Joining the Board

Norm joined the MSU Foundation board in 2002.

In late 2001, Dave Gibson, the former dean of Montana State University's College of Engineering, was named director of the MSU Foundation. Gibson envisioned a new direction for the foundation, one focused on raising funds for on-campus initiatives. One of his first orders of business was to travel to Tulsa to speak with Norm and ask him to join the foundation's board.

"It was one of the game-changing times in one's life," Norm said. "I had to evaluate where I was and what I was doing. I decided that it was time for me to start concerning myself with people that had helped me along the way, and Montana State University was one of those."

After joining the MSU Foundation board in 2002, one of Norm's first endeavors was to establish scholarships for Montana students from in-state high schools with total enrollment of 100 students or less. Norm donated $1 million to launch the scholarship effort as part of the Foundation's "Putting Students First" campaign. The Asbjornson University Scholar Permanent Endowment has helped dozens of students attend MSU.