Montana Ambassadors name Frank Tyro Educator of the Year

The Montana Ambassadors celebrated Frank Tyro, a pioneering television producer and professor, as the 2024 recipient of the Mike Malone Educator of the Year Award during a ceremony Oct. 4.

This award is presented annually to a Montana educator who has demonstrated outstanding accomplishment, excellence and leadership in the field. It embodies the values of Mike Malone, PhD and former president of Montana State University.

A native of St. Ignatius, Dr. Tyro received his bachelor’s degree from Montana State University, his master’s degree from Temple University, a post-grad from the University of British Columbia, and his doctorate from the Union Institute and University.

His entry into educational technology dates back to the late 1960s, when he began directing programs from the MSU TV Center for use by students on the Bozeman and MSU extension campuses.

In the 1980s, he began his tenure at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, where he spent 32 years teaching television production, script writing, photography and mass communications. Alongside his teaching duties, Tyro started and ran the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ PBS station, KSKC. 

He has produced and/or directed more than 1,800 hours of television programming including award-winning documentaries and cultural programming that document Bitterroot Salish, Pend d’ Oreille and Kootenai culture, all of which have been preserved on the YouTube Channel SKC-TV. 

This past spring, he was honored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Education Department for his contributions to preserving the legacy and culture of the tribes of CSKT. 

Also a passionate environmental educator, Tyro has travelled 47 times to Churchill, Manitoba, often alongside Dr. Charles Jonkel, a legendary Montana wildlife biologist. Together, they created educational programs to raise awareness about arctic ecosystems, as well as polar bear and beluga whale movements on Hudson Bay.

Since his retirement eight years ago, Tyro and his wife, Dr. Lori Lambert, have worked with the Spokane Tribe, the Crow Tribe, Montana PBS, Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana, and the University of Montana-Western to document Montana and tribal history and culture.

At the Montana Ambassadors ceremony, Tyro’s award was presented by his nephew, Ambassador Paddy Fleming, who noted that “Frank’s contributions have had a profound impact not only on individual students, but also on preserving Montana’s Legacy.”

In addition to the Educator of the Year, the Montana Ambassadors recognized seven other honorees with 2024 awards:

• Dr. Waded Cruzado, MSU President, Placemaker of the Year
• Sharon Peterson, Plenipotentiary of the Year
• BioSqueeze, Business of the Year
• Brian Goettlich and Krystal Guilhemotonia of Aqua Creek Products, Entrepreneurs of the Year
• Julia Bryant, Ambassador of the Year
• Anna Kazmierowski, Outreach Ambassador of the Year

The Montana Ambassadors is a non-profit, volunteer organization of business and academic leaders, which was created in 1983 by then-Governor Ted Schwinden. 

For more information, contact board member Paddy Fleming at pfleming@montana.edu.