Bio

PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Born in Peoria, Illinois in 1933, Ron went to school in the Midwest, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry from Bradley University and a Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Iowa. It was in Iowa that Ron met and later married Nancy Nielsen, a Montana native, who after degrees in Zoology and Nutrition, switched her creative energy into Art. (MA and MFA degrees from the University of Montana.)

For several years Ron concentrated on scientific research- first at the University of Texas, then as a NATO fellow in Germany. Four years of teaching and research in Buffalo, New York ended when a chance to move to Montana came along.

Ron and Nancy and their two children moved to Missoula in 1965 when the Chemistry Department hired him as an associate professor at the University of Montana. Asked to teach the Introduction to the Humanities course in 1969, he did so for several years until 1985. He was one of the co-founders of the graduate program in Environmental Studies in 1970 and served as the Director of the program from 1976 to 1984. He taught a wide variety of science and policy oriented courses and conducted research in air and water pollution. Later his teaching was focused on Environmental Ethics, although he also taught the basic course in Ethics in the Philosophy department.

During Ron's entire life in Missoula he has been active in progressive causes, as a peace activist and on environmental issues, often in leadership roles.

After retiring from full-time teaching in 1991, Ron served on the city's Open Space Advisory Committee, chairing that group throughout the period of the Open Space Bond ballot issue, the purchase of Mt. Jumbo, portions of the North Hills, and the selection of potential soccer and baseball fields at Ft. Missoula. In 1997 the Montana Recreation and Parks Association presented him with the Citizen's Award for his work on Open Space in Missoula.

Ron's life-long interest in public policies that are fair to both people and their places led him to run for the Montana state legislature in 1998. The people of House District 64 elected him to office three times, the last by a margin of 61% to 39%. During those three terms he was twice selected to be vice-chairman of the House Taxation Committee. He also served on the Natural Resource and Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committees. In 2004 he was elected countywide to serve on the Commission to Study County Government and selected by the County Commissioners to serve on the Missoula City County Planning Board. In 2006 he was again elected to the House of Representatives (HD 93), this time with a 64% to 36% margin. He served as vice-chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee in 2007 and was appointed to the Legislative Finance Committee for the 2007-2008 interim.

Ron received the Conservationist of the Year award from the Environmental Information Center in 1985 and the Don Aldrich Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation award (sponsored by the National Wildlife Association) in 2004. In 2007 he was presented the Conservation Champion Award by the Montana Conservation Voters, That award was presented “In Recognition of His Courageous and Wise Leadership on Behalf of Montana’s Environment”.