Winter 2023 | Volume 106 | Issue 4
W E DO. W E L E A D. W E A R E
FOREVER UND
Inspiring a sense of wonder, a love of discovery, and a commitment to serve each other and our communities.
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#UND PROUD SVP, Corporate Controller
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Jerrod Hanson
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“UND prepared me for success in my career by providing a strong educational foundation and a spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning. Bell Bank and UND both promote a sense of belonging by fostering family culture, a commitment to service and giving back to the community.”
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what’s inside
FOREVER
STARTS NOW
In 1889, UND was one building on the prairie; our first graduating class was eight. Today, our 240 buildings that cover 521 acres are a stunning visual of our growth. UND’s enrollment hit a 10-year high this fall, bucking a national trend of decreasing numbers and setting us apart from other schools in our region. Turn these pages to find out more about our remarkable alumni, meet some amazing current students, and learn about our bold new campaign to propel UND into a future of unparalleled excellence and innovation.
E V E R U P WA R D W I T H
CHESTER FRITZ
AN ODE TO
‘MY UNIVERSITY’
Chuck Haga, ’76, ’78, recalls the ‘memory places’ he holds dear.
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10 WE DO. WE LEAD. A MESSAGE FROM DEANNA CARLSON ZINK & ANDREW ARMACOST
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NEWS THAT MAKES US #UNDPROUD
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R O L L C AL L !
MEET OUR STUDENTS
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UND stands out among nation’s universities by continuing to grow enrollment.
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His name is ubiquitous on campus, but how much do you know about the man whose life story reads like a movie?
ON THE COVER Precious Dada got involved in UND Student Government after transferring from Williston (N.D.) State College. As student outreach and project coordinator, she spends a great deal of time listening to student needs. That experience led her on a path as a health studies major with a focus on healthcare administration. “I love UND because of the leadership opportunities I have had and the loving community I have created here,” Precious said.
T H E L AU N C H O F
FOREVER UND
Our most ambitious fundraising campaign ever celebrates the UND legacy while looking to a bright future.
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A LOOK BACK AT HOMECOMING 2023
46 36 CLASS NOTES News and updates from alumni and friends around the world.
UND ATHLETICS
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ALUMNI PHOTO SHARE
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IN MEMORIAM
VOL. 106 NO. 4
WINTER 2023
UND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION & FOUNDATION Chief Executive Officer DeAnna Carlson Zink, ’86 Vice President of Marketing & Communications Sarah Prout, ’07
UND ALUMNI MAGAZINE Editor
From DeAnna & Andy
FOREVER UND:
CONNE C T ING T HE PA S T, P R E S E N T, A ND F U T UR E
Alyssa Konickson, ’06, Associate VP of Marketing & Communications Lead Designer Jenny Wolf, ’03, Director of Creative & Brand Strategy Associate Editor Stephanie Schultz, ’91, Associate Director of Storytelling & Content Strategy Senior Writers Milo Smith, Senior Director of Public Relations & Videography Jenn Lukens, Director of Stewardship & Donor Appreciation Contributors, UND Alumni Association & Foundation Sara Everson, Graphic Designer & Social Media Coordinator Jeannie Tvedt, Senior Database Coordinator Melissa Garceau, Associate VP of Operations Lindsay Benson, ’13, ’14, Data & Software Systems Specialist Matt Scheerer, Associate Director of Development Communication Chad O’Shea, ’20, Associate Director of Stewardship Communication Carly Tate, ’18, Associate Director of Engagement Marina Schaefer, ’16, Senior Accountant Contributors, University of North Dakota Shawna Schill, ’06; Mike Hess; Jessica Kinneberg, ’08, ’13; Tom Dennis; Brian Schill,’00, ’05; Curt Hanson; Brian Baier
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Jim Poolman, ’92 Vice Chair Darla (Kleven) Adams, ’84, ’85 Directors
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Troy Bader, ’85 Twylah (Butler) Blotsky, ’93 Chris Cooper, ’05, ’08 Scott Fredericksen, ’74 Randy Gershman, ’84 Jonathan Holth Chuck MacFarlane, ’87 Lara (Olsen) Prozinski, ’90 Dave St. Peter, ’89 Kathryn Uhrich, ’86
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Andrew Armacost Dr. Joshua Wynne Nancy Pederson, ’90
Lisa (Schmitz) Barnes, ’88 Kelly (Keeler) Caruso, ’91 Kaleb Dschaak, ’20 Angie (Hovland) Freeman, ’91 Mike Hamerlik, ’84, ’88 Dr. Michael LeBeau, ’02 Karen (Borlaug) Phillips, ’77 Jodi Thompson Rolland, ’92 Pat Sogard, ’82, ’86 Chad Wachter
Ex Officio
Karla Mongeon-Stewart Eric Link DeAnna Carlson Zink, ’86
The UND Alumni Magazine (ISSN 26896753) is published four times a year by the University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation 3501 University Avenue Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157 Periodical postage paid at Grand Forks, ND 58201 and other offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: UND Alumni Magazine 3501 University Avenue Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157 For inquiries about advertising, additional copies, submissions, or general comments, contact 800.543.8764, 701.777.2611 or AlumniMag@UNDalumni.net.
Special moments are cause for special circumstances, so for this issue of the UND Alumni Magazine, we bring you a joint message. Our aim is to dive into the heart of what it truly means to be “Forever UND.”
Campaign & Connections First and foremost, we want to celebrate the public launch of Forever UND: The Campaign for the University of North Dakota. We were thrilled to share the stage during Homecoming to announce the campaign and its $500 million goal. While that may seem audacious to some, we believe it is entirely within reach for a community that believes in the limitless potential of this great University. Forever UND will be a driving force behind UND’s growth and evolution. In the pages ahead, you’ll learn more about this campaign and how it dovetails with UND LEADS, UND’s strategic plan. Our campaign is anchored in three powerful statements: “We do.” “We lead.” and “We are Forever UND.” These ideals are the essence of what it means to be a part of the UND family. They are a reflection of our past, a testament to our present, and a beacon for our future.
It’s All About Students At the heart of the campaign are UND’s students. You’ll meet some of them starting on page 14 and hear their hopes and dreams for the future. Their stories reflect the diverse experiences, dedication, and sense of belonging that UND instills in every student. With a dedicated focus on student scholarships, Forever UND aims to eliminate financial barriers and empower the next generation of leaders and innovators. By investing $125 million into scholarships, our alumni and friends will ensure that every student can access the transformative power of a UND education. This means that dreams are not hindered by tuition costs, and aspirations are not stifled by financial limitations.
UND Alumni Association & Foundation CEO DeAnna Carlson Zink and UND President Andrew Armacost kick off the public phase of Forever UND: The Campaign for the University of North Dakota at Forever Starts Here: A Celebration for the Future. The event was held on Oct. 6 in the UND Memorial Union. The campaign seeks to capture the spirit of the University's enduring legacy, dating back to its first graduating class in 1889.
Four Pillars But scholarships aren’t the only way the campaign will improve the student experience. The three other pillars of the campaign — faculty and research, programs and priority needs, and capital projects — do their part to close the loop as well. These four pillars are all about fostering an environment where every student can embrace a sense of wonder, embark on a journey of discovery, and make a lasting commitment to serving their community. The impact of this campaign on our students is immeasurable, setting the stage for a future where their potential knows no bounds. Check out page 28 to learn more about the priorities of the campaign.
Join Us
We’ve already achieved 100% campaign participation from University leadership and from the UND Alumni Association & Foundation team, reflecting our unwavering belief in UND. But the campaign’s success relies on all of us, from the smallest contributions to the grandest gestures.
In closing, we want to emphasize that being “Forever UND” is not just a tagline; it’s a way of life. It signifies that once you are a part of this University, you are forever woven into the fabric of UND. We invite you to stay connected, get involved, and be a part of Forever UND: The Campaign for the University of North Dakota (UNDalumni.org/forever). The connections we forge today will shape the University’s future, ensuring that the spirit of progress and the sense of belonging carry on for generations to come. As we move forward, let us remember that we are Forever UND. UNDalumni.org/magazine
As we transition from the silent phase to the public phase of the Forever UND campaign, we stand on the cusp of a historic moment. It’s a moment that invites all alumni and friends of UND to be a part of something enduring, to contribute to a legacy that will illuminate the path for generations to come.
Your gift can be anything. It’s worth everything. These words are not just a call to action; they are a reminder that every act of giving, regardless of its size, holds immeasurable value. Together, we can create a brighter future for UND, a future where the torch of knowledge is passed to the next generation of leaders.
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TH E THIN G S THAT M A K E U S
#UNDproud
For more, subscribe to UND Today at blogs.UND.edu/UND-today.
49-24 Q U O TAB L E
THE IRON WOMAN Tawakkol Karman, the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, gave the Eye of the Hawk lecture on Sept. 7. She was known as the “mother of the revolution,” “the iron woman” and “the lady of the Arab Spring.”
“The most important message is one of empowerment. We are not deciding the future. We are building tools, but how do people use these tools?” Greg Brockman President & Co-Founder of OpenAI speaking at UND on Sept. 26
was the score of the UND vs. NDSU football game on Oct. 14. It was first time UND beat the Bison since 2003; the teams had played each other five times since transitioning to Division I.
42,600 estimated demand of new commercial jets over the next 20 years. UND installed a new simulator to train the pilots who will fly them.
18:83 Speaker Series launched this fall, designed to teach lessons in leadership from campus and community leaders in a “TED Talk” format.
4 students graduated from the world’s first doctoral Indigenous Health program this summer, which has grown 122% since its 2019 introduction.
500+ students graduated this summer: 242 undergraduates and 275 master’s students and Ph.D. candidates.
340,000 BRICK BY BRICK When digging a new water main for Merrifield Hall, sections of Old Main’s brick foundation, built in 1883, were found. The bricks were placed there 140 years ago before North Dakota was a state. No one had seen a part of Old Main since it was razed 60 years ago.
number of times articles contributed by UND scholars have been read on The Conversation, a news organization dedicated to sharing expert knowledge for the public good.
NEW PLACES TO NEST UND continues to upgrade its oncampus housing. The Wilkerson Quad and the adjacent Landing Zone officially opened for the fall 2023 semester. The Landing Zone is a spacious lounge area connecting the newly renovated Brannon, West and McVey halls to the Wilkerson Commons.
QUIZ BITS
WHO YA GONNA CALL? AI robotic rovers are delivering food on UND’s campus. What are they called? R2D2s
Lunch Squad
Food-bots
Food Dudes
Kiwibots
Judiths
SOARING EAGLE The Soaring Eagle (created by Bennett Brien, ’84) stands watch over the renovated Soaring Eagle Prairie Garden. A garden dedication and a keynote speech – encouraging dialogue and understanding among all citizens – were part of UND’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration. Kiwibots
My University BY CHUCK HAGA, ’76, ’78
Then and now, under foot or in my mind, always a special place. My memory places, the places I recall with affection and pride, range from my boyhood home in Valley City, North Dakota, to the Grand Forks hospital room where I watched my little grandson hold his just-born baby sister. Prompted to sing to her, he sang a bit of “Puff the Magic Dragon.” I remember standing at my grandmother’s grave in southwestern Norway, telling her about the son who left for America at 18 and never was able to return. She knew she likely would never see him again, a cousin told me. For three days before my father left, she moved her cot next to his. The places in my heart include a favorite camping spot among the pines in northern Minnesota, a rise overlooking the Missouri River in western North Dakota where I can imagine Lewis and Clark passing by, and a field in West Africa where I visited a Peace Corps-serving friend, also a UND graduate, and helped her plant trees to hold back the Sahara Desert. Those places, and my University.
56 YEARS AGO I remember as if it was yesterday that first day I set foot on campus as a student, 56 years ago. I had been there twice before, once as a high school senior and once as a junior high student tagging along with my big brother Jerry, who introduced me to his
fraternity brothers at Tau Kappa Epsilon (the building stands, but with new Greek letters out front). It was a Sunday morning, and a few of the lads sat in the living room, talking and drinking coffee and reading the Sunday papers. (I want to say the Kingston Trio sang from a stereo that morning, but I may be imagining more than remembering that.) It seemed a time of important transition. It seemed so adult, so inviting, so promising. Then in September 1967, I walked across campus, a freshman wearing a new sweater, trying to look collegiate as I shuffled through leaves fallen from old oaks, elms and maples. I remember it was sunny and warm and there were so many of us, and I wondered: Was I worthy? Did I belong?
MY MEMORY PLACES Of the places of my life, places that shaped me and earned my affection, my University stands out. The word itself brings to mind something solid and enduring, changing but preserving, too, a place of honor and tradition but also a place of experiment, surprise and discovery, where questioning is encouraged and dissent is tolerated. So much has changed on campus since I first arrived in the fall of 1967, excited and scared, wondering whether I had the stuff to succeed here. Especially in the past couple of years, with construction of the new Memorial Union and other major projects,
Top: Merrifield Hall in fall 1971; Middle: Tau Kappa Epsilon; Bottom right: Chuck Haga and Mike Jacobs, editor and managing editor of the Dakota Student, 1970
the face of this venerable place has changed considerably. Some of my memory places are gone. The new Union is bright and airy, and students seem to have embraced it as a good place to meet and mingle and just be, but I still think wistfully of the old place where we gathered, played cards, ate lunch, flirted, argued about war and movies. I miss Tom and Jerry, the amiable barbers who held court in their basement shop. I remember the restless nights of speeches and protests that filled the old Union following the killing of four students at Kent State in May 1970. It’s difficult now, with all the development, to place precisely the line of anti-war protesters, students and faculty, that stretched from the Union to the Law School in the late ’60s. Gone, too, is the little Valley Dairy convenience store off Cambridge, and Budge Hall, where I had an office as a graduate teaching assistant in history in the late 1970s. In that stuffy old building of burnished wood and creaky stairs, I felt a kinship with generations of young scholars.
and self-appointed guardians of Merrifield, I wandered through the nearly century-old Collegiate Gothic structure once more last year before the renovations began. We wanted to see the gargoyles and alcoves where we might have sat between classes, napping or reading. “We wander the halls,” I wrote about that unguided tour, “and remember the sounds of panic and purpose, the smells of bookbags and office coffee and wet wool hung in hallways or draped over radiators in winter. We remember the learned scholars who strode from office to classroom and talked – talked to us – of Robespierre and Hemingway and Aristotle.” I sat again in Room 217 and remembered Gordon Iseminger describing the fog that lifted just in time for the French to prevail at Austerlitz, and I felt my hand cramp at the memory of the blue books I filled to show what I knew, what I had learned. The liberal arts are at the heart of a university education, and Merrifield Hall is where the liberal arts are practiced and respected.
WANDERING THE HALLS History. The word instantly conjures images of Merrifield Hall, the long, muted hallways and bare classrooms and my professors – men and women who were the university to me: pipe-smoking P. V. Thorson and “Poppa” Robert Wilkins in History, the courtly Bob Lewis and drawlin’ John Little in English, dear Graciela Wilborn and gentle Modesto del Busto in the Spanish wing of Modern and Classical Languages.
Top: UND Memorial Union, circa 1967; Middle left: Budge Hall, 1964; Middle right: Memorial Union Barber Shop, 1970; Bottom: Peace Week demonstrations, 1967
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Work crews are busy now updating Merrifield, giving it a more open face onto the Quad and making it more accessible, more technologically current, and we who know and love the building watch nervously. With three old friends, all of us fans
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SMORGASBORD OF EXPERIENCES If I could do those years over, I think I would branch out more, go deeper and experience my University more broadly. I would master Spanish and tackle algebra. I would go to more plays and spend more time in the art museum, maybe a little less at Frenchy’s or Judy’s. In a special Fall 1970 orientation issue of the Dakota Student, where I was editor, we ran a double page spread of images from the previous year, with a short copy block, I believe written by me: “In the course of just one academic year we can listen to gifted speakers of national reputation, quiz politicians on contemporary issues, experience one of the world’s greatest jazz trios, observe high quality dramatic presentations. … We can sing the lead in a musical, draw a cover for Tyro, lead a panel discussion on the war. …” It is still a smorgasbord of ideas and experiences, I tell students now. Seize the day.
YESTERDAY AND TODAY Beyond the campus, Frenchy’s is gone, but Judy’s endures, as does the Red Pepper. On campus, Squires, Walsh and a few other dorms are memories, as are the former homes that housed the Women’s Center and the Era Bell Thompson Center, their important roles incorporated elsewhere. A few of the old Greek units are history, too, but the Sigma Chis still hold Derby Days, the ATOs have a new house, and every time I pass by the Alpha Phi house I remember the day in the early 1980s when the sisters “captured” me, a newspaper columnist and presumably a low-level local “celebrity,” and held me for ransom. I had to call friends and get them to pledge money for the sorority’s fundraiser.
‘THERE IS THE UNIVERSITY AT WORK.’ I have known more than a halfdozen UND presidents. I like the new guy, who is personable and listens and cares about the right stuff, but George Starcher and Tom Clifford – though markedly different men – remain to me models of a university president. Clifford was friendly, accessible and a master at dealing with the various publics who had an interest in the university. The stories of him reaching into his own pocket to rescue a student who couldn’t make rent or meet some other crisis or they’d have to leave school – those stories are many and true. I remember Clifford best, though, from the day in May 1970 when he stood in the doorway of the ROTC building, where hundreds of us had gathered, angry about the killing of students at Kent State. He knew we were sad and angry, and by showing that, he helped to defuse a situation that could have turned ugly. Above: Tom Clifford (second from right), May 1970, following shootings at Kent State; At right: George Starcher and Tom Clifford
“The University consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are touched by her influence and who carry on her spirit. ” George Starcher
THE PLANNING MASTER UND’s AVP of facilities outlines campuswide master plan. “The quality of facilities will help keep the University strong,” said Mike Pieper, associate vice president of facilities.
Kent State protest, 1970
Starcher was more formal, a mathematician who carried himself with old school dignity. He believed in the vital importance of academic freedom, and he defended our right as students to hear and express controversial views. I can hear him in this quote my friends at the Alumni Association found:
“The University is not the campus, not the buildings on the campus, not the faculties, not the students of any one time – not one of these or all of them. The University consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are touched by her influence and who carry on her spirit. Wherever you go, the University goes with
you. Wherever you are at work, there is the University at work.” And there is my University, a place of mind and grounds, of promise and memory. \\\
Mike’s team follows a master plan introduced in 2016, and updated in 2018 and 2022. The next update – set by the North Dakota University System and the State Board of Higher Education – will be in 2028, following the university’s new strategic plan, UND LEADS. “Master planning follows strategic planning,” he said. UND’s growth in research and new academic programs will also drive the new plan, as well as more remote and hybrid arrangements. Meanwhile, construction continues to hammer along on campus. “When prospective students visit campus, they are looking at amenities. As they become upperclassmen, they focus more on their department’s buildings,” Mike said. UND’s facilities team is delivering to both audiences. “Wellness, the Union and housing all meet new student demands while the Nistler (College of Business & Public Administration), finishing Merrifield Hall and the upcoming STEM Complex will be very beneficial for meeting their needs later.” Heat maps have shown that the Quad – the area framed by the English Coulee, Columbia Road, University Avenue and the train tracks – is one of the most heavily used areas of campus. To make connections better, skywalks will link Merrifield, Nistler and the Chester Fritz Library.
Chuck Haga had a long newspaper career with the Grand Forks Herald and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Though he retired as a full-time journalist in 2013, he continues to write regular columns for the Herald, and serves as an adjunct professor in UND’s Department of Communication and is serving on the committee to celebrate the journalism/communication department’s 100th anniversary. This semester, he’s teaching Comm 200 to 25 young minds.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Other upcoming enhancements include a new Flight Ops Complex, a Harrington Hall lab space update, the Nodak Insurance Company Sports Performance Center, Albrecht Field and Memorial Village. Along with a makeover to University Avenue, students are already utilizing new residence halls, the Fritz Pollard Jr. Athletic Center, a new School of Medicine & Health Sciences (built in 2016), and a renovated Chester Fritz Library.
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MEET
14
FLOCK
THE
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“When our students graduate, we want them to have all the skills and activities on their resumes to be able to go out into the world of work and feel confident that they’re going to be successful.”
STUDENT ENROLLMENT SOARS UND records strongest growth in a decade, bucking national trends and making us the largest public university in the Dakotas.
ART MALLOY, VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
More students are flocking to UND. Our enrollment, for the fourth straight year, is growing, with 14,172 students attending classes this fall – an increase of 296 students or 2.13% over fall 2022. This year marks UND’s strongest growth in 10 years in both absolute terms and percentage figures.
UND is experiencing this growth when schools across the nation and in the Upper Midwest are reporting enrollment declines. Nationwide, total graduate and undergraduate enrollment fell 7% from spring 2019 to spring 2023, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
“It is an exciting time to be at UND,” said Janelle Kilgore, Vice Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management. “Throughout our admissions cycle, we have had the energy and desire to educate prospective students about the value of UND. It is humbling that new students are selecting us, as we truly believe we have the best education and student experience around.”
All sectors of the UND student population are growing, including the number of freshman Presidential Scholars – up 16%. Additionally, retention of first-time, fulltime students increased from 78.87% to 82.96%, which is credited to an increased emphasis on connections with faculty mentors and other first-time students, as well as access to more experiential learning opportunities and additional resources.
14,172
296
Students
More students than fall 2022
10%
4
More transfer students
Years consecutive growth
Using 2022 enrollment figures as a comparison, enrollment increases include: New freshman enrollment: +0.74% New transfer students: +10% Total undergraduate enrollment: +2.9% New freshman Presidential Scholars: +16.63% First-time, full-time student retention rate: +4.09% Student credit hours: +1.6%
Growth Factors Increased scholarship offerings are a key reason UND has been able to grow its enrollment. “Scholarships allow us to stress how valued the students are to the University. Through them, the University is able to place monetary value on the importance of hard work,” Janelle Kilgore said.
“The students I interact with are career focused. They want to solve problems. They want to help however they can. They’re very grateful for all the opportunities.”
“They also reduce financial barriers to enable more students access to a UND education.” Enhancing the student experience helps UND retain students. Art Malloy, Vice President of Student Affairs, said the University has been intentional about its focus on student involvement and leadership. “We have more student organizations than we’ve had in the past. We have more students serving as peer educators and getting involved in their residence halls. Graduate and professional students are getting involved in the types of things that help them develop networks they need to be successful.” “I certainly think that a place like the University of North Dakota is going to provide all the opportunities to help students be successful,” he said. \\\
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JANELLE KILGORE, VICE PROVOST FOR STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
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MEET THE FLOCK
P H Y SIC S & M AT H
THOMAS IKEN
Musician, physicist, and soldier. Not only is Thomas pursuing the 4+1 accelerated master’s program in physics and math, he’s also an enlisted member of the North Dakota National Guard as a member of the 188th Army Band. Like many, Thomas joined the military as a way to help pay for college. In his case, he also got to hold onto a lifelong love: music, where he was involved with everything from piano to orchestra to brass band. “So if I joined the Army Band, I could pay for college and keep music,” he said. On campus, Thomas first signed up as a tutor in the physics department, and now works as a lab assistant. He followed this path after nurturing a passion for math. “It was always interesting. I like the process of solving equations. But then physics was like the connection of, ‘Oh, I want to know how the world works.’ Physics uses math to do all of that.” Hometown: Bismarck, N.D. Hobbies: Working out and making music with friends. Why UND? Initially, Thomas planned to take the astrophysics track in UND’s College of Arts & Sciences, but eventually switched to material science. His collaborative research on thermoelectric materials is opening doors to future opportunities for his education, research, and career. “I enjoy UND’s sense of community. There are countless organizations or clubs to find others that share similar interests and plenty of helpful faculty to guide students into their future careers.”
Miriah Forness
West Fargo, N.D. Doctor of Medicine
Laura Prussia
Detroit Lakes, Minn. Human Resource Management & Public Affairs
Max Eriksrud
Cobi Pimental
Chaska, Minn. Biology Pre-Dentistry, Entrepreneurship
Kailua, Hawaii Commercial Aviation
E L E M E N TA RY E DUC AT ION
EMMA RUDOLPH
As a child, Emma says she would stay up late into the night reading books. “I would get caught for that, as opposed to other things,” she said. “I love, love, loved to read and play teacher.” Years later, as an elementary education major at UND, it was time to declare a minor. Emma says that she serendipitously came upon literacy education. “It’s all just books and teaching kids to love reading.” In addition to her studies, Emma is a literacy coach for Haley’s Hope, a nonprofit that provides reading education for children and adults with dyslexia. Someday, she hopes to have her own classroom in an elementary school setting, but she’s not ruling out specializing in reading education. “At this point, it changes day to day.” Hometown: Fargo Campus involvement: President of Future Educators of UND, Member of Letters of Love Emma loves UND because ... “of the sense of community that campus has. There are so many ways to be involved academically as well as extracurricularly, and campus is the perfect size to find a community. I know my professors and my professors know me.” Emma on scholarships: Emma is a Barry Foundation Scholar, recipient of the KB and Elvira Sandven Scholarship, and the John and JoAnn Muus Scholarship. “With student teaching coming up, to know that there’s that little bit of financial stability to rely on is just so important.”
Mario Medeles Manvel, Texas Computer Science
Ella Nelson
Stillwater, Minn. Biology Pre-Dentistry
Nichole Dumlao Philippines & Valley City, N.D. Nursing
Skye Hertel Bismarck, N.D. Master of Accountancy
MEET THE FLOCK
P HIL O S OP H Y, L AW
ALEX DREWS-NARINE
Alex pursued law school because she had family on both sides of the law: Some in law enforcement, and others who found themselves seeking legal help. “I realized I want to be a public defender. In my opinion, they’re really unsung heroes.” She worried about succeeding in law school. After excelling in a semester of philosophy studies, however, she immediately switched to the accelerated program, in which she’s finishing her undergrad while starting her law school studies. This semester, her peers elected her the 1L representative of the Law School Honor Board. “I find it to be a tremendous honor,” she said. Hometown: Champlin, Minn. Campus involvement: Law Women’s Caucus, Mortar Board, German Cooking Club, Criminal Law Association, Alternative Dispute Resolution Board, National Society of Leadership and Success Inked up: On her right wrist, Alex has a tattoo of the Beatles lyrics “Living is easy with eyes closed” from their song “Strawberry Fields Forever.” “I wanted to get something to remind myself that I knew what the world was like and to keep my eyes open. I still know that the world can be a pretty place even in the darkness.” On her upper arm, a druid priestess is a nod to her Germanic ancestry, and a witch on her left side remembers the Salem Witch Trials. “These women were pointed out for being independent, strong women. So I wanted to get a woman that was just really confident and proud. I wanted to emulate that when I grew up and I wanted to emulate that throughout my life and especially in the legal field where women are still a minority. I wanted to be able to be like, ‘No, I’m here, I am a proud, independent woman who can accomplish whatever I want to accomplish.’”
Jaden Norby
Ashby, Minn. Kinesiology & Master of Business Administration
Parker Johnson
New Prague, Minn. Physics
Lexi Wacker
Rockford, Minn. Marketing
Precious Dada
Nigeria & Williston, N.D. Health Studies
AV I AT ION M A N A GE M E N T
ARJUN JAGADA
In high school, Arjun was enrolled in an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, with a fast track to law school in Europe. But when he realized the excellent potential an aviation career could offer, he quickly pivoted. I thought, “Flying planes seems to be a career that I can make something out of. I can go into management, I can do safety. And then you look at the industry right? What schools have the best reputation, which of them are partnered with the most airlines, which of them have the best flight training programs – and that’s UND.” A triple-major in Commercial Aviation, Aviation Management, and Aviation Safety and Operations, Arjun is a proud Aerospace Ambassador for the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and president of the Student Aerospace Advisory Council. Hometown: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Hobbies: photography, travel Why do you love UND? Industry reputation, along with the familial relationships between students and faculty/administration that allow for genuine leadership opportunities. ... Coming from Dallas, it’s a bit of a change. I remember going home for winter break. It was minus 30 here, and when I got home, it was 60 degrees. It’s like, oh, this is a nice change. But it’s a close-knit community here. And it’s great because you can make an impact that way. Arjun snaps: If you receive Aerocom Magazine as an alum of UND Aerospace, you’ve probably seen some of Arjun’s work. An accomplished photographer, Arjun is proud to have had his images published on the cover of Aerocom. “Photography is a great hobby to have. Combine it with travel and that leads to something pretty cool.”
Irene Jirasevijinda
Bangkok, Thailand Commercial Aviation
Grace Adelman
Bellingham, Minn. Master of Accountancy
Carrie Carpenter
Billings, Mont. Mechanical Engineering
Skyler Strand
Bismarck, N.D. Finance
T HE M A N , T HE M Y T H ,
THE LEGACY
Chester Fritz’s name is everywhere on campus, but few know his story.
Chester Fritz. The name is all over the University of North Dakota. He funded the library, the auditorium, and several scholarships and professorships. Yet he didn’t graduate from UND, didn’t live in North Dakota after 1910, and only visited Grand Forks twice after leaving. In fact, he only lived in the U.S. for a few years in the early 1950s.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
“But I hope it will be a center where purposeful men and women do serious work, in preparing themselves for the larger serious work of the future.”
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Much of Chester’s philanthropy to the University can be traced to his relationship with his aunt, Kathrine (Macdonald) Belanger Tiffany, class of 1902 and 1908. Kathrine and her first husband, Neil Macdonald, class of 1900, were innovative North Dakota educators. They took Chester in at age 13 when he was orphaned: his father was disabled and his mother ran away. While he got his start in North Dakota, Chester Fritz would go on to make his home in many places throughout the world. His time in China – where his knowledge of the culture led to many successes in trading silver, and later gold – was a highlight. His later years as a private investor – in New York, Italy, Switzerland, and Monaco – were his most lucrative. The timeline of Chester’s life is provided on these pages. From Chester’s early years scrapping for every meal, to his transformative relationship with his aunt, and his curiosity about what lies west (and Far East), the self-made man’s legacy lives on at UND.
1908: Chester is valedictorian in Lidgerwood and enters UND: Room and board is $152. Total enrollment is 906.
March 25, 1892: Chester Fritz is born in Buxton, N.D., to Anne and Charles Fritz.
1904: Neil and Kathrine Macdonald (the sister of Chester’s mother) take Chester into their home in Lidgerwood, North Dakota.
1910: Chester joins drama club. He leaves UND after the spring semester.
1914: Chester graduates with an economics degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. 1915: Chester, working for Fisher Flouring Mills, moves to China. He would stay for 36 years.
Chester’s key lesson learned on the journey: “If you do not haggle in China, you do not survive!”
A letter from Neil Macdonald to Chester as he embarks on his career: “Good health and good character in connection with great capacity and a desire for service are the most valuable assets any young man can possess. These you possess in no small degree; and that you do, you cannot fail and will not fail.”
Chester kept an Eastman Kodak film package tucked into his passport because Kodak yellow was close enough to “imperial yellow” that it was often interpreted as an imperial document by officials with limited literacy.
1917: World War I halts flour business. Chester starts a dangerous, six-month journey through Western China and gains an understanding of Chinese culture.
1929: Chester joins the investment firm of Swan, Culbertson and Fritz, one of the most successful firms to operate in the Far East during the 1930s. 1925-41: Chester learns to ride horse and becomes competitive at an individual event called Shanghai Paper Hunts and team polo. The paper hunt was a cross-country race started in the 1860s because British visitors found few animals to hunt. Colored paper, acting as prey, marked the course, which was dangerous and competitive. It was described as the Kentucky Derby of the Orient.
1921: Chester is hired by American Metal Company in China and moves to Shanghai to oversee silver imports. He earns the nickname, “Mr. Silver.” In 1925, there was more silver in Shanghai than in any other city in the world.
June 18, 1929: Chester marries Bernardine Szold, an American journalist.
Chester remembered 1941-46 as “the years of our discontent.” During that time, WWII and the Japanese takeover of Shanghai disrupt business; Chester is sent to an internment camp for 14 months; his marriage ends; and Swan, Culbertson and Fritz struggles, closing its doors in 1947. After repatriation, Chester returns to Shanghai; the Chinese Communist Revolution ultimately pushes him to Hong Kong in 1947. The bright spot during the latter half of the decade is Chester’s success importing gold. 1954: Chester marries Vera Kachalina. They move to Rome.
1951: Chester returns to UND to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
July 1954: George W. Starcher becomes UND president, which leads to the important relationship between the Starchers, Fritz and his aunt, Kathrine (Macdonald) Belanger Tiffany.
1950: Chester, now a private investor, writes his first check to UND for $10,000.
The contribution “affords me a certain kind of pleasure and genuine satisfaction in that I am now able to express my gratitude for the benefits which I received as a student at the University of North Dakota. …This expression of gratitude may be somewhat tardy, but is nonetheless genuine.”
1956: Chester sets up an irrevocable trust fund of $100,000 to be held in perpetuity, and authorizes UND to award $5,000 annually in scholarships. 1958: Chester and Vera move to Switzerland. February 15, 1958: Chester’s gift of $1 million for the library is publicly announced. According to author and historian Dan Rylance, the library became a reality through Tiffany’s persistence, Starcher’s honesty and Fritz’s loyalty.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
October 13, 1961: Chester attends library dedication during Homecoming.
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“The library represents a long reach into the future; and it is my fervent hope that it will bring appreciable benefits to many students, and faculty, and other people throughout my native State.”
FRITZ LEAVES SCHOLARLY LEGACY May 28, 1965: Chester gifts $1 million to UND for a “distinctive auditorium.”
Between 1950 and 1969, Chester donated more than $2.25 million to the University. At that time, it was the largest amount ever given by a single UND alumnus. (About $20 million in today’s dollars.)
1972: Chester Fritz Auditorium dedication and first event, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Choir. April 4, 1974: UND unveils an oil portrait of Chester by Boris Chaliapin. 1977: Chester sells Chalet Vera in Switzerland.
“I am especially indebted to the fine teachers who, in the end, have determined in large measure, how well I was able to learn and to use the knowledge that the University of North Dakota could provide.” Chester Fritz Distinguished Professorship Awarded to UND’s most distinguished professors to recognize their excellence and contribution to the development of students. UND has awarded this honor to 88 professors; 27 are currently teaching. The first three Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors are pictured above. Chester Fritz Scholarships
1980: UND breaks ground on a $4.5 million addition to the Chester Fritz Library, funded by the North Dakota Legislature. 1982: “Ever Westward to the Far East-The Story of Chester Fritz” is published, written by Chester and Dan Rylance, Chester Fritz Library archivist and assistant professor of history. July 28, 1983: Chester dies in Monte Carlo. He is buried at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Forks. 2021: Chester Fritz Library’s 6-year renovation is complete. Scan the QR code to see the updates.
At least five annual scholarship awards of $800 each to undergraduates and one annual award of $1,000 to a post-graduate. Since 2004, there have been 373 recipients receiving $438,108. In fall 2023, 36 students received scholarships. Neil Macdonald Scholarship Fund Scholarships are awarded annually to two highachieving graduate students, four undergraduate students pursuing any degree at UND, and one for academic achievement, Merit, Presidential or a transfer student. K. B. Tiffany Scholarship Annually awards a scholarship to one graduate student studying English and two undergraduate students studying English or History.
Information courtesy of: Burleson, Anna: Chester Fritz: More than a name in Grand Forks, Grand Forks Herald: May 15, 2016; Eriksmoen, Curt: Former UND student generously endowed his alma mater, Fargo Forum: Oct. 15, 2022; Fritz, Chester and Rylance, Dan. “Ever Westward to the Far East: The Story of Chester Fritz” (1982); Urlacher, Brian. “The Library of Chester Fritz” (2022); UND Art Collections: Chester Fritz in Shanghai (April 18-July 28, 2016): youtu.be/iOfcLd8DmiM Special thanks to: Curt Hanson, Head of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library
2023 UNIVERS
ITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
HOMECOMING
UNDalumni.org/magazine
EST. 1883
26
PARADE // TAILGATING // HOCKEY // FOREVER STARTS HERE
HAWKS HOUR // PEP RALLIES // FOOTBALL // ALUMNI HONORS // VOLLEYBALL
$500 MILLION
FOREVER UND
T HE C A M PA IGN F OR T HE UNI V E R SI T Y OF NOR T H D A K O TA . Together, we embark on a $500 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to build a University of North Dakota for the future: a future where people are empowered to make a difference and where the torch of knowledge is passed on to those who will lead the way.
The campaign was unveiled during a special event, “Forever Starts Here: A Celebration for the Future,” held Friday, Oct. 6, in the Memorial Union on the UND campus and for an online audience watching a livestream of the event. With a silent phase that commenced in 2018, UND Alumni Association & Foundation CEO DeAnna Carlson Zink and UND President Andrew Armacost revealed that, at the time of the event, the campaign had already raised a remarkable $368 million from generous alumni, friends, and corporate partners. That initial support set the stage for the public phase of the campaign. The comprehensive campaign, guided by collaborative input from UND leadership and stakeholders, and the UND LEADS strategic plan, is focused on fundraising for four important areas. Forever UND: The Campaign for the University of North Dakota supports capital projects, student scholarships, faculty & research, and programs & priority needs. \\\
Check out Forever Starts Here, the event that publicly launched the campaign. UNDalumni.org/forever
W E IN S PIR E
LEADERS.
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS:
$125 MILLION
$22,663 estimated annual tuition, books, room and board
Students are our top priority. We believe that an outstanding, affordable education should be attainable for every student. Today’s students are battling tuition challenges and a rapidly rising cost of living – both attributing factors in the steady decline of nationwide undergraduate enrollment. At UND, however, we have managed to buck that trend, growing enrollment by 2% in fall 2023. The key? Increasing scholarship offerings to recruit and retain students.
74% of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid (loans, grants, or scholarships)
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
An educational investment
83% of students who receive a merit-based scholarship return for their second year
14,172 2023 fall enrollment: highest of all North Dakota public universities
VO I C ES O F T H E C AM PAI G N KI C K-O FF
“The opportunities this university has provided me will last a lifetime. I’m not sure where I’d be if I didn’t get a scholarship at this university, but I sure am grateful that I’m here now, and I can continue to grow and help people along the way.” UNDalumni.org/magazine
QUINCY VAUGHN, ’24 UND FOOTBALL
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WE EMPOWER
ACTION.
FACULTY & RESEARCH: The heart of our University
$120 MILLION
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Together, we are only as strong as our faculty.
new faculty endowments in the last two years to bring the total up 62
One chair or professor can touch the lives of many through the courses they teach, the students they mentor, or simply through their academic work. Endowed faculty give students the opportunity to work alongside the most talented scholars and researchers to solve global grand challenges. By increasing endowed faculty positions, we are able to recruit and retain faculty, which ultimately enhances student learning.
$300M statewide economic impact of UND research
1,600 jobs created in-state from UND research
VO I C ES O F T H E C AM PAI G N KI C K-O FF
“I was fortunate to have faculty who saw in me what I could not see myself. Without faculty support, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Forever really does start right here, right now, with all of you.” DR. KATHRYN UHRICH, ’86 INVENTOR, ENTREPRENEUR, DEAN, AND DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
W E BUIL D T HE
CAPITAL PROJECTS:
FUTURE. $175 MILLION
● Nistler College of Business & Public Administration completion
Drive down University Avenue, and you’ll see a campus transforming around you. As the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration continues to celebrate the completion of its new building, more new projects lie on the horizon.
● Nodak Insurance Company Sports Performance Center ● Albrecht Field on-campus softball stadium ● Renovation of Merrifield & Twamley ● Chester Fritz Library renovation ● Flight Operations Complex
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Breaking new ground
● UND STEM Complex ● Gershman Graduate Center
When you have great faculty and great students, you must have great facilities in which to teach and learn.
VO I C ES O F T H E C AM PAI G N KI C K-O FF
“My wife, Colleen, and I are very blessed and honored to lead this campaign, and we’re also very blessed and honored to know the wonderful people here at the University of North Dakota.” UNDalumni.org/magazine
WERNER NISTLER, ’68, HON ’23 CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR & NAMESAKE OF NISTLER HALL
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WE MAKE AN
IMPACT.
PROGRAMS & PRIORITY NEEDS Advancing to new heights
$80 MILLION
● World’s first doctoral program in Indigenous Health
Our programs bring UND to life. Individual colleges, departments, and centers make our University unique, and their needs may shift from year to year. By supporting programs and priority needs, we ensure our students have access to ideal experiential learning opportunities to equip them for the future.
● 10+ years named as a military-friendly school (MilitaryFriendlySchools.com, 2022) ● No. 9 best online university in the nation (EDsmart) ● Nation’s first institution to formally join the U.S. Space Force’s University Partnership Program ● Top 5% business schools worldwide (AACSB-Accredited) ● 1st beyond-visual-line-of-sight design for broad commercial use ● Top 15 Rural Medicine Programs (U.S. News & World Report)
VO I C ES O F T H E C AM PAI G N KI C K-O FF
“Forever UND is a reminder of where I started. And if I can speak directly to any students that might be listening, I encourage you to dream those biggest dreams.” DR. KAREN NYBERG, ’94, HON ’14 NASA ASTRONAUT
CAMPAIGN Q&A How does campaign counting work?
What makes this a comprehensive campaign? A comprehensive fundraising campaign: ● Creates a sense of urgency. ● Impacts almost every area of the university. ● Counts all dollars from private sources. ● Educates about the importance of philanthropic support.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
We have been counting dollars raised for the Forever UND Campaign since July 1, 2018. Some of those gifts, pledges, and planned gifts are already at work for our University.
● Deliberately links giving to the university’s strategic plan. ● Unites alumni, friends, and the campus community around a shared goal.
CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP The success of the campaign depends on the guidance and commitment of our Forever UND Campaign Committee. We thank these generous individuals for their service. Werner, ’68, & Colleen Nistler, Chairs Tom, ’72, & Konnie (Peach) Middleton, ’75 Jim, ’92, & Nicole (Cloutier) Poolman, ’98 Dr. John Gray, ’87, & Karen Schmidt-Gray, ’82 Paul, ’78, ’80, & Lynn Korus Phil Gisi, ’82 Doug, ’86, & Katie (Davies) Mark, ’86 Bob Fransen, ’77 Dean Barsness, ’84 Terrance E. Severson, ’65
How can I give to support Forever UND? The easiest way to give is on our website at UNDalumni.org/forever. Or, contact a development officer at 701.777.2611 to learn more about the causes at UND that are important to you.
GOALS BY UNIT Across campus, each college, school, and unit has unique needs such as facility updates, faculty and research support, classroom materials, and student scholarships. Those Forever UND fundraising goals are outlined below. Athletics $100 million College of Arts & Sciences $23 million College of Education & Human Development $10 million College of Engineering & Mines $40 million
John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences $60 million School of Law $10 million School of Medicine & Health Sciences $35 million Other UND programs & priority needs $112 million
UNDalumni.org/magazine
College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines $10 million
Nistler College of Business & Public Administration $100 million
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W E DON ’ T JU S T TA L K .
WE DO. FARGO DOCTORS
GIVING IN MEMORY
Unique wedding gift request results in enduring scholarship.
UND alum creates endowment to honor his late mother-in-law, an early education pioneer.
PAY IT FORWARD
When Drs. Christopher Anderson, ’04, ’08, and Allison Clapp, ’08, got married in 2013, they didn’t ask for traditional gifts. Instead, they worked with the UND Alumni Association & Foundation to create the Dr. Christopher Anderson and Dr. Allison Clapp Scholarship Distribution Fund, and asked wedding guests to donate. “It was end-of-year donation time and I think almost everyone opted to give a donation rather than a typical wedding gift,” Allison said. For more than a decade, the couple’s named endowment has provided a scholarship to at least one medical student each year, ideally a graduate from Fargo South High School, which produced both Clapp and Anderson. “The demographics have changed in Fargo since we graduated,” said Chris. “It’s not any longer the most affluent neighborhood in Fargo, and we think it’s important to support students who may not have had the same opportunities that other kids in the more affluent parts of the city have.” Feeling the desire to “pay it forward,” the couple, who both completed a residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., reflected on the assistance they received. “I needed help from scholarships along the way, and I received several, both in undergrad and medical school,” said Chris. “And this was a chance to pay it forward. I feel that if you receive money from a scholarship, your goal should be to at least give that back when you’re able.” Chris and Allison chose to focus on students from Fargo because they are more likely to stay in or return to North Dakota to practice. The state is experiencing a shortage of health providers. The doctors encourage UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences graduates to explore giving options.
OF A LEGEND
If you were enrolled in UND’s nursery school or earned your elementary education degree from 1959 to the 1990s, you might recognize this name: Mae Marie Blackmore, ’47, ’78. Her hugs for children, opportunities she gave college students, and community involvement were “legendary.” Dean Goetz, ’70, ’75, was married to Mae Marie’s daughter, Barbara, who passed away while the couple was living in Colorado. Mae Marie opened her home to Dean when he returned to Grand Forks to pursue a law degree. Mae Marie also lost her spouse as a young wife. She raised four children while directing the University Nursery School (now the University Children’s Learning Center, a dual-licensed childcare facility housed at UND). “She was really good with little children. She knew everybody’s name, and they all knew her. It was a special place, and all the parents loved her. She was legendary.” A pioneer and longtime director of the school, Mae Marie pushed back on assumptions about the speed at which children learn and applied early childhood education practices at her school. As a faculty member in UND’s College of Education & Human Development, she offered practicums for college students. In addition, “she was in every charity in town,” said Dean said, a practicing attorney and entrepreneur in Solana Beach, Calif. She gave to the arts, politics, and to her sorority, Pi Beta Phi. She organized and led the North Dakota chapter of the Association for the Education of Young Children and was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education. Mae Marie remained part of Dean’s life and “adopted” his second wife, Barbara Ihlan, a 1969 CEHD graduate, and their children until her death in 2021. In her honor, Dean and Barbara established the Mae Marie Blackmore Scholarship Endowment. “I think her memory should continue at the University of North Dakota. She was a big part of the College of Education, so we want to help a student in that field pay for their tuition.”
ANOTHER FIRST
A HOMERUN FOR
NGPA scholarship eases financial burden for LGBTQ+ students.
Donors with strong connection to Fighting Hawks make on-campus stadium possible.
FOR UND AVIATION
UND SOFTBALL
The UND chapter of the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) will award a NGPA Scholarship to one of its members in April 2024. UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the first college to establish a scholarship specifically for NGPA members.
UND Softball will soon play its games – for the first time ever – in an on-campus stadium. The lead donors for the project, Alexa and Dave Albrecht of Barrington, Ill., are not UND alumni, but they have a strong connection to UND Softball: a pitcher, Jackie Albrecht, is their daughter.
UND was also the first college to launch an NGPA chapter. Since 2015, the chapter has grown from six members to more than 40, with a mission to build, support and unite the LGBTQ+ aviation community and its allies.
“Jackie shared her love of softball with Alexa and me,” said Dave. “(We) are so grateful for this special opportunity to give back to the sport of softball. We love this UND Softball family, and we want to see it continue to grow.”
Ted Fosselman, ’19, a captain with PSA Airlines, spearheaded the scholarship effort. “I’ve always had the philosophy that you want to leave a place better than you found it,” he said.
Named to The Summit League’s All-Tournament team last spring, Jackie chose UND for its fit: commercial aviation and softball. “When I told (the coaches) I had an interest in (aeronautics), that really helped me make that connection (to UND),” Jackie said.
Also leading the project is Delta First Officer Jared Herndon, ’08, who knows cost is often “the biggest hurdle” aviation students face. “I want to make sure finances are not the only thing that keeps someone from pursuing this career,” he said. “It’s common for students from an LGBT background to not receive financial support from their parents solely based on the fact that their sexuality is different from what their family would like,” Jared said. The scholarship will help students make career connections by developing a strong network between alumni and students in UND’s chapter, Jared added.
The scholarship effort, stalled because of COVID-19, was restarted last spring. Ted and Jared continue seeking others to donate. “We know it will be a process,” Jared said. “But if you don’t start, it’s not going to happen.”
With an expected grand opening in fall 2024, the pet-friendly Albrecht Field will feature 500 seats, a party deck in left field, an LED videoboard, large dugouts, batting cages, bullpens, and a modern turf playing surface. Located across the street from the Frederick D. Pollard Jr. Athletic Center and the soon-to-be constructed Nodak Insurance Company Sports Performance Center, it will house all essential softball team facilities in a oneblock radius. The stadium will be “a state-of-the-art home for Fighting Hawks Softball” and “a beacon for youth softball in Grand Forks and across this great state,” Dave said. Since its founding in 1977, UND Softball has only played four home games outside in the month of March. While the cold and snow will always be a factor, the full sun shining on the artificial turf at Albrecht Field will expedite snow melt. Thanks to the Albrechts, the new diamond will be a shiny destination for softball players from UND and beyond – a homerun for the University of North Dakota when it opens next fall.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Chapter advisor Jeff Maliskey, also UND Pride Center director, said, “The scholarship will provide an opportunity for students to focus on their academic study and engage in the LGBTQ+ aviation community without having to solely worry about the financial burden of an aviation student.”
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Thousands of alumni and friends of the University of North Dakota are joining together to improve lives around the world by advancing UND to new heights. These are a few of their stories.
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CL A S S
NOTES Updates from UND alumni around the world. Want to share news with your fellow alumni? Email your updates to AlumniMag@UNDalumni.net or mail them to 3501 University Ave Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202.
1966
1980
Don Schaack, ’66, shows his handcrafted woodwork at Bridgetown Imprints Front Street Gallery in Valley City, N.D., where he lives with his wife, Sharon.
Kevin Hofstad, ’80, was reappointed to the board of directors of the East Central Regional Development Commission Revolving Loan representing Pine County, Minn., where he is managing partner at Ledin and Hofstad Law Firm.
1971 Mike Hughes, ’71, is an outside director on the Atkins Nuclear Secured Holding Corporation’s board of directors. Hughes, who has 35 years of experience leading nuclear operations, is a retired Major in the U.S. Army.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Dennis Dahlen, ’82, chief financial officer of Mayo Clinic, is chair of the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s board of directors.
1976
1983
Rebecca (Fischer) Bowman, ’76, joined the National Society of Professional Engineers as the senior director for ethics and professional practice.
David O’Shea, ’83, retired after 39 years as a civil engineer – 22 years as a U.S. Public Health Servicecommissioned officer and 17 with Houston Engineering, Inc.
1978
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1982
Glenda Anderson, ’78, retired from her job as director of fiscal management in the North Dakota Office of the State Tax Commissioner after 42 years.
1984
Timothy Henry, ’78, ’80, is the medical director of the Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education and is the Carl and Edyth Lindner Family Distinguished Chair in Clinical Research at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Naomi Yaeger, ’84, ’86, ’98, is editor of Senior Reporter Magazine, which has been providing information for people over 50 in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin for more than 30 years.
Bruce Quick, ’78, received the State Bar Association of North Dakota’s Distinguished Service Award. Quick is a criminal defense attorney at Vogel Law Firm in Fargo.
1986
1989
1992
Marjorie (Cook) McCullagh, ’86, retired from her job as professor of nursing at the University of Michigan.
Jason Hornbacher,’89, ’97, ’07, retired from his job as superintendent of Bismarck Public Schools.
Anthony Sabo, ’92, a Ventura Superior Court Judge in California, received the Oxnard Knights of Columbus Public Safety Award for 2023.
1987 John Christen, ’87, was inducted into the North Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame. Cindy Juntunen, ’87, is associate provost/dean of graduate studies and research at California State University, Monterrey Bay. Juntunen was dean of UND’s College of Education & Human Development. Don Nolan, ’87, joined the Daktronics out-ofhome sales team. He will serve customers in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic region.
Robert Voglewede, ’89, commemorated 15 years of providing dental services to veterans at the Fargo VA Health Care System. He previously practiced dentistry in his hometown, Carrington, N.D.
1991 Donna (Herman) Brown, ’91, ’95, ’02, was named to the board of trustees of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Judy (Tinjum) Sauter, ’91, is database manager for the North Dakota Community Foundation in Bismarck.
Jeff Schumacher, ’87, is the head wrestling coach at Bismarck State College.
F IN D T H E F L A M E
1993 Laura (Kohns) Brickson, ’93, ’12, received the National Catholic Education Association’s 2023 “Lead. Learn. Proclaim. Award.” Brickson is principal at St. Bernard’s Catholic School in Thief River Falls, Minn. Tracy (Hietala) LeDuc, ’93, was named to the board of directors for the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations. She is chief financial officer at the Community Violence Intervention Center in Grand Forks. Kurt Zellers, ’93, is CEO of Minnesota Business Partnership. He lives in Maple Grove, Minn., with his wife, Kim (Rydell) Zellers, ’95.
1994 Paul Loraas, ’94, is a Minnesota Super Lawyer. Loraas practices law at Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick, P.A. in Duluth.
Mike Hamerlik, ’84, ’88, retired from his job as president and CEO of WPS Health Solutions, a job he has held since 2012. Hamerlik lives in West Fargo.
Tammy (Sukut) Zola, ’84, will retire from her job as chief financial officer of Alluma, based in Crookston, Minn., at the end of 2023.
Scott Throlson, ’92, is sports editor of the Bismarck Tribune, a role he also held from 2014-17.
The playful animal cover of our summer issue was the catalyst for a record-breaking number of Find the Flame guesses! The flame was camouflaged on the giraffe’s right leg below the lion’s belly. The winners of our UND prize pack are Tricia Berg, ’13, Joe Worth, ’94, and Cynthia Lien, ’74. This cover seemed to be extra popular with children of our alumni, so we created a special prize pack for one of them. Our lucky winner was Norah, the daughter of Michelle (Dettling), ’03, ’05, and Chris Garske. Congratulations, Norah!
Andi St. John, ’94, was named to the 2023 List of the Most Influential Women in Arizona by AZ Business and AZRE Magazines. St. John is managing director of property management at CBRE Arizona. David Wolf, ’94, joined the criminal background check unit of the Department of Health and Human Services in Fargo after retiring from the North Dakota Highway Patrol, where he worked for 27 years.
A L U M NI IN A C T ION
1995
1997
Courtney (Ose) Ritterman, ’95, joined the board of directors of the Community Violence Intervention Center in Grand Forks. Ritterman, a licensed real estate agent, is co-owner of Dakota Commercial in Grand Forks.
Paul Sanderson, ’97, ’01, was appointed vice president, chief legal officer and secretary of MDU Resources in Bismarck.
Barb (Cooper) Vigen, ’95, has opened a gift shop featuring The Norway Dakota Company, Daisy Circle Studios and Gnome Life 701 in Grand Forks. Cooper is also an administrative assistant at the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.
1996
THE TECHIEST TEACHER EDDIE CHAMBERLAIN, ’06
Amazon “Ambassador” challenged to increase access to technology. Amazon was looking for teachers “passionate about equitable access to computer science and tech who love telling others about how great STEM classes are,” Eddie Chamberlain, ’06, said as he explained the Amazon Future Engineer Teacher (FTE) Ambassadors Program. Amazon found Eddie. He was one of 50 teachers selected for the two-year program designed to increase access to computer science and technology for students and teachers. The Math and Science Innovation teacher at Highview Middle School in New Brighton, Minn., teaches about 300 sixth-graders a year. “It’s like a makerspace class,” Eddie said. “The students rotate through different modules like 3-D design and printing, and laser engraving and cutting.” With the number of hours Eddie has put into creating the class for the school’s diverse student body, he said it’s like his “third child.” “I’m constantly looking for ways to raise the bar engagement-wise and tweaking things to make them more accessible to as many students as possible.” The first FTE Ambassadors are teachers from various grades, regions and communities. They met for training in Seattle this summer. Upon returning home, Eddie met with administrators, principals and students to identify accessibility challenges in his district and to develop strategies for improvement.
Eddie brings a similar enthusiasm to teaching. “Innovation is the best class to teach because every kid loves it. It’s all hands-on and students learn something new every day.” \\\
Dave Hakstol, ’96, was a finalist in the NHL’s Jack Adams Award for coach of the year. Hakstol led the Seattle Kraken to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their second season of existence. David McDonald, ’96, joined the board of directors of the National Fenestration Rating Council. McDonald is a code and regulatory affairs specialist with Marvin in Warroad, Minn. Robin (Moen) Salander, ’96, is the office assistant in the Larimore office of the North Dakota Community Foundation. Kay (Lobsinger) Schraeder, ’96, joined the board of directors of the Community Violence Intervention Center in Grand Forks. Schraeder is vice president and CFO of Minnkota Power Cooperative.
Chad Bladow, ’98, celebrated 25 years as the Nebraska Prescribed Fire Manager for The Nature Conservancy. Esther Tailfeathers, ’98, received an honorary degree from the University of Lethbridge, recognizing her contributions to improving Indigenous health care. She is the Indigenous medical lead with Alberta (Canada) Health Services’ Indigenous wellness core.
1999 Joel Bird, ’99, a private wealth advisor with Legacy Financial Planners, was named to the 2023 Ameriprise Chairman’s Advisory Council. Charles Dendy, ’99, ’02, is legal division director for the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner. Diane Lochner, ’99, is head librarian at the Glencoe and Brownton Libraries in Minnesota. She lives in Nicollet. Pat Slotsve, ’99, is a development officer for the Minot State University Development Foundation. Slotsve worked for 32 years in public education, retiring as principal from Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Minot in 2023. James Thompson, ’99, was re-elected treasurer of the North Dakota Soybean Council Board of Directors. Charles Truby, ’99, is district administrator for Little League Baseball and Softball in the United Kingdom, a four-year voluntary position.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Eddie was the lone UND grad and one of the few teachers from the Midwest selected for the program. “I am proud to tell people UND is where I got my foundation of teaching,” he said, adding that Jerry Wenzel, an “unforgettable” adjunct faculty member, inspired him to go into science education. “I remember him bringing out that passion for getting kids excited about science.”
Christopher Bartlette, ’96, ’98, an associate professor of music theory at Binghamton University in New York, recently completed his term as president of the Music Theory Society of New York State.
1998
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2000
2003
Katherine Aguilar, ’00, is a fifth-grade teacher in Worthington, Minn.
Brian Balstad, ’03, ’06, ’10, is in-house counsel for Sterling Management, LLC. Balstad has been a practicing attorney and consultant throughout North Dakota and Minnesota.
Mark Friese, ’00, received the Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service at the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference. Friese is a shareholder at Vogel Law Firm in Fargo.
2001 David Haring, ’01, was named 2023 Airport Professional of the Year by the Great Lakes Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives (GLCAAAE). Haring is executive director of the Lincoln (Neb.) Airport Authority and incoming president of GLCAAAE. Stephanie (Herman) Hayden, ’01, ’08, was appointed judge in the newly created East Central Judicial District, which is comprised of Cass, Steele and Trail counties in North Dakota. Kris Kroetsch, ’01, is head coach for UND women’s golf. Kroetsch is a Grand Forks native and former UND golfer. Jacob Yates, ’01, is a member of the Science Working Group for the Lunar Meteoroid Impact Observer CubeSat Mission expected to launch in 2027. Yates retired as a Commander from the U.S. Navy Reserve.
2002
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Jill (Altringer) Ellis, ’02, is a first-grade teacher in Stanley, N.D.
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Tim Rogers, ’02, teaches management courses through the UND-University of Shanghai partnership program. He is also a contributing author for a market-leading intro to business textbook.
Ben Bucher, ’03, ’12, has been elected to a three-year term on the North Dakota Hospital Association’s (NDHA) Board of Directors. Bucher is CEO of Towner County Medical Center and serves on the NDHA Legislative Committee. Christi (Billiard) Pribula, ’03, was appointed as a commissioner to the Blue Valley School District’s Recreation Committee in Overland Park, Kan. Pam (Kolstoe) Vettleson, ’03, is a teacher for the deaf/hard of hearing at Area Special Education Cooperative in East Grand Forks. She has been a learning disabilities teacher for 20 years.
2004 Jesse Lange, ’04, has joined the criminal defense team at SW&L Attorneys in Fargo.
2005 Jon Griffin, ’05, was named CEO of Capital Credit Union. He lives in Bismarck. Brittany (Foertsch) Johnson, ’05, is an assistant professor in the UND Physical Therapy program. Tim Toerber, ’05, is vice president for business development at Assaia, a company that provides AI solutions for airlines and airports. He lives in Gig Harbor, Wash.
2006 Karin (Lokensgard) Pierce, ’06, is a family medicine physician at Grafton (N.D.) Family Clinic, which is part of Unity Medical Center.
A L U M NI IN A C T IO N
FINDING SOLACE
ANNA ASTVATSATURIAN TURCOTTE, ’00 Tested UND grad fights for Armenian refugees.
In late September, tens of thousands of Armenian refugees fled from NagornoKarabakh, an Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan territory. Azerbaijan, which is bordered on the north by Russia, the south by Iran, and the east by the Caspian Sea, had claimed control of the long-disputed area. One UND graduate familiar with the decades-long conflict immediately arranged a trip to help. “The 120,000 Armenians just pushed out of that region are not safe and face genocide,” said Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, ’00. “That’s the same region they were bombing when I was 11. And I’m 45.” Anna is an Armenian refugee who fled Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1989. Her family spent three years as refugees in blockaded Armenia, waiting to start a new life in the United States. Since arriving in Wahpeton, North Dakota, in 1992, Anna has mastered English, graduated from high school, college and law school, worked at the United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and is now a bank executive. She married and had two children, has been elected to her city council three times, and started a charitable foundation. She also wrote and published a book, which then-14-year-old Anna found therapeutic. “It’s a farewell to my homeland and to my life as I knew it,” she said of “Nowhere: A Story of Exile.”
Anna edited it during high school and college, and put it away. “I wrote the book based on my childhood diaries. It was for my children, not to be published. When I had my second child, my daughter, something clicked. I needed to publish it. The conflict was still going on and I hoped to make a difference.”
planted a forest and much more. Hearing the news from the area, she traveled to Armenia in early October.
Within a month of publishing in 2012, Anna was invited to speak about Nagorno-Karabakh on Capitol Hill. The day she testified, Anna heard the Azerbaijani language and felt the fear she felt as a young girl in Baku. She recalled her father telling her to put her head down if she passed Azerbaijani rioters. “And that’s what I did in D.C.,” she said.
At UND, Anna grew into who she wanted to be. “I loved my time at UND,” she said, receiving a double major and minor in four years while working.
She began receiving invitations to speak worldwide and quickly realized she could help Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. The speaking engagements meant time away from her family. Learning that her son’s school was overcrowded, she wanted to make a difference closer to home. She was elected to the Westbrook, Maine, City Council in November 2015 and has been re-elected twice. She is currently council president, the first woman and the first immigrant to hold the position.
Becoming Anna
Anna wanted to become a humanitarian lawyer. She chose a law school in Portland, Maine, because it is near the UN, where she worked while in school. She landed a competitive clerkship for the ICC at The Hague in the Netherlands. Right before her time at The Hague, a spinal cord injury left her temporarily paralyzed. That health scare ultimately led her back to Maine where she works in the financial industry and is a champion for Armenians. And though a doctor told her she may never walk again or have children, she proved him wrong. She did walk and she has two children. “I’m kind of stubborn,” she said. “You can’t tell me what to do.” \\\
Top left: Anna (age 10) and her brother, Mikhail Astvatsaturian, ’07, (age 4) with their mother in Baku, November 1988. Middle: The Anna Astvatsaturian Foundation renovated bathrooms and an auditorium in a school in Khndzoresk, Armenia. Bottom: The Armenian cross in memory of the refugees and victims of atrocities in Baku, Azerbaijan, and 2,000 trees planted on the 30th anniversary of the massacres.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
She launched the Anna Astvatsaturian Foundation in 2021. Through it, she has helped renovate schools and bomb shelters, provided medical kits, solar panels, 3D printing labs,
“I do this to get my mind off all the bad memories and focus on others,” Anna said.
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2008 Jonathan Leddige, ’08, ’11, was appointed Magistrate Judge for South Dakota’s Second Judicial Circuit. Laine (Beyer) Martinez, ’08, is the 2023 recipient of the Graciela Wilborn Teacher of the Year Award from the Foreign Language Association of North Dakota. Martinez teaches Spanish at Bismarck High School. Tom Miller, ’08, is sports editor at the Grand Forks Herald.
2009 Aaron Fornshell, ’09, is a civil engineer and partner at AckermanEstvold in Minot, N.D. Stephanie Gravning, ’09, was named the state correctional health authority for the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Cierra (Roebuck) Hangsleben, ’09, is principal of Crookston (Minn.) Middle School.
2010 Amber Laffin, ’10, was promoted to associate professor of criminal justice at Bemidji State University.
2011 Matt Bakke, ’11, ’13, is the assistant superintendent of elementary education for the Grand Forks School District.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Holly (Forsness) Gruhlke, ’11, was named vice president of Dickinson State University.
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Adam Landstrom, ’11, co-chaired the Austin Under 40 Awards, a celebration of emerging professionals and their mentors who are making an impact on the Austin, Texas, community. Sara Monson, ’11, was named partner at O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Attorneys in Fargo.
Kyle Rosseau, ’11, ’17, a former UND cross country runner, is head girls’ cross country coach at Grand Forks Central.
A L U M NI IN A C T IO N
2012 Travis Bledsoe, ’12, a former UND men’s basketball standout, was named assistant women’s basketball coach at UND. Chantell (Bergsrud) Hunt, ’12, is a third-grade teacher in Stanley, N.D.
2013 Brandon Bigelbach, ’13, is the science and operations officer at the National Weather Service forecast office in Glasgow, Mont. Bigelbach works with fellow UND alumni Patrick Gilchrist, ’01, meteorologist-in-charge, and meteorologists Jacob Zanker, ’20, and Julianna Glinska, ’21. Jim Champion, ’13, is an associate professor of art at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. Nicholas Christensen, ’13, ’16, was appointed chief judge to the 59th District Court in Kent County, Mich. Joseph Mehus, ’13, Mayville State University associate professor of biology and INBRE (IdeA Networks for Biomedical Research) researcher, has studied mosquitoes in the Red River Valley for 17 years.
2014
DRIVING CHANGE
MONIQUE VONDALL-RIEKE, ’01, ’04 Alaskan travel challenges don’t stop justice. Working in Alaska has been the highlight of Monique Vondall-Rieke’s life. But before she was hired as Tribal Justice Director for the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) in Bethel, Alaska, the 2004 UND Law School graduate was asked a surprising interview question: “Are you willing to travel in unique ways?” She was and she has. Bethel, a hub for 58 Native American tribes, is not accessible by car, and you can only get within 12 miles before flying or boating in. Monique moved to the town of 6,000 in 2015.
Tribal Court Assessments Because tribes are considered sovereign nations, they enact and enforce their own laws through tribal courts. At AVCP, Monique assisted the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to set up the Tribal Court Assessment, a Congressionally mandated process. Completing the assessment is a requirement that tribal courts in Alaska must repeat every four to five years to maintain funding from the BIA. “The very first tribes in Alaska to receive those assessments were tribes in my region,” Monique said. “That’s basically what I do now for Koniag.” In 2020, Monique moved to Anchorage to be the Tribal Court Project Manager for Koniag Government Services. The move was not a straight shot. After two years in Bethel, she and her husband, Stuart Rieke, ’01, ’08, moved back to North Dakota, where Monique continued her work in Alaska remotely before she was offered a job in Anchorage.
Jacob Kostecki, ’14, is the engineering superintendent at American Crystal Sugar Company’s Drayton factory district.
Regardless of her location, Monique has impacted Alaska’s tribal court system. “From 2018 until now,” she said in mid-August, “we have brought $20 million into the state.
Chad Kurtyka, ’14, ’22, was named principal at Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School at the Grand Forks Air Force Base.
Treacherous Travel
“That’s significant because (the tribal courts) have never had continuous funding,” Monique said. “Now, when we come (to a tribe) to do an assessment, they know we have money for them to operate one year after another.” While assessments have gotten easier, travel continues to be challenging. Monique described a recent journey. “To get to the Alahtna Tribe, my coworker and I had to fly from Anchorage to Fairbanks and charter a plane to a neighboring tribe. The court administrator picked us up on a four-wheeler. We drove to the river, took a boat across, got in a four-wheel-drive truck and then went to the Alahtna Tribal Office.” That kind of travel takes tenacity and perseverance, which Monique has in spades. \\\
Sarah Sevenbergen, ’14, is in her eighth year of teaching elementary music at the American School of Doha in Qatar. Dillon Simpson, ’14, is an assistant coach for UND men’s hockey. Priscilla (Coon) Stark, ’14, is a cardiac rehab nurse and health coach at Unity Hospital in Grafton, N.D.
2015 Dylan Berg, ’15, is vice president of engagement and analytics of Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters in Oxford, Ohio. Cassie McDonald, ’15, was named the Dubuque (Iowa) Community School District Teacher of the Year. She teaches English language learners at Dubuque Senior High School. Kaitlyn (Sivertson) Zeleny, ’15, teaches seventhand eighth-grade social studies in Stanley, N.D.
2016 Landon Adolphson, ’16, is a senior manager in Boulay PLLP’s Risk Advisory Group. He lives in Argyle, Minn. Amber (Johnson) Carrington, ’16, is a vascular surgery specialist at Essentia HealthDuluth (Minn.) Clinic. Lauren Clarke, ’16, ’18, won an IE&EE Division Student Achievement Award. Clarke is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Abby (Mattson) Grimaldi, ’16, a classically trained pianist, released a new single “Dreamer.” The music video was filmed at Red River High School in Grand Forks. Grimaldi lives in Nashville with her husband Rocco, ’16. Kayla Michelson, ’16, ’18, is a multicultural student success coordinator in the office of the vice president of Diversity and Inclusion at Michigan Tech.
2017 Matthew English, ’17, is a relationship manager for FineMark Sports Management. English lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. Alec Ganske, ’17, is a radiologist with Essentia Health-Fargo. Tyson Jost, ’17, re-signed to a one-year contract with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
2018 Eric Bucholz, ’18, is a tax supervisor at Widmer Roel, a public accounting and business advisory firm in Fargo. Timothy Hovde, ’18, is a certified physician assistant specializing in interventional radiology at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Katie Sobolik, ’18, a civil engineer with AckermanEstvold in Minot, earned her North Dakota Professional Engineer registration. Grant Thorfinnson, ’18, is the MDS supervisor at American Crystal Sugar Company’s East Grand Forks factory.
Anthony Walsh, ’18, was a lead instructor for a BIPOC, LGTBQIA and blind player hockey camp in St. Cloud. He is the author of two “Hockey is Everyone” children’s books about overcoming stereotyping and racism to succeed in the game.
2019 Rhett Gardner, ’19, signed a two-year NHL contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Aubrey Madler, ’19, ’22, is executive director of Angelo State University’s Porter Henderson Library in San Angelo, Texas. She previously served as the director of library and learning services at Texas Tech University – Costa Rica. Brianna (Fuller) Speldrich, ’19, is an area hydrologist for Carlton County, Minn., and the Duluth Metropolitan Area.
2020
CAREER HONORS
A L UM NI M A K E 2 0 UNDE R 4 0 L I S T Seven UND graduates made the Bismarck/Mandan Chamber’s 20 Under 40 list recognizing the contributions of young professionals to the local economy. They include: • Scott Bina, ’07, owner and president of Mann Signs, Inc. • Sean Cleary, ’17, a grant writer for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation and a North Dakota State Senator for District 35. • Kelsey (Laschkewitsch) Dahl, ’11, marketing director at Bravera. • Hannah (Hellekson) Hauff, ’14, chief of strategy at HexaHive, a creative marketing agency. • Michael Salwei, ’06, executive director of operations for Sanford Health. • Kelly (Churchill) Thomas, ’14, community engagement manager for the Mandan Park District. • Derek Wachter, ’20, vice president of real estate development at Investcore, Inc.
Kayla Due, ’20, has an art exhibit installed at Hector International Airport in Fargo. Victoria Goven, ’20, a credit analyst for Cornerstone Bank in Bismarck, serves on the North Dakota Banker’s Association Agricultural Committee.
A U T H O R S P O T L IGH T
Logan Meyer, ’20, ’22, has joined Gjesdahl Law, P.C., as an associate attorney. Meyer lives in Fargo. Shameka Sade Shaheed, ’20, works at Kingsley Bogard LLP in Folsom, Calif. Katie (Stumpf) Thielges, ’20, is an advanced practice registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner at the Essentia HealthMoorhead (Minn.) Clinic. Lucas Titus, ’20, is a family medicine doctor at CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck.
Check out more great reads from alumni authors at UNDalumni.org/authors.
Juliet Patterson, ’85, published “Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide,” inspired by the questions she had after her father died by suicide. Patterson, who teaches in the English Department and the Environmental Conversations program at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., became obsessed with finding answers, spending 10 years researching and writing on suicide and her family. “Sinkhole” was a finalist for the 2023 Minnesota Book Award. Patterson was a featured author at the UND Writers Conference last spring.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Sujan Ghosh, ’16, an assistant professor of engineering at University of Arkansas-Little Rock, received the Al Sonntag Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers for authoring the year’s best technical paper on solid lubricants.
Robert Gokey, ’16, is an ophthalmologist at Trinity Health in Minot, N.D..
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A L U M NI IN HI S T OR Y
TOP-SECRET ‘WAR WORK’
KATHLEEN (KANE) MAXWELL, ’39
Physicist was one of few female scientists to work on the Manhattan Project, the focus of summer blockbuster film, ‘Oppenheimer.’
Kathleen (Kane) Maxwell, ’39, was one of few women on the Manhattan Project, our country’s top-secret program to make the first atomic bomb during World War II. She was the sole female physicist in her division at Kellex Corporation, Inc. The Manhattan Project returned to the public spotlight in July with the blockbuster movie “Oppenheimer.” Prior to Kathleen’s death in 2016, the Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF) recorded an in-depth interview with her and granted permission to use excepts for this article. After graduating from UND and receiving a master’s from Smith College, Kathleen was teaching aerospace classes at Smith when the American Physics Society called upon its physicists to do “war work.” Kathleen responded, joining Kellex in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1942.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Kathleen was not informed about the nature of her work, but to her it was obvious. “There was no question what we were working on,” she told the AHF. (Another hint may have been the requirement that each scientist have extra insurance policies and take frequent urine tests.)
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Still, Kathleen said her husband Francis, ’39, a member of the U.S. Army stationed at Panama Canal, had no idea what she was doing. Her mother thought she was working at a cornflake company. (Kellex was a subsidiary of the M. W. Kellogg Company).
Kathleen’s team was routinely called to troubleshoot issues with uranium, a key component of the atomic bomb. Uranium, she said, was like lightning creating small holes in crucial seals. “I have never been so absorbed in any one thing in my life,” she said. Just as J. Robert Oppenheimer (a leader of the Manhattan project often called the “father of the atomic bomb”) was depicted in the movie, Kathleen and her coworkers were conflicted when the U.S. dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. “We’ve saved one terrible thing and done another,” she recalled her team’s reaction.
The Maxwells meet at UND Kathleen was the only girl in a UND physics class in 1937 when she met Francis, she told the Wellesley Townsman on their 70th anniversary in 2012. Kathleen said she “breezed all the way through” UND’s math classes. She also studied chemistry and physics and worked in the UND registrar’s office for four years. After the war, the Maxwells had seven children and lived in Wellesley, Mass. In 1966 they set up the Hub Foundation Company, specializing in pile driving, which they later sold to their son. Kathleen served as treasurer until 2000. She died in 2016 at age 96. \\\
Tyler Veen, ’20, is head coach and general manager of the Rochester (Minn.) Grizzlies, an NA3HL hockey team.
2021 Savannah Asmann, ’21, was named communications coordinator of USA Wrestling’s national staff in Colorado Springs, Colo. Bentiu Panoam, ’21, ’22, is director of basketball operations for UND men’s basketball. Nathan Peasland, ’21, ’22, and Aaron Gibson, ’21, both received the 2022 Elijah Watt Sells Award, which is given to 50 of the 67,000 CPA candidates who obtain a cumulative average score above 95.5 across all sections of the CPA exam and pass all sections on their first attempt. Peasland works at Brady Martz & Associates in Grand Forks. Gibson works for Washington Gas Light Company in Washington, D.C.
2022 Cindy Otto, ’22, is an advanced practice registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner specializing in cardiology at Essentia HealthSt. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes. Zepher Resnick, ’22, is a factory engineer at American Crystal Sugar Company in Drayton, N.D.
UPCOMING EVENTS Wednesday, Nov. 29 UND in Seattle Alumni & Friends Gathering
Friday-Saturday, Dec. 1-2 UND Hockey Pregame Parties in Denver
Monday, Dec. 4 Holiday Cheers
Friday, Dec. 15 Winter Commencement Social
Thursday, Feb. 8 Giving Hearts Day
UNDalumni.org/events
A L U M NI IN A C T IO N
ON THE HILL
MICHELE JOHNSON, ’88, ’91 Respected lobbyist leans on legal education in D.C.
“What you wouldn’t expect is that it’s like a small town,” said Michele Johnson, ’88, ’91, of Washington, D.C. What many consider a bustling metropolitan area populated by power players and complicated politics, she sees as a closeknit community with similar aspects to her hometown of Michigan, N.D., where keeping your word matters and character is valued. Michele has represented energy and financial services organizations on the Hill throughout her 30-year career. She’s known by her colleagues and contacts as a lobbyist who “gets the job done,” “knows her stuff ” and is a bridge builder – all helpful traits to making progress in Congress. She got her start working on Capitol Hill for Senator Kent Conrad in 1994 and now serves as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for Synchrony, a Fortune 500 consumer financial company. As Head of Synchrony’s Washington office, her focus is leading her team and lobbying on legislation that affects the credit card industry.
An attorney by training, Michele prepares her corporate executives for meetings on Capitol Hill with company expertise and clear explanations on issues. “My role as an advocate is to help my corporate leaders interact with policymakers. They are the experts in their field.” Part of her job is bringing people together across sectors and political parties to support proposed legislation. She had a large hand in doing so for the 2018 federal legislation addressing synthetic identity fraud – when criminals combine real and fabricated forms of identity to form a new, fake identity. The law ultimately paved the way for improved verification identity in financial transactions, protecting individuals from becoming victims and helping financial institutions reduce fraud. For her leadership, Michele was gifted a signed print of the enacted law. Her interest and commitment in this area continues today as she serves on the Board of
Directors of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Michele was also named to the esteemed list of National Institute of Lobbying and Ethics (NILE) 2021 Top Lobbyists in the corporation category. Michele’s law background has been an asset to her work on the Hill. She learned skills like effective research and presenting persuasive arguments from popular UND law professors such as Larry Kraft, Michael Ahlen and Patti Alleva. A “fierce representative of UND,” as one colleague describes her, Michele is proud of her alma mater and home state and uses both to connect with others on the Hill. “A school can give you knowledge, but knowing how to thrive in a corporate environment and lead your team with character and professionalism – that’s the kind of thing that’s not easily taught. I think, at a place like UND, the culture engrains it in you.” When back in Grand Forks, Michele enjoys a UND hockey game and frequents downtown staples including Bonzer’s, Harry’s, The Urban Stampede, Badman Design, and Molly Yeh’s Bernie’s. When she’s in D.C., you may find her at a favorite spot listed at right. \\\
Michele at her graduation from the UND School of Law, pictured with her parents, Oliver and Lorna.
MICHELE’S D.C. FAVES Landmarks: Waterside neighborhoods Navy Yard district or The Wharf, Nats Park or The Anthem for concerts and Eastern Market on the weekends. Sport Team: The Washington Capitals, featuring Michele’s favorite player, UND alum T.J. Oshie. “Let’s Go Caps!” Restaurants: The Duck and the Peach (American), Rasika (Indian), Le Diplomate (French), Caruso’s Grocery (Italian) and Love, Makoto (Japanese). Transportation: Walking! The short distance from her office on Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol makes for easy strolls with her dog, Buddy.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Contrary to the portrayal of lobbying as a mysterious or opaque process in television and movies, Michele says it’s a regulated profession that requires reporting. “It’s
very transparent. You know who is working on an issue, and in some cases, their strategy and the likelihood of success. Almost everyone has a lobbyist – corporations, trade associations, consumer organizations, professional groups... the list goes on.”
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ST UDENT- ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT
RUNNING AROUND THE WORLD E L I S E U L S E T H , ’ 24 Hometown: Kristiansund, Norway Area of study: Kinesiology Favorite area of campus: I love the library! You can find me there most of the time or across the street in Archives Coffee House for a cup of coffee.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
Academic highlight: My senior capstone project! The project focused on the effect of birth control on female athletes as this is an area of research that I am passionate about.
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“I am forever grateful to UND and the alumni who made it possible for me to follow my athletic dream, pursue my academic goals, and take advantage of opportunities to evolve on and off the track.”
Community involvement: I really enjoy volunteering with Journey Home Animal Rescue. I especially love walking the dogs and wish that I had time to adopt one of them. I also help the language department on campus by tutoring students in Norwegian. Biggest athletic accomplishments: I represented Norway in the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships. I have competed twice in the NCAA Division I Championships while representing UND. I finished in second place in the heptathlon event at the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships. Future goals: I am working on finishing my graduate degree in Kinesiology. After that, I might pursue a doctorate degree in this field and hope to work with the Norwegian Olympic Center. In my track & field career, my goal is to continue the adventure and enjoy every part of it as it has taken me all over the world and brought some incredible life experiences.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
HOME IS WHERE THE SPORTS ARE BRI A N S H AW N , ’ 0 2
Midco Sports partnership with UND means increased funding for student-athlete scholarships and Champions Club, and expanded viewing coverage. From the day Brian Shawn, ’02, stepped foot on UND’s campus in the fall of 1997, he knew he wanted to become a sports broadcaster. The part that he didn’t imagine was that his ambition would land him a key role for his alma mater through a special broadcasting partnership. Today, Brian is the voice of Fighting Hawks football and basketball games televised on Midco Sports. He enjoys the excitement of calling live games and likes the storytelling element that comes from building connections on the campus where he launched his career.
Brian got his first shot on live TV in 1998 as a sports reporter for Studio One, UND’s former campus television station. He
“I really feel like all of the programs are trending up,” Brian said. “It seems like UND has the coaches, students, facilities and funding support to reach the next level across the board. We’re seeing the investment from the Grand Forks community and that’s the most exciting part of the future to me.”
In 2022, his role at Midco Sports shifted even closer to home as the company announced a four-year television rights partnership with UND to expand coverage of Fighting Hawks games. The new partnership – and the Midco Sports Plus app – allows fans to watch more Fighting Hawks live events as well as games of other Summit League teams.
Today, Brian feels right at home calling games for his alma mater. Commuting from Fargo for each UND broadcast, he always drives down University Avenue to enjoy the memories of the journey that brought him back to the place he once called home.
The most important element of the partnership, however, is the support it provides to student-athletes. The funding from Midco Sports will go directly toward scholarships and the Champions Club to bolster all athletic programs.
UNDalumni.org/magazine
“Telling stories is the most rewarding aspect of what I do. I love getting to know people on a personal level and sharing their story. I keep in touch with several student-athletes as they have moved on to their next chapters,” Brian said.
turned that opportunity into more than two decades of sports coverage, most of which were spent in North Dakota. Brian’s journey came full circle when he called his first Fighting Hawks football game during Homecoming weekend in 2022. That broadcast took place exactly 24 years after his first Studio One broadcast.
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1. It’s a family affair! Jerry Schultz, ’67, Karyn (Schultz) Perry, ’90, Ashton Perry, ’23, and Lauren Perry, ’27, represented three generations of UND graduates at Ashton’s graduation in May. 2. Marissa (Adolphson), ’17, and Isaiah Frohling, ’16, and their son, Cameron, celebrate UND. Cameron is wearing the same UND sweatshirt his mom wore at his age. The Frohlings live in Lincoln, Neb. 3. Sarah (Tondryk), ’09, ’10, and Evan Wondrasek, ’10, introduced their daughter Olivia (3) to the UND campus this fall. Evan and Sarah, who met in Physics II in Witmar Hall, have been married for 12 years. They live in Orange County, Calif., where Sarah is a structural engineer at MHP Structural Engineers and Evan is a senior manager of game engineering at Zwift, a fitness video game company. 4. McKenzie (Lee), ’16, ’18, and Ross Nelson, ’14, were married on December 30, 2022, in Edina, Minn. 5. Zach and Nicole (Morris) Massie, ’11, were married in April with their kids, Mason and Crue (future Fighting Hawks), by their side.
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6. UND Aerospace graduates Luke Jablonski, ’18, UAS operator at OCONUS; Shea Byom, ’21, staff engineer at Air Line Pilots Association; Mike Sticka, ’18, CRJ-900 captain at Endeavor Air; and Jonathan Olson, ’17, UAS Operations, Chief Warrant Officer 3 at the National Guard Bureau, gathered at RedRocks Old Town in Alexandria, Va. 7. Priscilla (Coon), ’14, and Kody Stark, ’13, welcomed Gordon Roger Stark, who joins big sister, Elska (2), on their farm northwest of Grafton, N.D. 8. Sharra (Pfeier), ’11, and Nicholas Lang welcomed Remi Marie on March 17, 2023. She joins sister, Khloe, and brother, Logan, at home in Bismarck. 9. Lacey (Paulus), ’07, ’09, and Jackson Long, ’07, ’08, welcomed their second child Louis Charles (pictured with big brother, Reuben) on March 16. Lacey is a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Practice program at UND.
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10. Chuck Black, ’10, won the 2023 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. A wildlife biology major at UND, the Montana-based artist said, “Art, to me, is a way that I can communicate my passion for our natural world.” 11. Deland Weyrauch, ’18, and his wife Stephanie welcomed their second child, Vivienne Ruth. In June, Deland completed a fellowship in forensic pathology at the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and is Deputy Medical Examiner for the State of Montana. 12. Lyndsay (Hathaway), ’19, and Andy Samuel, ’20, were married on July 8. Lyndsay was a UND softball player and Andy was a member of the UND track & field team. UNDalumni.org/magazine
13. Ed Walker, ’79, recently finished a 9-foot-tall sculpture of Mayor “Teedy” Thornhill in Lynchburg, Va. Walker owns Carolina Bronze Sculpture, a fine arts bronze foundry serving artists across the United States.
14. Sisters Molly Nienhuis, ’16, ’18, and Carrie Nienhuis, ’18, hiked to the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S., marking the end of their 211-mile hike of the John Muir Trail. They talk about their trek on the “2 Sisters on Adventures” podcast. 47
IN
MEMORIAM We dedicate these pages to members of the University of North Dakota family who have recently passed away.
1940s E Verona (Benson) Hoff, ..’42 Puyallup, Wash. Betty Lewis, ..’48 Minot, N.D. Joseph Skodje, ’49 Fairbault, Minn.
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1950s
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John Graham, MD, ’50, ’53 Indianapolis, Ind. Lois (Fox) Madsen, ’50 Seattle, Wash. Donald Anderson, ’52 Sartell, Minn. Cecil Keisacker, ’52 Baxter, Minn. J. Dean Bertelsen, ’53 Castle Rock, Colo. Norma (Locklin) Swingen, ’53 Bemidji, Minn. John Burbidge, ’54 Minneapolis Zdenek Dvorak, ’54, ’56 Napa, Calif. Patricia (Fitzlaugh) Hedger, ..’54 Killdeer, N.D. Jay Seeger, ’54 Grand Forks Robert Wheeler, ’54, ’66 Minot, N.D. Maryann (Stoudt) Geiger, ’55 Minot, N.D. Jim Haugen, Sr, ‘55 Novi, Mich. James Lien, ’55 Minneapolis Robert Muhs, Sr, ’55 Dickey, N.D. H. Marvin Ness, ’55 Fargo Marlyn Bjorge, ’56 Grand Forks Charlene (Beckman) Clute, ’56 Fargo Roger Hagen, ’56 Bismarck, N.D. John Lambie, MD, ’56 Grand Forks Judith (Schroeder) Musgjerd, ..’56 Plattsmouth, Neb. Ralph Leroy Rudie, ..’56 Bakersfield, Calif. Lowell Miller, ’56 Willmar, Minn.
Ellis Larson, ..’57 East Grand Forks, Minn. Joseph Maichel, ’57, ’59 Bismarck, N.D. Dr E.D. Wahl, ’57, ’62 Grapevine, Tex. Paul Bald, ’58 Hoffman Estates, Ill. Clyde Bigelow, ’58 Brandon, S.D. Elsie Renee (Strehlow) Donnelly, ’58 Paradise Valley, Ariz. Nancy (Murdock) Englerth ..’58 Bismarck, N.D. Ronald Johnson, ..’58 Grand Forks H. Blair Burner, Jr., ’59 Bellevue, Wash. Donald Erickson, ’59 Moorhead, Minn. Ronald Hoverson, ’59, ’61 Hendersonville, N.C. Charles Ingwalson, ’59 Minneapolis, Minn. Michael Safratowich, ’59 Moorhead, Minn. Willard Smith, Jr., ’59, ’60 La Jolla, Calif. Kenneth Wellen, ’59 St. Paul, Minn. Gary Williamson, ..’59 Minot, N.D. Joseph Winter, ’59 Hugo, Minn.
1960s Harold Drevecky, ’60, ’63 Seattle Robert Gehring, ..’60 Wahpeton, N.D. Michael Hughes, ’60 Omaha, Neb. Richard Hughes, ’60 Maplewood, N.J. LaVerne Sullivan, ’60, ’62 Walcott, N.D. Judge Bruce Bohlman, ’61, ’69 Grand Forks Robert Duckstad, ’61 Minneapolis James Heidt, ..’61 Bismarck, N.D. Dr. Eldon Ronning, ’61 Worthington, Ohio
Ronald Schmidt. ’61, ’63 Rapid City, S.D. Leora (Wiseman) Sukut, ’61 Williston, N.D. Gerald Beck, MD, ’62 Carol Stream, Ill. David Grindeland, ’62 Bellevue, Wash. William Kelly, ’62 Minneapolis Ralph Lyndon, ’62 Winnipeg, Man. David Scully, ’62 Los Angeles Ronald Gilbertson, ..’63 Grand Forks Dr. Allan Larson, ’63, ’70 Plover, Wis. Richard LeClerc, ’63 Mankato, Minn. Fred Spencer, ..’63 East Grand Forks, Minn. Dr. Orval Totdahl, ’63 Celebration. Fla. Carol Azure, ..’64 Belcourt, N.D. Terrance Brosseau, ’64, ’77 Bismarck, N.D. Gene N. Lebrun, ’64 Rapid City, S.D. Archie Sillers, ..’64 East Grand Forks, Minn. Sharon (Sullivan) Tadsen, ’64 Apple Valley, Minn. Budd Wennersten, ’64 Grand Forks Garry Hallquist, ’65 Minneapolis Carlton Hunke, ’65, ’67 Minneapolis William Little, ’65, ’67 Carefree, Ariz. Roberta (Tait) Lovell, ’65 Chanhassen, Minn. Donald Rose, ’65 Fargo Mae (Holland) Wieland, ..’65 West Fargo, N.D. Robert Barton, ’66 Cottage Grove, Minn. William Brudvik, ..’66 Mayville, N.D. Dennis Ditsworth, ’66 Centennial, Colo. Maynard Ellis, ’66 Arlington, Texas Kathleen (Swenson) Harmel, ’66 Aberdeen, S.D. Patrick Devig, MD, ’67, ’69 Grand Forks Dr. James Martin, ’67 Cumberland, Md. Elaine (Nix) Robertson, ’67 Vancouver, Wash.
Karen Satrom, ’67,’68 Memphis, Tenn. Lt. Col. Herbert Woodcock, Ret., ’67 York, Maine Wendell Flaata, ’68 Green Valley, Ariz. Jon Gyldenvand, ..’68 Moorhead, Minn. Dr. William Harwood, ’68 South Burlington, Vt. Ronald McCulloch, ’68 Calgary, Alta. David Noblitt, ..’68 Meridian, Idaho Maryalice (Bollinger) Searl, ’68 Yuma, Ariz. Chester Brandt, ’69 Hebron, N.D. Charles LaGrave, ’69, ’76 Hercules, Calif. Robert Lawyer, ’69 Bismarck, N.D. Edward Murphy, II, ’69 Mission Viejo, Calif. Donald Nehring, ’69 Williston, N.D. Foster Purrington, ’69 Madras, Ore. Dennis Risinger, ’69 Minot, N.D. Paul Roach, ’69 Pullman, Wash.
1970s Dr. A. Wayne Bruce, ’70 De Leon Springs, Fla. William Funk, ..’70 Moorhead, Minn. D. Gregg Jaehning, ..70 Wahpeton, N.D. Fred Pribula, ’70 East Grand Forks, Minn. William Brewer, ’71 Alexandria, Minn. David Doering, ..’71 Redwood Falls, Minn. Edward Herda, ’71 Grand Forks Lane Jacobson, ..’71 Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Dr. Gregory Kowalski, ’71 Franklin, Tenn. Carl Peter, ’71 Valley City, N.D. Linda (Swenson) Baker, ’71 Easley, S.C. Terry Clem, ’72 Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Daniel Patrick Kelly, ..’72 Thunder Bay, Ont. James Klein, ’72 Jamestown, N.D
Eugene Moen, ’72 Plymouth, Minn. Dale Twingley, ’72 Bismarck, N.D. Paul Christianson, ..’73 Devils Lake, N.D. Craig Fabel, MD, ’73, ’75, ’77 Bluffton, S.C. John Klai II, ..’73 Las Vegas, Nev. Dayton Kornkven, ’73 Park Rapids, Minn. Robert Krom, ’73 Sun City, Ariz. Percy Ottmar, ’73 Clitherall, Minn. Tom Slorby, ’73 Minot, N.D. Mark Sundby, ’73 Bismarck, N.D. Charles Dubourt, ’74, ’79 Fargo Micah Fierstein, ’74 New Rochelle, N.Y. Jack Slorby, ’74 Minot, N.D. John Welte, ..’74 Fort Pierce, Fla. Lewis Wilson, ’74 Mesa, Ariz. Conrad, Lubarski, ’75 Argyle, Minn. Bertha (Seitz) Murphy, ’75 Carrington, N.D. James Brude, ’76 Amelia, Ohio Patricia (Dwyer) Idler, ’76, ’80 Reno, Nev. Glenn Olson, ’76 Marshall, Minn. Anzideo Ranalli, ’76 Oxford, N.J. Mary (Paulson) Simonson, ’76 Valley City, N.D. Geri Alberts, ..’78 Grand Forks Carol Lund, ’78 Superior, Wis. Barbara Olsen, ’78 Fargo Dr. Judith (Grunow) McCutchan, ’79, ’86, ’92 Winter Haven, Fla. Werner Veil, ..’79 Oakes, N.D.
1980s Kari (Lee) Abel, ..’80 Bagley, Minn. Barbara (Hild) Morton, ’80 Lincoln, Neb. Mavis Coen, ..’81 Fargo
Sandra (Ford) Vining, ’81 Beavercreek, Ohio Dietta Watson, ..’81 Lengby, Minn. Lynes End of Horn, ’82 Wakpala, S.D. Gary Hanson, ’82 Surprise, Ariz. Jay Kasdan, ’82, ’86 Davenport, Fla. Allan Lerud, ’82 Valley City, N.D. Robert Mihulka, ’82 Maple Grove, Minn. Sharon Barrett, ’83 East Grand Forks, Minn. Vivian (Sundre) Hamre, ..’83 McGregor, Minn. Delcie (Danroth) Light, ’83 Devils Lake, N.D. Bill Alkofer, ’85 Excelsior, Minn. Carrie (Flatau) Kraft, ’85 Fargo Kari (McIntire) Campbell, ’86 Tucson, Ariz. Dr. Verna Fowler, ’86, ’92 Keshena, Wis. Jacquelyne (Curiel) Parr, ’87 La Verne, Calif. Patricia (Rodgers) Dahl, ’88 Austin, Minn. Thomas Johnson, ’88 Grand Forks Dr. Susan (Norkus) Kuntz, ’89, ’04 East Grand Forks, Minn. Garry McLain, ’89 Oro Valley, Ariz. Randy Rendahl, ’89 Raleigh, N.C.
1990s
Jon-David Hanson, ’02 Denver, Colo. Ilyan Iwanchuk, ’02 Winnipeg, Man. Vicki (Staren) Oehlke, ’02 Devils Lake, N.D. Greta (Kyllo) Paschke, ’04 Mayville, N.D. Christopher Braden, ’06 Farmington, Minn. Cheryl Lucero, ’06 Port Isabel, Texas Josef Winkels, ’08 Grand Forks
2010s Colter Anderson, ’11 Grand Forks Derek Duhoux, ’11 Clara City, Minn. Samuel McGuire, ’16 Stillwater, Minn. Justin Germann, ’17, ’21 Bowman, N.D. Timothy Dillon, ’18 Grand Forks
Former Faculty & Staff Phyllis Aarhus East Grand Forks, Minn. Grace I. Giauque East Grand Forks, Minn. Jacqueline R. Greenwood East Grand Forks, Minn. Michael T. Kirby Mankato, Minn. Susan L. Nelson Minnetonka, Minn. James K. Nygaard Fairbault, Minn. Donald E. Porter Eden Prairie, Minn.
Current Faculty & Staff Carolyn Keegan Grand Forks
GI V E T HE GIF T OF OP P OR T UNI T Y
THIS YEAR, THINK FOREVER UND As you consider your year-end giving strategies, think about the profound impact you can make on students at the University of North Dakota. You can give to any area important to you, including student scholarships, faculty and research, capital projects, or a program close to your heart. You may also give to priority needs, which help fill the greatest needs of our University.
WHEN YOU GIVE, YOU: Create opportunities: Forever UND: The Campaign for the University of North Dakota aligns with the UND LEADS strategic plan to create more opportunities for students at UND. Support UND: Your donations directly support UND in our pursuit of creating exceptional educational experiences that enrich the lives of North Dakotans and the global community through excellence in teaching, innovative research, and meaningful engagement. Get tax benefits: Enjoy tax-deductible giving while maximizing your influence on UND’s vision for a brighter future.
ACT NOW Your charitable gift through the Forever UND Campaign can transform lives, strengthen the University of North Dakota, and contribute to a better world. Visit our website or call our dedicated team to make your year-end donation today. Each contribution, no matter its size, brings us one step closer to our goals, aligning with UND’s vision for a brighter future. Make this year-end a season of wonder, discovery, and service, in harmony with the University of North Dakota’s mission. Your generosity can ignite a bright future for today’s UND students. Your gift can be anything. It’s worth everything. UNDalumni.org/forever | 701.777.2611
Current Students Max Swenson Grand Forks
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Samy Karaz, MD, ’90, ’93 Boynton Beach, Fla. Denis Landers, ’90 Rockford, Ill. Rachelle (Dale) Bizjak, ’91 Albert Lea, Minn. Joseph Hettwer, ’91 Fargo Dr. John Steen, ’93 Colorado Springs, Colo. Lisa Henry-Swanson, MD, ’94, ’00 Grand Forks Rebecca (Podoll) Matthews, ’96 Bismarck, N.D. John Riske, ’96 Reynolds, N.D. Dr. Heidi (Werner) Newell, ’97 Williamstown, N.J. Greg Lotysz, ’99, ’02 Grand Forks
2000s
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B E AT T H E
WINTER BLUES!
Book your 2024 vacation with alumni and friends from the University of North Dakota by visiting UNDalumni.org/travel.
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Icelandic Revelation May 15-25, 2024
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September 11-21, 2024
September 12-21, 2024
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Typically, we’ve included a list of donors who have entered a new giving circle within the Eternal Flame Society on these pages. Rest assured that recognition will be seen again in future issues. Thank you for your patience while we update our database software. Please know your gifts and friendship are very important to us.
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