University Communications and Marketing

MSUB hosts Model United Nations Summit with area high schools participating

Event takes place on the University Campus today

University Communications and Marketing, 657-2266

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Diplomacy and international relations will be front and center when Montana State University Billings once again hosts the Model United Nations on May 7.

The event will bring 150 high school students from Billings, Laurel, Park City, Lewistown, and Sheridan, Wyo. These students will take part in mock UN General Assembly and Security Council conferences.

Chancellor Edelman will welcome the students at 9 a.m. followed by the keynote address by Bill Simmons.

Bill Simmons, international entrepreneur and humanitarian will present the key note address. Simmons is the owner of Master Lube and has provided outstanding support to our local high schools as well as a partner school in Bratislava, Slovakia. He provides scholarships to support the study of Slovak students at MSU Billings and has been instrumental in building community partnerships between Billings and Bratislava.

The topics for this year’s event are: General Assembly: How should the UN update the Millennium Development Goals? Which original goals have been achieved?  Should new ones be added? Should others be removed? Security Council:What can or should the UN do to prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons?

Matt Redinger, Ph.D. and Tom Rust, Ph.D., from the History Department will act as chairs of the respective committees. Paul Pope, Ph.D. has provided valuable guidance on the running of the meetings. 

“We expect to award scholarships to top students this year, for the first time” shared Paul Foster, Ph.D.  “Much of the support for this event comes from a MSUB Foundation endowed account set up by the late MSUB professor David Hood.”

“This is an important opportunity for MSUB to host such an event that gives students from Montana and Wyoming the opportunity to unite and discuss issues of global concern and seek policy resolutions to those issues,” said Foster.

In addition to engaging in debate and drafting resolutions, high school students visiting MSUB will tour the campus with New Student Services.