Montana State University Technology Center and Burns Technology Center paid $195K to lobbyist Roger Fleming of Dutko Worldwide since 2003

The Burns Technology Center at Montana State University has paid a Washington, D.C., lobbyist at least $195,000 since 2003 to raise money for the center, government records show.

The lobbyist, Roger Fleming, is vice president of Dutko Worldwide http://www.dutkoworldwide.com/ , one of the largest lobbying firms in the nation. Some of its clients are major players in the telecommunications industry, giving the BTC access to the high-profile donors it regularly seeks.

The relationship is legal although unusual. MSU already hires another firm to lobby on behalf of the university, and the Burns Center spends more for Fleming’s services in a single year than some larger public universities spend on lobbying in total over two years.

However, BTC Director Kim Obbink said Fleming doesn’t actually lobby Congress on behalf of the center.

"We hire him as a fund-raiser," she said, which makes his role much like those of the development directors in other parts of the university.

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

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