MSU President, Champ, band visit downtown shops

[Cats15]

From Bozeman Daily Chronicle...

Montana State University President Waded Cruzado went store to store in downtown Bozeman Friday, greeting employees and patrons along the way.

Starting at First Interstate Bank on Grand Avenue, she walked from the west end of Main Street east.

At each shop that she stopped in, the university's Spirit of the West band played the MSU fight song and Champ, the Bobcat mascot, entertained the crowd.

"The idea is for us to meet each other and together support the school and support the community of Bozeman," Cruzado said.

Classes begin Monday at MSU, and downtown businesses definitely benefit from all the back-to-school traffic, said Curt Smith, manager of Schnee's Boots & Shoes.

"It's important to us that the university is there - they're part of our economic engine," Smith said. "It's students. It's parents. This past week has been awesome for us."

Cruzado, the first woman president and first minority president of one of Montana's flagship universities, took up her post at MSU in January.

Smith said he couldn't remember another MSU president taking a downtown tour like Cruzado's.

She was accompanied along the route by MSU's Director of Athletics Peter Fields, Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce President Daryl Schliem and Downtown Bozeman Partnership Program Director Ellie Staley.

Amanda Ricker can be reached at aricker@dailychronicle.com or 582-2628.

[TomCat88]

Good to see her reach out like that right away. Eliminates any perception that she might be your stereotypical stodgy administrative-type sitting behind a desk and doling out orders. She seems to have a lot of charisma.

[gocats]

I am liking her more and more. Would be nice to see our fair city show the same support for the Cats as you see in Missoula when you go there.

[KittieKop]

For everything people say about him, please notice at the end of the article it was mentioned AD Peter Fields accompanied her. Whether that was by choice or he was drug along on a leash.....he was there. Maybe a change in leadership at the top will trickle down. Good to see from all levels there. I think MSU and Bobcat Athletics are headed in the right direction!

[BozoneCat]

For everything people say about him, please notice at the end of the article it was mentioned AD Peter Fields accompanied her. Whether that was by choice or he was drug along on a leash.....he was there. Maybe a change in leadership at the top will trickle down. Good to see from all levels there. I think MSU and Bobcat Athletics are headed in the right direction!

KK, I agree that I was glad to read that Fields went along with Cruzado, but I know my first reaction to reading that was to note that PF has been in Bozeman for the better part of a decade and hasn't done anything like that before - he needed our new president to bring him along. Which just reinforces my opinion that Fields never thinks even mildly outside the box to do the little things that bring a community together or helps to maybe entice new fans to MSU. BUT, I was also happy that he is maybe being encouraged to do new things by Pres. Cruzado.

And for the record, I am just absolutely thrilled with the new President! Personally, I was hoping that the guy from N. Carolina would be chosen, but I think she has made it quite clear why she was picked, and I think we have a great find with her. She has made quite the impression on me since she has started, and I couldn't be happier with what she has done in her short time in Bozeman!

[KittieKop]

I say better late than never, and regardless of the motivation behind it, more outreach from the AD should be a good thing. I think many people's issues with PF has been not that he is necessarily a liability, but that he's a non-issue; indifferent in management. With PF if were at least starting from a neutral position, not a patently distracting or harmful presence, then maybe he can be "brought along" by a strong president. If you believe PF is a negative force, then it doesn't matter that we have a new president that's a strong, positive influence - the AD will still be a drag on the athletic programs. I guess I see him somewhat as a neutral force - not really pushing, but not a destructive force either. So, he may be serviceable with a strong leader to bring him along. Guess it depends on your perspective.

[76 cats]

[BozoneCat]

I say better late than never, and regardless of the motivation behind it, more outreach from the AD should be a good thing. I think many people's issues with PF has been not that he is necessarily a liability, but that he's a non-issue; indifferent in management. With PF if were at least starting from a neutral position, not a patently distracting or harmful presence, then maybe he can be "brought along" by a strong president. If you believe PF is a negative force, then it doesn't matter that we have a new president that's a strong, positive influence - the AD will still be a drag on the athletic programs. I guess I see him somewhat as a neutral force - not really pushing, but not a destructive force either. So, he may be serviceable with a strong leader to bring him along. Guess it depends on your perspective.

Excellent point, and I completely agree with you.