, which provide college-level coursework at area high schools. This program has grown to the point where 15 area high schools are offering the courses and more than 500 high school students are taking college courses this year, Hietala said.
In 2012, the college started offering associate degrees, which created opportunities for students to take affordable general education coursework in preparation for transfer to a university. And, in 2014, Hietala started fundraising for Gallatin College MSU student scholarships. As a result, in the last academic year, more than 160 students received a student scholarship to help pay for their education.
Hietala has also worked to earn the community’s support for one-year and two-year education programs. In 2013, he led a Gallatin College MSU information campaign prior to a countywide vote to allocate 1.5 tax mills to support Gallatin College. The vote passed, which Hietala called an indication “that our community sees great value in two-year education and understands the critical role that Gallatin College MSU plays in educating our citizens and building our local workforce.” Funds have been used to support comprehensive two-year education in Gallatin County, including the creation of a number of additional workforce-related one and two-year programs at Gallatin College MSU.
Daryl Schliem, president and CEO of the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce, said Hietala has been a great asset to the business community.
“It has been invaluable to our business community to be able to rely on (Gallatin College MSU’s) training and programs to meet the needs of our businesses that are here,” he said.
“Bob is very forward-thinking about how we can make progress happen,” Schliem added. “The nice thing about Bob is that he always tries to find a solution to problems that businesses are facing. He never says, ‘no, we can’t do that.’ Instead he says, ‘let’s discuss it, find out what the needs are and see what we can do.’”
Jeff Krauss, a longtime Bozeman City Commissioner as well as a former mayor of Bozeman and former member of the Montana Board of Regents, noted that Hietala has done a “great job of raising the level of awareness of the possibilities of two-year education. And not just in Gallatin County but all over the state.”
Krauss added that he is confident that Gallatin College MSU will build on Hietala’s successes in the future.
“(Gallatin College MSU) is on a great trajectory, and we have to keep it going to honor Bob’s hard work,” Krauss said.
In 2017, Hietala was recognized with the Prospera Business Network’s Economic Leadership Award, which is given annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the economic development of the area.
Hietala has more than 30 years’ worth of experience in for-profit, nonprofit and private sector organizations. Prior to coming to MSU, he founded and built a $30 million youth services company that operated in six states and Puerto Rico, led an adventure travel company, led a local economic development organization and started a publishing company.
Hietala has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Denver and a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University. He has lived in Bozeman since 2000 with his wife, Liz, and their two sons, Henry and Ben.
