Professor Thomas Hughes (right), MSU's cell biology and neuroscience department, recently met with high school students as part of the MSU For a Day program in Jackson Hole, Wyo. MSU for a Day Emphasizes Outreach in Communities by Evelyn Boswell David Sands doesn't sugarcoat the pressure he feels when he participates in a Montana State University program called MSU for a Day. Driving to another town, giving as many as seven lectures during the day and meeting alumni at night stresses him out, said the MSU professor of plant pathology. And yet, he keeps doing it. "It's really useful," said Sands, a veteran of some 25 trips. "It allows us to explain what a research institution is all about." MSU for a Day began around 1990 as a way to enhance relationships with Montana communities, said Julie Hitchcock, former administrator. Not meant to be a recruiting program, MSU for a Day brought administrators, staff and top faculty into Montana towns for one or two days at a time to address high school classes, visit alumni and meet community members. "In terms of community relations, we always felt it was successful," Hitchcock said. The program eventually fell by the wayside, however, after Hitchcock left her position and MSU President Michael Malone passed away. "The most important thing for the communities was the presence of the president," Hitchcock said. "It was key to the program." MSU for a Day returned in 2002 after Geoff Gamble became president of MSU. Somewhat evolved from the original program, it still brings the president into the community and popular faculty members into the classroom, said Director of Marketing Julie Kipfer. It continues to emphasize outreach over recruiting. "We decide where we want to go, and we approach the schools," Kipfer said. "Then we build a community element around it as well." MSU for a Day occurs once a semester, hitting multiple schools in each visit. Targeting the state's largest high schools first, the goal is to visit communities in each geographic area of the state, Kipfer said. In February, the university sent its first roving band of representatives out of state. They traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyo. Faculty members who participate in the program might lie on beds of nails to demon-strate principles of physics or talk about such topics as obesity among the young. Mean-while Gamble and other MSU representatives visit local businesses and industries that have ties to MSU, Kipfer said. They meet with local Extension agents, legislators and alumni. They discuss issues with the mayor and other community members. At the same time, staff from the MSU Library conduct their own visits around town. MSU for a Day could also be called "Infiltrate a Community for a Day," Kipfer said. Sands, one of several faculty members in the program, tries to show high school students why they might want to learn the facts their biology teachers are trying to teach them. The expert in biotechnology discusses such topics as tailoring crops for people with certain genetic weaknesses or finding ways to solve the world's food problems. "It's important to represent our hot departments, ones that are really competitive on a national basis, and get them out there," Sands said. "Our department needs high performing, very bright visionary students." Although he's met many MSU students who've told him they heard his presentations at their high schools, Sands said, "I don't treat it as a recruiting trip per se, but to show there's a light at the end of the tunnel of high school. There's a very bright light if you are bright."