Montana State University (MSU) has announced a $5 million gift from Patt and Terry Payne to expand the Montana PBS station on its campus. 

The gift boosted Montana PBS’s Building Possibilities campaign total to $19.4 million, approximately $16 million of which will fund a roughly 15,000-square-foot expansion of the MSU visual communications building, home to Montana PBS and the university’s School of Film and Photography. The funding includes support for a new Montana PBS Public Media Center, increased staffing and local productions, and new investments in news and public affairs programming.

“The new facility will be a community hub where Montanans can participate in statewide dialogue, in person and virtually,” said Montana PBS general manager Aaron Pruitt. “It will be a focal point for news and journalism across the state, a homeroom for education and childhood development, and a creative nucleus for treasured Montana stories.”

(Photo credit: Montana State University)