Faculty and staff from Montana State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Development were recognized for their work at the college’s annual showcase event, held Thursday evening in Inspiration Hall on the Bozeman campus.
The event focused on building connections among people and communities. Seven faculty and staff members received awards for their teaching, research, and engagement.
Ann Ellsworth, a professor in the Department of Education, presented a talk titled “Reading Builds Communities.” She discussed how reading brings together people from different generations and backgrounds. Ellsworth explained that while many see reading as an individual activity, it is actually a way to connect across neighborhoods, generations, and cultures.
“But reading has never been a solitary act,” Ellsworth said. “In fact, reading is one of the most powerful ways we can connect across neighborhoods, generations and cultures.”
Ellsworth described various ways that reading fosters community. These include parents reading aloud to children with books like “Curious George” or “The Cat in the Hat,” libraries holding story hours or author events, book clubs meeting regularly, neighborhood Little Free Libraries sharing books locally, and campus-wide literacy initiatives such as MSU’s First Year Student Convocation. This annual convocation invites all new students and local residents to read a selected book before hearing from its author. Past selections have included Tara Westover’s “Educated,” Michael Punke’s “Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917,” and Tommy Orange’s “There There.”
When groups discuss shared readings, Ellsworth noted it can lead to conversations about identity, history, relationships, justice, hope and other topics.
“These powerful works have inspired readers and generated conversations inside and outside of the classroom,” Ellsworth said. “That’s the power of reading.”
She added that reading allows individuals to experience different perspectives or find comfort through familiar stories.
“When we read about people who are different from us, we grow compassion,” Ellsworth said. “When we read about people who are similar to us, we feel less alone. Both experiences are essential to building strong, healthy communities.”
Other speakers included Allison Brennan (“Cultivating Well-being: Using Horticultural Therapy to Promote Multidimensional Wellness”), Emily Tomayko (“Connection is the Intervention”), Kayte Kaminski (“Mission: Ablaze”), Jessi Peterson (“Beyond the Scale: Cultivating a Whole Person Approach to Nutrition Care”), Daniel Koltz (“From Education to Empowerment: Changing the Caregiving Experience”) and Carrie Myers (“Elation and Identity: Come with me on a Joy Ride”).
Tricia Seifert, dean of the college, closed by highlighting how these efforts expand connections within classrooms at Montana State University (MSU), throughout Montana communities—and globally.
“Those connections are made in communities, here on campus among students in our classrooms, and all across Montana,” she said. “In fact, we have graduates and current students from all over the world. And so our impact literally knows no global bounds.”
Montana State University operates as Montana’s land-grant institution with its main campus in Bozeman. It supports four campuses statewide along with Extension offices in every county according to its official website. The university emphasizes collaboration for community engagement efforts through teaching outreach and stewardship, provides hands-on research opportunities for students and ensures access to education across diverse populations.
