Great Falls College MSU has named Dr. Leanne Frost as its new CEO and Dean following a nationwide search that ended, as these searches sometimes do, with the best candidate already in the building.
Frost has served as the college's Executive Director of Instruction and Student Success since 2020 and has held leadership positions at the institution going back to 2011 — a 15-year tenure that gave her deep institutional knowledge of a college that serves one of Montana's larger cities and a significant rural draw area.
The selection continues a pattern at Montana's two-year colleges of promoting from within when internal candidates have built credibility with faculty, staff, and the communities the schools serve. Great Falls College is part of the Montana State University system, which also includes MSU-Billings and the Gallatin College campus in Bozeman.
Frost's appointment was not announced with a formal start date in available reporting. Her elevation comes at a time when Montana's two-year colleges are navigating enrollment pressures, workforce training demands, and ongoing questions about the state's higher education funding structure.