Bill Plank and George Madden

Bill Plank and George Madden were long-time professors at first Eastern Montana College and then later MSU Billings. Plank was a professor of French, and Madden was a professor who taught education law and educational foundations courses in the College of Education. In 1990 they established the journal, The Montana Professor, a publication dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and information concerning nearly any issue of note that affected faculty in the Montana University System. They taught generations of students not to fear speaking truth to power; their teaching inspired hundreds of students over their long tenure.

In 2020, the Madden-Plank Student Travel Scholarship was established to support junior and senior students majoring in a Liberal Arts discipline who demonstrate a passion for writing, critical thinking, or social advocacy. The award can be used to offset travel expenses for students to attend regional to national conferences to present their research.