Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College (informally Rocky, or RMC), located in Billings, in the U.S. state of Montana, is a private comprehensive college offering more than 25 liberal arts- and professionally oriented- majors. In fall 2009, the college had 894 enrolled students. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.

Rocky is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 10 colleges in quality and a "best value" among comprehensive colleges in the Western United States. Rocky also maintains a 99% placement rate for students pursuing graduate school educations.

Mr. Michael R. Mace, Rocky's president, announced in October 2006 that there had been a 20.8% increase in the college's assets over the total from the same time during the previous year. Mace began his presidency in October 2005.

Some of Rocky's less traditional academic offerings include aviation programs, equestrian programs, and physician assistant programs.

History
Rocky Mountain College indirectly traces its history to the 1878 founding of the Montana Collegiate Institute in Deer Lodge, Montana. Later renamed College of Montana, that institution closed in 1916, and in 1923 its assets were incorporated into Intermountain Union College, located in Helena. Intermountain Union, in turn, relocated to Billings after its campus buildings were destroyed by a series of earthquakes in October and November, 1935. Students and faculty finished the academic year in temporary quarters in Great Falls, after which the college merged with the Billings Polytechnic Institute to create today's Rocky Mountain College. The existence of a private, postsecondary institution in Billings dates from 1908, the year Billings Polytechnic was founded. Since the merger of Intermountain Union College and Billings Polytechnic Institute in 1947, Rocky Mountain College has had the following presidents as leaders:


 * William D. Copeland, 1947 – 1951
 * Herbert W Hines, 1951 - 1958
 * Philip M. Widenhouse, 1958 - 1966
 * Lawrence F. Small, 1966 – 1975
 * Bruce T. Alton, 1975 – 1986
 * James J. Rittenkamp, Jr., 1986 – 1987
 * Arthur H. DeRosier, Jr., 1987 – 2002
 * Thomas R. Oates, 2002 – 2005
 * Michael R. Mace, 2005 – 2012
 * Dr. Robert Wilmouth 2012 - Current

Rocky Mountain College is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and the Office of Public Instruction for the State of Montana for the preparation of elementary and secondary teachers. The Accreditation Review Commission on Education accredits the physician assistant program for the Physician Assistant ARC-PA, while the Aeronautical Science major and Aviation Management major at Rocky Mountain College are both accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI).

Athletics
Rocky Mountain teams, nicknamed athletically as the Battlin' Bears, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I level, primarily competing in the Frontier Conference. Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, golf, ski racing, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, ski racing, soccer, track & field and volleyball.

In 2009 the Battlin' Bears men's basketball team won the NAIA Division I National Championship taking home the school's first NAIA title.

The Battlin' Bears men's ski team, which competes in the USCSA (United States Collegiate Ski Association), won RMC's first national championship in 2005, again in 2007 and 2011.

Notable alumni

 * Valeen Tippetts Avery, biographer and historian
 * Bill Bowers, mime and actor
 * Lane Chandler, actor.
 * Jason Earles, actor on the television series ''Hannah Montana
 * Al Feldstein, painter (honorary Doctorate of Arts in 1999)
 * Arlo Guthrie, folksinger (did not graduate)
 * Larry R. Heather, frequent Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidate
 * Chris Horn, former Carolina Panthers wide receiver
 * J. Timothy Hunt, journalist and author
 * John Letasky, sportswriter
 * Jill McLain, Miss Montana USA 2005
 * Michal Wisniowski, artist