Ellen Shields Endowed Scholarship

Ellen Shields grew up in the small farming community of Choteau, Montana, and graduated from the University of Montana with a master’s degree in mathematics in 1933. She taught math at Billings Senior High School until her retirement. Ellen loved to travel and journeyed to Sweden, Russia, and Asia. She was active in many community organizations, the women’s service club Altrusa and Meals on Wheels being two of her favorites. In the early 1970s, Ellen took an interest in the students at MSU Billings. Not only did she support them financially, she had an interest in them personally, taking them to plays and musicals and following their academic careers closely. On June 29, 2000, Ellen passed away at the age of 87. Through a living trust established in 1992, Ellen named the MSU Billings Foundation as the remainder beneficiary of her estate. Her legacy has been used to establish a permanent scholarship fund at MSU Billings named the Ellen Shields Scholarship Endowment. The endowment annually funds four scholarships – one each to a freshman, a sophomore, a junior and a senior in college. The first scholarships were awarded in academic year 2002-2003.