College of Business News

Lyle R. Knight, President and CEO of First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. will discuss “The Credit Crisis: How did we get here and how do we get out of here,” on Thursday, November 13. The 50-minute session will begin at 4:10 p.m. in the Procrastinator Theater in the Strand Union Building on the Montana State University (MSU) campus.

Knight, as the David Orser Executive Speakers Forum guest presenter for the MSU College of Business, will share his knowledge of the current credit crisis, how we have arrived at this crisis and what we need to do to counteract it. Business owners, members of the community and MSU students and faculty are encouraged to attend and to participate in a question and answer session following the lecture.

With a degree in banking and finance from the University of Utah and top honors at Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, Knight has extensive training in the banking and finance field. He began his career in banking as a drive-up teller and worked his way up to become the president and chief executive officer of Security Pacific Bank in Nevada in 1989. Knight currently serves as president and chief executive officer of First Interstate BancSystem, Inc., which is a $5 billion bank holding company, consisting of 50 First Interstate branches located in Montana, Wyoming and 18 branches in South Dakota. He is also advisor to Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In addition, Knight is a member of the Federal Advisory Council, representing the Ninth Federal Reserve District, and is a Board Director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, a trustee for the University of Montana Foundation and a member of the University of Wyoming College of Business Advisory Council. Knight has been a past chairman of numerous organizations and associations and is very active in the community as a volunteer with programs such as the Boy Scouts of America.

About the David Orser Executive Speakers Forum
In its 20th year, the David Orser Executive Speakers Forum brings accomplished and inspiring professionals to MSU’s College of Business to deliver large, open-forum lectures and to share their expertise and experience with students in the classroom. David B. Orser, a 1966 MSU graduate, began funding the program in 1988 to inspire MSU business students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible and ethical business leaders.

For further information about the David Orser Executive Speakers Forum, please contact Audrey Lee at 406-994-7026 or e-mail: audrey.lee@montana.edu.

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Instructor Gary Bishop with a MGMT 463 team

Montana State University’s College of Business is seeking local and regional companies that would be willing to offer management students practical business experience during the spring 2009 semester in return for research, issue analysis or operational advice.

Students are enrolled in either Management 475 - Management Practicum, a senior-level course that has been a successful MSU program for more than 15 years, or Management 463 The Entrepreneurial Experience, the capstone course for seniors seeking a minor in entrepreneurship. Both courses are taught by Gary Bishop, an adjunct instructor of management with a background which includes a twenty-plus year career in the United States Army as an attack helicopter pilot and instructor pilot and more than twenty years of successful senior executive experience in areas such as operations management, leadership, retail management, customer service, corporate training, entrepreneurship and consulting.

During the four-month course, students help manage special consulting projects requested by area for-profit and non-profit businesses and organizations. Past projects have included developing business, marketing and financial plans; identifying ways to improve businesses; suggesting solutions to problems; re-branding a business; market and competition analysis; sales analysis; feasibility studies and assisting with human resources and customer service issues.

The MSU College of Business is taking applications from companies that may want to participate in either of these courses during the spring 2009 semester, which begins Jan. 14 and ends May 8. All types of businesses are encouraged to apply. Participating businesses will need to send a representative to one of two hour-long information sessions prior to the start of the semester. Sessions are from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Dec. 2 and 1:30-2:30 on Dec. 9. For more information, contact Bishop at 994-7017 or at gbishop@montana.edu.

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