By Isabel Hicks MSU NEWS SERVICE
BOZEMAN — More than 250 people gathered at Montana State University on Tuesday to celebrate the long-awaited expansion of Montana PBS on campus.
The ceremonial groundbreaking to expand the MSU Visual Communications Building, which currently houses Montana PBS and the MSU School of Film and Photography, featured speakers who outlined the benefits the renovation will bring to Montana PBS, MSU students and people across the state.
The groundbreaking marked the culmination of eight years of work, including designing the updated building and raising $31.5 million to fund it, said Montana PBS Director and General Manager Aaron Pruitt, also a graduate of the MSU School of Film and Photography. The expansion will add 32,000 square feet to the VCB, extending it to the corner of South 11th Avenue and Grant Street, giving Montana PBS a more visible public face.
The renovation will include a shared lobby connecting the film and photography school with the offices of Montana PBS, KGLT radio and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Planned technological improvements include a large TV studio, production control rooms, a green screen studio, video editing suites and other broadcast technology.
The expansion will also create a new 192-seat classroom that will double as a screening venue, production studio or event space, to be named for the late Montana PBS co-founder Joseph S. Sample, whose grandson was in attendance on Tuesday.
In his remarks, Pruitt highlighted Montana PBS’s rich history. Starting as a small public television station, KUSM-TV at MSU sent out its first broadcast signal in 1984. Thirteen years later, it merged with KUFM-TV at the University of Montana to become Montana PBS, which now broadcasts five channels statewide with more than 275,000 viewers each week of original programs, such as “Montana Ag Live” and “11th and Grant with Eric Funk.”
Pruitt also recognized several people who helped create Montana PBS, including founding general manager Jack Hyyppa and Friends of Montana PBS founder Nancy Thompson Flikkema, who will be honored with a space in the building called “Nancy’s Nook.” Video panels framing the stage also recognized the largest donors and commended the more than 600 individuals who contributed to the Building Possibilities campaign.
“It is so heartwarming for me that many of these individuals are right here with us today, and they are still investing their energy, time, donations and enthusiasm for the next chapter of Montana PBS,” Pruitt said.
The expansion will benefit both students and employees, he said, bringing Montana PBS staff together into one building for the first time in more than a decade. The technological improvements will also allow MSU students more opportunities to gain broadcast experience, such as by covering Bobcat athletics events.
MSU President Cruzado – speaking at the final groundbreaking ceremony of her presidential tenure – commended the efforts of Montana PBS staff, contractor Steve Langlas and Associates, designer Charley Franklin at SMA Architecture and Design, and MSU’s Campus Planning, Design and Construction team for turning the vision for the building into a reality. The expanded building will join the MSU South Campus District, which encompasses the new Student Wellness Center and Norm Asbjornson Hall, as well as Jones and Gianforte halls, which are currently under construction.
Cruzado underscored that Montana PBS is the state’s largest classroom.
“Today I am reminded of how much the educational mission of Montana PBS aligns with Montana State University’s core educational mission,” Cruzado said. “Montana PBS gives us an electronic town square sharing ideas, opinions and information. It tells Montanans’ stories, shares quality children’s programs, informs us through news programming and much, much more.”
The event also welcomed MSU mascot Champ and classic PBS character Clifford the Big Red Dog, a cheerful display of the relationship between MSU and PBS. Attendees flocked to take pictures with the mascots after the ceremonial groundbreaking, which featured Pruitt, President Cruzado, Jack Hyyppa, Nancy Flikkema, Charley Franklin, Steve Langlas, donor Terry Payne and Friends of PBS Board Secretary Peg Wherry donning hard hats and digging shovels into the grass at the corner of 11th and Grant.
“Today is the realization of the vision for creating a public face and a public space for Montana PBS,” said Wherry, who also delivered remarks. “This is when the ideas and the what-ifs start to turn into bricks and mortar.”
While actual construction is slated to begin later this year with the goal to complete it by fall 2027, the groundbreaking symbolized the start of a new vision for Montana PBS after nearly a decade of planning.
“That future came a step closer today, and it looks bright,” Wherry said. She then referenced a line often heard on PBS broadcasts.
“Thanks to everyone here and as always, thanks to viewers like you.”
