Biography

Stefani Gray Hicswa, Ph.D. has been chancellor of Montana State University Billings since January 2021.

Before beginning her tenure at MSUB, Dr. Hicswa served as president of Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming from 2013-2021. Under her leadership, Northwest College achieved the highest completion rate in its history, and launched comprehensive strategic visioning, enrollment management, and facilities master plans. Prior to Northwest College, Hicswa served as president of Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana, for seven years.

A first-generation college student, Hicswa holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s degree in adult, community, and higher education from Montana State University; and a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from the University of Montana. She was raised in Dillon, Montana, and is married to Scott Hicswa, a consulting forester. They have two teenage sons.

Stefani Gray Hicswa, Ph.D. has been chancellor of Montana State University Billings since January 2021.

Before beginning her tenure at MSUB, Dr. Hicswa served as president of Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming from 2013-2021. Under her leadership, Northwest College achieved the highest completion rate in its history, and launched comprehensive strategic visioning, enrollment management, and facilities master plans. Prior to Northwest College, Hicswa served as president of Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana, for seven years.

Since her arrival in Billings, Hicswa has become a member of the Big Sky Economic Development Board of Trustees, an ex-officio member of the Billings Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and is a member of the Billings Downtown Rotary. She is also a former board member of Forward Cody and Powell Economic Partnership and Chamber of Commerce and is a past president of the Rotary Club of Miles City, Montana.

Beginning in 2022, Dr. Hicswa was appointed to the board of commissioners of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Throughout her career, Hicswa has assumed numerous state and national leadership roles, including membership on the Higher Education Research and Development Institute national advisory board. In 2018, she was appointed by former Wyoming Governor Matt Mead to co-chair the Wyoming Educational Attainment Executive Council. Governor Mark Gordon appointed her to serve on Wyoming’s Tomorrow Task Force in 2019.

In 2020, Hicswa was recognized by the University of Montana Davidson Honors College as a Distinguished Alumni. In 2018, the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society awarded her with the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, Phi Theta Kappa’s most prestigious award for college presidents. She was also honored in 2007 as a Distinguished Graduate at The University of Texas at Austin.

A first-generation college student, Hicswa holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s degree in adult, community, and higher education from Montana State University; and a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from the University of Montana. She was raised in Dillon, Montana, and is married to Scott Hicswa, a consulting forester. They have two teenage sons.