Joe McDonald to join university hall of fame
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DILLON — The University of Montana Western Education Department and the University of Montana Western Foundation will induct UMW alumnus and Ronan resident Joe McDonald into the University of Montana Western Education Hall of Fame at an annual event — Night of Stars — recognizing Montana Western’s distinguished education alumni and students.
Night of Stars will be held on Friday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. in Montana Western’s Beier Auditorium. The awards ceremony will be followed by a reception, a social and a silent auction at 8:30 p.m. in the Lewis and Clark Room in Mathews Hall.
McDonald attended Montana Western from 1951-53. He graduated from Montana Western in 1953 with a two-year teaching certificate. He later earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana in 1958, a master’s degree from the University of Montana in 1965 and a Ph.D. in education from the University of Montana in 1981.
McDonald was part of Montana Western’s all-conference football team in 1951, in addition to being selected the outstanding backfield player for the team. He was elected class president in 1951 and 1952. He earned a starting position on the basketball team by the end of the 1951-52 season and played second base on the baseball team.
McDonald also met his wife Sherri while at UMW.
He taught and coached in Montana from 1953 to 1976 before focusing his efforts on developing the Salish Kootenai College and serving as its president from 1976 to 2010.
McDonald earned honorary doctorate degrees from Montana State University, Gonzaga University and the University of Montana. He is a distinguished alumnus for the University of Montana and Montana Western. He earned the National Indian Educator of the Year award in 1989, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and was inducted into the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. The University of Montana Foundation named him one of the 50 Greatest Grizzlies, and he was also named one of Montana’s most influential people of the 1900s.
McDonald served on a number of committees including the Carnegie Foundation Board, the board of directors for the Helena branch of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, the board of the American Council for Education, the board of the American Association of Community Colleges, the board of American Indian College Fund and he was a member of the College Commission of the Northwest Association of Colleges and Universities.
Tickets for Night of Stars are available through the UMW Foundation office by calling (406) 683-7306.
Prices are $5 for students, $20 for singles and $30 per couple.
All proceeds from Night of Stars benefit the University of Montana Western Education Department.
