Montana State College, Office of the President Annual Reports Received, 1921-1968

Montana State University (MSU) was founded in 1893 as the state's land-grant college, and named the Agricultural College of the State of Montana. Later renamed the Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, by the 1920s it was commonly referred to as Montana State College (MSC). Recognizing the institution's growth and excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, the state assembly renamed the institution Montana State University on 1 July 1965. Although the school was consistently overseen by an appointed president since its founding, MSU's various subdivisions have been renamed and reorganized numerous times. This is especially true for the various colleges, which prvious to 1965 were referred to at different times as "schools" or "divisions." These various academic subunits were sometimes headed by a person designated as either a director or a dean. The date of establishment for each of the colleges that presently comprise MSU, partially based on their designation of the academic unit's head as a "dean," are: College of Agriculture, 1915; College of Arts and Architecture, 1976, College of Business, 1984; College of Education, Health, and Human Development, 1987; College of Engineering, 1915; College of Letters and Science, 1960; College of Nursing, 1984; Gallatin College, 2010; University College, 2008.