Montana State University is poised to become a nationally recognized school of excellence. Success is highly probable if MSU leaders capitalize on becoming the University of the Yellowstone. Such advancement would reflect the diffusion of quality throughout American higher education. (The U of M enjoys a similar opportunity, but success will be more difficult there.) Below I cite reasons for optimism, then reflect on our past, and finally give a few caveats with implicit admonitions.

Last spring the Carnegie Endowment ranked MSU among the top 100 research universities in the U.S. No other school in our region made the cut. This progress flows from the conjunction of leadership, logistics, and location. All are required to execute the next move up.

While some lament the causes and regret the changes, the economic and cultural context of the University has been transformed. This relentless process is beyond our control, but it holds great promise for institutional entrepreneurs. Success, however, is hardly assured and will surely meet resistance.

For some folks, the Gallatin Valley was a more pleasant and rewarding place a generation ago. Both Ramona and I come from ag backgrounds and first came here in the ’60s when Bozeman had three ag machinery dealerships. Now there are none. Yet, its agricultural past provides the tapestry on which Bozemanites paint their lives.

While there are a few exceptions, highest rewards now go to those who manipulate symbols, build icons, or provide arenas for achievement. Folks who make and process mundane material stuff -- wheat, wood, and wool -- must compete with the world’s most efficient producers. Montana’s niche lies not with conventional commodities.

That’s why Montana’s relative position deteriorated so substantially over the past 40 years. Our state’s prosperity was built on the exploitation of natural capital. However, this traditional economy of agriculture, forest products, and metals has dramatically declined and, aside from coal, has little prospect for future growth. Now the key is human capital. And this suggests an emphasis on building high-quality universities. High human capital in a pleasing environment is today’s key to success.

When I came here in the late 1960s, Montana was, on multiple dimensions, the most remote of the contiguous 48. The “social costs of space” insulated and isolated MSU from the mainstream of intellectual life. There was little contact with those in the Ivies, Big Ten, and Pac-8 or any top-tier school.

Montana remained a colonial economy. Major corporations rented the legislature while labor and ag interests influenced or controlled the University’s administration.

This conspired against quality. I witnessed allergies to excellence: “Help Montana agriculture: Eat an economist.” Imagine! Only time and national changes, notably increased wealth and appreciation of our natural environment, could fix this problem.

Montana resembles an electromagnet for quality; it needs a charge to work. Has MSU attracted Nobel Prize winners in physics, chemistry, and medicine? I’m sure it could, for programs identified with MSU have brought internationally distinguished economists to Bozeman for dozens of visits. Five of our visitors won Nobel Prizes: Gary Becker, Jim Buchanan, Doug North, Vernon Smith, and Tom Schelling.

Last Tuesday, Prof. Schelling, a founder of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, gave a public lecture, “An Astonishing 60 Years: Iran and the Legacy of Hiroshima,” at the Museum of the Rockies. Tom and Alice were in Bozeman for their tenth conference for federal judges, a program jointly sponsored by FREE and MSU, and Tom agreed to give a free talk. They had spent the summer of ’03 with us and plan to visit again next year. Even with extremely modest financing, I find it easy to attract the best to Bozeman.

To achieve potential, MSU must reach out toward excellence. Success in doing so brings value to the community. Clearly, Bozeman’s venue can attract elite academic and artistic performances. And their presence adds dramatically to the business climate of our area.

MSU cannot buy such quality with conventional currency. Fortunately, it need not if intellectual entrepreneurs entice stars to visit. The implications seem obvious. While the academic world doesn’t naturally select for courage, character, or entrepreneurial talent, MSU may be lucky. Only time will tell if real opportunities are realized.