Dr. Stefani Hicswa marked her fifth MSUB graduation last month as Chancellor. In an interview with YPR’s Karl Lengel just prior to the ceremony, she reflected upon her own path toward her graduation to higher education.
She grew up on a Montana farm and attended high school in Dillon. She is deeply invested in student success, and an incident early in her youthful academic life focused her future on opening doors, and on keeping those doors opening.
“When my high school counselor told me that I probably shouldn’t count on college because I couldn’t afford it.”
That challenge led her to the University of Montana, which led to an active role in keeping students on track as an advisor. Her first professional employment came as an Academic Advisor at Flathead Valley Community College. While advising at Flathead, she was motivated to set a very specific goal for her career path. She says she knew the exact target position and the exact time she would need to complete it.
“I can do this in ten years. Then they asked us at the next session ‘Where do you want to do it?’ and I said, ‘Miles Community College’, and I was President of Miles Community College ten years later.”
Her experience led to the MSU Billings Chancellor position five years ago, and she has continued to develop that drive and its power in keeping students engaged. Dr. Hicswa commends the spring ‘26 graduating class, noting the exemplary role students play in their lives, and singled out graduation speaker Nova Rosman.
“...leadership, scholarship and service, and academics, and she is a great example of how to balance it all. They’re amazing!”
In this interview, the Chancellor also chronicles her focus on student retention as it drew attention throughout her rapidly burgeoning career. She discusses some of the similarities and differences between two and four year higher education programs, and she touches on the monetization of education, and the influence of politics in daily campus life.
