Seth Bodnar, who took the reins as president of the University of Montana in January, sees a world that increasingly values people with diverse, interdisciplinary educations and employment capabilities.
His own experience speaks to this assessment: graduate of West Point, “a liberal arts college with a bunch of military training;” Rhodes and Truman scholar who earned two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford; platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq; Green Beret who lived in a grass hut in the Philippine jungles; senior executive for General Electric; assistant professor of economics.
Not much in his resume seems to specifically suggest preparation to run a university in Montana, but, then again, maybe a lot does.