Hal, Sheila Stearns honored

Governor Steve Bullock hosted the Governor’s Humanities Awards ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, January 26. Tow of the honorees were Hal and Sheila Stearns. The others were Chere Jiusto, John Murray, Karen Aspevig Stevenson, and Dottie Susag. Their citations emphasized “teaching and support of the Humanities throughout their distinguished roles in Montana education.”

Hal Stearns is the grandson of the late Joseph H. & Cora Kountz, long-time sheep & cattle ranchers on the Parrot Bench, south of Whitehall. He attended first grade in Whitehall and worked summers on the Kountz ranch.

Hal graduated from Harlowton High School in 1958 before receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and master’s & doctorate degrees from the University of Montana (UM).

He taught at Missoula Sentinel High School, in Wiesbaden, Germany, at Montana State University & UM, and is now with the lifelong learning program at UM and humanities programs from homesteading days to Lewis & Clark, Indian stories, and small towns then & now & tomorrow.

Hal’s parents, Hal, Sr. & Jean Kountz Stearns, ran the Harlowton Times & Ryegate Clarion for over 30 years.

Sheila is a graduate of Glendive’s Dawson County High School in 1964. She holds undergrad, master’s and doctorate degrees from UM.

Early in her career, she taught middle schoolers in Germany and was an elementary school librarian in Missoula. Later she was the college chancellor at UM-Western in Dillon, chancellor of Nebraska’s Wayne State College, and was the longest serving Montana Commissioner of Higher Education. Presently Sheila serves as President of UM.

Humanities Montana strives to enrich the lives of all Montanans by fostering inquiry and stimulating civil and informed conversations about the human experience.

The humanities change lives by bringing Montanans together to learn and reflect on our past, present, and future.

Each year Humanities Montana provides up to 180 Montana Conversations programs all over the state and especially in rural communities, plus 80 Speakers in the Schools programs to inspire students with history, literature, philosophy, and more.