BOZEMAN, Mont. — A $101 million philanthropic gift that transformed Montana State University’s nursing program is now taking shape in a new state-of-the-art facility on the Bozeman campus.
WATCH: Here's what we learned about Montana State University's new Jones Hall
Jones Hall, named for donors Mark and Robyn Jones, officially opened Friday as part of a statewide expansion of MSU’s nursing education facilities.
“Uh wow! It's beautiful. Everything is just so thoughtfully planned out, and it's just a really beautiful building,” said Casey Norris, who started nursing school at MSU in August.
Norris said her decision to pursue nursing came after her daughter suffered a significant accident, giving her a new perspective on the profession.
“It kind of showed me how much nurses contribute to the outcomes for patients and how meaningful their careers are,” Norris said.
Now, students like Norris have a new facility to learn those skills.
The Joneses made their $101 million gift to MSU in August 2021. At the time, the university said it was the largest gift ever given to a college of nursing. MSU currently describes it as the largest such gift at the time it was made.
The gift is funding new nursing education buildings at each of MSU’s five nursing campuses in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. The facilities include modern classrooms and simulation laboratories designed to expand nursing education across the state.
“And here we are five short years later, and we are moving into five brand new state-of-the-art modern nursing education buildings,” said Sarah Shannon, dean of the MSU School of Nursing.
The expansion comes as Montana continues to need more nurses and other health care professionals.
“Montana needs more nurses, more nurse practitioners, more nurse educators and nurse leaders, and we produce all of those groups,” Shannon said.
MSU says the new facilities will allow the nursing program to accommodate more students in the coming years. The university has previously projected an increase in registered nurse graduates from about 256 to 400 annually as a result of the expansion.
“Bobcat nurses represent just at or above half of all the new nurses licensed in Montana in a year,” Shannon said.
The Bozeman facility is one of five new nursing buildings funded through the Jones gift. Great Falls opened its new facility in fall 2025, while the Bozeman building opened Friday.
The remaining facilities are scheduled to open in Billings, Kalispell and Missoula in 2026.
MSU’s nursing program dates back to 1937. Friday’s ribbon-cutting marked a new chapter for the program as students begin training in the new facilities.
“Train great nurses!” Norris said.
