President Seth Bodnar

Seth Bodnar was appointed as the 19th president of the University of Montana in 2018. His leadership is centered around the principle of inclusive prosperity, aiming to make high-quality education accessible to all and to help every member of the UM community reach their full potential. His collaboration with faculty, staff, and students has driven UM’s progress and positioned the university as a hub of growth and opportunity.

During President Bodnar's tenure, UM has become Montana’s fastest-growing flagship institution in Montana and one of the fastest-growing in the West. His efforts to widen access to affordable, quality education have led to a 47% increase in first-year students since 2020 and a 45% rise in Native American enrollment since his arrival. These milestones reflect his commitment to creating pathways for a broader and more diverse student body.

Under Bodnar's leadership, UM has achieved record-setting success in various areas, including student retention, workforce training programs, and campus infrastructure renewal. UM also experienced significant research growth, culminating in its 2022 reclassification as an R1 research university, a prestigious distinction held by less than 4% of universities in the country.

Before his role at UM, Bodnar was a Senior Executive at General Electric, where he led digital innovations in the rail industry. He was GE Transportation’s first Chief Digital Officer and President of its Digital Solutions business, focusing on software and technology development for global optimization.

Bodnar also has a distinguished military background, serving as a Green Beret in the US Army’s First Special Forces Group and commanding a Special Forces detachment on multiple deployments. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Montana National Guard and has taught economics at West Point, where he graduated first in his class and received both Rhodes and Truman scholarships, before earning two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford.

Read a more expansive biography of President Seth Bodnar.