Janis H. Frank Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Janis Hendrickson Frank came from Turner, Montana, a small town located one mile from the Canadian border. Growing up, she loved riding horses up to the Canadian border, attending dances, and acting in local theater productions. Throughout school she had a perfect attendance record. She was valedictorian of her high school class and, having excelled at her studies, graduated early from high school and immediately began teaching school to pay her way through college. Janis took piano lessons growing up and also played the French horn in band. She received a band scholarship from the University of Montana (UM) and continued piano lessons. She was a music education major before changing to elementary education. Her future husband, Charles L. Frank, loved to walk by UM’s music building to hear her practicing. After the two were married, they moved to Billings and took jobs in the Billings Public School system, she as an elementary school teacher and he as a principal and superintendent. Janis was involved with music throughout her life: playing organ and piano in church, writing a cantata for the church choir, using music in the elementary school classes she taught, attending symphony concerts and concert series, and seeing that her children received music lessons. Janis passed away in March 2016 at age 88. She left a portion of her estate to help high-achieving MSU Billings students earn their music education degrees so they could inspire a passion for music for generations to come. Janis was always helping students, and with this scholarship, her generosity and support will continue. The first scholarship was awarded for academic year 2016-2017.