Strizich named dean at Northern COTS

Larry Strizich has been appointed the permanent dean of the College of Technical Sciences at Montana State University-Northern.

This appointment was effective Wednesday and is the result of a nationwide search.

Strizich has served as interim dean of COTS since September 2014, when former Dean Greg Kegel became the chancellor at MSU-Northern.

Prior to that, he had been the chair of the College of Technical Sciences since September 2004.

"It is a great honor to be able to continue to serve the university system and Northern," said Strizich. "Having worked at Northern for 28 years, it is great to continue to work with my colleagues in one of the most dynamic and exciting colleges in the system and to work with professionals in the vast array of disciplines within the College of Technical Sciences and with my friends and colleagues at Northern."

"In the 2 ½ years that I have been at MSU-Northern, I have worked closely with Larry, first as chair and most recently as interim dean," said William Rugg, MSU-Northern's provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. "He has been a great resource and a wonderful colleague; I am delighted to have him in this position permanently."

Strizich has been a member of the MSU-Northern team since September 1988.

He holds a doctorate in education from Montana State University in Bozeman, a Master of Engineering in computer engineering from the University of Idaho and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado. Strizich is a registered professional engineer and has extensive experience in accreditation, assessment, project management, grant writing and leadership.

Strizich served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1974 to 1980 aboard three ships of the Pacific fleet including multiple deployments to the Western Pacific.

He transferred to the Navy Reserve and served in units at the Naval Reserve Center in Great Falls until retiring from the Navy Reserve with the rank of commander.

He completed a 23-year career serving in the Navy and Navy Reserve.