A Legacy of Leadership: Vandaveer retires after decades at Montana Tech

Highlands College Dean Karen VanDaveer’s career took a different path than she initially imagined; upon graduating from Butte Central Catholic High School, her first ambition was to become a dietitian.

“Seeing my friends and roommates major in nursing made me think, ‘That sounds good.’ So, I switched, and it was the best decision. I’ve never regretted it.”

VanDaveer graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman. Her clinical training was completed in Billings.

“I never thought I would end up back in Butte, Montana,” VanDaveer remembered.

VanDaveer returned to Butte when her husband, John, accepted an engineering position with the Montana Power Company. Over her almost four-decade career, she significantly expanded opportunities at Montana Tech and Highlands College for students pursuing careers in healthcare, technology, and the trades. VanDaveer will retire at the end of this academic year.

“Dean VanDaveer has been a transformative leader at Montana Tech, first as the director of nursing and more recently as the dean of Highlands College,” noted Montana Tech Chancellor Les Cook. “Shortly after my arrival, we entrusted Karen with the interim dean role, challenging her to revitalize the campus and align its programs with industry and community needs. Over the past four years, she has not only met this challenge but exceeded expectations. Today, Highlands College is not just revitalized -- it is thriving. Through her vision, leadership, and relentless drive, she has energized her team, accelerated progress, and positioned the college for an extraordinary future.”

VanDaveer started her career in Butte at Silver Bow General Hospital, where she gained vast experience in the emergency room, pediatrics, med surg, and obstetrics.

“Believe me, I was a rookie and a novice,” VanDaveer said. “I had lots of great mentors to help me those first couple years.”

Eventually VanDaveer transferred to St. James Hospital, followed by working with Nurse Midwife Cynthia Kaiser.

“I had the opportunity to teach an IV therapy night class at Butte Vo Tech,” VanDaveer said. “That’s where I fell in love with education.”

When the director of nursing position became available at Highlands College in 1989, VanDaveer jumped at the chance to apply.

“I was lucky enough to get the position,” VanDaveer said.

At the time, the college offered a one-year certificate program for Licensed Professional Nursing (LPN).

“There were three faculty members in the department, and we taught everything,” VanDaveer said.

In the late 1990s, there was interest in offering a registered nursing program at Montana Tech.

“The criteria mandated a master’s degree for faculty,” VanDaveer said. “Therefore, three of us simultaneously taught and pursued our master’s degrees at MSU to launch the associate’s degree program.”

In the early 2000s, the program produced its first registered nurses. As the profession recommended more education, Montana Tech’s Nursing program expanded to fill the need, first by adding an RN-toBSN bachelor’s degree and then by adding the current four-year BSN program in 2016.

“Integrating nursing into an engineering school was a significant initial challenge,” VanDaveer stated. “There was limited understanding of the opportunities nursing would bring. Now, it’s the university’s largest department.”

Montana Tech’s bachelor of science in Nursing distinguished itself rapidly within the State. It has been repeatedly ranked the top Nursing program in Montana by RegisteredNursing.org and RNcareers.org.

VanDaveer said the rankings were a product of the hard work of the Nursing Department.

“We have had exceptional board passage rates since we started our BSN program,” VanDaveer said. “We always kept the student in mind and demanded high quality. Any curriculum or program decisions were made with a focus on prioritizing the student, ensuring quality education, and upholding the integrity of the nursing profession. We wanted employers to know that when they hired a Montana Tech graduate, they had the reputation and the ability to provide quality healthcare. That was always in the forefront. Whatever we did, it was to ensure that graduates were up to being the best nurses that they could.”

VanDaveer says the success of the Nursing Department was a team effort.

“This success resulted from the dedication of the entire Nursing Department, Montana Tech’s general education faculty, and the administrative team,” she acknowledged. “It was a truly collaborative effort across the institution to establish and uphold this level of quality.”

After 34 years leading the Nursing Department, VanDaveer wanted to pursue a new opportunity in 2020.

“I wanted to understand Montana Tech beyond the department director level,” VanDaveer said.

In Spring 2020, VanDaveer served as Interim Dean of the College of Letters, Sciences and Professional Studies. The following year, she became Interim Dean of Highlands College while simultaneously leading the Nursing Department.

That spring marked a historic milestone for the Nursing Department. Dave and Sherry Lesar’s transformative $7 million gift enabled the construction of the Lesar Family Nursing Simulation Center and the renaming of the department to the Sherry Lesar School of Nursing.

As VanDaveer moved on to be the dean of Highlands College, she learned that some things were the same and other things were different in leading the two-year community college.

“It’s about prioritizing students, regularly reassessing programs, and embracing change. You must be nimble, readily adopting new initiatives and discontinuing those that have reached their limit. We consistently seek partnerships, new opportunities, and funding resources.”

The instructors, staff, and students at Highlands College have made VanDaveer’s role fulfilling and manageable.

“I believe the faculty and staff are great and experts in their field. You give them the opportunity to make decisions and they excel,” VanDaveer said. “It’s been awesome.”

Highlands College Instructor and Department Head Linda Granger has known VanDaveer for many years, but did not get to work closely with her until she made the move to Highlands.

“In the 40 years that I have been at Highlands College, I have worked for a total of five deans, and I can say without an ounce of hesitation that Karen is by far the most effective dean that we have had in all those years,” Granger said. “She is intelligent, she has integrity, and she is a great communicator as well as a great listener—all qualities which, when combined, help her foster growth, build trust, and guide her team to success. She is the best, and her shoes will be very hard to fill!”

“Karen embodies many key leadership qualities, which help her to inspire, guide, and support her team,” Granger said. “Some of the qualities that she possesses include the fact that she is a visionary thinker, wherein she has a clear vision and communicates it effectively to her team. She is honest, transparent, empathetic, and is able to
delegate tasks effectively. Karen is also a confident leader who can make difficult decisions while maintaining her poise under pressure, and she inspires others to trust her decisions.”

VanDaveer measures her decades of dedication to education by the success stories of graduates who deliver exceptional healthcare to the community or excel in the trades and technology fields.

“I am deeply proud,” VanDaveer stated. “Proud of my career, my
colleagues, and the unwavering support of my family.”