The Montana Board of Regents this week voted unanimously to name Jeremiah Shinn the new president of the University of Montana.
Shinn, who’s been serving as interim president of Boise State University, will assume his new role on July 1. He’ll be the 20th president in the university’s history.
“I am inspired by the remarkable students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members who make UM so special, and I look forward to joining this extraordinary team to build on its strong foundation and shape a bright future together,” Shinn said in a statement.
He will replace Seth Bodnar, who took the reins of the university in 2018 and resigned earlier this year to mount an independent campaign for U.S. Senate. Unlike Bodnar, a military veteran and former private-sector executive, Shinn has several years of administrative experience at multiple postsecondary institutions and advanced degrees in education.
But what helped him stand out among 70 applicants and nine interviewees, according to Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian, was his demonstration of “leadership, commitment to student success and collaborative spirit.”
While visiting the university last week, Shinn told students, faculty and other stakeholders about his background as a first-generation college student and fielded questions on everything from LGBTQ+ rights and representation on campus to cuts to humanities programs.
“Our mission — to be sure that everybody can be successful here — does not change, even in the face of some of the turmoil that we’ve seen in higher education,” he said at a community forum. “Public means for everyone, and it’s our mission to serve every student that we have.”
Shinn’s contract goes through June 30, 2029. He’ll be paid $467,197 a year.
Read more about his background here.
Rough night
Missoula police cited 172 people sleeping outside for violating the city’s new urban camping ordinance last year, the department told the city council during a meeting Wednesday.
Of those 172, the vast majority of the citations — 125 — were issued to people sleeping on city property, while the remainder were issued to those sleeping in the public right of way. Violations of the ordinance are misdemeanors carrying a $50 fine.
The city passed the first version of the ordinance in the summer of 2024 after contentious council meetings that ran late into the early morning hours. The initial law allowed for camping in certain city parks during certain hours and at certain distances away from residences, businesses and waterways. But some Missoulians who lived near the allowed campsites, led by former Republican state lawmaker David “Doc” Moore, campaigned for tighter restrictions.
The city council responded in December of that year by banning camping in parks outright, and increasing the penalty from a “municipal infraction” to a misdemeanor. The city also developed a permitting program for people sleeping in their cars.
The ledger #️⃣
$1,358,574.95
The amount that Seth Bodnar’s Senate campaign had raised as of March 31. It’s a prodigious sum, given that Bodnar only formally launched his campaign in early March and isn’t backed by either major party. Major contributors include James Guyette, a former CEO of Rolls-Royce North America who owns a ranch in Madison County; Missoula developer Steve Nelson, also a frequent donor to the University of Montana; Montana-based in-home healthcare executive Bill Woody; and various members of the Blewett political and legal family, to name a few.
Bodnar’s haul dwarfs that of presumptive Democratic nominee Reilly Neill, who raised just over $275,000, including $88,000 of her own money, and even surpasses well-funded Republican candidate Kurt Alme, who brought in about $925,000 despite jumping into the race just minutes before the filing deadline.
The week ahead 🗓️
- On Monday, April 20 at 9:30 a.m., the Missoula County Board of Commissioners Lands and Communities Committee will hear a presentation on current renewable energy zoning requirements for data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities.
- On Tuesday, April 21 at 6 p.m., the Missoula Area Secular Society hosts state Reps. Bob Carter and Zooey Zephyr at Goodworks Ventures for a conversation about secular values, Christian nationalism, and what it actually looks like when the line between church and state gets tested in the Montana Legislature.
- Ballots for the May 5 school and special district election — a mail-only election covering school board trustees and special district seats across Missoula County — hit mailboxes this week. Return ballots by mail, or, if you wait till the last minute, drop them off at one of these eight locations — but only on Election Day.
Find a list of all upcoming city meetings here and county meetings here.
