Michael Peter Malone (April 18, 1940 – December 21, 1999) was an American historian who served from 1991 to 1999 as the 10th president of Montana State University. One of Montana's preeminent historians and writers, he was named by both The Missoulian and the Great Falls Tribune newspapers as one of the 100 most influential Montanans of the 20th century. His Montana: A History of Two Centuries (co-written with Richard B. Roeder) was called the "definitive history of the state" by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle."Obituary for Michael P. Malone." Bozeman Daily Chronicle. December 21, 1999. Accessed 2013-08-10.
Early life Malone was born on April 18, 1940, in Pomeroy, Washington, to John and Delores (Cheyne) Malone."Michael P. Malone, 59, Native of Pomeroy." Lewiston Morning Tribune. December 24, 1999."Dolores Malone Chard, 84, Pomeroy Homemaker." Lewiston Morning Tribune. May 27, 1998. His father was the son of a farmer who (with his brothers) owned several farms in Garfield, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties. The Malones were of Irish descent, and Michael was deeply proud of his heritage. His mother, Delores, was born in Zillah, Washington, and his parents married on November 14, 1936. Malone's father managed McKeirnan Hardware and Implement in Pomeroy, and attended Holy Rosary Catholic Church.
Michael was the Malone's only child. However, in 1954, the Malones' close friends, Jack and Kathryn Bowman, died in an automobile accident. The Malones then raised the Bowmans' four children, Ray, Wynn, Kevin, and Jennie. Michael Malone considered them his half-siblings. As a teenager, he worked harvesting peas for the Green Giant vegetable company. Michael "had an especially close relationship with his father", and he had a significant influence on Michael.Mullen, Pierce. "Homage to the Life and Memory of Michael Peter Malone, 1940-1999." The Montana Professor. 10:1 (Winter 2000). Accessed 2013-08-10. Michael Malone later said his father was the "finest man he ever knew". John Malone suffered from severe cardiac problems in the 1960s, which worried Michael a great deal. John Malone died in 1972, and Michael believed that he lost a great deal from losing his father at an early age.
Malone's mother married Ronald L. Chard of Pomeroy in 1974. She died at the age of 84 in May 1998, just 18 months before her son.
Malone enrolled at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. His initially had a pre-law major, but changed his major to history during his sophomore year. "I just liked the subject," he said. "I thought it would be fun to make a career of doing for others what (historians) were doing for me."Schontzler, Gail. "MSU President Mike Malone Dies." Bozeman Daily Chronicle. December 21, 1999. Accessed 2013-08-10. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree."Garfield County Native Named MSU President." Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 6, 1991. He then enrolled in the doctorate program in American studies at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1966.
Academic career Malone sought and won a teaching position at Texas A&M University for the 1966–1967 school year.
He left Texas A&M and took a position as an assistant history professor at Montana State University in the fall of 1967. He was promoted to associate professor in 1970 and professor in 1973. He was named head of the Department of History and Philosophy in 1976. Three years later, he was appointed dean of graduate studies for the entire university. He was appointed director of the Burton K. Wheeler Center at MSU in 1987, and served in that position until 1990. He resigned as dean of graduate studies in 1988 after being named interim vice president for academic affairs. He was reappointed interim vice president twice more, in 1989 and 1990.
During his academic career at MSU, Malone wrote seven books. His 1989 book, The American West (co-authored with Richard W. Etulain) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. By 1990, he was working on a biography of James J. Hill, the late 19th and early 20th century railroad executive whose Great Northern Railway played a critical role in the economic expansion of Montana.
He also traveled widely across Montana, lecturing in many of the state's small towns on Montana history. In 1972 and 1973, he and fellow MSU professor of history Richard Roeder traveled across the state to educate citizens about the newly created Montana Committee for the Humanities (now known as Humanities Montana), which greatly enhanced public participation in the agency's programs. He also lectured extensively throughout the West on a variety of topics in the history of the American West.Cantrell, Anne. "President Michael P. Malone Heritage." Office of the President. Montana State University. No date. Accessed 2013-08-11.
As dean of graduate studies, Malone was critical of what he perceived as the state's lack of foresight regarding higher education. He told the Los Angeles Times that the state legislature was unwilling to invest in academic disciplines that would help build the technology sector, and generally failed to invest in higher education as a whole. He also criticized the state for failing to teach business skills and entrepreneurship. "We're victims of the old mind-set, that any corporation heading for Montana must be bent on rape. Montana is the last of the Old West and we're in crisis and we're not doing the most obvious things that have to be done," he said. "We're trying to preserve a unique life style and trying to put our feet into the future at the same time. So far we really haven't come to terms with the conflict this creates."Lamba, David. "Wary of Change." Los Angeles Times. October 23, 1986.
In 1987, Malone pressed the United States Congress to make "tuition-remission" scholarships tax-exempt, so that more students would be encouraged to seek graduate education.Luther, Jim. "Tax Amendments Would Benefit Investors, Alaskan Children, Football Coaches." Associated Press. July 23, 1987.
Montana State University presidency
Appointment Montana State University president William Tietz announced his retirement at the end of 1990.Schontzler, Gail. "Bill Tietz - The Maverick Who Shaped MSU." Bozeman Daily Chronicle. November 2, 2007.
Malone was unanimously named MSU's acting president on January 1, 1991, at a salary of $86,000 per year. After a nationwide search, the board of regents of the Montana University System narrowed the list of finalists to three: Malone; Dr. Harold Allen, vice president for graduate studies, research and economic development at the University of Toledo; and Dr. Rex Cottle, dean of the School of Business at the University of Mississippi (and later president of Lamar University in Texas). In March 1991, Malone was named MSU's 10th president.
Presidential achievements Malone was the first MSU president to preside over the Billings, Great Falls, and Havre campuses.On July 1, 1994, Montana restructured the Montana University System. Eastern Montana College in Billings, Montana Northern College in Havre, and the Vocational-Technical Center in Great Falls lost their independence and were made satellite campuses of Montana State University. Although Montana's seven tribal colleges remained independent (as they are sponsored by sovereign nations), the state required them to integrate their teaching, operations, and academic operations with both Montana State University and the University of Montana in order to continue to receive state funding. He subsequently appointed the first chancellors of the three major campuses in 1995: Ron Sexton at Montana State University Billings, Will Weaver at Great Falls College Montana State University, and William Daehling at Montana State University–Northern. He also appointed the second chancellor at MSU-Northern, Michael Rao.Kurtzman, Laura. "College Leader Leaving." San Jose Mercury-News. April 16, 1998.
Malone's governance style was democratic and personal. Faculty, employee, and student leaders agreed that he sought input and consensus on decisions. Malone was personable and friendly to faculty, workers, and students alike. His willingness to talk one-on-one with clerical staff was "unusual", according to university registrar Chuck Nelson.
Malone's friendly style extended to his relationship with the state legislature as well. Tom Stump, MSU's vice president for finances, said Malone was personally quite popular with legislators and their staff. MSU's chief lobbyist, Cathy Conover, also noted that Malone sought to provide the legislature with the right information and an honest assessment, which earned him a great deal of personal respect.
During Malone's presidency, Montana State University witnessed "one of the greatest expansions in campus history", as a large number of new buildings were constructed. These included the $1 million Centennial Mall (1993), the $22 million Engineering and Physical Sciences Building (1997), the $10 million Bobcat Stadium renovation, the $13.5 million renovation of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, the $12 million Agricultural Biosciences Building (1999), and the $7.5 million Renne Library renovation (1999).
The refurbishment of the two athletics buildings was especially important. Bruce Parker, MSU's associated athletics director, said funding for these projects was directly attributable to the president: "None of the athletics renovations would have happened without Mike Malone". The stadium renovation included new public-area seating, three tiers of skyboxes, and a camera deck to permit televising of games. Inside the stadium were a new second-floor banquet room, third-floor bar and concessions area, and handicapped-accessible seating, doors, restrooms, and other areas throughout the structure. Every skybox contained indoor seating for 12, outdoor seating for 12 (with overhead radiant heating elements), and blue-and-gold floor tiled wet bars, and cost $7,000 to construct. Two-thirds of the skyboxes had been rented by the time the renovations were complete."Lutey, Tom. "Newly Refurbished MSU Stadium a Hit With Fans." Associated Press. September 7, 1998.
In 1999, Malone fired Bobcats football head coach Cliff Hysell after eight losing seasons. Malone hired Mike Kramer, the winning coach at Eastern Washington University.Bergum, Steve. "Bad Vibes From Start." The Spokesman Review. October 6, 2000.
Research and enrollment were other areas where Malone achieved success. He pushed hard for faculty and the university to seek and win federal funding for scientific research. The success here was significant: Federal research funding grew from just $13 million in the late 1980s to more than $50 million in 1999. The undergraduate curriculum was revamped, and he pushed a program to "guarantee" that each student could graduate within four years."Across the USA." USA Today. September 13, 1994. Under Malone's leadership, enrollment at Montana State University hit a historic high of 11,746 students in 1999. Consistent with his earlier focus on technology development and education, he also established the Burns Telecommunications Center.
Financial pressures were heavy during Malone's tenure. He reenergized and expanded alumni fund-raising programs and worked to have alumni become more active in campus life, and pushed the MSU Foundation to redouble its fund-raising efforts. But the state legislature kept funding for salaries stagnant. At the start of his presidency, faculty salaries were 25 percent lower than those at comparable universities.Kleinhuizen, Jeff. "Sprawling Montana Is An Academic Success Story." USA Today. February 26, 1991. Clerical and administrative support staff represented by MEA-MFT struck for higher pay in 1992, and Malone lobbied the state legislature for higher clerical/administrative pay in 1998.
Scandals