Regents OK hiring of new Montana Tech chancellor

KALISPELL — The Board of Regents has approved the hiring of Donald Blackketter as the next chancellor of Montana Tech.

Blackketter, who is currently the dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Idaho in Moscow, will start his new job in Butte on June 27. He will replace Frank Gilmore, who served for 13 years.

Blackketter earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Wyoming and joined UI in 1989 as an assistant professor in mechanical engineering.

He was assistant director for the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology from 1998 to 2005, including one year as acting director, and has been an active researcher for more than 20 years.

The regents made their decision at a meeting in Kalispell on Friday.