Hi-Line Living: World-class program moves into world-class building

Chancellor of Montana State University-Northern Greg Kegel's vision came to life when Northern opened the doors for a ribbon cutting ceremony on the new Diesel Technology Center May 23.

Many prominent members of the community in addition to many members of local and international businesses came out to the ceremony to show support for Northern and its diesel program.

"It's beautiful," Kegel said.

This project was very close to Kegel for years, he said, adding, "It's always fun to see a student win. Any student who goes through a program and then gets a job at the end, that's why I do it."

Siri Smillie, Gov. Steve Bullock's policy advisor for education, extended a congratulations to Kegel and the staff of Northern.

Northern is one of the few universities in the country that offers a four-year degree in diesel technology, with most diesel programs offering at most an associate degree. Northern offers a bachelor's degree and an associate degree in addition to certification.

David A. Santamaria, vice president of Fairbanks Morse Engine, said the new building has set the Northern diesel program apart from other programs in the nation.

"What Chancellor Kegel has done is it's not just the diesel tech center, it's how we are doing the whole thing," he said.

"You don't see this," he added. "Nobody in North America does this, no school does this. You go out into the world, you can't find it either."

He added that there are other programs but none that prepare their students for the industry like Northern's.

Decades in the making

The Diesel Technology Center has been an ongoing project for more than a decade for Kegel and Northern staff and faculty members. It originated from a new roof request for the old Auto Mechanics Building while Kegel was dean of the College of Technical Sciences, a request for $800,000. The building, which housed the diesel and automotive programs, was constructed in 1953 and had gone through five separate expansions. Northern decided then to begin the project and develop a new design phase.

The old Auto Mechanics Building housed both the auto tech program and the diesel program for years. The building itself was not up to code and was incapable of offering the accommodations for the teachers and students that were needed.

Kegel said during the ribbon cutting that the university wanted to construct a building that would take the program to another level, a building that would allow things that the old building wouldn't.

"The ability to stay abreast with the changing technologies, and they change every day," he said. "I also wanted a building that catered to that high-end tech."

Kegel added that the support and the donations that the university received for the construction help set the diesel program apart for many other programs in the country.

"Having the industry come in and say, 'You know what, MSU-Northern is worthy,' that was a big deal," he said.

For 10 years Kegel and Northern's staff have planned and sought funding from the state, as well as donations from individual contributors and those in the industry. In 2016,  Gov. Steve Bullock, high-ranking officials in the Montana State University system and local officials marked the end of the planning phase and broke ground for the construction of the new building.

Rachel Dean, Kegel's chief of staff, has been working with the chancellor on this project for the past four years. When she first came on board, she said, the university had just secured $4 million from the state and had raised about $3 million from their top donors and were still looking for the last million or two to complete the building.

Once they had looked at the plans and were about ready to break ground, Northern's team realized it still needed more funding to complete the project, she continued, and the team had to go back to the state for another $1 million and receive $1 million in authority, meaning the university had permission to raise that money through fundraising.

"Absolutely an incredible project," Dean said, "this is an exciting day for our program, for the workforce development in the state, and especially for our students."

A new era for Northern's diesel program

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Montana State University President Waded Cruzado said "this project wouldn't have been possible without the support of so many people," and she gave additional thanks to the offices of Govs. Brian Schweitzer and Steve Bullock.

She also gave a special thanks to the industry leaders, partners, donors and benefactors "who went above and beyond the call of duty" to make this building possible.

Cruzado gave two gifts to Northern to celebrate and commemorate the occasion, a fountain and an announcement that every fourth MSU advertisement on television this upcoming fall will feature the Northern campus.

Kory Kennaugh of CWG architects said Kegel and his team "had a very specific vision for the new building and it made it an easy process to design it."

"It's satisfying to see it turn from design to reality," Kennaugh said.

The building was also open to the public for an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for members of the community to walk through and see the new addition to the Northern's campus. During the walk-through, members of the community were shown all the new amenities of the building including all the donated equipment.

"We always strive for buildings that inspire and with the Diesel Technology Center, I feel that we accomplished that. It was an honor to be a part of this collaborative project,"  said Brent Cotton, superintendent for Swank Enterprise that built the Diesel Technology Center.

Many of the rooms themselves were sponsored by industry and company sponsors, such a the CHS Foundation, Kiewit Corporation, Independence Bank, Dave Clausen, Tom and Carolyn Patrick, Pat and Alita Newton, NorthWestern Energy, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, the BNSF Railway Foundation and Hamish Group Inc.

The sponsored rooms allow the sponsors to customize the walls and add a personal touch to their respective rooms.

"It's a very nice facility," Dave Clausen, owner of Clausen and Sons, said. "It's nice to have been involved in a project like this. It's good for the community."

"It's incredible," said Bear Paw Development Corp. Executive Director and Montana Board of Regents Paul Tuss.

He said he could remember the groundbreaking two years ago and that this "far exceeds anything that I thought it was going to look like."

"We have to give credit to all the industry partners that helped Chancellor Kegel and everybody else make this happen," she added ... "This is a great day for Northern."