Jim and Connie Alderson

Alderson with wife, Connie and new grandson

Jim Alderson is widely known for his courage in standing up to a big corporation. In 1993 he blew the whistle on healthcare fraud, helping the government to recover $1.7 billion in Medicare fraud by one of the nations' largest commercial hospital chains.

At the annual scholarship banquet for MSU College of Business, Rich Semenik, dean of the College, announced that Alderson and his wife Connie have made a substantial gift to establish the Alderson Program in Entrepreneurship. The gift will fund the programs set in the College's Entrepreneurship Program. The gift will benefit MSU students by providing scholarships, field research grants, curriculum development, and specialized course work. The gift is of a magnitude that will put funding for this program on par with some of the most prestigious programs in the country.

When asked why he has decided to give such a substantial gift to the College, Alderson said, "Number one, my experience in whistleblowing taught me what a good education I had at MSU and it prepared me to compete at any level. I want to see that expanded. Equally as important I think that entrepreneurism is the answer to Montana's economic problems. If we can teach chemists and engineers to get a patent and then form their companies in Montana, we will be able to create many good paying jobs."

Semenik said, "Jim and Connie Alderson shared our vision for the importance and impact of entrepreneurship education for students in the State of Montana. They felt that this sort of training would not only benefit the individual student but the State of Montana economy as well. Their generosity will affect students immediately and for generations to come. We are deeply grateful."