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Prominent
Montana leader
joins UM center
UM President
George Dennison announced recently that 2004 Republican candidate
for governor Bob Brown will return to UM when he joins the O’Connor
Center for the Rocky Mountain West as a senior fellow.
The O’Connor Center is a regional studies institute focused
on public policy and economic and cultural issues in the Rocky Mountain
region.
Brown finished his duties as Montana secretary of state on Jan. 3
and started work in Missoula this month.
Brown has worked for UM previously as director of university extension
at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell.
“It is very good to have Bob Brown back with us,” Dennison
said. “He will be a great resource for the Center for the Rocky
Mountain West and for the entire University. We expect him to do some
teaching, as well as research and writing on matters of public policy
pertaining to our region.”
Dennison said that in addition to his work with the O’Connor
Center, Brown also may work on a limited basis with UM’s Public
Policy Research Institute.
“The details will evolve,” Dennison said. “Bob will
be a real asset to the University in many ways.”
Brown said, “I’m extremely pleased and excited about this
opportunity to continue to serve in a way that I can make a meaningful
contribution. I love ideas, policy questions and the search for solutions
to problems. I can’t wait to begin this new chapter in my life.”
Born in Missoula in 1947, Brown grew up in the Flathead Valley on
a grain and cattle ranch. He graduated from Flathead County High School,
served in the U.S. Navy and earned degrees in political science and
history from Montana State University. He earned his master’s
degree in education from UM, and then taught government, history and
economics for several years in Bigfork, Whitefish and Flathead high
schools.
In 1970 at the age of 22, Brown became one of the youngest Montanans
ever elected to the state House of Representatives. He served two
terms in the House before being elected to the state Senate, where
he served from 1974 to 1996.
“Bob Brown has many years of experience with public policy here
in Montana,” CRMW Director Daniel Kemmis said. “I came
to know and respect Bob when we served together in the Montana Legislature
in the 1970s and ’80s, and I look forward to working with him
again. The center’s capacity to serve our region will be strengthened
by Bob’s understanding of western issues and Montana history.”
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