UM president Seth Bodnar steps down

After eight years of leading one of Montana’s flagship universities, President Seth Bodnar is stepping down from the University of Montana. 

In a message to the campus community, Bodnar wrote that he loves the university and is inspired by the work done at UM, but hinted at possible next steps. 

“Service has always been the animating force of my life, and (my wife) Chelsea and I would like to consider whether to pursue a new way to serve our state and our nation,” Bodnar wrote. 

It is widely expected that Bodnar will run for public office, with several individuals telling the Daily Montanan he is considering the U.S Senate seat held by Sen. Steve Daines. 

The university indicated that the leadership transition will begin immediately, after Bodnar notified the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Montana Board of Regents. 

In an email, a spokesperson on behalf of UM and OCHE said due to the short notice of Bodnar’s departure in the middle of the school year, Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian will work with the Board to swiftly identify a pool of highly qualified candidates to hire as a permanent replacement. 

“Even though we expect an expedited search process, Commissioner Christian will work with campus leadership during the interim to ensure the campus seamlessly navigates the leadership change. As of today there is no established timeline for the search process,” the spokesperson said. 

Bodnar took the helm of the University of Montana at the start of 2018, as the university was near the bottom of a 10-year enrollment slide that bottomed out with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the latter-half of his tenure, Bodnar oversaw five-straight years of enrollment growth, notching additional milestones along the way. 

“We’ve achieved record-high retention and graduation rates. We’ve significantly expanded access to education for low-income, first-generation, Native American, and military-affiliated students. We’ve nearly doubled our research award volume and earned R1 research status,” Bodnar wrote to the community. “We’ve been named the #1 university in the nation for community and national service, as well as the most military-friendly university in the nation. We completed the university’s largest fundraising campaign ever, and we’ve undertaken the largest infrastructure renewal in campus history, making investments that will benefit generations of Grizzlies to come.”

“But perhaps most importantly, we’ve fueled pride in this incredible institution – not by chasing prestige, but by being unapologetically true to who we are: a public flagship university committed to the common good and to fostering prosperity for all,” Bodnar continued. “Our work has never been about ‘fixing’ a university. It’s been about building a durable foundation for the future – one centered on students, grounded in values, and powered by belief in what public higher education can still mean in this country.”

Bodnar came to the academic leadership world with an unconventional resume. Before UM, he was a senior executive at General Electric in its transportation division. 

Prior to that, Bodnar had extensive experience in the U.S. military, graduating from West Point and serving as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Group. 

He also excelled as a student, and was selected as both a Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford. 

Bodnar’s resume is also one resembling of a political candidate in Montana — Montana’s congressional delegation includes two Navy Seals and individuals with extensive business backgrounds — and rumors of his interest in a possible campaign for office have made the rounds during the last two weeks, with several individuals confirming to the Daily Montanan that Bodnar was considering the option. 

The reports earlier this month that Bodnar was considering a bid, but as an independent candidate, sparked debate among the state’s politicos as to the viability of a third-party candidacy, whether he could be swayed onto a Democratic platform, and who might be funding his bid. 

Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who has endorsed Reilly Neill in the Democratic primary for Senate, told the Daily Montanan that while “Daines is a smart guy … Daines is very beatable. A Democrat can beat him.”

“Seth Bodnar is not going to win as an independent,” Schweitzer said. 

The former governor added that he suspected there is a substantial amount of money behind Bodnar’s potential run, calling it a product of the “Montana-centric consulting industrial complex,” with further speculation elected Republicans are part of the equation to help keep Daines in office. 

Bodnar has not made any official announcement about his future plans. 

Daines is a two-term incumbent who last won re-election in 2020 against former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock by 10 points. 

Political analysts currently classify the race as a solid Republican seat.