McIntyre education scholarship established with $50,000 endowment to Northern

Montana State University-Northern announced Monday that it is celebrating a new $50,000 endowment, a gift from the estate of the late Ethel A. (McIntyre) Hess.

Per the family’s wishes, the funds will be called the Ethel A. McIntyre Memorial Endowment and Scholarship supporting scholarships specifically for students at MSU-Northern majoring in education.

“Education is one of the cornerstones of Northern,” Chancellor Greg Kegel said. ‘We are grateful for this generous gift from Ethel Hess and we know it will have an impact on our current and future students studying to become teachers.”

The purpose of the gift aligns with the alum’s passion for teaching. Ethel A. McIntyre graduated from Northern in 1945 with a major in education. Originally from Oilmont, Montana, she married George Hess, who was in the service and stationed in Montana, a few years after graduation, and she went on to teach elementary education in Montana, South Dakota and California, until becoming a realtor in the East San Francisco Bay area.

After their retirement, she and her husband moved to Idaho to be near family.

While at Northern, she was active in various committees and contributed to the NoMoCo, the school’s newspaper. In 1995, she was invited to attend Northern’s Golden Graduations — 50th Reunion — and while she couldn’t attend, Ethel Hess wrote to the Alumni Association, “I spent two of the happiest years of my life on campus.”

“The world definitely needs more great educators, and we are thankful that Ethel’s kind gift that will give in perpetuity to support generations of teachers,” Montana State University-Northern Foundation Executive Director Shantel Cronk said.

People who would like to give a tax-deductible gift to Northern can contact the foundation office at 406-265-3711 or email [email protected].