The
Enabling Act of 1889, which brought Montana into the Union, allotted land for the creation of a school of mines as one of the four original Montana University System universities. In 1893 the Montana Legislature provided funding to establish the school in Butte. The cornerstone of Main Hall was laid in 1896, and the university opened its doors in 1900 as the "Montana State School of Mines". Despite enthusiastic local support, even offers of free land for construction, the early history of the school was fraught with poor funding and accusations of fraud, but with the help of former governor
John E. Rickards, the school was opened. In 1919 the Montana Legislature established the Montana State Bureau of Mines and Metallurgy on the campus in keeping with Montana Tech as a school focusing on the development of minerals and industry. Charles H. Clapp of the mining department served as the first president of the Bureau. The school was renamed the "Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology" in 1965. It began moving beyond purely engineering and applied sciences, adding social science and liberal arts options. Alumni Coliseum opened on campus. The university became affiliated with the
University of Montana in 1994 with a reorganization of the Montana University System. The name was changed to "Montana Tech of the University of Montana". The Butte Vocational-Technical Center was put under Montana Tech administration as the College of Technology. In 1998 Frank Gilmore became chancellor. In 2010 the Natural Resource Building (NRB) opened. It now accommodates the Bureau of Mines and the Petroleum Engineering Department. In 2011 Don Blackketter became chancellor. In 2012 the College of Technology became Highlands College, and the Frank and Ann Gilmore University Relations Center (URC) building opened. In October 2021, the university announced a $7 million donation to the Nursing Department from Dave and Sherry Lesar. This led to renaming the Nursing Department the Sherry Lesar School of Nursing. These funds also contributed to the construction of the Lesar Family Nursing Simulation Center, which opened in spring 2022 in the Science & Engineering building. In 2016, a full Bachelor's of Mechanical Engineering program was added, and the Natural Resource Research Center opened on campus, including a new nano research lab and additional lab space for existing departments. On September 21, 2023, the university's School of Mines and Engineering was officially renamed the Lance College of Mines and Engineering by unanimous vote of the Montana University System Board of Regents.
Presidents (1900–1994) and chancellors (1994–present) Source: • Nathan R. Leonard, 1900–1909 • Charles H. Bowman, 1909–1919 • Charles H. Clapp, 1919–1921 • George Warren Craven, 1921–1928 • Francis Andrew Thomson, 1928–1950 • J. Robert Van Pelt, 1951–1956 • Edwin G. Koch, 1957–1971 • Fred W. DeMoney, 1972–1985 •
Lindsay Norman Jr., 1986–1998 • Frank Gilmore, 1998–2011 • Don Blackketter, 2011–2019 ==Academics==