Alumni Review Spring 2011
Universit y of Nor th Dakota A lumni A ssoc iation
Develop Double Lives
from Passion, Talent and Ambition
PLUS:
A Generous Spirit Couple spreads gifts throughout the campus. Pg. 34
Triple Threat Former Sioux athlete receives top NCAA honor. Pg. 45
CONTENTS
Inside this issue
ALUMNI REVIEW • VOL. 94 NO. 1 • SPRING 2011
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FEATURES 6 A Mind for Music Creative forces flow through both of Terry Schlenker’s careers. BY MILO SMITH
10 Pushing the Laws of Flight Joe Vasek gets his blood pumping and creativity flowing during aerobatic flights. BY JUAN PEDRAZA
14 Fired Up Alum pursues intense second career.
BY MILO SMITH
18 Mind Over Legal Matters Dr. Mark Monasky is equally adept at brain surgery and estate planning. BY MILO SMITH
DEPARTMENTS 4 Message from the Executive Vice President On a Roll
22 What’s New News from Around Campus
23 President’s Letter So long, Mr. UND.
34 Campaign News Meet Donors and Get an Update on the North Dakota Spirit Campaign
42 Alumni Class News Who’s Doing What: News About Your Classmates
56 In Memoriam
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Alumni Review Spring 2011
Universit y of Nor th Dakota A lumni A ssoc iat ion
ON A ROLL DEAR ALUMNI & FRIENDS, The last few months have been invigorating in many ways. In the last edition of the Alumni Review, we announced a comprehensive fundraising effort that is far and away the largest ever in North Dakota. In the four years of the silent phase of North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND, our staff did a great job keeping the campaign “under wraps.” While we weren’t shy about announcing major gifts like the Engelstad Foundation’s $20 million gift in 2007, which provided early energy and impact, we didn’t acknowledge these donations were a part of something much larger. In reality, this campaign is serving as a “launch pad” with the goal of taking UND from great to exceptional across a broad spectrum of campus. Thus, the campaign’s public launch at Homecoming last fall was very exciting, and the results since then are further indication this is the right time for the campaign. We have seen a surge of donations and interest related to the campaign from our loyal and generous alumni, and many friends of UND, corporations and foundations as well. Your response is humbling, and energizes our development team to work even harder to meet and exceed the campaign goals. As of Jan. 1, the UND Foundation has received more than $207 million toward our $300 million goal, with over $30 million in commitments in the first six months of this fiscal year. You can read more about the campaign and meet some of the donors inside this edition of the Review. On page 34, you’ll read about the widespread contributions of Brad, ’86, and Gayle (Berge) Aafedt, ’88, to their alma mater. It’s people like the Aafedts who are making a difference. You can also follow the progress of another very exciting campaign outcome on page 33, as we are off and running in the planning of the new Gorecki Alumni Center. We have long needed a place for alumni and campus to call “home,” somewhere we celebrate the tremendous 4
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Executive Vice President and CEO Tim O’Keefe, ’71 Vol . 93 No. 4 • Winter 2010 Executive Director, Alumni Association Doris Cooper, ’91
accomplishments of our alumni, and can welcome you when visiting campus. Bob Knutson, ’79, is the project manager for the center, with the support of our team and several campus partners. If all goes as planned, this $10.5 million project will open its doors in August 2012, giving alumni a tremendous point of pride and the campus an asset for gatherings that doesn’t exist today. Stay tuned, as we will keep you abreast of the development of the Gorecki Alumni Center project in each edition of the Review. North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND is focusing on four areas: students, endowed faculty, innovative programs, and buildings and technology. With your help, like the Aafedts, we can touch every part of campus. The theme, “North Dakota Spirit,” has resonated with alumni. It’s symbolic of the great education, work ethic, social skills and resilience so typical of our grads who have proven they can not only compete, but out-compete those from any college in the country. At the campaign launch UND President Robert Kelley said, “I invite all of you to reignite your North Dakota spirit and join us in our most ambitious campaign ever. We have the talent, the commitment, the collegial and collaborative attitudes, and we most importantly have you to show others that the University of North Dakota is indeed a special place!” I could not agree more. This campaign will establish a philanthropic culture on our campus never experienced at this level before, and we will build on this foundation into the future. Nothing changes society in our country like philanthropy, and we have an opportunity to be part of something really special through this campaign. There is a place for everyone to contribute, and every donor and donation is extremely important. You can find out more in the pages of this Alumni Review and at www.spirit.und.edu. Come see us soon! Best regards,
Tim O’Keefe, ’71 Executive Vice President and CEO UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation E‐mail: timo@undfoundation.org
Editor Milo Smith Designer Sam Melquist Contributing Writers Alyssa Shirek, ‘06 Juan Pedraza, ‘02 David Dodds, ‘98 Patrick C. Miller Liza Jones, ‘10 Peter Johnson, ‘81, ‘82 Jayson Hajdu, ‘00 Contributing Photography Jackie Lorentz Mike Lentz Greg Gilmer, ‘07 Paul Gronhovd, ‘90 Bruce Farnsworth BOARD OF DIRECTORS UND Alumni Association Chair James L. Williams, ’62 Vice Chair Carolyn (Howland) Becraft, ’66 UND Foundation Chair Rick Burgum, ’68 Vice Chair Al Royse, ’72, ’73, ’76 Directors: Alice Brekke, ’79, ’87; Jill Burchill, ’76; Steve Burian, ’90, ’92; Marc Chorney, ’81; Kris Compton, ’77; Patrick Dirk, ’71, ’72; Jody Feragen, ’78; Mark Fliginger, ’74; William Guy III, ’68, ’76; Tim Haas, ’68; Bart Holaday, HON ’06; Robert O. Kelley; Chuck Kluenker; Paul LeBel; Lauris Molbert, ’79, ’83; Jennifer Neppel, ’86; Tim O’Keefe, ’71; Linda Pancratz, ’76; Fernanda (Santos) Philbrick, ’94, ‘96; Keith Reimer, ’73; Cathy (Wilson) Rydell, ’88; and Lisa Wheeler, ’75, ’82. The University of North Dakota Alumni Review (USPS 018089: ISSN 0895-5409) is published Aug., Nov., Feb., and May by the University of North Dakota Alumni Association, 3100 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 the Alumni Review, 3100 University Avenue, Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157. For inquiries about advertising, additional copies, reprints, submissions, or general comments, contact 800.543.8764, 701.777.0831 or alumnireview@undalumni.net.
We all lead double lives; juggling work, family and social commitments. Some University of North Dakota alumni have double lives that go beyond the routine to the remarkable.
FEATURE
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TERRY SCHLENKER’S CREATIVE CAREERS LIVE IN HARMONY BY MILO SMITH
W
hen a work of art or literature is produced, it’s sometimes said the artist or author gives “birth” to their creation. But composer Terry
Schlenker doesn’t speak of his musical compositions that way. Maybe it’s because Schlenker, who attended UND in the mid-’70s and again in the early ’80s, has spent the last 25 years helping couples literally give birth. Schlenker was the founding embryologist of the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine in Denver and, as lab director, saw the clinic become recognized as one of the most successful fertility clinics in the world. For the past 12 years, he’s been splitting his time between helping couples conceive and conceiving and composing music. “It’s kind of like I have two passions in my life,” says the 53-year-old, who now works part-time as an embryologist and composes music in his free time. One of those passions, though, did not get a chance to flourish until Schlenker was in his 40s.
DA CAPO
The Ashley, N.D., native says he always loved music and was composing songs as a “nerdy kid” at age 12. But Schlenker realized as a young adult that composing music was a difficult way to put food on the table, so he studied to be a medical technician and pursued that career path. Along the way, though, he kept a thought in the back of his mind. “It was actually always my intention to be able to sort of partially retire early,” Schlenker says of his plan to one day write music, “so I was lucky enough to make that happen.” While luck may have played a role, hard work was part of the equation as well. Schlenker says starting the fertility clinic in 1987 was an incredible amount of work. “Directing the lab was extremely stressful. It’s a high burnout kind of job,” Schlenker says. “I’d work a month straight, day and night, without a day off. I think I was on call every weekend for eight years.”
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“I believe that each work of art, whether it is a work of great genius or something very small, comes to the artist and says, ‘Here I am. Enflesh me. Give birth to me.’” — Madeleine L’Engle, author
You can hear some of Terry Schlenker’s work online. Go to www.undalumni.org/ alumnireview.
OUT OF KEY
Schlenker says the job took its toll and he came to a point where he wanted balance in his life. After 12 years as lab director, he told his boss he could work part-time or he’d have to leave altogether. “I wrote very little music during those 12 years I was lab director,” Schlenker says. “I really felt I needed to free myself up to write music. And as soon as I gave up that job, the music began to flow.” Once the stress gave way to creativity, there was one more obstacle to overcome: insecurity. “To me, music is the ultimate form of expression,” Schlenker says. “It is expressing 8
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my deepest self. Up until age 40, I was just really afraid of exposing myself. A bad review would have been just devastating to me.” Schlenker’s breakthrough came after he started singing with a professional group, the St. Martin’s Chamber Choir (SMCC), in Denver. The conductor asked choir members if they’d have any interest in arranging a song for an upcoming Christmas concert. Despite his self-doubt, Schlenker turned in a composition, but says he was so insecure about it that he made one of the verses optional because he thought it was “bad.”
ALLEGRO
Instead, the Christmas carol was a huge hit with the audience, providing Schlenker with the inspiration to keep writing. That first piece was quickly picked up by a publisher who asked to hear more of his work. He wrote more music for the SMCC. One of the members was an announcer for Colorado Public Radio who started playing Terry’s work over the airwaves. Terry’s music career started taking on a “life of its own.” With the encouragement of positive reviews and audience feedback, Terry tackled his most ambitious project, a two-year effort to create “Mass for Double Choir.” It’s a nearly 25-minute-long composition the SMCC website describes as “a complex work that includes up to 10 parts singing simultaneously, as well as long, sustained chords and frequent meter changes.” It’s a piece that has since been performed by choirs all over the United States and in Europe. That work attracted, in a roundabout way, the attention of Joshua Bronfman, director of Choral Studies at UND. Bronfman has commissioned Schlenker to write a piece for an April 29 concert featuring the UND Concert Choir singing with the Grand Forks Master Chorale.
A CONCERT FOR CAMPUS
A few years back, Bronfman was looking for a companion piece for the Master Chorale to do alongside Swiss composer Frank Martin’s “Mass for double choir a cappella.” Bronfman says when he did a Google search for double choir, Schlenker’s piece came up and he immediately liked it. Bronfman says when he searched Schlenker’s bio, he realized, “Lo and behold, he had studied at UND. And I’m like, ‘I can’t believe this!’ “It was pure happenstance,” Bronfman says. “Finding people who have studied here is a big deal.”
Top: The UND Concert Choir performs dozens of times every year. Inset: The 1967 choir donned tuxedos and formal red dresses.
UND Concert Choir turns
50
UND’s Concert Choir is marking a half-century of making music this year, and the group started by Dr. James T. Fudge in 1961 is as strong as ever. But that wasn’t the case five years ago when Joshua Bronfman, director of Choral Studies, arrived on campus. “The choral program was in mild-to-severe disarray,” says Bronfman. “I was the fifth director in seven or eight years.” Bronfman says the program needed continuity and the efforts of many in the music department have built the entire program back up to a point where “things are popping and buzzing” at the Hughes Fine Arts Center. “We are bursting at the seams,” says Bronfman. “We are doing so much that we are running out of space, which is a good problem to have.” When he came to UND in 2006, Bronfman says he’d get maybe 70 students to try out for 50 to 60 spots in the choir, and most were not even music majors. This past fall he auditioned 120 singers for the same number of positions and the vast majority of them were studying music. That select group will combine forces with the Grand Forks Master Chorale on April 29 at United Lutheran Church in Grand Forks to perform, among other music, an original work from Terry Schlenker, ..’82. While it is not an “official” 50th anniversary event, Bronfman says it feels like one since Schlenker is part of the rich tradition of the group. “It’s a great coincidence because Terry did sing in the UND Concert Choir,” he says.
Bronfman reached out to Schlenker and started a rapport. That relationship eventually led Bronfman to offer Schlenker the first commission the UND Music Department had ever made to create an original work. “I know it’s going to be something cool,” says Bronfman. “I’m really excited about this project because it strengthens us and helps the department grow. My goal is to provide as rich of an experience as possible for my students.” “It’s like coming full circle,” Schlenker says of the spring concert, which will be a homecoming of sorts. “It’s where I started composition, and I get to come back and show people what happened to me. I’m totally excited.” Schlenker remembers sitting at a piano in his Grand Forks apartment writing music during a blizzard. He also has fond memories of the education he received at UND. He says the best composition teacher he ever studied with was UND Music Professor Robert Wharton. “I think he was a piano or organ teacher,” Schlenker recalls, noting that composition was not Wharton’s area of specialty. “He was really memorable to me and he taught me a lot. I have great memories of working with Dr. Wharton.”
DOUBLE TIME
While his body of work and the accolades continue to grow, Schlenker still considers composing music “a hobby.” Though he works only part-time now as an embryologist, he has not lost his passion for that work, saying it is “amazing” to help couples conceive. “We now have had more than 10,000 babies born,” Schlenker says of the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of these kids. Our oldest are now out of college. It’s been an amazing ride. We make a lot of people happy.” Two very different careers. One medical. One musical. In the end, they produce the same result:
Joy.
.
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G N I H S PU
FEATURE
T H G I L F F O S W A L E H T DE
UTSI OSE O
SIT UTS LO PEDRAZA, UNIVER C R O T N STRUC PILOT BY JUA N I E C A C EROSP S AEROBATI A D N A U ROOM S S A L C
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ITER
NS WR
TIO Y RELA
T Photo by: Jackie Lorentz
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UND has two Super Decathlons that it uses for acrobatic and spin training. Photo by: Greg Gilmer, UND Aerospace
I
Joe Vacek goes from the classroom to maneuvers in a Super Decathlon. Photo by: Mike Lents, UND Aerospace
n the morning, you may find him on campus, lecturing on aviation law.
Later, he might strap on one of the University of North Dakota’s Super Decathlons for a little aerobatic flying. In the evening, he’s likely in a compact, immaculately organized basement shop in a condo he shares with his wife and two sleek black cats, welding up the latest high-performance bike he designed himself. Meet all-around guy Joe Vacek, ’03, ’06: attorney, professor, aerobatic pilot, coach. He’s also handy with hammer and saw, gas pipe, drywall and electrical conduit. This guy’s hands are as busy as his mind. Vacek says that dynamic combination of interests isn’t all that far-fetched. “All involve creative problem-solving,” says Vacek, a trim Generation X man with an enthusiastic smile who loves teaching, flying and building bikes. Vacek grew up in Grand Forks and got through the University of North Dakota and the UND School of Law with academic scholarships. He teaches aviation and aviation law in the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.
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“I’ve been interested in flying since I was 8,” says Vacek, who is one of the faculty advisers for the national championship UND Aerobatic Team. “My dad is a professional pilot, and early on I had access to his books and other materials,” he says. His top grades and high ACT score put Vacek on track for a Presidential and other UND academic scholarships. “My dad never pushed flying on me, but I told him I was interested. He told me I’d have to figure out a way to pay for flying lessons, so I bagged groceries and mowed lawns. One day, I climbed into a Cessna
Aerobat with an instructor and a borrowed parachute, went out and explored what this airplane could do. That was my first taste of aerobatic flying. “It’s like teaching yourself how to weld — you can read about it to learn some of the basics,” says Vacek, “but to really learn it you have to actually do it. I read a book about aerobatic flying, took the plane up and that’s when I really learned how to fly.” Now among his other academic duties as a faculty member at UND, Vacek teaches aerobatics, advises the aerobatic team, judges for that team and also for the UND Flying Team. “Earlier this year, I judged the landings at the regional flying competition,” Vacek says. “I stood right at the end of the runway, judging how well competitors landed their airplanes, idling their engines and following a perfect glide path to touch down. Those [UND Flying Team] kids are good, real good.” The UND team won first place overall — again. “As a flight instructor, I like aerobatics because I believe it’s good for all pilots,” he says. “Aerobatic flying teaches you about what an airplane can really do, and teaches you skills that you’ll probably never have to use in a flying career — but could be lifesavers in that 2 percent of situations that can surprise you.
‘Aerobatic skills help you keep your composure when things have gone wild. Aerobatic flying is about training for low-probability, high-consequence events.’ — Joe Vacek, ‘03, ‘06
“Aerobatic skills help you keep your composure when things have gone wild. Aerobatic flying is about training for lowprobability, high-consequence events.” When he’s done with the academic year’s teaching duties, Vacek heads over to a local bike shop. “Terry, over at the Ski and Bike Shop, lets me come in at the end of the school year and work on bikes,” says Vacek. “I build them up and fix them for customers. It’s fascinating, sort of like when I build bikes in my basement, except at the Ski and Bike Shop, I get to touch all the brand-new stuff.” It’s a form of research, he says, a lot like looking up new laws or figuring out how best to teach students the ins and outs of aviation weather. “There’s such an interplay between bicycle and aviation technology,” Vacek says. “It’s like the Wright Brothers, aviation pioneers who were bicycle builders, are still with us. In the bike shop, I get to see and handle the newest materials and technologies. People in both industries — aviation and cycling — are constantly looking for ways to make things lighter, faster.” Vacek translates his wide-ranging interests that span book learning, flying and cycling into compelling action in the classroom.
Vacek flies high over the Red River Valley. Photo by: Greg Gilmer, UND Aerospace
“I use bicycle components in teaching aviation classes,” he explains. “For example, I’ll bring an old bicycle frame into class and ask the strongest student to bend this frame. They’ll lever on it with all their might, but they can’t do it, even though it only weighs four pounds. It’s basically tubes welded in a triangular frame — you take the fabric off an old plane and that’s exactly what it looks like, an old bicycle frame.” “I get creative ideas and I need to make them into something — I’ve been that way since I was a child,” says Vacek, who remodeled the whole interior of his Grand Forks condo, including building both sets of stairs and installing a new tankless hot water system. For Vacek, it all hangs together nicely. “I’ve always been curious what the answer to the next question was,” he says. AR
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FEATURE
BURNING PASSION LEADS ALUMNUS TO SECOND CAREER BY MILO SMITH
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orking on the sidelines of the 1986 Rose Bowl was the pinnacle of Steve Marti’s athletic training career. Helping
athletes maintain peak performance during crucial games had been a goal for the 1973 UND graduate since he first took a class in Grand Forks on the prevention and care of athletic injuries. If Steve’s story ended there, it would be an interesting enough tale, but it’s the double life he now leads that serves as inspiration for those who carry a dream with them through middle age and a bit beyond. You see, Steve had a second dream career that he never quite let go of over the years. He eventually found the right situation to seize the moment and, at age 53, became a firefighter. Eight years later, Steve continues to split time between a job as a construction project manager for a sports medicine clinic and shifts on duty with the Plymouth (Minn.) Fire Department. “It’s really cool,” Steve says of his firefighting duties. “It’s every kid’s dream to drive a big red truck down the street with the lights and siren and have everyone get out of your way. It’s still exciting to me. That pager goes off for a possible house fire and the heart rate goes up.” Steve knows he’s a rarity in the physically demanding world of firefighters. “I’m certainly an anomaly. My firefighting instructor was kind of stunned when I told him how old I was and I’m sure he’d thought I’d gone off the deep end,” Steve says, laughing.
He says he was able to become a firefighter at age 53 and continue even now thanks to the things he learned as an athletic trainer. He has always tried to practice what he preached to athletes about taking care of themselves. “I’ve really worked hard at nutrition, exercising every day to stay healthy,” says the now 61-year-old. “You can go from a deep sleep into running into a burning building, so you really have to be ready for it. Taking care of myself has been key to my firefighting career.” In addition to entering burning buildings, Steve’s other job is coordinating the renovation and construction of them. When he left the sidelines of Iowa athletics, he found work with Fairview Hospital’s Institute for Athletic Medicine (IAM), one of the largest sports medicine clinics in the Twin Cities. He eventually became a construction project manager for the company. He works five hours a day managing everything from minor maintenance issues to major construction projects at 27 sites. “There’s always something to renovate or relocate,” Steve says. “The philosophy is if you aren’t going forward, you’re going backwards. So they are always trying to keep up in the medical world with all of their competitors.” For a number of years, Steve worked as a high school athletic trainer in addition
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“IT’S EVERY KID’S DREAM TO DRIVE A BIG RED TRUCK DOWN THE STREET WITH THE LIGHTS AND SIREN AND HAVE EVERYONE GET OUT OF YOUR WAY.” —STEVE MARTI, ‘73
to his job at IAM. Eight years ago he found out the Plymouth Fire Department had a flexible scheduling program that allowed him to pursue his dream of being a firefighter. Under the “Duty Crew” program, Plymouth firefighters are parttimers who can schedule shifts when they are able. The flexibility allowed Steve to work his firefighting duties around his construction management job. He also needed the support of an understanding wife. “I have a wonderful, 16
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wonderful wife who has been extremely receptive,” Steve says of his wife, Joni. “I can’t say enough about how good she has been about this.” The New Ulm, Minn., native came to UND at the encouragement of his uncle, Leonard Marti, who served the University in various roles, including athletic director, for 30 years. His uncle persuaded Steve, an industrial technology major, to take a class on athletic injuries. “That’s when the light bulb went off,” Steve says. “Teaching was
never my first choice. Once I discovered sports medicine, I realized that was my thing.” After getting a master’s degree at Fort Hays State in Kansas, Steve did end up teaching high school, but for only six months. He then got a job with the University of Northern Iowa and was an athletic trainer there for nearly six years. His goal since he took that first class at UND was to work at a major college and he got the call up to the big leagues when he went
Steve Marti, ‘73, was an athletic trainer for high school teams when he first moved to the Twin Cities.
ACKNOWLEDGING THAT MANY OF THE FIREFIGHTERS ON THAT TRUCK ARE MUCH CLOSER TO 20 THAN 60, STEVE SAYS, “I TRY TO KEEP THAT IN PERSPECTIVE AND HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. YEAH, I CAN HOLD MY OWN WITH THESE YOUNG GUYS.”
to work at Division I Iowa in the mid-’80s. “It was the top of the ladder for me,” Steve says. After his Rose Bowl experience in 1986, changes in his personal life led Steve to the Twin Cities, where he started with IAM and did athletic training for high school teams. He eventually settled into his double life as a construction project manager/firefighter. So what does the future hold for the oldest firefighter with the Plymouth department? Steve says his first goal was to make it five years. Having passed that by 30 months, he’s now setting his sights on a personal and financial milestone. “If I can make it to 10 years, I’m partially vested [in the department’s retirement plan],” Steve says. “So my goal is to make it 10 years.” He’ll be almost 64 at that point. “It seems kind of crazy, but once you are in that truck, you are like anyone else.” Steve says. “You are there for that job, whether you are 60 or 20.” Acknowledging that many of the firefighters on that truck are much closer to 20 than 60, Steve says, “I try to keep that in perspective and have the right attitude. ‘Yeah, I can hold my own with these young guys.’” AR
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FEATURE
Mind
Over Legal
Matters BY MILO SMITH
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“SOMETIMES I GET A LITTLE STRESSED OUT BECAUSE I THINK I’VE GOT A LOT ON MY PLATE.”
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—DR. MARK MONASKY
e have probably all had that thought at some point in our busy lives. We are familiar
with the feeling of juggling so many things that our stress level rises with every item added to the to-do list. For Dr. Mark Monasky, ’02, to say that he has a lot on his plate is more than an understatement. Monasky is a neurosurgeon at St. Alexis Medical Center in Bismarck, N.D., who has performed more than 3,000 surgeries. But neurosurgery is now his part-time job as he spends most of his time as a partner in a law firm. Monasky, a New York native, is a graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. He completed neurosurgical training at the Mayo Clinic and University of Maryland, and moved to Bismarck in 1993 to practice neurosurgery. Monasky says people often ask him why he went to law school after all the schooling and training he went through to become a doctor. Like many college students, he says he struggled with what career to pursue. “I always thought about going to law school,” Monasky says. “But you can’t do everything, so I went to medical school and became a neurosurgeon, which was one of my dreams.” Monasky recalls a nagging thought that he still wanted to go to law school someday. Like many of his colleagues, he went through a medical lawsuit which heightened his interest in law. “So I took the plunge,” Monasky says, and he began taking classes at the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1999. Like many college students, Monasky had a part-time job during his days in Grand Forks. His job, though, was a little more involved than delivering pizzas or waiting tables. Monasky would drive back to Bismarck to perform neurosurgery on weekends. He says it’s “all a blur” when he thinks back on those days as a law student at UND. “I made over 100 round trips over the three years,” Monasky recalls of his drives to Bismarck on weekends to perform surgeries and spend time with his wife. Being close to Bismarck was part of his decision to attend North Dakota’s only law school, but Monasky says he got a quality education. “I don’t have any regrets at all about going to UND,” he says. “It prepared me very well for what I’m doing right now.”
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Top: Mark Monasky, ‘92, seated right, is a partner with Bormann, Myerchin, Monasky & Espeseth, LLP. Left: Dr. Monasky is also a neurosurgeon at St. Alexis Hospital in Bismarck.
Photo by: St. Alexis Hospital
Now, he combines his passion for medicine with his new career as an attorney specializing in estate planning. Monasky deliberately chose a legal niche that did not involve health care law or medical malpractice. “When I’m outside of the hospital I want to do something completely unrelated to medicine,” Monasky says. Monasky majored in mathematics as an undergrad and is comfortable working with numbers. His desire to help his fellow physicians protect what they have sacrificed so much to achieve made estate and asset protection planning the obvious choice, he says. After passing the bar exam in 2002, Monasky went back to neurosurgery full-time. It was 2008 before he joined the Bismarck law firm now known as Bormann, Myerchin, Monasky & Espeseth, 20
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LLP, and began to focus on helping fellow physicians, business owners, and others protect and transfer their assets. “As I practiced [medicine] longer and longer, it became apparent to me that doctors have no business or financial training,” Monasky says. “They don’t have the background or time to research these issues. Frankly, some are taken advantage of because physicians are very trusting people.” While it’s not brain surgery, it sometimes can seem pretty difficult getting physicians to go to a lawyer. Monasky says just about every experience a doctor has with an attorney is a negative one, so they have a skewed view of the profession. But Monasky says his background gives him instant credibility with doctors. “A lot of physicians don’t trust lawyers,” he points out. “People outside of medicine have no idea how doctors think. I know how doctors think. I continue to work in the trenches with my fellow doctors, and know what it’s like to be in the emergency or operating room at two in the morning.” That inside knowledge has landed him a number of physician clients in the few years he’s been practicing law. Monasky says he has gotten so busy in the law firm that in January he cut back his neurosurgical coverage from every third weekend to one weekend a month. Monasky’s weekends extend from Thursday morning to Monday morning, including a full clinic day on Thursday and an
Dr. Monasky has performed more than 3,000 surgeries since coming to Bismarck in 1993. His days in the operating room, though, may be numbered.
Photo by: St. Alexis Hospital
operating day on Friday. He envisions a time when he might give up the operating room for good. That, however, will not be an easy decision to make. “I wrestle with it every day,” Monasky says of ending his dual career lifestyle. “It’s hard to cut that umbilical cord. I love neurosurgery. It has been my life and passion. But now I have a second passion.” With his law practice taking off, his medical career may end “sooner, rather than later.” Monasky says, “After a few weeks in the law office, I can’t wait to get back into the operating room, but by Monday morning I’m tired and look forward to going back to the law firm where I don’t carry a pager and am guaranteed a full night’s sleep.” For now, Monasky is in rare company as a doctor who is also an attorney. He says there are about 1,500 to 2,000 doctors with law degrees in the United States. Of those, there are only about six neurosurgeons. Monasky is not aware of any other physician/ attorney in the country who does full-time estate planning. “It is extremely unusual,” Monasky says, “but I don’t have a lot of time to focus on it. Sometimes I get a little stressed out because I think I have too much on my plate. But I’ve always been a hard worker and I love challenges.”
As a reflection of his own beliefs, Monasky says he always brings up charitable giving when estate planning with a client. He uses the argument that a person’s heirs will likely not miss 10 percent of the estate. “But by leaving that amount to charity, that’s going to be more of a statement to your kids,” Monasky says of his argument for giving. “It’s a powerful way to leave a legacy, to leave some assets to charity.” Monasky says the estate can be set up to allow heirs to decide the charity to which the money will go. “Hopefully, that will make them more charitably inclined,” he reasons. “What’s the point of accumulating a big estate if you are not going to use that to benefit some charitable causes?” For now, Monasky is charting his own legacy. He’s taking his ideas for helping doctors plan for their financial futures nationwide, launching a company and website dedicated to the principles he preaches (www.mdwealthprotector.com). “I’m really excited about the potential of where this might go,” Monasky says. It’s an expansion of lectures and seminars for doctors he’s been giving in recent months. “The interest has been incredible,” he says. “Doctors are just starved for this type of information, and constantly tell me how refreshing it is for someone to provide them financial and asset protection education without the hard sell just to make a commission. And there’s nobody in the country addressing this at a national level.” So, brain surgery is less on his brain these days, but for now he continues to lead a double life. “People ask me all the time which I like the most,” Monasky says. “And I have two children and my answer is the same as if someone asked me which I love the most. ‘I love them both.’ I feel very blessed in my lifetime. Most people don’t have the privilege or the financial liberty to be able to pursue another profession. I think a lot of people would be able to do it, they just don’t have the financial freedom to do it.” AR www.undalumni.org 21
CAMPUS NEWS
You can show your appreciation for Dr. Boyd’s commitment to students by contributing to the Dr. Robert Boyd Emerging Leader Scholarship Endowment. Go to undfoundation.org for information.
What’s New News from ARO
Campus
A Partnership with University Relations
UND Vice President for Student Affairs Robert Boyd, ’74, ’79, listens to the commencement address during the 2010 Winter Commencement Ceremony at the Chester Fritz Auditorium. Boyd has served UND for more than 32 years as one of the students’ biggest advocates on campus. He concluded his time as vice president in February and is now heading up the University’s nickname and logo transition process.
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Farewell DEAR ALUMNI & FRIENDS,
This will be a year of transition for the University of North Dakota. And two of the most significant transitions, it turns out, are interrelated. In March 2010, Dr. Robert Boyd — the students’ vice president since 1998 — announced his retirement. That announcement marked the end of an era and more than 30 years of service to UND as a leader and advocate for higher education and for students. Bob’s commitment to serving students and to their success is welldocumented through his many achievements, awards and honors. Bob was among the first to welcome Marcia and me to UND when we arrived in 2008. He very quickly became a trusted adviser and friend. As I observed his commitment to the institution and to UND’s students, I came to think of him as “Mr. UND.” I often enjoyed introducing him as such, although I think it might have made him a little uncomfortable. UND, and I, will miss his contributions to this exceptional institution. Bob started his more than 30 years at UND as the director of Extension and Professional Services. He then became dean of Outreach Programs and since 1998 he has been the vice president for Student and Outreach Services (now Student Affairs). Areas reporting to Bob included Health and Wellness, Enrollment Management, Student Services and Outreach Services. During his time at UND, Bob was often the “go-to” leader for UND presidents. Here are just a few examples: In the late 1990s, then president Ken Baker tapped Bob to run the “virtual” University set up by UND in the immediate aftermath of the Flood of ‘97. He then asked Bob to chair the Exigency Task Force on Enrollment to help UND return to its pre-flood head count. A year later, he turned to Bob to lead the newly reconstituted Division of Student and Outreach Services. Four UND presidents asked Bob to lead the recruitment of high-level positions to campus. President Emeritus Charles Kupchella appointed him co-chair of the task group that guided UND in its move to Division I Athletics, and he appointed Bob to chair UND’s Quasquicentennial, a celebration of the University’s founding 125 years earlier. Meanwhile, Bob has led his own division to a level of excellence that has often been noted through national awards. After a national search that yielded an excellent pool of candidates, I hired Dr. Lori Reesor, who comes highly recommended from the University of Kansas where she has served as associate vice provost for Student Success. We welcomed Dr. Reesor to her new position in February. Along the way, I persuaded Bob to put off retiring from UND and to help with another major transition for UND: retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. Bob serves as my Transition Officer, and, as those of you who know Bob would expect, he is doing an outstanding job in a very important role.
TO “MR. UND” “On behalf of the University and its many friends, thank you for the many years of truly excellent leadership, and for your continuing efforts.” NICKNAME AND LOGO As you know, the University is retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo following the directive, last April, of the State Board of Higher Education. UND has until Aug. 15 to complete the transition. The process is well under way. The Honoring History and Traditions Task Group — led by Dr. Bruce Smith, ‘70, dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and a former UND All-American football player, and Kris Compton, ‘77, COO for Alerus Financial — has met consistently since Oct. 12. They have completed their first charge: to provide recommendations on whether UND’s athletic nickname and logo have any possible nonathletic uses for the future. In January they provided me with a recommendation related to the non-athletics use of the nickname and logo on campus. The Communications Task Group — led by Kathryn Rand, ‘90, dean of the School of Law, and Dr. Joshua Riedy, chief information officer — has also been meeting regularly. You can follow the transition process at http://nickname.und.edu/ logo/. By the time you read this, I also will have met with the President’s Transition Cabinet, a blue-ribbon advisory group from across the state that represents a variety of constituencies and includes two former North Dakota governors and a former U.S. senator. And I will have visited with the President’s Transition Partners, a group of high-level UND administrators who will help provide me with advice and who will serve as a resource group as we move through the transition process. If you are watching this issue closely, you know that (at the time of this writing) three bills related to the Sioux nickname and logo have been introduced into the North Dakota Legislature. The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education has taken a neutral stance on these bills. University System Chancellor Bill Goetz, meanwhile, has directed the University to continue with our transition process. We will continue to keep a keen eye on the bills as they make their way through the legislative process. So this is a year of transition, but also a year of transformation. Our University has never been in a stronger position. I hope you will join me as, together, we create a University of North Dakota for the future.
Best wishes,
Robert O. Kelley President
www.undalumni.org 23
CAMPUS NEWS
Bruce Farnsworth works from a temporary platform in a fig tree to photograph the Crimson-rumped toucanet (Aulacorhynchus haematopygus) and other birds in the Otonga Cloud Forest Reserve, northwestern Andes, Ecuador.
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Photos by: Bruce Farnsworth; B.S. Zoology; M.A. Environmental Education
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More than
Pretty Pictures
AMAZONIAN ADVENTURES START IN GRAND FORKS THANKS TO UND DOCTORAL STUDENT ND PH.D. STUDENT BRUCE FARNSWORTH
plays the role of the typical grad student here, trudging to class through the snow and the signature chill of the Red River Valley. In times like this, you can’t blame a guy if his mind drifts to a place a bit more tropical. The only difference between Farnsworth and most others — he’s not dreaming. He’s seriously planning his next adventure in a part of the world that has become a second home for him. When he’s not studying for his doctorate in Educational Foundations & Research at UND, or researching the pedagogy of the visual narrative, Farnsworth is viewing the world through the lens of a camera as an editorial conservation photographer. For almost 15 years, he’s immersed himself in the rainforests of Ecuador. He’s parlayed his love of nature and skill with the camera into a burgeoning business, Raw Rainforest Photography & Educational Tours, planning and leading customized summer group workshops. These aren’t your average joyride safaris, though.
Ἅ lu m n i R e v ie w | spring 2011
They’re geared toward academicians and others who want to improve their photography skills and create interpretive photo-essays of their own. Participants are the invited guests of indigenous communities, and oriented to produce more “culturally responsive” images, he explains. Farnsworth uses the biological diversity and slower-paced environment of rural Ecuador to create the perfect classroom. The setting provides ample opportunity for experimentation. One of the exercises helps participants design simple images that convey more complex or abstract concepts, such as climate change, interdependence and adaptation. “Pretty pictures are nice, but we’re looking beyond that,” Farnsworth says. “We want to depict the larger context of the single nature subject, and meet the people involved.” Conservation photography can be an effective tool in the preservation of the natural world, and
Bruce Farnsworth found this striking fruit, with an eyeball-like seed, while walking through primary rainforest. It may be an example of coevolution on the dark forest floor. The bright colors attract birds that consume the fruit, leaving the seed to grow.
doctorate. He was drawn to UND by the Educational Foundation & Research program and adviser Dr. Marcus Weaver-Hightower. It’s from Grand Forks that Farnsworth now operates his educational tourism business. “This has been wonderful in that both my personal passion and business can join in an educational experience for my clients,” he explains. Farnsworth’s feature and assignment photography has appeared in several books and in such prestigious magazines as Wilderness, Smithsonian, Outdoor Photographer, Nature Conservancy and CondeNast. He’s also created Dakota Photo Tours, which kicks off with an innovative three-day workshop planned for Medora, N.D., this June. His informative website at rawrainforest.com serves as a virtual gateway to the upper Amazon basin and the promise that awaits prospective visitors. Farnsworth lives in Grand Forks with his 9-year-old son. AR
As many as 11 species of parrots, parakeets and macaws can be seen descending upon and feeding on these mineralrich clay soils each morning. The clay allows these birds to digest toxic compounds found in the rainforest seeds and fruits on which they feed.
— David Dodds, University Relations
www.undalumni.org 25
Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net
meaningful photographs can serve as a clarion call to action, says Farnsworth. He takes great care to ensure his images are accurate reflections of local culture and that his tours bring direct economic benefit to his hosts. Participants learn to see more intensely. Instead of moving from one point of interest to the next, clients absorb their surroundings and decipher the rhythm and complexities of the rainforest in what Farnsworth refers to as “slow tourism.” Otherwise, “the workshop becomes all about logistics; and the intimacy is lost,” he says. “As you spend time in a place, you see better, and your photographs improve.” A native of Glendora, Calif., about 45 miles east of Los Angeles, Farnsworth studied field zoology and animal behavior at Cal Poly Pomona in the late ’80s. That’s when he started dabbling in photojournalism as the chief photo editor of the university magazine. His photographs of the vanishing coastal sage scrub ecosystem served as a springboard for California’s Natural Communities Conservation Planning program. While working as an interpretive park ranger at Point Reyes National Seashore in northern California, Farnsworth was lauded for his ground and aerial photography of the Vision Fire and the restoration process that would ensue. Then, in 1996, starting with the Jatun Sacha Foundation, he got the chance to join Ecuadorians to develop the Center for Interpretation of Amazonian Ecuador in the country’s Napo province. Farnsworth completed his master’s degree in environmental education at Cal State, San Bernardino in 2001, and taught high school photography in southern California full-time for five years. All the while, Farnsworth gravitated back to his friends and the land he’d fallen in love with in Ecuador. In 2008, Farnsworth enrolled at the University of North Dakota to pursue his
CAMPUS NEWS
RESTORED ’58 CORVETTE TURNS HEADS LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY Photo by: Paul Gronhovd
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One Person’s Junk Becomes
Another’s Treasure
HEN DENNIS PAZDERIC takes his signet red 1958 Chevy Corvette out for a spin, the smiles and thumbs-up reactions he sees make the 13 years he spent restoring the vehicle all worthwhile. Of course, the growing collection of car show trophies, which includes top national awards from the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), are pleasant reminders that his Corvette is also wellregarded by auto-restoration experts. Pazderic, who is in charge of maintenance at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), restores cars as a hobby. He’s completed a 1967 Chevy Camaro and a 1928 Ford Model A roadster, and is now working on a 1931 Chevrolet Cabriolet, a 1915 Ford Model T and a rare Model T snowmobile. He remembers the first time he saw the car of his dreams in Moorhead, Minn., in 1986. The 1958 Corvette was in pieces and undergoing restoration by its then-owner.
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He told his son, Matt, “That guy’s an idiot if he thinks he can restore that car. It’s junk!” Despite his opinion, Pazderic couldn’t forget about the car he’d yearned to own since his childhood days in Larimore, N.D. “The older neighbor boy across from us had that car when he was in high school, and I thought, ‘Oh man, is that a sports car!’” he exclaimed. “That’s why I wanted a ’58 Corvette; it’s why I hung on to the idea.” A little more than a year later, Pazderic bought the “basket case” for $2,700 and found out firsthand that the job of restoring it was even more difficult than he’d imagined. The car lacked an engine and had been converted to a dragster, which meant all the chrome had been stripped off and the fenders had been flared to accommodate wide tires. While working on the fiberglass body, Pazderic also discovered the car had been in a collision.
Dennis Pazderic with one of his next projects, a 1931 Chevrolet Cabriolet
Photo by: Jackie Lorentz
The award-winning car can be seen cruising Grand Forks streets in the summer. Photo by: Paul Gronhovd
There were times when he became so frustrated by problems and setbacks that he had to stop working on the Corvette. During one of those instances, his son reminded him of his statement about an “idiot” taking on the project. “I was hoping he forgot,” Pazderic laughed. Throughout the trials and tribulations, he found that in the family of car restorers, there were many who were willing to help – both locally and nationwide. Whether it was scrounging hard-to-find parts, getting the paint to match or providing advice, expertise and free labor, Pazderic recognizes that the end product was a group effort. “It’s these relationships that form when you know someone who knows someone,” he noted. “People just can’t wait to help you. When asked if you’re buying a part to sell or for your car, when you say it’s for your car, the price is totally different.” Pazderic met his goal of having the Corvette
ready for the AACA’s 2000 show in Grand Forks. It won first place in the organization’s junior and senior categories and then went on to receive the AACA’s top national award for restoration. The car continues to earn high honors whenever he shows it in competition. When asked how he dares take his labor of love out on the streets, Pazderic has an easy explanation: “The car was junk when I bought it, and now everyone just wants to stand back and look at it.” AR — Patrick C. Miller, University Relations
www.undalumni.org 27
CAMPUS NEWS
Gold fingers
Photo by: Jackie Lorentz
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UND AEROSPACE DISPATCH MANAGER HAS A KNACK FOR SOMETHING A BIT MORE ARTSY
EO SAUCEDO makes it clear he’s not a master metalsmith by any stretch. It’s just something he enjoys doing as a hobby. Despite his modesty, Saucedo, a full-time dispatch manager at UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, has become a go-to guy, of sorts, for people who want that special something when it comes to jewelry. Everything he knows about metalsmithing, he says, he owes to Hilary, ’63, ’66, ’75, and Mary Klinicke, ’90, who owned and operated Plaza Jewelers in Grand Forks. The store recently closed, but the repair division, K&J Jewelry Mfg., is still running and that’s where Saucedo performs his handiwork when he’s not directing air traffic at UND.
Ἅ lu m n i R e v ie w | spring 2011
“I am not a goldsmith by trade but I know enough to get me in a bind,” Saucedo jokes. “But [Hilary] has always been there to help me out.” Over the years, Saucedo has learned the art of ring sizing, setting stones, laser technology, as well as fusing and soldering gold, enabling him to help at the Klinickes’ shop on occasion. Customers bring in mementos and special handme-down jewelry they want to keep but maybe not in a form they want to wear. “They want to keep it so we see if we can find a different use for it,” Saucedo says. He and his mentor sit down and contemplate any number of new options for the piece – maybe a pendant or a broach. “We’ve developed a lot of trust between us,” Saucedo says of Hilary. He even sent Saucedo to watch repair school, adding to his growing skill in the jewelry industry.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Over the years, Saucedo has acquired a few simple tools that he uses to do some of his work, but for the most part, he uses the equipment at the Klinickes’, helping out a couple of days a week. Saucedo says he gets paid for his work but he’s in it more for the relationship he’s developed with the Klinicke family than anything he gains financially. “I love to learn; that’s just what I do,” he says. “I’m one of those individuals who can’t sit still; I’ve been working since I was 10.” Saucedo’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in 1969. Though his father was a master electrician making a good living, Saucedo’s family began coming up to North Dakota to work the sugar beet fields for a Grafton, N.D., family. One year turned into 10, he says. In 1981, Saucedo and his brother decided to stay in North Dakota instead of returning south. He’s been here ever since. Saucedo secured a job with a nonprofit organization that found work for displaced farm laborers. He also began taking classes at UND’s School of Engineering and Mines, which led to work with the Energy & Environmental Research Center. Some years later, while working as a night custodian and security officer at a Grand Forks mall, Saucedo first met Hilary Klinicke. At the time, Saucedo was attending classes at Northland Community and Technical College in East Grand Forks by day. Saucedo eventually got a certificate in computerized accounting at Northland and began working as the business manager at the mall, allowing his friendship with Klinicke to grow even more. This was the beginning of Saucedo’s mentoring sessions in goldsmithing. As dispatch manager for the UND flight school, Saucedo has the daunting task of organizing schedules for as many as 450 student training flights a day. The job is a mix of customer service and logistics. “We are the first ones they see and the last ones they deal with on each training flight,” he says. He says word has spread around the flight school that not only is Saucedo a good scheduler, but he’s also got a knack for something a bit more artsy. “Yeah, we’ve seen many of our flight instructors come and buy their wedding rings from us,” he says with a smile. Saucedo makes his home in Grand Forks with his wife, Maria, who is a business analyst for the North Dakota University System’s System Information Technology Services. They have two children: Priscilla and Victor. AR — David Dodds, University Relations
Dean’s Corner:
Building Excitement The most exciting news this past year for the College of Education and Human Development (EHD) has been the renovation of the Education building, originally constructed in 1953, and a new addition to connect to Gillette Hall, thus co-locating more of the college. The project was funded in the last legislative session, with the use of federal “stimulus” funds, and supported by the governor and the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education. The building is designed to achieve a Silver LEED rating for environmental sustainability. This project is the first academic building project at UND funded by the state in several decades. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on campus last June with President Robert Kelley presiding and then Lieutenant Governor, now Governor Jack Dalrymple speaking. Also present and participating in the ceremony were State Senator Ray Holmberg, ‘65, ‘76, representatives of all three members of our congressional delegation, president of the Grand Forks City Council Hal Gershman, ‘66, and a student from each of the college’s departments. While we are enormously grateful for the support for this exciting project, restrictions on the funding source do not permit any of the funds to be used to furnish and equip the building or the new addition. Thus, we are engaged in a major fundraising effort to make sure we can open the building in August with new, up-to-date furnishings and equipment, including the most advanced technology. We invite all alumni and friends of the college and the university to consider a donation to help make this dream come to reality. Many naming opportunities exist throughout the project for classrooms, faculty offices and other areas of the building. What a wonderful way to provide a permanent tribute to a former professor, a member of your family, or your business or enterprise, by naming an area of this new facility. The next exciting event will be a dedication ceremony, most likely in October. Stay tuned for that date. For information, photos and to donate, visit www.edbuilding.und.edu or contact Jena Pierce at jena.pierce@ und.edu for more details. Thanks to all of you for your support of the College of EHD and for the University of North Dakota, a great place to learn, to grow and from which to launch successful careers and lives. Sincerely,
Dan Rice, dean and professor of Educational Leadership
www.undalumni.org 29
CAMPUS NEWS
Entrepreneurship
Just for Kids! ‘MINI-SOCIETY’ GETS KIDS INTERESTED IN BUSINESS AND READIES EDUCATORS TO TEACH THEM
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HE MINI-SOCIETY® youth entrepreneurship summer camps for students in grades 4-8, and their teachers — now heading into their sixth year — is one way to get kids interested in business and educators prepared to teach enterprise skills. The program is a series of hands-on, fun-focused summer camps and follow-up activities during the school year. It is part of a statewide effort to encourage youth to consider business ownership as a career option and community leadership as a rewarding outlet for their natural creativity. The UND Center for Innovation Foundation and the Dakota Foundation are part sponsors. “Camp participants confront and resolve the same challenges that entrepreneurs and community leaders face every day: What opportunities are there in my town? How can I make a successful business out of a good idea? How can we make our community more livable?” said Barry Striegel, ’75, director of the North Dakota Youth Entrepreneurship Education Program (YEEP). Kids and teachers organize their own towns, create a currency to facilitate the flow of goods and services, open new businesses they think will serve consumers’ needs and elect their own leaders. They all become business owners and civic partners, learning how individual initiative and collaboration can make positive differences in their communities. Participants also go behind the scenes at local businesses and meet area business, political and cultural leaders. “Through these experiences and with the help of trained facilitators, camp participants learn how to act as entrepreneurs plus add to their basic knowledge of economics, personal finance, civic participation and community development,” Striegel said. “Our sponsors
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Campers at the youth entrepreneurship summer camp set up their own stores.
believe that long-term economic growth and community pride depend on fostering the next generation of business owners, active citizens and leaders. They know it is essential for young people to feel plugged into their communities.” In 2010, camps were held at the Center for Innovation on the UND campus and also in the North Dakota communities of Cavalier, Belcourt, Dickinson, Fort Yates, New Town, Parshall and Williston. “We work in partnership with entrepreneur centers, school districts, local businesses, regional economic development groups and community colleges statewide,” said Striegel, who grew up on a ranch near Leith, N.D., southwest of Bismarck. “A vital theme of the program is ‘BYOB,’ or ‘Be Your Own Boss!’ The program has grown from one camp when it started four years ago to seven this year. In 2011, the program is planning new camps in Wahpeton, Minot and Bismarck.” “Our primary aim is to expand opportunities for North Dakota’s K-8 youth to experience entrepreneurship,” said Striegel, a former elementary and middle school teacher who’s pursuing a Ph.D. in education at UND. “We want them to learn the skills and attitudes associated with academic, economic and social success-opportunity recognition, intelligent risk-taking, resilience, creativity and collaboration.” AR — Juan Pedraza, University Relations
The Students’
Voice
MELISSA BONNER REPRESENTS 40,000 NORTH DAKOTA STUDENTS ON SBHE
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T IS TEMPTING TO SUGGEST THAT MELISSA BONNER, ’10, IS A SUPER HERO. You know: “Mild-mannered graduate student and student employee by day — Super Representative for more than 40,000 North Dakota students by night.” But Bonner would disagree — and not just because her role as the only voting student member of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education is a 24/7 gig. Still, she is a unique individual. The Fargo South High School graduate was involved in German Club, cross-country and orchestra (she played the viola). She is the oldest of four and the first in her family to obtain a college degree. Now, she finds herself at the top of the higher education organizational chart in North Dakota as one of eight voting members who can decide the fate of the North Dakota University System, its chancellor, its presidents — every policy related to public higher education in the state. But her real challenge is juggling a full-time schedule as a student in the University of North Dakota’s higher education administration graduate program, her work as a student employee in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, as well as her duties representing all of the students in the 11 public higher education institutions that make up the North Dakota University System. And she is mild-mannered. It is a unique mixture that ideally positions her to pursue her dream job: to serve as a university Dean of Students. It is a dream she developed after serving as a governmental affairs coordinator for UND’s Student Government and after interacting with UND’s own storied and nationally respected former Dean of Students Lillian Elsinga, ’77, and Associate Dean of Students Cara Halgren, ’89. In fact, Bonner, who graduated from UND in May with a bachelor’s degree in German, credits Elsinga with encouraging her and suggesting she pursue graduate work in higher education administration.
Melissa Bonner juggles a full-time graduate school schedule, a job and her seat on the Board of Higher Ed. Photo by: Jackie Lorentz
“All of my classes in higher education are pretty helpful. I took Introduction to Higher Education Administration. We talked about faculty and tenure. That’s something we talked about at the board meetings and that’s something that can be very confusing without some background,” said Bonner. Bonner’s teachers have been gracious and supportive, recognizing her state board service as a rare and ideal experience for a student who wants to make a career in higher education. The support of her husband, Kelly, an economics major at UND, has also been vital. “It’s a lot more fast-paced than I expected,” Bonner observed. It has been instructive to observe how the members’ individual skills and areas of expertise contribute to the board’s deliberations. Bonner is very serious about representing the concerns of students. She pushes to help keep college affordable and also promotes the need to maintain or improve counseling services at all of the University System institutions. In addition to dealing with the issues of today, she and other board members look to the future. Online education is a growing area, and that requires special attention on services for students who aren’t on campus. And the future for Bonner? Her last meeting as a voting member on the State Board of Higher Education will be in June. She expects to graduate with her master’s degree in higher education administration in May 2012. Bonner hopes to find a job in higher education, such as working with international students or perhaps with TRIO programs (a set of federally funded programs that benefit disadvantaged students). The ultimate goal? Reflecting her positive experiences here on the UND campus and in the state, Bonner can envision one day being a Dean of Students herself. Her future looks bright. For Bonner, it’s Up, Up – and Away! AR — Peter Johnson, University Relations www.undalumni.org 31
CAMPUS NEWS
Tending
the Flock
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UND English Professor Sherry O’Donnell tends her flock of rare Lincoln-Finn sheep. Photo by: Jackie Lorentz
EE-HAW!” If you’ve never thought of a donkey as a guard dog, it’s time you start. The teeth-grating bray, which can stop people in their tracks, keeps the coyotes at bay as well. Sherry O’Donnell has yet to lose a sheep to a coyote. But what, you may ask, is the chair of the English Department at UND doing with sheep? Growing up on an Iowa farm, O’Donnell was first exposed to sheep as a child. When the opportunity arose for her to own them again on a quarter-section of land outside Red Lake Falls, Minn., she jumped at it. But O’Donnell’s sheep are not the usual kind found on the commercial market. They’re a rare cross breed of Lincoln-Finn sheep, not typically found in large herds. O’Donnell sells the wool to spinners and weavers after spring shearing. Lincolns have dreadlocks that closely resemble those of Reggae legend Bob Marley, so a handful of their curls is perfect for a doll-maker looking for hair for an angel doll or the beard for a lumberjack. Pelts are also sold for seat covers and mattress pads, and bikers roll in to buy them for vests. But the most unique quality of O’Donnell’s farm may be the opportunity for ritual slaughter she offers. Muslim families can come, choose a lamb, and perform their own slaughter following traditional customs, so the meat is halal. O’Donnell and her partner, Virgil Benoit, professor of languages at UND, sustain the farm on their own. From rising at 4 a.m. to feed the flock of approximately 80, to orchestrating their breeding with
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR SHERRY O’DONNELL IS RIGHT AT HOME DOWN ON HER SHEEP FARM her three rams, and finally administrating the required shots and docking the tails of the resulting lambs, they do it all. And O’Donnell doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty for the benefit of her flock. Many ranchers tie elastic around lambs’ tails and wait for them to fall off. While this may be cleaner for the administrator, there’s risk of infection for the lambs. O’Donnell chops the tails off herself. “It goes back to being in the dirt, being in the blood, being with the matter of the life; it’s a little messier for the shepherd but it’s better for the sheep,” she says. To many, this would sound like a full-time job. O’Donnell calls it a hobby. “(It’s) geared toward the kind of teaching and research I’m interested in, which is the intersection of human, animal and machine. I’m really interested in the connections among those forms of energy and life.” The English 227 class she taught during the fall semester, titled “Animal Matters,” explored those connections. On top of that she has a steady schedule of meetings, reports, and forms to fill out — duties she describes as typical if you’re a department chair. O’Donnell says there are days when feeding has to be added to that busy schedule, as she rushes out to bottle feed a baby lamb that’s been orphaned or rejected by its mother, nestled in hay in the back of her pickup. “For people who like adventure, we’ve got plenty of it,” O’Donnell says. “I feel very grounded and interested here because of the animals and because of the people.” AR — Liza Jones, University Relations
UND Gorecki Alumni Center Excitement is Building! A place for UND alumni to call home and a welcoming center for the University is inching closer to reality. Architects are working on the design and we’ll show you the plans as soon as we can. For now, here is what we can tell you about the building: •
It will be named the Gorecki Alumni Center in honor of Benedict, ’62, ’63, and Dorothy Gorecki who made the lead gift to get the long-planned project off the ground.
• JLG Architects of Grand Forks is designing the 32,000-square-foot, three-story building. Every effort is planned to make the building environmentally friendly. •
The site to the west of the Chester Fritz Auditorium just off University Avenue has been approved by the University and the State Board of Higher Education. The location is perfect to fulfill the vision of the Center as a welcoming point to campus for alumni, visitors, students and their parents.
• The first floor of the building will be public space that will have a number of campus and community uses. A community hall will fill a need for medium-sized gatherings that is not currently available on campus. There will also be meeting rooms and areas to display art and historical pieces. • The Gorecki Alumni Center will bring the offices of the UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation together under the same roof. Currently the 40 employees of the two entities are spread between two buildings, the J. Lloyd Stone House (a.k.a. Oxford House) and the Strinden Center.
PROJECT TIMELINE DESIGN: GROUNDBREAKING: BIDS: CONSTRUCTION BEGINS: FINISHED:
ONGOING EARLY MAY LATE MAY JUNE AUGUST 2012
GORECKI ALUMNI CENTER
Site plan illustrations courtesy of JLG Architects.
CAMPAIGN NEWS
A GENEROUS Family’s SPIRIT
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In keeping with tradition, Gayle and Brad Aafedt give back to University of North Dakota programs ranging from athletics to chemical engineering, with various stops in between. But their philanthropy isn’t confined to UND’s campus. It extends to the community of Grand Forks and beyond. They say they’re simply giving back to the institutions that provided for their futures.
f you want to gain a true understanding of the word “tradition,” talk to Gayle (Berge) Aafedt, ’88. Her grandfather, Ben Gustafson, was a professor of chemistry and dean at the University of North Dakota and is the namesake for Gustafson Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. She’s a third-generation Alpha Phi who met her husband, Dr. Brad Aafedt, ’86, while at UND, and their immediate family boasts a number of UND graduates. “Too many to count,” Brad says. Perhaps their children, ages 15 and 12, will attend someday. That spirit of tradition is something the Aafedts want to keep alive. And they have taken it upon themselves to spread it throughout the University of North Dakota campus and the Grand Forks community. “We both received significant scholarship contributions and now we feel it is our time to give back for all the
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BY ALYSSA SHIREK
benefits we received,” says Brad, chief of radiology at Altru Health System in Grand Forks. Their contributions to the University have run the gamut from engineering to athletics to Greek life. One of their most recent donations is a generous one to the Dean’s Excellence Fund at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences in honor of Drs. John and Jean Oberpriller. They have given more than 40 gifts to the University and are members of the UND Foundation’s prestigious President’s Circle, which recognizes donors for lifetime gifts and commitments of $10,000 or more.
Brad, ’86, and Gayle (Berge) Aafedt, ’88, give generously to UND in part to honor Gayle’s grandfather, Ben Gustafson, who was the namesake for Gustafson Hall (pictured in background).
“Our family bleeds green,” Gayle says. And her family has done so for a long time. Gayle recalls attending at least one football game and one hockey game every year with her grandfather as a girl. In part to honor his memory, she and Brad have directed generous contributions to UND Athletics as it transitions to Division I competition. “With this transition to D-I, we want to make sure we’re able to help the University,” Gayle says. But UND students and studentathletes aren’t the only people in Grand Forks to reap the rewards of the Aafedts’ generous spirit. The couple also supports several local charities, including Altru Health Foundation, United Way, Summer
Performing Arts, Community Violence Intervention Center, The Salvation Army and North Dakota Museum of Art. Gayle, a chemical engineering major, has taken on a new role as “the visiting scientist” for area elementary schools. She utilizes her education and eight years of 3M work experience to promote science and math to young people, especially girls. She also has served on local daycare boards and the Alpha Phi advisory board. Gayle says she’s simply paying forward gifts from others. Brad points to community responsibility. Either way, giving back is something in which the couple takes great pride. And their generosity does not go unnoticed.
“I didn’t think we were really doing that much here and all of a sudden we run into someone and the first words out of their mouth are, ‘Boy, thank you so much!’ It has become so very obvious how much appreciation there is for a gift received,” Brad says. “That really makes it worth it because we know that it’s money well-spent.” Mantras such as these have been essential in ensuring the success of North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND. To Brad, North Dakota spirit translates to the “pride that we take in recognizing this university as truly one of the jewels of the state.” That pride and generosity is the North Dakota spirit, and the Aafedts are living it. AR
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CAMPAIGN NEWS
The
‘Classic Example’ of the
BY ALYSSA SHIREK
i
In 1941, John E. Myra’s fortune became the Myra Foundation, the first private charitable foundation in the state of North Dakota. To date, his foundation has given nearly $7 million to benefit Grand Forks County causes. One of those causes, the Myra Foundation Scholarship, gave $36,000 this school year to incoming UND freshmen from Grand Forks County schools.
n 1883, John E. Myra came to Arvilla, N.D., seeking fortune. With a good work ethic, business sense and likely a bit of luck, he got just that. And in 1941, his $400,000 estate became the footing for the Myra Foundation. “He’s the classic example of the North Dakota spirit. He amassed a fortune, had no surviving family, and basically gave it all for the benefit of Grand Forks County,” said John Botsford, ’76, president of the Myra Foundation. A large annual beneficiary of that fortune is the Myra Foundation Scholarship program. This year, 16 Grand Forks County freshmen received $2,000 each to attend the University of North Dakota.
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“Receiving the Myra Foundation Scholarship was an opportunity for me to get one step closer to my dream of becoming a music educator,” said Katie Morgan, a UND freshman and graduate of Thompson (N.D.) High School. “For me, college is not just going to school; it is learning about my passion and helping me to become the kind of teacher I want to be.” As the first private charitable foundation in the state of North Dakota, the Myra Foundation
2010-11
Myra Foundation Scholarship recipients Northwood Haley Pratt
Midway
Mandy Cronquist makes its profits from 5,600 acres of land, which are operated by seven local farm families. The foundation then doles out the profits to charitable organizations within the county. In 2010, it was able to award $285,254 – a record year for the Foundation. “Myra had a great deal of foresight,” Botsford said. “It was extremely welldrafted, so that you could replicate it in today’s world with the same documents. It’s very functional, efficient and lean with very little overhead, which we pride ourselves in.” The Myra Foundation board is made up of three trustees: Botsford, Donna Gillig, ..’44, and Kent Cronquist, ’78. They are responsible for unanimously approving gifts that fall under Myra’s criteria of “charitable, character-building and educational purposes.” At $36,000 this year, Botsford said the scholarship fund is among the Foundation’s largest gifts. “We feel strongly about providing educational opportunities for Grand Forks County high school graduates, including the rural communities,” Botsford said. The scholarship fund makes it clear that Grand Forks County youth don’t have to go far to pursue higher educational opportunities. They can get them right here at UND.
Thompson
Katie Morgan Laura Slaathaug “When I think of UND, I think of a community of learners,” Morgan said. “We are a community of people who have the desire to learn more about the world and about topics that interest them.” With an obvious desire to learn and succeed, John E. Myra would have fit in with that community. To date, his Foundation has given nearly $7 million to Red River Valley charities and organizations, including its UND scholarship fund. And, as Botsford said, “it just keeps on giving.” AR
Larimore
Nicholas Verdi Alyssa Jacobson
Grand Forks Red River Andrew Cook Joseph Conneran Josstyn Richter Elizabeth Warner Erik Strande
Grand Forks Central Brady Johnson Ciara Zafke Jason Worden Laura Thingelstad Michael Rolshoven
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CAMPAIGN NEWS
Campaign EVENTS 1 3 4
5
8
2
7
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6
9
1
Laura McCallum, ’89, and James Bryan attended a post-launch event celebrating North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND in Minneapolis.
2
Kris Compton, ’77 and Brandon Koeser, ’08, representatives of Alerus Financial, attended the Nov. 8 event at Target Field.
3
Bob Sigsby, ’66, Connie Sigsby, ’64, Kris Solberg, ’69, and College of Nursing Dean Julie Anderson attend a post-launch event Jan. 12 in The Woodlands, Texas.
4
Bob Stremick, ’79 (left), and Sue Laudert, ’78 (middle), hosted a post-launch event for Denver-area alumni and friends. Also attending were Linda Pancratz, ’76 (second from left), Dean Dennis Elbert and Tim O’Keefe, ’71.
5
Hostess Jackie Everson, ‘66, and Don Hynek, ’71, chat at The Woodlands, Texas, event.
6
Guests take in the program during the postlaunch campaign event Nov. 18 at the home of Bob Stremick, ’79, and Sue Laudert, ’78, in Centennial, Colo.
7
Katie Itterman, ’03, Stuart Nostdahl, ’03, Amy Nostdahl, ’03, and Matt Larson, ’93, connect at the post-launch event at the Champion Club in Minneapolis.
8
Law School Dean Kathryn Rand and attorney Jack McDonald, ’62, ’70, visit during the post-launch event at Bismarck’s Peacock Alley.
9
Attendees watch an inspirational video at the Fargo event.
10
DeAnna Carlson Zink, ’86, Associate Executive Vice President of the UND Foundation, gives an overview of North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND on Nov. 9 in Fargo.
11
First lady Marcia Kelley and UND President Robert Kelley attend the post-launch campaign event Nov. 9 at Microsoft Fargo.
12
A family affair: Holland, Bruce, ’89 and Pam Ringgenberg, ’88, attend the Minneapolis event.
13
William, ’66, and Kay Wernecke take a breather at the Champion Club in Minneapolis.
14
Among 150 who attended the Minneapolis event were Tina Mauch, ’06, Brook Plested, ’06 and Tori Mauch.
15
Former UND basketball players Scott Guldseth, ’95, ’97, ’02 and Ben Brickson, ’98, reunite at the Champion Club in Minneapolis.
10
11 13 12
14
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www.undalumni.org 39
CAMPAIGN NEWS
North Dakota Spirit Campaign Goal: $300,000,000 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2010: $207,956,518 $100 MILLION
GOAL
GOAL
$80 MILLION
$60 MILLION
TO DATE
TO DATE
GOAL
GOAL
TO DATE
$40 MILLION
TO DATE
$20 MILLION TO DATE
ANNUAL EXCELLENCE
EXTRAORDINARY PLACES
PASSIONATE STUDENTS
EXTRAORDINARY PLACES
One of UND’s highest priorities is increasing the number of private scholarships available to students.
Building and infrastructure priorities include: • Enhanced laboratory spaces • Continued investments in technology • An indoor athletic training complex • An alumni center • A new College of Business & Public Administration
INSPIRATIONAL EDUCATORS Building endowments to support faculty will dramatically strengthen the University’s ability to retain our best and recruit additional, inspirational faculty leaders.
INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS
UND will strengthen programs in energy, life sciences, rural health care and more.
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INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS
INSPIRATIONAL EDUCATORS
PASSIONATE STUDENTS
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE Annual gifts provide flexible resources to allow the president, deans and department chairs to invest in any of the four campaign priority areas.
thank you DONORS The University of North Dakota and UND Foundation extend a sincere thank you to all alumni and friends who have made gifts and commitments to support students, faculty, programs, and places at UND since July 1, 2005, when North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND began. The following donors made campaign commitments of at least $25,000 between the Oct. 8 public launch and Dec. 31. *
indicates deceased
LEADERSHIP
$1,000,000 - $4,999,999
gifts
JOHN D. & JODI STEWART The Stewarts have pledged their continued support of UND Athletics and the College of Business and Public Administration.
MAJOR
$100,000 - $499,999
gifts
Events
UPCOMING
$25,000 - $99,999
Randall & Shannon Bakke Robert W. Baldwin* Richard & Joanne Becker Robert* & Joan Bender LaVonne Blikre & Cindy (Blikre) Roche in memory of Dr. Clair T. Blikre Dr. Arne G. Brekke Madelyn E. Camrud Brian & Terrie Dahl Darcy & Mary Ehmann in memory of Laura Marie Ehmann Jeffrey & Sonya Gorman Glen & Janice Gransberg Jan E. Heidinger Dr. Karen & David Hoelzer Robert* & Phyllis Johnson Capt. Timothy D. Keating Terry & Victoria Kovacevich
On Oct. 8, the University of North Dakota launched North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND. The Ignite the Spirit celebration drew more than 2,000 attendees to the Chester Fritz Auditorium on UND’s campus. If you were not one of those 2,000, you can still celebrate with us. Upcoming post-launch celebrations: March 15: Washington, D.C. March 26: Marco Island, Fla. April 29: Sioux-Per Gala in Grand Forks Week of May 24: Portland/Seattle July 22: Detroit Lakes Sites with dates TBD: Chicago, Boston and Palm Springs. Check the next Alumni Review or visit www.spirit.und.edu for updates or to register for an Ignite the Spirit event near you.
Duane* & Judy Lee Grant & Kristine Paranica Dave* & Doreen* Rubin/Wendy’s Dennis & Barbara Senneseth
Jill & Steve Cholewa
Dean & Mae Wieland
Joyce I. Reintjes Crowder &
Julie Williams Barner & Michael Barner
Brian-Paul Klein Crowder Michael & Janel Gehb Martin C. Johnson Michael & Sitney Lodoen Kurt H. & Martha Mueller Dr. Frank & Cynthia Schulte
www.undalumni.org 41
ALUMNI NEWS
READY, SET, GO!
Foot races weren’t enough of a challenge when this picture was taken; the addition of cinder blocks made the race all the more difficult! Are you in this photo or know someone who is? Let us know – we’d love to hear from you. Send an e-mail to alumnireview@ undalumni.net or call us at 800.543.8764. rte
Photograph cou
lections/Chester
ent of special col
inson departm sy of Elwyn B. Rob
Fritz Library.
There was some disagreement among those who thought they recognized the royalty riding on a Homecoming float down DeMers Avenue in East Grand Forks in this picture from the Winter 2010 Alumni Review. The majority believed the queen in the photo is Jean (Moe) Johnson, ’64,’66. There was less certainty about the two women at the front of the float. Dan Neppel, ’64, ’66, seemed most confident that the woman on the left is Nancy Fraser, ’64, and the one on the right is Loree Sanden Carlisle, ’64. Others also identified them as Nancy or Loree, but there were other guesses as well. Thanks to all who took the time to e-mail or call!
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Remember when, in 1948, new permanent bleachers with a seating capacity of 1,500 people were added to the end of the hockey rink with another 1,500 installed on the sides? 1941
Ralph Maxwell, ’41, ’47, was named 2010 Male Masters Athlete of the Year by the USA Track and Field Association. Maxwell currently holds seven World and 10 USA Masters track and field records. He and his wife, Elizabeth, ’77, divide their time among Minnesota, Texas and Costa Rica. 1947
Larry Aasen, ’47, received the Austin Legacy Award from UND’s Center for Community Engagement. The Legacy Award recognizes individuals for their professional accomplishments for community benefit. Larry is a retired public relations expert and author of several books about North Dakota. Larry and his wife, Martha, live in Westport, Conn.
1960s
Remember when, in 1963, Twamley Hall was dedicated during commencement activities? 1965
Senator Byron Dorgan, ’65, HON ’02, was presented with the Legacy Award by North Dakota families representing the American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the National Indian Health Board. The award recognized his leadership in advancing research, treatment and prevention. Dorgan retired from the U.S. Senate after 30 years in Congress. He and his wife, Kim, live in McLean, Va.
1966
Wayne Worner, ’66, was named the 2010 North Dakota State College of Science Alumnus of the Year. Since retiring from Virginia Tech in 1996, he has served the educational sector as a consultant and has worked with educational institutions all over the U.S. He and his wife, Kathleen (Dougherty), ’66, reside in Blacksburg, Va. 1967
Spencer Peterson, ’67, ’71, retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, after 40 years of service. During his career, he worked on lake eutrophication, lake restoration, hazardous waste site assessment, regional environmental monitoring programs and most recently with UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center on fish tissue contaminants; as they tried to shed new light on the exaggeration of mercury toxicity in fish tissue. Spencer and his wife, Shirley, live in Philomath, Ore. L. Ray Uloth, ’67, ’71, has written and published the book, “Journeys, Two-Up,” a road journal recounting his 9,000-mile solo motorcycle trek across the U.S. and tour of the ancient Middle East following the death of his wife, Markie (Johnson),’67, ’71, from breast cancer. Uloth divides his time between Grayslake, Ill., and Gold Hill, Ore. 1969
Luther Frette, ’69, ’82, is a 2010 inductee into the Grand Forks Public Schools Teacher Hall of Fame. Luther retired in 2009 after teaching high school English for 40 years. He resides in Grand Forks.
Cliff Nordal, ’69, retired as president and CEO of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care. Cliff was Ontario’s longest serving hospital president. He and his wife, Patty, live in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.
1970s
Remember when, in 1971, Dr. Thomas J. Clifford became the eighth president of UND? 1971
Gary Joraanstad, ’71, retired after 38 years with Boeing as a human resources manager. He resides in Baton Rouge, La. with his wife, Debra. 1972
Ruth (Buckman) Feldman, ’72, assists both elementary and high school students in the resource room of the Powers Lake (N.D.) School District. She and her husband, Allan, reside in Stanley, N.D. 1973
Greg Page, ’73, chairman and chief executive officer for Cargill, has been elected to the Carlson Board of Directors. Carlson is a global hospitality and travel company headquartered in Minneapolis. Greg is also a member of the UND National Campaign Steering Committee. He and his wife, Cynthia (Chally), ’75, live in Wayzata, Minn. 1974
Scott L. Fredericksen, ’74, has been appointed Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Foley & Lardner LLP. He and his wife, Dana, reside in Great Falls, Va.
Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net
1940s
ALUMNI NEWS
Mike McKenna, ’74, a longtime division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, retired after a 31-year career with the agency. He and his wife, Jamie (Smith), ..’72, reside in Bismarck. 1977
Terrance Zich, ’77, joined PT&C Forensic Consulting Services in DeLand, Fla. He is a geotechnical branch supervisor working on forensic geotechnical and sinkhole studies throughout Florida. He and his wife, Kathy, reside in Orange City, Fla.
1979
Russ Kubik, ’79, is the new executive vice president and chief operations officer for Edgewood Management Group. He will oversee operations for the group, which owns, operates and manages 28 senior living communities in the Midwest. He and his wife, Ione, reside in Grand Forks.
Remember when, in 1980, Starcher Hall and the Wilson Laird Core and Sample Library were dedicated at Homecoming, while ground was broken for an addition to the Chester Fritz Library? Dean Haas, ’80, ’83, is an associate attorney with Larson Latham Huettl LLP in Bismarck, where he lives.
If you’d like to learn more about starting a chapter or finding one in your area, visit undalumni.org.
ORGANIZING MACHINE: ALUM TAKES ON CHAPTER COORDINATING DUTIES WITH GUSTO Erin (Barney) Isenhart has a lot on her plate as it is, working at an Omaha, Neb., insurance company and a side photography business. But the 2001 UND graduate has added another helping to that heaping plate by becoming a UND Alumni Association chapter coordinator. Isenhart started planning small parties for the Omaha chapter last year, but with the University of Nebraska-Omaha men’s hockey program set to join the WCHA this winter, she saw an opportunity
Ἅ lu m n i R e v ie w | spring 2011
1980s
1980
Erin (Barney) Isenhart, ’01, shows off her school pride at Qwest Center Omaha at the UND/UNO men’s hockey game.
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Donovan “Chip” Stetson, ’79, joined Nick Storhaug, CPA. After owning and operating his own business for 30 years, Stetson made the decision to close his business and become an employee instead of an employer. He lives in Lisbon, N.D., with his wife, Cindy (Hammer), ’78.
to make a big splash. “It was the perfect time to get this chapter up and running the right way,” says Isenhart. With the Fighting Sioux set to visit UNO in November 2010, Isenhart started preparations in July. “We were really just trying to spread the word,” says Isenhart. “Just really working on getting the message out there to kick off the WCHA in Omaha.” The work intensified as the series approached, but Isenhart used the resources of the UND Alumni Association to identify graduates in the Omaha area and get help in the planning. “I found that Karen Ryba and Pam Laffen and anyone I contacted at the Alumni Association were extremely helpful,” says Isenhart. “Easy to work with, encouraging.” With a bar and grill near Qwest Center Omaha lined up for the first night’s pre-game party, Isenhart could only hold her breath and hope for success. Within minutes of opening the doors, she knew all the planning had been worth it. “Looking around the party Friday night, I was amazed,” says Isenhart. “It was just an outstanding turnout. It was standing room only. “I felt like I was home,” says the Michigan, N.D., native. “It was a little piece of home that weekend. I was exhausted, but it was definitely worth it.” With the big splash event behind her, Isenhart hopes to continue to make waves as head of the Omaha chapter. She believes all the planning for the hockey parties will make future events easier to plan. “It was a lot of work for the large event,” Isenhart reflects, “but I think the thing people need to know is that starting a new chapter is hard to do, but once you have the connections and have the place that will host your events, it’s really not that difficult and there is really a lot of support from the Alumni Association.” “Erin is so energetic and enthusiastic in her role as a chapter coordinator,” said Karen Ryba, associate director of alumni programming and outreach. “It’s important to her to provide UND fans of all ages with an exciting venue to develop and grow relationships. The fact that she is very organized is a huge plus and makes our jobs in Grand Forks a lot easier.” Isenhart says being involved with UND alumni far from campus is rewarding. “It’s a fun thing to do,” she says. “A great way to stay connected to UND. It’s a great way to network and meet new people.” By Milo Smith
1981
Doug Huber, ’81, is a loan officer at Harwood (N.D) State Bank. He and his wife, Carole, live in Fargo.
Mary Mitchell, ’81, joined the staff of Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson in Bismarck as an archaeologist in the energy group. She and her husband, Robert Christensen, ’82, live in Bismarck. Karen (Coyle) Tripp, ’81, is the executive vice president for marketing and communication for Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., property-casualty and life insurer. She oversees brand management and advertising, executive and employee communications, media relations and
2-SPORT STAR RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS AWARD Former University of North Dakota softball and hockey standout Casie Hanson, ’10, has been named a 2011 recipient of the prestigious NCAA Top VIII Award, presented annually to eight outstanding student-athletes who have completed their eligibility. The award recognizes outstanding athletic, academic, community service, and leadership accomplishments. Recipients are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, made up of eight athletics administrators at member institutions, in addition to nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes. Hanson played hockey at UND from 2005-09 and softball from 2006-10. A native of St. Peter, Minn., Hanson led the Fighting Sioux
philanthropic activities. She and 1984 her husband, Edward, reside in Patty (Dooley) Kline, ’84, is the Hartford, Conn. new dean of College Outreach at the North Dakota State College 1983 of Science in Wahpeton, N.D., Lori (Ludwig) Tweten, ’83, where she resides with her has been promoted to customer husband, Thomas. service and sales supervisor at Gate City Bank in Grand Forks where she resides with her husband, Tom, ’83.
softball team to a Great West Conference (GWC) championship in 2010 and was named GWC Player of the Year and the GWC Tournament Most Valuable Player. Hanson, who received her degree in community nutrition, also earned her third ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honor and was named the GWC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A two-time Division II softball All-American, Hanson graduated as the program’s all-time leader in batting average (.452), hits (278), home runs (32) and runs scored (133). During her four years on the Sioux hockey team, Hanson was a three-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Scholar-Athlete and WCHA AllAcademic Team selection. She won the team’s Academic Award in each of her four seasons and was named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree as a senior. In 2007-08, Hanson was named WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year. In a video posted on the NCAA website, Hanson offers advice to young athletes. “Work hard both academically and in your sport,” she says. “You only get four years at this and those four years go by really quick; trust me. So work hard, work to your potential, work past your potential and you’ll do great!” “This is a great honor for the university to have a studentathlete of the caliber of Casie Hanson,” said UND Athletic Director Brian Faison, “and a great testament to Casie as to what she’s done as a student and as an athlete at the University of North Dakota.” Hanson is currently a graduate assistant coach with the Bemidji State University women’s hockey team. Previous notable NCAA Top VIII Award recipients include Tiki Barber, Drew Brees, John Elway, Doug Flutie, Rebecca Lobo, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Cheryl Miller, Tim Tebow and Steve Young. By Jayson Hajdu
www.undalumni.org 45
Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net
Lori Orser, ’80, is the author of the book “Spooky Creepy North Dakota,” which is based on eyewitness accounts of strange goings-on in locations in the state. Her second book, “Spooky Creepy South Dakota,” will be released sometime this spring. Lori lives in Bismarck.
ALUMNI NEWS
Shelly Matthews, ’84, has published a new book, “Perfect Martyr: The Stoning of Stephen and the Construction of Christian Identity,” (Oxford University Press, 2010). She and her husband, George Frein, live in Greenville, S.C.
Paul Sukut, ’84, has been named chief financial officer for Basin Electric Power Cooperative. He has been employed by Basin or its subsidiary, Dakota Gasification Co., for 27 years. He lives in Bismarck with his wife, Colette.
1985
1987
Connie (Johnson) Hovendick, ’85, received the Director of the Year award from the North Dakota Special Education Study Council, recognizing her for outstanding leadership in the field of special education. She and her husband, Dave, reside in Warwick, N.D.
Steve Dusek, ’87, has been named president and chief executive officer of Dakota Certified Development Corp. in Fargo. He and his wife, Suellen, live in Fargo.
UND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND UND FOUNDATION ADDS NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Scott T. Jagodzinski, ’87, is chief executive officer of Mediaspace Solutions, Inc. in Norwalk, Conn. Scott and his wife, Jackie (Muellenbach), ’87, live in Eden Prairie, Minn. James Hovey, ’87, ’96, was chosen by Governor John Hoeven to fill a vacant North Dakota district judge’s seat in New Rockford, N.D. He and his wife Annette (Dufault), ’87, reside in Grand Forks and are looking forward to moving back to his hometown of New Rockford. Scott Hasbrouck, ’87, joined the staff of Brady Martz & Associates, Grand Forks, in its tax department. He’ll assist clients with federal, state and international taxation issues. Scott and his wife, Patricia, reside in Thompson, N.D.
Marc Chorney grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UND in 1981. He was a four-year letterwinner in hockey and went on to play professional hockey in the NHL for five years. He was inducted into the UND Letterwinners Association Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1992, he started what is now Rockland Industrial Products, LLC in Red Wing, Minn. Rockland currently has five manufacturing facilities in Canada and the U.S. that supply floors to trailer manufacturers and cabinets to Home Depot and Menards. Marc and his wife, Lynn, ’82, live in Hastings, Minn. They have four children: Terra, Taylor, Nicole and Marcus.
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Jody Feragen earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UND in 1978, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. She also attended Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. Jody is the senior vice president and chief financial officer for Hormel Foods Corp., and oversees all financial areas including accounting, information technology, internal audit, investor relations and treasury. Jody’s husband, Duane, is also a 1978 graduate of UND. They have two grown daughters, Kari and Kelsey.
John O. Larsen, ’87, has been elected by the board of directors of Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL) to serve as the company’s president. John and his wife, Theresa, live in Waunakee, Wis. Brenda Zent, ’87, has accepted a position with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the International Tax Counsel (ITC). Brenda lives in Arlington, Va.
1989
1991
1992
James Fleming, ’89, was named director of the state Department of Human Services’ Child Support Enforcement Division. He and his wife, Terri (Rude), ’90, reside in Bismarck.
Vincent Godon, ’91, Nancy (Jeurissen) Godon, ’91, ’95, and Kelly (Kramlich) Serr, ’08, have published “Reshaping the Tornado Belt,” a book about a tornado that devastated Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, Minn., UND and the surrounding area in June 1887. The book not only details the tornado, but also digs into the history and important people who helped build the region. Vince and Nancy reside in Grand Forks, and Kelly lives in Aberdeen, S.D.
Charlie Stock, ’92, was inducted into the NDSU Bison Athletic Hall of Fame. Charlie was an All-American linebacker for the Bison. After getting his undergrad degree at NDSU, he went to the UND School of Law, where he graduated first in his class. He and his wife, Sally, reside in Crookston, Minn.
Stacey (Flanders) Neameyer, ’89, is the portfolio director of StuartCo, one of Minnesota’s largest apartment management firms. She and her husband, Blair, ’87, reside in Lakeville, Minn.
1990s
Remember when, in 1992, UND’s television program, Studio One, was named the best college-produced news/ public affairs/magazine show in the nation by the National Association of College Broadcasters?
1993
Todd Leingang, ’93, ’94, was promoted to MedCenter One sports medicine supervisor. He and his wife, Colleen (Frohberg), ’93, ’94, live in Bismarck.
DELTA GAMMAS UND Delta Gammas from the pledge class of 1957 had a reunion on Pelican Lake, Minn. this past summer. It’s the sixth time since graduation that the group has gotten together. Pictured front row from left: Sharon (Coyne) Exel, ’61, and Pat (Borgman) Filipi, ’61. Second row from left: Joanne (Register) Hubbard, ’61, Diane (Stenehjem) Anderson, ’61, and Sharon (Seiffert) Marshall, ’61. Third row from left: Lynn (Lagerberg) Ringer, ..’61, and Liz (Burke) Lucas, ’59. Back row from left: Margaret (LaVoy) Schoenborn, ’61, and Mara (Aton) Ingwalson, ’61.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Janelle Miedema, ’93, is the director of Counseling Services for Catholic Charities North Dakota. She and her husband, Adrian Allard, reside in Fargo. David Swenson, ’93, has been promoted to lead economic development at Charlotte Regional Partnership as senior vice president of the department. He lives in Fort Mill, S.C., with his wife, Anna.
Leo Ryan, ’94, ’97, is the city attorney for Carrington, N.D., and a partner in the Jamestown law firm Dalsted and Ryan, PC, which also represents the city of Jamestown, N.D., where he lives.
1997
Julie (Dahlgren) Bruhn, ’94, is the associate director for patient care at the Fargo VA Medical Center and Affiliated Clinics. She and her husband, Joel, have a home in Moorhead, Minn. Kevin McKinnon, ’94, is the new president of the Greater Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corp. He and his wife, Rachel (Kovar), ’93, live in Fargo.
Waylan Starr, ’94, is the new activities director at Valley City (N.D.) High School, where he also teaches social studies. He and his wife, Ranetta (Gau), ’94, reside in Valley City.
1998
1994
Barb Solway, ’94, joined AllisoNicole’s Interior Design and Floral in Grand Forks as a floral consultant. She lives in Grand Forks. 1995
Candace (Legacie) Beckman, ’95, joins REACH3 as account principal where she is responsible for creating strategic marketing solutions for a variety of hospitals and health systems. She and her husband, Scott, ’92, live in Beaver Dam, Wis.
FOND MEMORIES Alice Retzlaff Carlson, ’27, turned 104 in January. She is pictured with her niece, Ruth Retzlaff Lund, ’86. Ruth says Alice lives on her own and likes to talk about politics and current affairs. She fondly remembers her days on campus, including the time when faculty took a pay cut to help the University stay open.
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George Hellyer, ’97, was named superintendent of finance for the Grand Forks Park District. George and his wife, Rachel (Hemmes), ’99, live in Grand Forks. Debra (Schwanke) Follman, ’98, principal of Sweetwater Elementary School in Devils Lake, N.D., was honored in Washington, D.C. as one of the nation’s best K-8 principals. She is one of 62 elementary and middle school principals in the 2010 Class of National Distinguished Principals, chosen by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. She and her husband, Ricky, ’87, reside in Devils Lake. 1999
Andrea (Lindstrom) Holloway, ’99, is a sales director at Discovery Benefits in Fargo, where she resides with her husband, Doug, ’93.
Gregory Esposito, ’95, is a police officer with the Metro Transit Police Department in Minneapolis and was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant. He lives with his two children in Minneapolis.
Sarah Tunge, ’99, is the new fire manager for the North Dakota Forest Service. She develops, implements and directs statewide wildfire protection programs. She lives in Bottineau, N.D.
Dan Larson, ’95, ’04, is the junior high principal at Valley City, N.D., where he resides with his wife, Shari.
Michael Darwin, ’99, is the vice president and commercial banking relationship manager for Bank of the West in Fargo.
1996
2000s
Mason Engstrom, ’96, has been named director of national accounts for Diageo, the largest spirits company in the world. He and his wife, Kristi, reside in Dallas, Texas.
Remember when, in 2002, the J. Lloyd Stone Alumni Center building celebrated 100 years?
2000
2002
Jenny (Anderson) Steinhaus, ’00, has developed Nutrition in Action, a program that promotes healthy living through music, movement, reading and fun. Her program has received orders from 18 different states. She and her husband, Jeremy, reside in Devils Lake, N.D.
Rena Nordeng, ’02, ’07, and her husband, Ryan Zimmermann, ’03, ’07, both family medicine physicians, have joined Medcenter One Dickinson (N.D.) Clinic. They live in Dickinson.
Tony Stein, ’00, is the director of channel sales for Pedigree Technologies in Fargo, where he resides with his wife, Alexia. 2001
Andy Dunphy, ’01, has been named a financial representative for Country Financial in Fargo, where he lives. Joshua Gebur, ’01, ’05, has joined the general surgery team at Innovis Health in Fargo, where he lives. John Nelson, ’01, has been hired as an account manager at SimmonsFlint in Grand Forks. He and his wife, Jill (Gustafson), ’04, live in Grand Forks. Tanya (Luff) Skager, ’01, joined Medcenter One Dickinson (N.D.) Clinic as a family medicine physician. She and her husband, Chad, reside in Taylor, N.D. Mandy (Volk) Sorlie, ’01, ’07, joined Sanford Clinic Jamestown, specializing in family medicine. She and her husband, David, ’96, reside in Jamestown, N.D. Angela (Harmeson) Wood, ’01, ’05, specializes in pathology and practices at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, where she resides with her husband, Harry, ’04.
2003
Sean Bertie, ’03, has been hired by Johnson and Johnson Insurance Agency as a producer in the Moorhead, Minn. office. Sean is licensed to write personal, commercial, life and health insurance. He currently lives in Coon Rapids, Minn. Faye Duncan, ’03, was named the 2010 North Dakota Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year by the state Association of Career and Technical Educators. She is a teacher at May-Port-C-G and resides with her husband, Mark, in Hatton, N.D.
Shaun Christenson, ’04, is working in the neurology department of Innovis Health in Fargo, focusing on sleep medicine, electromyography, electroencephalogram, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. He lives in Fargo with his wife, Dana. Kimberly (Rowekamp) Christopherson, ’04, ’07, received the 2010 Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award from Morningside College. She is an assistant professor of psychology at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she resides with her husband, Caleb.
Peter Letvin, ’04, a research engineer, was hired by the UND Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), to work in the areas of hydrogen production, renewable energy production, fossil-fuel energy production and emission control technology development. He and his wife, Anna, live in Grand Forks. John Weber, ’04, will provide counseling services at South Central Human Service Center in Jamestown, N.D., where he resides.
Matt Jacobson, ’03, joined Alerus Financial as a relationship manager at its downtown corporate center location in Grand Forks, where he resides. Sheila Kemnitz-Hartje, ’03, is an occupational therapist at Altru’s Outreach Therapy in Grand Forks. She provides occupational therapy services in several communities in northeastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. She lives in Tyler, Minn. 2004
Daniel S. Ackerman, ’04, ’07, is a wildlife biologist/ natural resource specialist for Western Plains Consulting, Inc. Western Plains is a full-service environmental and natural resources consulting firm with corporate headquarters located in Bismarck, where he resides with his wife, Laura (West), ’06.
PROMOTING UND IN NYC Roger, ’70, and Ann Trobec show their UND pride outside the television studio of NBC’s Today Show in New York City.
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ALUMNI NEWS
2005
2006
Corey Kost, ’05, joined the team of real estate appraisers at Dakota Appraisal in Bismarck, where he resides with his wife, Kathryn (Ibach), ’06.
Brooks Burgum, ’06, and business partner Jordan Bastable are private equity investors who have launched Longwater Opportunities in Dallas, Texas.
Joshua Huffman, ’05, has been promoted to financial counseling supervisor of the Village Financial Resource Center in Fargo. He lives in Horace, N.D.
Meghan Compton, ’06, ’10, joined the law firm of Camrud, Maddock, Olson & Larson, Ltd., as an associate attorney with the firm. Meghan and her husband, Willis Stattelman, live in Grand Forks.
Amber Schatz, ’05, is a weekday reporter and weekend anchor for KXMB TV in Bismarck, where she lives. Emily Spicer, ’05, has started Wise Weight, an online program to help people plan and track their nutrition, physical activity and weight loss while developing healthy habits. She lives in Grand Forks. Jessica Veeder Scofield, ’05, won the top prize in the North Dakota Governor’s Photo Contest with a picture of her cowboy husband at the Maah Daah Hey Trail in western North Dakota. Jessica lives in Watford City, N.D., with her husband, Chad. Jennifer Ulland, ’05, ’08, has been promoted to lead intellectual property specialist/ contracts officer at the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) on the UND campus. Jennifer resides in East Grand Forks, Minn. Tisa (Dodge) Wade, ’05, is a customer service representative for the North Dakota Telephone Co. in Devils Lake, N.D., where she resides with her husband, Brandon, ’04.
Adam Dever, ’06, has been promoted to manager at Eide Bailly LLP in Bismarck, where he resides. Sean Foss, ’06, is an associate attorney at Kennelly & O’Keeffe Law Firm in Fargo. His primary focus is on commercial litigation. He and his wife, Jessica (Mostad), ’08, reside in Moorhead, Minn. Alyssa Shirek, ’06, has joined the UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation as Associate Director of Marketing. She resides in Grand Forks. 2007
Lindsay (Welle) Cox, ’07, has accepted a role as indirect loan product specialist at Alerus Financial’s Banksouth location in Grand Forks, where she resides with her husband, Nicholas. Kole Hetletved, ’07, has been promoted to senior associate at Eide Bailly LLP in Bismarck, where he resides. Alison Knudson, ’07, was named personal banker at American Federal Bank in Grand Forks, where she lives. Jessica (Nahnurk) Skjolden, ’07, is a family medicine physician at St. Andrew’s Health Center in Bottineau, N.D., where she lives.
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Brad Skari, ’07, joined Sanford Clinic Jamestown (N.D.), specializing in family medicine. He and his wife, Tammi, reside in Jamestown.
2009
2008
Aaron Fornshell, ’09, has joined Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. as an engineer in its Bismarck office and a field representative in Minot, N.D., where he lives.
Nicole (Hoffarth) Frize, ’08, is an inside sales representative for Pedigree Technologies in Fargo, where she resides with her husband, Chase, ’06. Casey Hansen, ’08, joined the Catholic Health Initiatives as a physical therapist and works at the Oakes (N.D.) Community Hospital and St. Francis Healthcare, Breckenridge, Minn. Casey lives in Fargo. Elizabeth (Hagen) Huso, ’08, joined the Northwood Public Schools as business manager. She and her husband, Scott, reside in Aneta, N.D. Jeanie McHugo, ’08, has been named program director for the Physician Assistant Program in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Travis Brown, ’09, is a consumer lender at Citizen’s State Bank in Cavalier, N.D. He lives in Bathgate, N.D.
Ryne Jungling, ’09, is a geography teacher at Mandan (N.D.) Public Schools, where he resides. Blake Riewer, ’09, has joined the Grafton (N.D.) Police Department. He lives in Grafton. Jay Schroeder, ’09, joined the staff of United Valley Bank in Grand Forks as a personal banker. He lives in Cavalier, N.D. Ryan Stroh, ’09, has joined Solien & Larson Engineering in Fargo as an engineer-in-training. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in West Fargo, N.D.
Jonathan Rentz, ’08, has joined Alerus Financial as a staff accountant at its Corporate Center location in Grand Forks, where he lives.
Rachel (Sinness) Thomason, ’09, is a new associate attorney with Larson Latham Huettl LLP in Bismarck, whre she lives with her husband, William, ’05, ’08.
Sarah Schlagel, ’08, has joined The Forum’s advertising department as a graphic artist in Fargo. She lives in Kerkhoven, Minn.
2010
Justin Weninger, ’08, joined Northland Financial as the electronic banking and marketing specialist in its downtown Bismarck location. He and his wife, Melinda (Kostelecky), ’08, reside in Bismarck.
Melissa (Bootz) Dillman, ’10, has joined the UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation as an accountant. Her husband, Edward, ’10, is an engineer at American Crystal Sugar. The couple resides in Grand Forks. Rebecca Faulhaber, ’10, is a project resource analyst in the resource management system group of the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) on the UND campus in Grand Forks, where she lives. AR
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ALUMNI NEWS
ADDITIONS
1
Rich, ’99, and his wife, Joy-el (Erie) Johnsen, ’99, Fargo, welcomed a son, Maxwell, on May 30.
2
Juliette Alexandra Ives, born Sept. 2, is pictured with her big sisters Jordyn, 7, and Jenna, 3. Their parents are Jason and Rachael (Bartig) Ives, ’00, of San Angelo, Texas.
3
William Norris, ’05, and his wife, Natalie, Atlanta, Ga., welcomed a son, John, on Nov. 6.
4
Timothy, ’08 and Jennifer (Braun) Mutchler, ’06, welcomed a daughter Evelyn Ruth on Oct. 6.
5
Wyatt, ’04, and Sara (Anderson) Johnson, ’06, are the proud parents of Beckem Lee, born Oct. 6.
6
Grady, ’06 and Holly (Clark) Nace, ’05, welcomed Diego Nace on March 19 in Costa Rica. His parents are graduates of the Aerospace program and the photo was taken during Diego’s first flight.
7
1
5
3
2 4 6
Greg Dalglish, ’85 and wife, Cathy, of Sierra Vista, Ariz. had baby Jesse on Dec. 7. Jesse is pictured with her big sister, Olivia, 7. CELEBRATIONS
8
addition or d like your xt If you woul ed in the ne ud to be incl n n o o ti ti ra lu b so le ce high-re iew, send a et. .n ni um al Alumni Rev d review@un ni um al ile b to o photo ook or m cept Faceb ac t no in o d d We publishe tos will be ed, uploads. Pho were receiv ey th which ion et cr is d the order in e , and at th ng ti it m er p space We look eview staff. of Alumni R celebrate! u helping yo forward to
Jillian (Krivarchka), ’08 and Jess Belling, ’08, were married in Grand Forks on March 29 and had their wedding reception at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
7
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Ἅ lu m n i R e v ie w | spring 2011
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www.undalumni.org 55
in memoriam 1930s Verna M. (Ziegenhagen) Torreson, ’31, Roseville, Minn. Stanley A. Moe, ..’32, Los Angeles, Calif. Lona G. (Ziegenhagen) Kittelson, ’33, Saint Paul, Minn. Herman C. Dahl, ..’36, Tacoma, Wash. Jean (Pratt)Severson, ..’36, Sioux Falls, S.D. Lucille M. (Brown) Nilson, ’37, Harlingen, Texas Byrne B. Sands, ..’37, Huntington Beach, Calif. Edwin W. Hanson, ’39, Sun City West, Ariz. Hope A. (Myklebust) Hugelmeyer, ’39, Rye, N.Y. Margaret E. (Paupst)Kruta, ..’39, Paradise, Calif. 1940s Doris A. (Krueger) Ballingrud, ’40, Saint Paul, Minn. Johann K. Benson, ’40, Upham, N.D. John P. Gray, ’40, ’61, Grand Forks John P. Herzig, ’40, Wheat Ridge, Colo. Elene N. (Whitney) Shjeflo, ..’40, Dickinson, N.D. Emil W. Baxstrom, ’41, Wooster, Ohio Raymond A. Kubicek, ..’41, Austin, Minn. Walter E. Wahl, ’41, Taft, Calif. Courtlan G. Hanson, .. ’43, Mayville, N.D. Lorraine M. (Kummeth) Theobald, ’43, Sherburn, Minn. Virginia S. (Bentley) Johnson, ..’44, Northfield, Minn. Joyce M. (Locklin) Arnason, ’45, Martinez, Calif. Ruth M. (Bridgeman) Schmid, ’45, Port Angeles, Wash. Joan (Gillanders) West, ’46, Upland, Calif. Betty A. (Johnson) Martinson, ’47, Grand Forks Dilys J. (Rowland) Midstokke, ’47, Freeport, Ill. Dorothy B. (Bergesen) Abrahamson, ’48, Brentwood, Tenn. Wesley T. Westrum, ’48, Cheney, Wash. Reinette K. (Murray) Webb, .. ’48, Sedro Woolley, Wash. Ledyard N. Burhans, ’49, Delano, Minn. Edward J. Harloff, ’49, Carlsbad, Calif. Abraham L. Haykel, ’49, Bismarck Leslie V. Miller, ’49, Phoenix, Md. William J. Mongovehhn, ..’49, Chipley, Fla. Harold L. Severson, ’49, Fargo
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1950s Rosemary M. (Sweeney) Barbour, ’50, Houston, Texas Robert C. Burns, ’50, Huntington Beach, Calif. Ivan C. Fletcher, ’50, Saint Paul, Minn. Dennis M. Mayer, ’50, Grand Junction, Colo. Robert R. Remark, ’50, ’58, Fertile, Minn. Lloyd W. Wilson, ’50, Rollins, Mont. Arnold L. Braaten,’51, Minot, N.D. Clifford A. Herman, ’51, ’57, Calgary, Alberta Charles E. Nelson, ’51, Bloomington, Minn. Waiva J. (Jasper) Kyllo, ’52, Larimore, N.D. Lester F. Blume, ’53, Edmonds, Wash. Orville M. Eidem,’53, Fargo Joan H. (Weber ) Flom, ’53, Edina, Minn. Robert W. Poppie, ’53, Nisswa, Minn. James L. Taylor, ’53, Watford City, N.D. Robert E. Wedin, ..’53, Grand Forks Madonna M. (Rose) Korhonen, ’54, Hibbing, Minn. David L. Milhollan, ’54, ’56, Littleton, Colo. Earle W. Schafer, ’54, The Dalles, Ore. Warren G. Borchert, ’55, Bismarck Shirley A. (Braaten) Swanson, ..’55, Rio Verde, Ariz. Robert P. Gust, ’56, ’63, Saint Paul, Minn. Jay T. Garske, ’57, Denver, Colo. Curtis E. McCamy, ’57, Audubon, Minn. Frank L. Steeves, ..’57, Waukesha, Wis. Ellard G. Briesemeister, ..’58, Minneapolis Van K. Carlson,’58, Owosso, Mich. Howard G. Freeberg, ’58, ’70, West Fargo, N.D. Ione W. (Wittwer) Olson, ’58, East Grand Forks, Minn. Erling T. Soli, ..’58, Gladstone, Ore. Sharon L. (Donnan) Ferguson, ’59, Auburn, Calif. Vincent J. Lee, ..’59, Grand Forks Donald G. Schulte, ’59, Leawood, Kan. John S. Skarohlid, ..’59, Cheyenne, Wyo. 1960s Peter V. Herda, ’60, Mandan, N.D. Jerome L. Ledermann, ..’60, Mauston, Wis. Raymond J. Stinar, ..’60, East Grand Forks, Minn. Julius H. Bertheau, ’61, ’63, Lake Jackson, Texas Everett I. Lee, ..’61, Blackshear, Ga.
Donald L. Beringson, ’62, ’66, ’71, Bemidji, Minn. Robert D. Burns, ..’62, Grafton, N.D. Charles E. Kankel, ’62, Columbus, Ga. Gary W. Monson, ..’62, Fullerton, Calif. Paul W. Peterson, ’62, Seattle, Wash. George R. Ward, ’62, ’63, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Ardith L. (Otto) Cemper, ..’63, Raymond, Wash. Kenneth N. Erickson, ’64, ’69, Wasilla, Ala. Joel A. Lindell, ’64, Hoople, N.D. Charles H. Pascoe, ’64, San Marcos, Texas Richard L. Crombie, ..’65, Oshkosh, Wis. Mary K. O’Donnell, ’65, ’85, Rolla, N.D. Joseph R. Sandaal, ’65, Silverton, Ore. Rosalie R. (Templeton) Grande, ..’66, Bovey, Minn. John M. Gray, ..’66, Page, N.D. Dean A. Knox, ..’66, Richfield, Minn. Richard G. Merchant, ..’66, Wyndmere, N.D. James N. Olson, ..’66, Bozeman, Mont. Shirley L. (Sollom) Foster, ’67, Grand Forks Shirley A. (Goihl) Hoffarth, ’67, Grand Forks Norris L. Jensen, ’67, Evansville, Wyo. Roy A. Wentz, ’67, Davis, Ill. James H. Engelter, ’68, Bismarck Charles D. Anderson, ’69, Gainesville, Ga. Mitchell D. Bohn, ’69, ’71, Flower Mound, Texas Lynn D. Larson, ’69, Roseau, Minn. Elynor L. (Chalmers) Schue, ’69, ’71, Shevlin, Minn. 1970s Merrill E. Dykema, ’70, Saint Francis, Minn. Carol S. (Sipma) Franks, ’70, Park River, N.D. David W. Lundeen, ..’70, Red Lake Falls, Minn. Geraldine (Bosard) McDonald, ..’70, Grand Forks Betty J. (Nimens) Ohman, ..’70, Hastings, Minn. Richard J. Smigielski, ’70, Melbourne, Fla. John Thurn, ’70, Jamestown, N.D. William B. Wagner, .. ’70, Portland, Ore. Bruce W. Ritter, ’71, Melrose, Fla. Lynn E. Appelgren, .. ’72, Grand Forks Helen B. (Norgaard) Osmon, ..’72, Bozeman, Mont. Jay V. Hoglin, ’73, Cushing, Minn. Douglas J. Loberg, ’73, Peoria, Ill. Carol R. Ralston, ..’73, Grand Forks Robert R. Iversen, ’75, Gilbert, Ariz.
Bradley L. Martin, ’77, Fargo Dennis D. Carlson, ..’78, Cloquet, Minn. Margaret V. Teachout, ..’78, Fort Yates, N.D. Delores G. (Omlie) Clute, ..’79, Tolna, N.D. Dagny A. (Rude)Mannie, ..’79, Tolna, N.D. Evelyn M. (Sanford) Skjervem, ..’79, Lakota, N.D. 1980s Dale S. Blonigen, ’80, Carrington, N.D. Evelyn E. (Swenson) Forde, ..’81, Lakota, N.D. Norman T. Sinclair, ..’82, Grand Forks John P. Olson, ’83, Grand Forks Beverly M. (Tollefson) Uhlenberg, ’83, Grand Forks Everett G. McLean, ’85, Gilby, N.D. Thomas P. Mitchell, ’85, ’86, West Fargo, N.D. June E. (Koehler) Piper, ’86, Grand Forks 1990s Richard R. Schultz, ’90, Grand Forks
2000s Adam J. Baker, ’04, Afton, Minn. Colleen T. Clauthier, ’07, Grand Forks Angela K. (Bailly) Johnson, ’08, Grand Forks FACULTY/STAFF William V. Borden, Royse City, Texas Loran J. Carl, Grand Forks Richard J. Geres, East Grand Forks, Minn. Gerald R. Green, Grand Forks Ronald J. Jorgenson, Apple Valley, Minn. Eugenia (Bruns) Moen, Grand Forks Edward O. Nelson, Grand Forks FRIEND Patrick Benedict, Sabin, Minn. Verna L. (Hanson) Berg, Grand Forks William V. Borden, Royse City, Texas John H. Bridgeman, Chattanooga, Tenn. Steven R. Bruggeman, Baudette, Minn.
Robert Case, Fort Myers, Fla. Buford T. Casebolt, Flint, Texas Earl Dahl, Gonvick, Minn. Joy Dyer, Waco, Texas Jacob Ell, Grand Forks Betty M. Ellis, Grand Forks Milton L. Kaiser, New Ulm, Minn. Roger D. Kossila, Brainerd, Minn. Jeannine M. Laughlin, Grand Forks John M. McGinley, Williston, N.D. Parnell Ostmo, Sharon, N.D. Richard J. Palmer, Bismarck Marie (Stoeffler) Richards, Grand Forks Margaret (Oelrich) Rydell, Park Rapids, Minn. Alpha (Tangen) Scott, Grand Forks Phyllis Stutrud, Dayton, Ohio Marjorie M. Vix, Nashville, Tenn. Ryan Wolfe, Centennial, Colo. Patricia Young, Nokomis, Fla.
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More than 775 alumni and friends gathered around the country to watch the UND men’s hockey team take on the University of Minnesota. The UND Alumni Association would like to thank the following UND friends for hosting satellite parties on January 14-15: Tom Nelson (Nashville), Ray O’Sullivan (Glendale & Mesa), Eric King (Marietta, GA), Greg Ferch (Eagle, ID), Damon Miller (Denver), Jim Hollarn (San Diego), Nikki Heyd (Cedar Rapids, IA), Brian Moe (Chicago), Nate Hildre (Bloomington, MN), Matt Solum (Billings, MT), Shelly Flom (Las Vegas), Kim Wright (Rapid City, SD), Leanne Norman (Salt Lake City), Mark Helling (Hudson, WI), Marshal Hagen (Seattle), Susan/Daryl Fellbaum (Rock Springs, WY), and Kari Mellone (New Bern, NC).
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Holiday Spirit
UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation staff took part in a toy collection drive this past holiday season. More than 200 toys were collected for the Toys for Tots program to give to children in need. The staff also collected 510 pounds of food to donate to the Grand Forks Salvation Army Food Cupboard.
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Save the Date!
UND Homecoming will be Oct. 17-23. For more info, visit undalumni.org/homecoming2011 58
Ἅ lu m n i R e v ie w | spring 2011
Al Reevviieew w Aluum mn nii R University University of of North North Dakota DakotaAlumni AlumniAssociation Association 3100 University Ave Stop 8157 3100 University Ave Stop 8157 Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157 Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157
OCEANIA CRUISES: Miami to Miami
February 26 – March 7, 2012
From $1,499 per person, double occupancy (including airfare) Discover Eastern Central America from the comfort of the elegant Marina, Oceania Cruises’ newest ship. Cruise the Caribbean to lush islands and ancient lands brimming with culture and natural splendor, where rainforests and colonial towns abound.
OCEANIA CRUISES: Valparaiso to Valparaiso
January 21 – February 7, 2012
From $3,999 per person, double occupancy (including airfare) Unveil the mysteries of Patagonia, discovering the unspoiled natural wonders, lost cities, and ancient civilizations along South America’s southwest coast while sailing aboard the intimate and elegant Oceania Cruises Insignia. Set sail from Valparaiso to Arequipa and take in its dazzling colonial architecture or admire magnificent ancient terraces in a nearby canyon. Visit the capital city of Lima, or travel inland to the legendary archaeological site of Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas.” Next are the charming fishing village of Pisco and the Nazca Lines, intriguing desert floor drawings that have remained virtually undamaged through the centuries. Visit historic Coquimbo and the Enchanted Valley’s stone engravings, and marvel at the snow-capped peaks, soaring waterfalls, and lush forests of the Patagonian wilderness from the Chilean ports of Puerto Montt and Puerto Chacabuco.
TO BOOK YOUR TRIP or to view other Alumni Travel options go to www.undalumni.org and click on Events & Travel. Or call 800.842.9023