2026 U to You Lecture Series
Seth Bodnar, president of the University of Montana since 2018, is the lead-off speaker in the 2026 season of the Great Falls “Bringing the U to You” lecture series, which is celebrating its 25th year.
Talks by Montana University professors begin Jan. 15 and are scheduled on alternate Thursdays at 7 p.m. through Feb.26, 2026, in Heritage Hall at Great Falls College MSU. Topics will include a lunar space computer developed at MSU, dealing with grief, and what makes Montana Montana.
Bodnar is a frequent speaker on the role of higher education in democracy, social mobility, and global competitiveness. His presentation in Great Falls on Jan. 15 is titled “Inclusive Prosperity: How UM is working to drive social mobility, workforce development, and economic growth across Montana.”
He will discuss the challenges faced by higher education nationally and in Montana. His talk will highlight the mission of the University and the ways in which UM is adapting and responding to what Montanans need of their university.
Under Bodnar’s leadership, UM has focused on making higher education more accessible and helping students realize their potential. Enrollment has grown, and the four-year graduation rate has increased by more than one-third. The University was reclassified as an R1 high-research university in 2022.
Before becoming UM president, Bodnar served with the Green Berets in Iraq, taught at West Point, and was a senior executive at General Electric. A Pennsylvania native, he graduated first in his class at the U.S Military Academy at West Point. He continues his service as a lieutenant colonel in the Montana National Guard. A Rhodes Scholar, he has two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford in England.
On Jan. 29, Dr. Brock LaMeres, professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU, will present “From Montana to the Moon,” the story of the space computer that was developed at MSU over the past decade and made it to the moon in 2025. He will describe NASA’s future plans and how technology made in Montana can potentially contribute to future missions.
For the past 20 years, LaMeres has researched ways to make computers operate reliably in space. His “RadPC” has been on numerous NASA-funded missions, including three trips to the International Space Station.
A 1998 MSU graduate, LaMeres received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He has written five textbooks and holds 16 patents on digital systems. He was born and grew up in Billings.
Speaking on Feb. 12 will be Mark Fiege, retired MSU history professor and Wallace Stegner Chair. He’ll address “What Makes Montana Montana? Reconciling the Past, Present, and Future of our State in a Time of Dramatic Change.”
Transformations sweeping through Montana of late –demographic, economic, political, and environmental—have alarmed many long-term residents. Many feel that the changes going on under the Big Sky threaten to ruin the most cherished characteristics of the place they call home. Fiege will discuss how citizens can use their knowledge of the past to chart a way forward that helps them conserve and reinvigorate key features of the life they associate with the last best place.
Fiege recently retired as professor of history and the Wallace Stegner Chair in Western American Studies. One of his books is “The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States.” He lives in the town of Pony and is a volunteer firefighter with the Harrison Rural Fire District.
On Feb. 26, Dr. Mary-Ann Sontag, faculty member with UM’s School of Social Work, will present “When Grief Comes Calling: Helping Children, Teens and Ourselves.”
With expertise in loss, grief, and end-of-life care, Sontag is currently working with staff, volunteers, and a UM graduate student to evaluate the effectiveness of Camp Francis, Benefis Peace Hospice’s beloved grief camp for children. She is also writing a book about living well with loss and grief.
Sontag has three degrees, including a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a licensed clinical social worker. She is the principal investigator for a federally funded workforce development grant, now in its ninth year, that supports UM graduate students as they train to become the next generation of mental health providers in Montana.
The lecture series is a collaborative effort of the UM Alumni Association and MSU Alumni Foundation, organized by Great Falls alumni of both schools to connect with big ideas from our public universities.
Over the years, topics have included terrorism, the buzz about bees detecting land mines, climate, wild horses, and the hidden strengths of dyslexia. At one session, the audience had the opportunity to sample edible insects. Speakers have included MSU paleontologist Jack Horner, UM climate specialist Steve Running, songwriter/poet Greg Keeler, and author Greg Mortenson. Retiring MSU president Dr. Waded Cruzado spoke a year ago.
Series passes, $25, are available at Kaufman’s downtown and can be ordered by calling 406-899-0277. Tickets for individual lectures are sold at the door, $10 for adults, $5 for students.
By Paula Wilmont: December 16, 2025 - Great Falls, Mt
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