While many know Dr. Suzanne Tilleman as the first female Dean of the University of Montana’s College of Business, a look into the past reveals that another woman once held the position— Brenda Farrell Wilson, who stepped into a leadership role during World War II.

In 1943, when Dean Robert Line took a leave of absence to support the war effort, Assistant Professor Wilson was called upon to head the School of Business Administration. Her courageous leadership during a pivotal time in history left an enduring mark on the College of Business.

To commemorate the trailblazing Dean, here’s a look back at Brenda Farrell Wilson’s life.

Born on March 14, 1896, Wilson grew up in Billings. After attending the University of Montana from 1915 to 1918, Wilson left before her initial 1919 graduation date and worked for several business organizations, including the Enterprise Sheet Metal Company and Montana National Bank.

After marrying M.B. “Scotty” Wilson in 1928, she returned to the University of Montana, earning a B.A. in Business Administration in 1932. She began teaching at the School of Business Administration the following year and quickly became a key figure in the institution.

As chairman of the Secretarial Sciences and Business Education division, Wilson focused on research in business education, stenography, and transcription methods. Wilson offered a summer class to provide civil service training to students to help them secure jobs upon graduation.

After the United States entered World War II, she wrote for the Summer Session Sun in 1943 about adjusting the teachings of the Business School to meet the needs of wartime.

“The exigencies of wartime problems are having their effect upon instruction, student personnel, and attitudes of pupils toward the work,” Wilson wrote. “There are extremes of ages in the Business School … they work together in one group [as] eager, interested students, and the Business School is trying to make the work meet the needs of wartime personnel.”

Dean Robert C. Line was appointed as a wage stabilizer for the War Labor Board, and Wilson assumed the role in 1943. Under her leadership, the Business School continued its modified curriculum with a skeleton crew of just six staff members. When the war ended, Dean Line returned, and Wilson stepped down. But her contributions didn’t end there.

She went on to earn an M.S. in Business Education from the University of Southern California. Her standout work, “A Tentative Guide for Montana High Schools for the Teaching of Gregg Shorthand,” was published in 1947 and was distributed to business teachers across Montana.

Over the years, her career took her to institutions from Hawaii to Washington to Saskatchewan, but she always returned to Montana. At UM, she served on multiple committees and was the advisor to Mortar Board, a women’s scholastic society. She also initiated the visiting professor program at the Business School.

Wilson was deeply involved in the business education community. She was a charter member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the business administration honorary, and Phi Chi Theta, a business women’s fraternity. She served as membership chair for both the United Business Education Association and the National Business Education Association.

Wilson retired in 1966, but her connection with the University of Montana remained strong. In 1984, she established a scholarship in honor of her late husband. The Brenda Farrell and M.B. (Scotty) Wilson Scholarship, which remains active, provides an annual award to business or business education students at UM who are working part-time during school.

After living a long life, Wilson passed away in 1987 at the age of 91. She is buried with her husband in the Missoula Cemetery.

Though her accomplishments were often overlooked in early reports on the history of the Business School, her legacy lives on through her scholarship foundation, helping hardworking students achieve their academic goals at the College of Business.

Author - Rose Shimberg is a master's student in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism and a Graduate Assistant at the College of Business at the University of Montana. Her work has been published in outlets including the Montana Free Press, Mountain Journal, Statesman Journal, Missoula Current and SLUG Magazine.