January 21, 2009 in City

Former MSU president dies

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Associated Press photo

Former Montana State University President Carl McIntosh donated his beetle collection to the school last year.
(Full-size photo)

BOZEMAN – A former president of Montana State University, Carl McIntosh, died Monday at age 94, the university announced Tuesday.

Born in Redlands, Calif., McIntosh was MSU’s eighth president, serving from 1970-1977. He lived in Bozeman in retirement, and returned to the public eye in 2008 when he donated his boyhood beetle collection to the university.

“Carl was an absolute gentleman. I just loved the chance to be around him. He will be missed,” MSU President Geoff Gamble said Tuesday.

McIntosh was able to live alone with the help of friends, a Lifeline button, Meals on Wheels and deliveries from the Bozeman Public Library. He enjoyed wide-ranging conversations with his visitors, who recently included Gamble and ninth MSU president Bill Tietz.

Gamble said he visited McIntosh just before Christmas and they had a lively conversation, discussing a variety of topics that ranged from linguistics to matters of scholarship.

“They were among the most interesting and wide-ranging conversations I had,” Gamble said. “We will certainly miss that.”

McIntosh said last fall that he once thought he might pursue entomology as a career, but he found that he enjoyed public speaking even more than insects.

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