Summer 2009 Alumni Review by UND Alumni Association & Foundation

Alumni Review Summer 2009

Universit y of Nor th Dakota A lumni A ssoc iat ion

An extreme North Dakotan: Remembering Thomas J. Clifford, 1921-2009

And the stories of other alumni and friends who live life to the extreme.

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Inside this issue

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ALUMNI REVIEW • Vol. 92 No. 2 • Summer 2009

F E ATUR E S

Tributes to Clifford

Thomas J. Clifford, an icon who made an impact

10 Stories about Tom

Alumni and friends share their memories about the legendary UND president emeritus

24 Standing on the Roof of Africa The heartfelt journey of a mother and daughter who, together, reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro

D EPA RTM E N TS

2 Message from the Executive Vice President

Addressing Extreme Economic Times

14 A Letter from the President Living to the Extreme

15 What’s New News from Around Campus

28 Foundation News

Integrative Medicine: One alumnus’ vision of the ideal physician

32 Alumni Class News Who’s Doing What: News About your Classmates

44 In Memoriam On the cover: Thomas J. Clifford in 1971, his first year as president of UND.

Addressing extreme economic times

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dear alumni & friends,

The theme of this Alumni Review was planned some time ago as “extreme”, which will weave itself through several articles of interest. As noted briefly in our winter edition, the death of Tom Clifford ends almost seven decades of broad impact on our campus, by a man whose legacy will never be forgotten. Appropriately, I hope you enjoy the tributes to Tom beginning on page five, which are a sampling of the many stories we received after he died. Recent months truly have been extreme, the most volatile economic times for all but the Depression generation. Those of us who work on behalf of students and faculty through the Alumni Association & Foundation are feeling the effect firsthand of the economic consequences, as well. Our conversations with you in both personal visits and at our events have proven two things to us; you, too, are being effected yet your passion and commitment to our mission impacting UND remains as strong as ever. Together, we will weather this storm and come out of it stronger than ever as the economy inevitably improves. In the meantime, we have responsibly implemented changes in our budget and accompanying program of work with reductions totaling 15 percent. These changes target efficiency in all we do and force some changes you should notice. Our national event schedule will narrow while we use technology as a primary means to connect with alumni and friends. We are also “going green”. For example, you may now choose to receive the Alumni Review

online instead of in print by simply e-mailing alumnireview@undalumni.net with your request. Foundation thank you letters and tax receipts will be sent electronically wherever we have e-mail addresses. We will also be relying much more heavily upon the various booming social networking sites to enhance what we do, especially on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter. All are currently available through our Web site. Greater synergy with the University is another line of pursuit, as partnerships reduce redundancy and increase capability. Merging the Alumni Review and UND’s bi-annual publication Dimensions is one example. Surveys have shown you have great interest in campus information, and we hope this partnership best meets that need. By using all the above concepts and more, we are committed to fulfilling our mission, albeit in less traditional methods than before. Change is a constant in all our lives, though the recent pace has challenged even the most insatiable appetite for it. Through it all we are inspired by your commitment to the continued growth of UND. Students are the purpose and life of our campus, and they are facing challenges unlike any in decades. With endowments for scholarships impacted and other funding sources for students narrowed by the economy, your support for students is more important than ever. While sensitive to your circumstances, you should know a gift today will likely be the difference for a student on the verge of giving up on their dream of attending UND. Finally, as we mourn the death of an icon, Tom Clifford, who impacted generations, we are also energized as the presidency of Dr. Robert Kelley takes form. In a most friendly way, we have suggested to him that the last Irish UND president did pretty well, and we are quite confident he will, too! As always, our campus will be beautiful as ever this summer. I hope that if you’re in the area, you’ll take the time to visit. Even better, please call us ahead of your visit. We’d be happy to arrange for someone to show you around, and we promise you’ll leave impressed and most proud. Sincerely,

Tim O’Keefe, ’71

Executive Vice President and CEO UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation E‐mail: timo@undfoundation.org

Alumni Review Summer 2009

Universit y of Nor th Dakota A lumni A ssoc iat ion Vol . 92 No. 2 • Su mmer 2009

Executive Vice President and CEO Tim O’Keefe, ’71 Director of Alumni Relations Amanda Hvidsten, ’01 Editor Leanna Ihry, ’02 Designer Kirsten Gunnarson Contributing Writers University Relations Jordan Buhr, ’09 Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald Contributing Photography Chuck Kimmerle/University Relations

Board of Directors UND Alumni Association President William Guy III, ’68, ’76 Vice President Jim Williams, ’62 UND Foundation President Linda Pancratz, ’76 Vice President Rick Burgum, ’68 Directors: Carolyn (Howland) Becraft, ’66; Kristine (Hefta) Brindle, ’78; Jill (LaGrave) Burchill, ’76; Patrick Dirk, ’71, ’72; Robert Erickson, ’71, ’74; Mark Fliginger, ’74; Robert Gallager; Tim Haas, ’68; Bart Holaday; Robert O. Kelley; Chuck Kluenker; Erwin Martens, ’83, ’85; Ken Mellem, ’66, ’68; Lauris Molbert, ’79, ’83; Jennifer Neppel, ’86; Diane Odegard, ’86; Tim O’Keefe, ’71; Greg Page, ’73; Keith Reimer, ’73; Al Royse, ’72, ’73, ’76; Robert Solberg, ’69; Greg Weisenstein; 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 Leanna Ihry, editor, at 800.543.8764, 701.777.0831 or alumnireview@undalumni.net.

Stories of Tom Clifford and Other Extreme Alumni

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When we originally planned the theme of this issue we decided to focus on extreme alumni. Upon the death of former UND President Tom Clifford on Feb. 4, we considered changing directions, as we wanted to dedicate much of this issue as a tribute to him. After further consideration, however, we concluded this is the perfect issue to focus on extreme alumni. Tom Clifford was one of the most extreme people to ever impact UND, the region and the state of North Dakota. As a UND student, dean of the business school and president of the University from 1971 to 1992, he was extreme in the kindness he showed toward students, faculty and staff. He was extreme in how he positively influenced nearly everyone he met. And, his death leaves an extreme void in the hearts of his family and those who knew him. We hope you enjoy reading the many stories about Tom in this issue, as well as a look at other extreme alumni, students, and faculty and staff on campus.

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Tributes to

Jay Weingarten was a freshman at UND in the early 1980s, married with a 1‐year‐old daughter and facing a $25 parking fine that he felt he didn’t deserve and knew he couldn’t afford. The freshman went to Twamley Hall and asked to see President Thomas J. Clifford. “Tom came right out to greet me, invited me into his office and had me explain the violation,” said Weingarten, now a fundraiser for a Catholic charity in Chicago. “He said that he agreed with me, ripped the ticket up, called the parking office – then proceeded to bounce my daughter on his knee. “I’ll never forget that tender moment.” From down the street and from across the country, from former students who met him one memorable time when they were young to the high and mighty in business, education and politics, the tales and tributes came like a flood [that] Thursday, a day after Clifford died at the age of 87. “As an educator, entrepreneur, Marine, lawyer and public servant, Tom was a towering figure in North Dakota and beyond,” Gov. John Hoeven said. “UND’s historic expansion into the fields of aviation, medicine, energy development and technology stand as memorials to his vision and energy,” he said. “Throughout his long life, he understood the future and he embraced it, and for that he will long be remembered and admired.” Sen. Byron Dorgan, D‐N.D., said Clifford was his advisor when he was a student in UND’s business school, “and I know that he influenced thousands of young North Dakotans during his career.” The Legislature adopted memorial resolutions praising his “compassion and commitment to others,” and Grand Forks Mayor Michael Brown said Clifford “was a leader, a visionary and, quite simply, a very good man.”

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Pencil drawing created by Alumni Review Designer Kirsten Gunnarson

by Chuck Haga, ’76, ’78, Grand Forks Herald

Richard LaFromboise, former tribal chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, called Clifford “one of the strongest fighters” when it came to helping Indian people onto an educational track. “He bent over backwards working with the different departments to make the university attractive to Indian students who wanted to excel,” LaFromboise said. “If he said something, it was his word. That’s how I as an Indian leader appreciated him.” In his final year as president, Clifford was honored and thanked by Indian students at their annual Wacipi (powwow). Ambrose Littleghost, a Fort Totten elder, led him around the circle as drummers and singers performed a traditional honor song and past, current and future Indian students shook his hand.

Listening

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Clifford was president when UND tried to make the college experience better for black students, students with disabilities, international students and women, as well. “What Clifford has meant for us on the Norwegian side, in the cooperation with UND and Grand Forks, can never be over‐estimated,” said Steinar Opstad, who with the president’s support established the American College of Norway in 1990. “He understood our idea and knew that UND would be the best partner,” Opstad said, writing from Norway. “My admiration for Tom Clifford is unbounded.” Mary Seaworth, who earned a law degree in 1983, was a young graduate student in 1971‐72 and a member of the new Women’s Information Collective, which wanted an office on campus. At one point, the women threatened a Monday morning sit‐in – in Clifford’s office. The Friday before the scheduled sit‐in, Seaworth got a call from the president. “He was pleasant and respectful, especially considering that I was being very demanding,” she said in her posted remembrance. “I knew that if I could see his eyes they would have a twinkle – not because he was laughing at us but because he knew it was important to listen to us.” Clifford found office space for the women, and some funding. “That was the beginning of the Women’s Center,”

a class act Other former students filled a UND Alumni Association Internet memorial page and the Herald’s comments section [that] Thursday with individual accounts of Clifford’s impact, including David Dickey’s story of his recruitment in 1975 by Sioux basketball Coach Dave Gunther. The coach clinched the deal, he said, by taking him to meet Clifford. “I was so impressed … I signed to become a student‐athlete that same week,” Dickey said. “Upon graduation in 1977, he personally shook my hand and wished me well. I’ll never forget him.” “Marty” from Moorhead, Minn., offered a tribute list: “Class act. Kind heart. Firm handshake. Warm smile.” From Chicago, “Jie” wrote that he was the first student from the People’s Republic of China to come to UND in 1982, and Clifford helped cut through bureaucracies so he could teach Chinese while completing his Ph.D. degree. “President Clifford was an extremely kind and caring man,” he wrote. “My wife, Hong Chen, and I cherish our years at UND when Mr. Clifford was the president, and we will forever miss this outstanding leader.” In the fall of 1973, Clifford invited 16 randomly selected students to a catered lunch in the Memorial Student Union. Duane Halvorson, now an English professor at Minot (N.D.) State University, was among them. He had lost a brother in Vietnam. “We all showed up in our blue jeans with our books and spent a very special two hours with President Clifford,” Halvorson said. “It was his way of reaching out. We talked about Vietnam and everything from our personal finances to our hobbies, families, hopes and dreams. “The luncheon … was an island of calm in those troubled times. President Clifford made us all feel like family and was genuinely interested in each and every one of us. With his gift for intimacy, he somehow made us all feel a bit better about the world in which we lived, about UND, and about the future.”

Right for the job Clifford was a leader and a leading figure, but he knew janitors, mechanics and food‐service workers by name “and treated them with great respect,” said Earl Strinden, former head of the UND Alumni Association and Republican leader of the state House of Representatives. “They looked at Tom as a friend,” he said. That was part of what helped win Clifford the job as UND president, Strinden said. He was among state leaders who championed the young man from Langdon, N.D., in 1971 despite the decision by a presidential nominating committee not to submit his name to the State Board of Higher Education. “We were dismayed by that,” Strinden said. “We prevailed on a majority of the board to take the three names submitted but also use their prerogative to add a name, and they did that. They added Tom’s name.” The maneuver “caused quite an uproar on campus,” he said, but he thought Clifford was “the right man at the right time because of the relationships he had, the comfort level he had with people, the personality.” Clifford brought that personality to his relationship with UND super‐donor Ralph Engelstad, too. “Ralph liked Tom,” said Strinden, who accompanied Clifford on many visits to

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Seaworth said. Similarly, Paul Pitts, an African American who was UND student body president in 1976‐77 and a member of the Grand Forks City Council in the late 70s, wrote in an e‐mail to the Herald that Clifford’s “vision and commitment to diversity is reflected in the number of minority students who attended UND.” Also, many of those students “went on to have successful careers in the military, business, industry and higher education,” Pitts said, because Clifford hired minority advisors and counselors and helped fund a black cultural center.

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Las Vegas to woo the former hockey player turned benefactor. “Ralph respected Tom.” So did students who didn’t have $100 million for a hockey palace. “While working behind the front desk at the YMCA, I had to tend to a personal emergency,” a man named William wrote on one of the memorial sites. “Tom Clifford, without being asked, took over my job and ran the desk. “He was a great man.”

students.” His compassion for “mavericks, rebels and the ‘wounded’ was legendary,” Gjovig said. “Tom was that rare leader who had vision yet common sense, high expectations but a common touch. Clifford embraced the Center for Innovation when I brought him the idea in 1984, and he tackled and blocked so that I might run. I will be eternally grateful.”

saving a spot

pulling his weight

From Forestville, Calif., “Kate” remembered a day maybe 40 years ago when she had to pay a bill at Twamley Hall. In a hurry, she pulled into the first spot she saw: the spot reserved for then‐Vice President Clifford. “As I’m getting ready to leave my car, there’s a tap on the window. It was Tom Clifford, who pointed out that if I parked in an open space across the parking lot, I wouldn’t be ticketed. He went on to say that he would stand in the space to save it for me (and he did!).” Go back another five years or so, to the spring semester of 1964. “I was broke, with no money for meals for the remainder of the semester,” Roger Schauer wrote. “A friend suggested I go to Tom Clifford’s office, where Mr. Clifford attentively heard my story. Without pause he opened his billfold and gave me $100. “I asked about signing a promissory note (he had never met me before). He waved me off, stating that (he knew) I would ‘repay in spades.’” Lara Olsen Prozinski, who graduated from UND near the end of Clifford’s tenure as president, shared a sorority with his step‐daughter, Kim, and occasionally visited at the president’s house. “President Clifford was always someone I felt comfortable talking to if I had an issue with a class or instructor,” she recalled. “He always led me onto the right path to solving those problems.” Gordon Henry, who worked under Clifford as a counselor and dean, remembers seeing Clifford “work the tables” at a restaurant where students liked to study late at night. “Tom would sometimes go there at midnight and go from table to table and ask how they were doing.” Henry also recalled a time when two students came to him looking for help. “I checked it out and found they were pulling my leg,” he said. “And then I found out they had gone over my head and told their problem to President Clifford, who helped them out. “I told President Clifford, ‘They pulled your leg.’ He said, ‘So?’ He said that in his time at the university, he had found that 95 percent of the people are honest, and he’d rather be right 95 percent of the time – by helping – than be right 5 percent of the time by refusing.” Lyle Beiswenger went to work in the UND Bookstore in 1966, and – despite holding only a bachelor’s degree – rose to be a university vice president himself. “Without Tom, I never would have had that opportunity,” he said. ... Bruce Gjovig, director of UND’s Center for Innovation, saluted Clifford for his “great interest in the talent on campus, especially

“Tom had a way of nudging you into developing yourself, and when he thought you were ready he would reward you with more responsibility,” said David Vorland, who was Clifford’s executive assistant. “Nothing disappointed him more than lack of follow‐through. And if you were successful, he allowed you to take the bows.” It was hard for good friends to see him weakened in his last days. Strength, confidence and spirit had defined the man well into old age. Toward the end of his presidency, as they compared notes on memorable vacation destinations, Clifford told Vorland about a visit he had once made to Nantucket, Mass. “He said he had struck up a conversation on the docks with a group of lobster fishermen, and they were impressed by his knowing interest in their work,” Vorland said, “so they invited him to go out with them the next day.” Clifford jumped at the chance, and when the lobster boat came back from the sea he was praised for pulling his weight with the crew. “What year was that?” Vorland asked the 70‐year‐old Clifford. “Last summer.” ■ To read more about Cliffords’s life visit www.undalumni.org. note: This article first appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on Feb. 6, and was reprinted with slight changes and some additions in a special insert on the day of Clifford's funeral, Feb. 11.

Gifts in memory of Tom Clifford can be made to the Thomas J. Clifford Endowment through the UND Foundation by calling 800 . 543 . 8764 or the Thomas J. Clifford & Gayle A. Clifford Entrepreneur Endowment for the C Student with Courage through the Center for Innovation by calling 701 . 777 . 3132.

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Stories about

We invited you to share stories about Tom Clifford and the response we received was overwhelming. Hundreds of e‐mails and letters came pouring in. We only have space to share a few in print, but if you log on to www.undalumni.org you’ll be able to read all of the submissions. Thank you for sharing your memories.

Saying Farewell to an Icon Tim O’Keefe, ’71, Grand Forks

Regular Guy Bill Schoen, ..’72, Grand Forks The mid 1980s and 90s were an exciting time for the Center for Aerospace Sciences at UND. Stunning progress and amazing potential marked the paths of Tom Clifford and John Odegard, as they pursued opportunity for UND. My business partner, Jim Kobetsky, and I were fortunate to be included in many of the adventures and challenges of their pursuit. One of the memories that displayed Tom’s nature occurred on a return flight from a presentation to the FAA. John was in the co‐pilot seat constantly teaching and learning the art of flying the Citation. The rest of us were comfortably seated in the passenger compartment discussing the presentation. Because of the odd number of passengers, somebody had to sit in the rear seat. This was truly an overflow seat that was not very comfortable and did not allow interaction with others because of its configuration. Of all people to occupy the seat, Tom insisted he be the one. I recall seeing him maintain his smile while he perspired and missed out on the conversation. I tried multiple times to convince him to switch seats with me, but he was determined to stay. Looking back, this small sacrifice said a lot about the man. He was the president of UND and very accomplished in his own right, yet willing to assure our comfort over his own.

I Have No Idea What I’m Going to Say Pat Ebertz, Minneapolis I had the honor of sitting next to Tom Clifford at a dinner where he was the keynote speaker. Known for his hilarious speeches I asked Tom, “What are you going to talk about in your speech?” “I have no idea what I’m going to say,” he said. I told him he had to be kidding, because he was going to be talking for 15‐20 minutes. He didn’t have any notes, or even a cheat sheet with the names of people in the organization. “Nope, I don’t know what I’m going to say until I’m right up to the microphone.” So there he went to the front of the room, leaning into the mic from the side of the podium like he was the coolest guy in the room (and he was). He spewed jokes, referencing members of the organization by name, stats, sharing stories, funny anecdotes, and then, after 20 minutes that felt like two, he finished. Applause and a standing ovation by the dinner

crowd around us followed, “Great job, sir! Come on, you wrote it at home before you came here, right,” I said. “No,” said President Clifford, “I always just wing it, and hope nobody falls asleep!” How cool was he? Very!

A Man of Kindness and Caring Bill Burwell, ’68, ’69, Bemidji, Minn. Tom showed kindness and caring to my father, who worked at the North Dakota Mill for 40 years. One of my older brothers was attending UND and struggling academically, to the degree that it was a question whether he would be re‐admitted. My dad and brother visited with the dean and he was turned down for re‐admittance. My father made a call to Tom Clifford. Tom immediately set up an appointment for my dad and brother to visit with him. When they arrived in Tom’s office, he treated my dad, who did not finish high school, with all the respect he would show a full professor. Tom listened to my dad’s request to re‐admit my brother. He asked my brother about his commitment to getting a UND education. Despite one recommendation that my brother not be re‐admitted, Tom Clifford reached out his hand and immediately put the re‐admittance process into place. My brother listened to Tom and completed his degree in education, with honors. As grateful as we were to Tom for allowing my brother to go back and finish school, I have always been grateful for how respectfully he treated my dad, and raised his self esteem to a level where he felt important and respected by such a great person as Tom Clifford. My dad died a few years ago at age 92. Up until his death, he would often speak of Tom and that day in his office and how much respect he had for him as a person.

He Had a Way with People of All Ages and Recruited Talent Ellen S. (Graff ) Myrick, ’78, Grand Forks In 1987 when my son, Matt, was four years old, I took him to an event sponsored by the Grand Forks chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). I don’t remember the name of the event, but leaders in the community were invited to spend an hour or two reading to children. I dropped Matt off at the center of the Columbia Mall and went to do some shopping. Imagine my surprise when I came back to pick up Matt and found his reader was Tom Clifford. They had read a book about dinosaurs, and apparently Matt had many comments and questions as they went through the book. Tom asked me Matt’s age and commented he would have thought the questions were from a much older child. He closed our conversation with these words, “You be sure to send him to UND. We can always use some bright inquisitive students in our school.” Several years later I ran into Tom at a football game and he remembered me and asked if my son was at UND yet. I said, “No,

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We lost an icon of incredible proportion and a great friend to many when Tom Clifford passed away. In my role as executive vice president and CEO of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, I have the privilege of meeting with alumni across the country who have achieved uncommon success in all the disciplines our great University represents. I have a great regret over the past seven years that I didn’t capture the unbelievable number of “Tom Clifford” stories which exhibit the many ways Tom changed lives. The common thread in all the stories was his incredible ability to apply a personal touch for all, whether you’re a “common person”, a U.S. Senator, a kingpin of commerce or industry, or head of state. In one conversation with Tom, you could talk to a war hero, an attorney who wrote the constitution for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, a corporate board member of national companies, and, most importantly, the man who drove regional higher education to levels only he dreamed. He was a cherished mentor and hero who will be missed immensely.

he still needs to finish high school, but that’s where he is planning to attend college.” Matt did attend UND on a Presidential Scholarship. Tom was amazing and his memory will long linger throughout the state and nation in the many UND graduates around the world who were inspired by his smile and interest.

Saying Farewell to a Great North Dakotan Mike, ’69 I was ready to graduate in the spring of 1969 when I received a letter informing me I was missing three credits in a non‐major field that had never been mentioned to me by my so‐called advisor. I tried all the avenues at Twamley and kept running into dead ends. Finally, I asked for an appointment with Dean Clifford and was promptly scheduled. I told him I was married, had a child, and, more importantly, had a job with Johnson & Johnson waiting for me upon graduation. He looked at my letter and we saw the class they wanted me to take was only offered in the spring. He agreed it would be foolish for me to attend UND one more year for a non‐major class. So, he told me not to worry … he would handle it, and he did! How different my life could have been if I wouldn’t have had his help.

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Another Clifford Band-Aid

spoke on positive attitudes. When it was Dr. Clifford’s turn he got up and said, “Well I might as well sit down because the valedictorian stole my speech.” He, too, spoke about positive attitudes and used two of the same quotes I used in my speech. After graduation he came through the reception line and as he was shaking my hand he asked, “And where are you going to school young lady?” I told him UND. The second time I met him was at the dedication of the new Rehab Center. I was employed there while attending UND. After the dedication, he was walking through the crowd. Somehow this man recognized me, came right over to me and said, “So, have you been stealing any speeches lately?” I was so amazed he had such a memory. The world has lost a great man.

Truly a Great Man Darcy (Deutsch) Cascaes, ’93, Apple Valley, Minn. I was fortunate enough to attend UND during the last few years of the “Clifford Era.” I was a member of the women’s basketball team and President Clifford showed tremendous support for the program. I suffered a season ending injury that landed me in the hospital for a few days. During my hospital stay, President Clifford took the time out of his busy schedule to pay me a visit. That visit had an incredible impact on me and it is a memory I will have for the rest of my life.

Doug Manbeck, ’76, Lakota, N.D.

Twinkle in his eyes

As a law student at UND from 1973 to 1976, I was the recipient of what I later learned was called a “Clifford Band‐Aid.” I had student loans from my undergraduate days at NDSU, and was borrowing my way through law school with student loans I would need to start repaying nine months after I graduated or stopped attending. I got married in the fall of 1974, and because my wife was employed, I received a letter from the UND financial aid office saying I would have to immediately begin repaying the loans. I called and got an appointment with President Clifford, and he asked me if I had done any legal research on this repayment question. I said I would, and brought him the information I found. He immediately called the Financial Aid office, and I did not have to start repaying the loans until after I graduated. That was a mighty big band‐aid for me.

One particularly fond memory I cherish came from a trip I took with Tom to the NCAA Division II National Championship in Alabama in 2001. The Fighting Sioux slugged it out for four quarters but trailed by four points with time almost done. The Sioux connected on a short pass, but suddenly the runner broke free and scampered nearly 80 yards for the winning touchdown. Although Tom was seated in the president’s box alongside the president and a few boisterous alumni from the other team, Tom didn’t shout or say much, but his deep grin and twinkling eyes revealed the thorough happiness and pride he felt.

I stole his speech Jacki O., ’78 The first time I met Tom Clifford was at my high school graduation in 1973. He was there to give the commencement address. During the graduation ceremony, I was first up to give my valedictorian speech. I

A Congressional Record excerpt from Congressman Earl Pomeroy, (D‐N.D.), ’75, ’79, Bismarck

An Unpopular Call Jon Tufte, ’72, Fargo My most vivid memory of Tom Clifford occurred when he was the scoring official at Sioux basketball games. It was 1971, Coach Gunther’s first year as head coach, and we were playing our rival, the NDSU Bison. In overtime, forward Bill Rutz tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer for what we thought was a one‐point win. Of course the Bison thought

In the fall of 1968 I arrived at UND to begin my freshman year. My new roommate and I decided to try out a new game neither us had ever played before, handball. We got a ball and proceeded to the court where we had scheduled a one‐hour time slot. Finishing the event we proceeded to leave through the small door in the middle of the court. Waiting to come in that afternoon was Tom Clifford. President Clifford didn’t know me from Adam, but we exchanged pleasantries and as we were getting ready to leave he noticed I didn’t have any handball gloves and gave me his. I don’t know if he had another pair, but this random act of kindness is something I remember to this day.

on medical school, and I was waiting to hear about interviews to be accepted to several dental schools. Suddenly, this big, smiling man came over to us and introduced himself as President Clifford, and he wanted to know how everything was going for us. We discussed the uncertainty we were experiencing. I told President Clifford I had been waiting for months to hear from several schools regarding interviews and/or acceptance. President Clifford offered to have me come to his office the next day. He suggested he could make a few phone calls to check on the progress of my applications. I took him up on his offer, and went to his office, where I was greeted warmly. President Clifford asked me which of the schools I had applied to would be my first choice, and I told him I knew it would probably be a long shot, but it was Northwestern University. President Clifford called the dean of student affairs at Northwestern, who told him he was glad to hear from another university about an applicant because there were over 1,500 applicants for 105 positions. Out of the 1,500, there were over 800 in an acceptable pool, and Dean Vincent said he would offer me an interview. I went to the interview, and the rest is history. I eventually went on to specialize in oral and maxillofacial surgery, and have been practicing in Ohio for more than 25 years.

Remembering Fallen Soldiers

Parallel Parking

Paul Roswell Gaebe, ’87, ’94, Paynesville, Minn.

Sheila (Severtson) Matsubara, ’91, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I remember sitting at a table with a Tom Clifford during a Kappa Sigma dinner back in the 1980s. Tom smiled and mentioned how so many of us “young adults” sitting at the dinner table with him resembled many of his friends who had served with him during WWII. As he sat at our table, he could recall his fellow soldiers by name and who among us resembled them. He then briefly reflected upon the time when he was riding in a tank with the hatch open and it took a direct hit. The explosion lifted him right out of the tank, through the open hatch, and killed his crew. As he told us about the event, he rubbed an area above his left eyebrow where he said a small piece of shrapnel had lodged. I cannot remember if it was still there or if it had been removed, but the memory of that event was very clear to him. Tom never forgot his friends who were killed in action to defend our country. He obviously treasured every day of life and sought ways in which he could help others succeed and live a full life.

As a student intern with the Alumni Association, I had occasion to escort returning graduates to receptions at President Clifford’s home. On this particular day, I had parallel parked in his driveway a half dozen or so times as he patiently waited out front to receive his guests. You can imagine my nervousness as my passengers, several gray‐haired alumni, and the University president looked on as I repeatedly wedged a full‐sized van into what seemed like an unusually tight space. As I was picking up the final group of the day, President Clifford came over to me and said, “I’ve been watching you park, you really know how to handle that thing. You can drive for me anytime.” More than 20 years later, whenever I maneuver into a tight space, I think of Tom and smile.

Dental School Acceptance

He would do everything by “the book”, but if the need arrived, he would throw the book away and do the right thing. He was held in high regard and will always be by North Dakota history. ■

Handball David J. Naidl, ’72, Manitowoc, Wis.

Richard “Buzz” Ziegler, ’75, Toledo, Ohio I was studying at the Student Union with Brad Melland, ’75, and Bill Mayo, ’75. We were comparing notes on organic chemistry, which was consuming much of our free time. Both Brad and Bill were planning

My REGARD FOR TOM IS THIS Harvey Sand, Langdon, N.D.

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it was after the buzzer and they charged the scorers table. We waited (impatiently) for the referees to confer with the scoring official, Tom Clifford. He waived off the basket. If it was anyone other than Tom Clifford we might have put up a scene, but if Tom said the tip‐in was late, it was late! He made this call in front of 6,000 rabid Sioux fans. He was elected president of the University the following year! He is a legend.

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Living to the extreme

UND President Robert Kelley and First Lady Marcia Kelley enjoy activities many may describe as “extreme”: kayaking, backpacking, sailing, windsurfing, cross-country skiing, and more. In fact, Marcia can often be found snowshoeing to meetings on campus, literally breaking new trails that help students, faculty and staff find the most direct routes between buildings.

dear alumni & friends,

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Welcome to the extreme edition of the Alumni Review. Here is a look at the kinds of stories you’ll find in the AroUND Campus section: There is the UND staff member and student who is a nationally recognized fitness champion. And, the nearly 70‒year‒old faculty member, triathlete and national swimming champion who competes in hard‐core cross‐country skiing. Another faculty member, well past the usual retirement age, is an international expert on Ernest Hemingway and is still editing UND’s prestigious North Dakota Quarterly. You’ll read about a UND graphic designer who tours world landmarks from the seat of

his bicycle, and a you’ll find out about a group of students who are among the nation’s most physically prepared in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program. You will also learn about a Grand Forks native and UND alum who works on the edge of civilization, and another alum who flies an Airbus A‐320 for his day job, and another, just for fun, flies MiG jets. I can’t think of anything more extreme than putting yourself in harm’s way to protect your country. So, I want to announce UND’s new Veterans Tuition Waiver program, which will allow any veteran of our United States armed forces to attend UND and pay the equivalent of in‐state tuition. These men and women have put

themselves on the line for our county. This is just our way of saying “Thank you!” To find out more details about the Veterans Tuition Waiver program, call Carol Anson at 701 . 777. 3363, or visit http://www.financialaid. und.edu/Veteran_Services. Happy reading,

Robert O. Kelley President

dear alumni & friends,

The UND Alumni Association and UND’s Office of University Relations have joined forces in an effort to bring you the best alumni magazine possible. University Relations is blending some of its publication resources into the Alumni Review. Now, much of your UND news will be brought to you through this one vehicle. As a result, Alumni Review readers will receive more in‐depth features about UND’s students and faculty and the impact the University is having through research and program endeavors.

If you have any questions or would like to offer suggestions, please e‐mail alumnireview@undalumni.net. We’re excited about this partnership and we hope you are, too. Sincerely, Leanna Ihry, ’02, Alumni Review Editor Peter B. Johnson, ’81, ’82, Executive Associate Vice President of University Relations

What’s New News from ARO

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Campus

A Partnership with University Relations

The Importance of Being ‘Ernest’

Longtime UND Professor Bob Lewis continues to develop his passion for literary legend Ernest Hemingway.

“What’s ‘retired’ mean? We all have 24 hours a day and I like to use them well. I live out in the country, do chores, go for walks, look for birds, and watch for deer crossing the path.” − Bob Lewis

Even if you haven’t read him, you likely know the name: Ernest Hemingway. This Nobel Prize laureate and literary titan still turns intellectual heads and stirs late‐night gab fests among connoisseurs and novices alike. It’s Hemingway’s raw power to entertain, to enlighten, and, yes, to anger, that drove UND Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of English Robert Lewis to his passion for the iconographic writer. So much so that Lewis, a cofounder and early president of the noted Hemingway Foundation, also known as the Hemingway Society, climbed the venerable (and inactive)

volcano Mt. Kilimanjaro. At 19,330 feet, it’s Africa’s tallest peak and site of several memorable Hemingway yarns. “Yes, I climbed that mountain, though Hemingway himself never did,” says Lewis, who’s widely known in literary circles for his broad‐ranging research into Hemingway’s literary persona and writings. Lewis got the nod from the Hemingway family to edit a manuscript, found after Hemingway’s death, which turned out to be a singular long narrative, Under Kilimanjaro, set like some of his other works, in his beloved East Africa. The Hemingway legend continues online. There’s a lively community of scholars, literary types and avid readers contributing to Hemingway blogs, commentary, discussions, and conferences around the world. But Lewis, ever keeping with time‐honored literary traditions, still writes his notes “with tablet and pen.” “And, when I use a typewriter or a computer, I use the two‐finger method: I peck out what I’m writing with one finger of the left hand and one finger of the right hand,” says Lewis, who, though officially retired, also is the longtime editor of the North Dakota Quarterly. “What’s ‘retired’ mean? We all have 24 hours a day and I like to use them well,” he says. “I live out in the country, do chores, go for walks, look for birds, and watch for deer crossing the path.” His obsession with Hemingway is closely tied to his passion for the arts. “Art, literature, painting, music is fun but it’s also very serious business,” Lewis says. “To live without it would be to live an empty life. I believe we’re more totally human when there’s art in our lives, whether it’s children marching around their classroom beating sticks or Bach or anything that goes beyond our basic physical needs.” Juan Pedraza

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Longtime UND scholar bucks notion of retirement to continue Hemingway research

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“Why do I workout the way I do? So I don’t get bored. I like to push myself and see where it takes me. I really enjoy competing and staying fit.” − Dani Stramer

Photo courtesy of Issac Hingds, Lift Studios

UND staff member Dani Stramer’s extreme dedication to fitness has garnered her top places at fitness shows throughout the country.

Fitness Champ’s Routine is Anything But

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UND’s Stramer balances family, work and school amid grueling workout schedule

University of North Dakota staff member and student Dani Stramer doesn’t typically settle for “good enough.” As a young girl growing up in an Air Force family, she found more in common with her young male peers as she moved from one base community to the next. At Mountain Home Air Force Base near Boise, Idaho, she was the only girl on the all‐boy baseball team. “I grew up a tomboy; I was always into sports,” Stramer recalls. “When I was growing up, our playgrounds were my dad’s training areas on base.” So, these days, when 35‐year‐old Stramer talks about fitness and getting in‐shape, suffice it to say, she’s not talking about the occasional jog to the local coffee shop or a few sit‐ups before bed. Stramer, who works at the UND medical school as an administrative

assistant and who takes occasional classes toward her bachelor’s degree, is a fitness competitor on the local, regional and national stage. For this wife and mother of twin girls, nothing about her exercise and diet routine is routine. When she’s training, Stramer goes more than two hours a day, six days a week, much of it before work, getting up at 5 a.m. She works with a fitness coach on the East Coast, constantly keeping tabs through motivational phone conversations and e‐mailed photos that show Stramer’s progress. She stands about 5 feet 3 inches, and her competition weight averages 119 pounds with 8.5 percent body fat. Meals for the week are carefully measured out on a scale Sunday nights. Each is labeled and packed – egg whites, cream of wheat, chicken, tuna, lettuce, and asparagus. Oh, yes, and lots of water. At her work desk, Stramer

keeps a 32‐ounce water bottle to keep adequately hydrated. Her extreme dedication to fitness has garnered her top places at fitness shows in the Midwest and nationally, including a junior national competition last year in South Carolina. Stramer also works as a substitute fitness trainer at the UND Wellness Center and the local YMCA. She specializes in kickboxing, cycling and step aerobics. But, she also dabbles on the more extreme side of fitness, holding exercise boot camps that make participants do things like flip tractor tires. Through it all, Stramer says she tries to balance her personal fitness goals with time with her husband, Wyatt, and her daughters, Faith and Hope. “Some people think it’s weird,” she said, “but my girls sure love it. They actually get down on the floor and try to work out with me.” DAVID DODDS

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Confidence is ‘Through the Roof’ UND Fighting Sioux battalion passes on tradition of excellence as student/soldiers

UND ROTC Ranger Challenge team members compete against some of the top schools in the nation.

Mraz said. “The confidence level is through the roof.” Because of its recent success, the UND Ranger Challenge team was selected for the elite invitation‐only Sandhurst Competition at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. UND was one of only four ROTC teams in the nation handpicked for the competition, a stage for elite military teams from around the world. Maj. Joe Holman, assistant professor of military science at UND, said the time cadets devote to Ranger Challenge excellence is a reflection of how they perform as all‐around military professionals. Of 272 ROTC schools in the nation, UND is currently ranked 9th in the nation based on the cumulative scores of the senior cadets on the prestigious Order of Merit List, which considers cadets’ academics, leadership performance and battalion ranking. On an individual level, Grun recently placed second in the nation among a field of more than 4,900 cadets on the Order of Merit list. Holman backs up Mraz and Grun’s assessment that UND’s Ranger Challenge training is tradition‐inspired and cadet‐driven. DAVID DODDS

“The Ranger Challenge is definitely a big thing here among our cadets. It’s given me so much self-confidence, not just when it comes to the Ranger Challenge, but also in everything else. The confidence level is through the roof.” − 2nd Lt. Matthew Mraz “There’s never time for everything. That’s the hardest thing about the program – finding time for everything. It forces you to rely on your friends and other cadets in the battalion. But it’s also a lot of fun.” − Cadet Laura Grun

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Just as the University of North Dakota hockey team is used to beating squads from larger schools with great regularity, so, too, do student/soldiers in UND’s Army Reserve Office Training Corps program. An extreme dedication to ROTC training and to each other has led the Army cadets to win three straight regional nine‐man Ranger Challenges, and to have teams score high in the two‐man version of the same contest. Each fall, the battalion fields nine‐person teams to go up against others from the likes of the University of Minnesota and half of the remaining Big Ten institutions. The cadets train for months to prepare for the grueling physical and mental tasks they’ll face on the proving ground at places like Camp Ripley, Minn. Cadet Laura Grun, 23, a senior commercial aviation student, says she’s well aware of her battalion’s rich Ranger Challenge history. “Everyone looks up to the cadets that have gone ahead of them so much,” Grun said. “No one wants to let their buddy down, and that’s why we’re so successful at it.” That sense of obligation and an arduous training schedule, pieced around a full class schedule and other ROTC responsibilities, makes for a challenging environment. The Ranger Challenge tests physical fitness, weapons proficiency, land navigation, patrolling, and leadership skills, all timed and judged to increase the stress level. Second Lt. Matthew Mraz is a graduate of the UND ROTC program and a Ranger Challenge veteran. He said the motivation needed to be successful in and out of the classroom starts and ends with the cadets pushing each other to excel. “It’s given me so much self‐confidence, not just when it comes to the Ranger Challenge, but also in everything else,”

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“The ride is only as successful as your plan. I think riding has made me a better person, more observant and I enjoy a lot of things more.” − Paul Gronhovd

UND Graphic Designer Paul Gronhovd tests his endurance on multi-day cycling treks across the country.

‘Going the Distance’ UND graphic designer tours world landmarks from his bicycle seat

Uphill is tough. For most of us it’s huff‐and‐puff time. But, for EERC Graphic Designer Paul Gronhovd, ’90, taking hills is part of the fun of long‐distance cycling. Gronhovd, now pushing 60 years old, launched himself into

the sport of bike touring when he was 30. He built his endurance and strength so now he can ride a fully‐loaded touring bicycle on multi‐day treks across countrysides that would stop a lot of us a couple of hours out. “One of my brothers got me started and

even picked out my first bike because he knew what to look for,” said Gronhovd, who’s also an avid (and prize‐winning) antique car restoration enthusiast. “I started doing time trials with some local folks and I knew serious biking was something I could do. I found I really enjoyed long‐distance cycling, especially the joy of riding hard.” There’s plenty more to this sport than climbing aboard for a quick pedal. Gronhovd said he’s learned that when you’re riding in a group, it’s a team effort. “You have to learn to work with other folks,” he said. And sometimes, it’s tougher to go down than up. “When I started to do climbs in the Rocky Mountains, I learned that riding downhill can be quite tiring. You’re on your brakes a lot, your neck gets tired. You can get going so fast that the wind is your brake.” Even a severe crash in the woods of Itasca Park didn’t strip Gronhovd of his passion for cycling. “I cooked a corner and ended against a tree, broke lots of things on my left side. It was a character‐building experience. When I healed up, I went right back to cycling. That’s actually when my touring phase started in earnest.” He’s ridden hard along part of the roads followed by Tour de France competitors, circled 1,500 miles around Lake Superior, and, last summer, completed a 500‐mile ride around Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula. Friendships also fuel Gronhovd’s love of long‒distance cycling. “I’ve met some really interesting people in a real positive way on bike tours. When doing a long ride, you develop pretty strong bonds,” he said. “And, good riding is a lot about setting goals, making successful plans. The ride is only as successful as your plan. I think riding has made me a better person, more observant and I enjoy a lot of things more.” Juan Pedraza

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Year-round Iron Man

UND Professor Will Gosnold, 69, doesn’t let his age slow him down.

“After three years of struggling, I began to understand what I was doing. Then I really started having fun. “It’s all about staying in shape, maintaining balance and sensitivity, knowing where you’re your body parts are and what they’re doing, nothing herky-jerky. Ultimately, it’s about maintaining the flow.” − Will Gosnold

most of us have slowed down, he got rolling into cross‐country skiing at 42, shortly after moving to North Dakota, when his wife, Deb, bought him a starter kit for Christmas. “After three years of struggling, I began to understand what I was doing,” he said. “Then I really started having fun. I went to a number of specialized training camps and learned that training, and how to do it right, is key to success in cross‐country and other sports, such as swimming and inline skating, which I also do a lot of. ” To stay loose, he also competes in triathlons and more recently, in adventure racing. That’s an all‐day team event that includes a one‐mile swim in Lake Superior with full wet suit, a nine‐mile sea kayak run, 20 miles on a mountain bike, 12 miles on inline skates, a rough five‐mile canoe run, and a 10‐mile trail run. “I started getting onto the winners podium in my 50s. Now I’ve slowed down a bit. I’m down to my age class, 65‐69,” Gosnold said. “It’s all about staying in shape, maintaining balance and sensitivity, knowing where your body parts are and what they’re doing, nothing herky‐jerky,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about maintaining the flow.” Juan Pedraza

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It looks like a regular parking lot. Stash the car, watch UND football. But for UND Geophysicist Will Gosnold, it’s the ideal place to burn up a quarter mile in a handful of seconds on a pair of racing skates. And, that’s just for starters. “Inline skating, including several marathons annually, is part of my ‘off‐season’ training for cross‐country skiing,” says Gosnold, a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor and chair of the department of geology and geological engineering. These aren’t your regular roller blades, with four 4‐inch wheels and an 18‐inch wheel base, these are lace‐up Ferraris. “I train and exercise year‐round. If I didn’t I’d be way out of shape,” he said. Staying in shape, keeping fit, trim, and limber, is vital for Gosnold’s intensely paced sports. All done, he says at age 69, for the sheer fun of it. Including hardcore swimming, he’s been the national champion in his age class at the U.S. Master National swim meet in all six freestyle events in a single day. You know this extreme fitness routine works because he doesn’t look a day over 50. His resting heart rate is about 40 beats per minute, and, like the proficient athlete he is, Gosnold can sustain a documented racing pace of over 150 beats per minute, a rate that would be fatal to most of us if we tried to follow him for even part of a marathon. “The most extreme thing I do is cross‐country ski racing,” says Gosnold, who also is director and principal investigator of the UND Petroleum Center of Excellence. “This year I’ve already competed in several races, all long distance, including the 50 kilometer (31 mile) American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin, the country’s largest cross‐country ski marathon.” Gosnold got a late start. At an age when

Photo courtesy of Bruce Adelsman/skinnyski.com

UND geologist not letting up as he glides into seventh decade

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“I enjoy my time in the city with friends and entertainment, but when I am working the field I actually enjoy more rustic accommodations. It makes it easier for me to focus on my work and to create my own entertainment. Also, I get more satisfaction from the daily chores needed to run a remote field camp.” − Mat Sorum, ’04 UND alum Mat Sorum, ’04, prepares to study a sedated caribou, fitted with a radio telemetry collar that helps biologists track the animals throughout the Alaskan tundra. The biologists work helps them understand migration patterns of caribou cows and calves.

The Wild Life

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UND biology alum takes skills to America’s final frontiers

University of North Dakota alumnus and Grand Forks native Mat Sorum, ’04, lives and works on the edge of civilization – and sometimes even farther. At 26, he’s a wildlife researcher, currently working for Montana State University. But, before you get any impression he’s got a cushy on‐campus office gig, we’ll need to explain a bit further. You see, Sorum’s office has no walls and is bound only by the Rocky Mountains and Big Sky. The wilderness is where he punches his clock and the more remote the better. Sorum sets up shop deep within Yellowstone National Park, about a 16‐mile snowmobile ride from the nearest small town. He and two co‐workers have a three‐bedroom house with dial‐up Internet and no cable TV, “the first being a burden, the ladder being a blessing,” according to Sorum. They’re studying the wolf, elk and bison interactions in the park by tracking wolf packs with radio telemetry and determining how often the wolves kill on what they prey.

“My current living conditions are luxurious compared to most of the other fieldwork I’ve done,” Sorum said. He may have been referring to a stint on the North Slope of Alaska, where he was dropped off by helicopter and lived in spike camps on the tundra. He was there to study the migration routes and patterns of loons. “It was an arctic tundra ecosystem where mosquitoes are in large abundance along with large caribou populations roaming the tundra,” he said. “It was the arctic summer, so the sun did not set for the three weeks I was there. There were no roads for hundreds of miles and the nearest Wal‐Mart was 500 miles away. ” Sorum has also spent time on the west coast of Alaska, studying sea ducks and geese; the Aleutian Islands chain capturing sea ducks to study movement patterns; and in Denali National Park (Alaska) fitting caribou cows and calves with radio collars so they can be tracked. Much of his past work has been done as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. Sorum graduated from UND with a

bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife biology. He is the son of Jeff and Sue Sorum of Grand Forks. His brother, Travis, also is a UND graduate. “My days at UND introduced me to the path that lay ahead,” he said. “It was important for me to be around other students and faculty who shared the same excitement and passion for wildlife.” His work has not come without danger. He almost froze to death after spending a night huddled under a tarp during a storm that blew in from the Bering Sea. During another occasion, while trapping mink on Prince William Sound, Alaska, Sorum found himself in a standoff with an angry brown bear. The beast was about 40 yards away, gnashing its teeth and aggressively closing in. The bear eventually retreated, but not before giving Sorum one more example of the precarious balance between man and nature. The highlight of Sorum’s career, so far, has been his work in Denali National Park with caribous. A love for wildlife and wild places is what drives him, he said. “I never would have dreamed I would have been a part of all the projects I have done the last couple of years,” he said. “I am doing exactly what I want right now. ” DAVID DODDS

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Extreme Fliers Jeff Boerboon, ’92, and Will Ward, ’92, take flying to a new level

They fly big for a living: big airliners—Airbus A320s, Boeing 767s—big routes. So what to do after work? How about aerobatics? It’s Top Gun flight in lean, mean machines that take lean, well‐conditioned pilots with split‐second instincts and total focus. If nitroglycerine could power planes, aerobatics is where you’d find it. Only the best need apply. Jeff Boerboon, ’92, a pilot for Delta, and Will Ward, ’92, who flies for Spirit Airlines, take flying to the max in the hottest planes around when they’re not cruising at altitudes in the big machines that can basically fly themselves. jeff boerboon Jeff enjoys water sports, hunting and flying radio‐controlled aircraft. But, his really hot gig is in an Extra 330SC, designed to push the aerobatic envelope in international competition. The Minneapolis native also flies a Russian‐built Yak 55M, a real beast with fighter heritage, to compete at the unlimited level and perform at air shows. Jeff is a member of the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and this August will be competing at the World Aerobatic Championships at the Silverstone airport in the United Kingdom. “From day one I wanted to be in a cockpit flying airplanes,” said Jeff, whose early career was spent flying tours in the Grand Canyon. “My first flights were at the levers of a radio‐controlled airplane performing aerobatic figures. Only 10 years old at the time, I knew it was just a matter of time before I made my life‐sized (aerobatic airplane) do the same thing!” He’s amassed 10,000 hours of flight time and 600 hours in aerobatic airplanes, and countless more hours with the radio‐controlled airplanes and helicopters he flies for a hobby. “During my time at UND, I was a member of the ’89 and ’90 National Championship flying teams, finishing as the Region 5 Top Pilot in ’89, with two first place individual medals and finishing second and third respectively in national Top Pilot rankings,” says Jeff, who took his first aerobatic ride in a UND Cap10. “Needless to say, I was hooked,” he says. Will Ward “When I came back to UND to finish my BA

in aviation studies, I had already went off flying cargo to build up my hours,” says Will, now a veteran airline pilot. “By the time I graduated, I’d also already been flying aerobatics for 15 years. I’d actually taught myself how to fly an aerobatic plane even before I got my private pilot’s license,” Will says. “But I had no idea at that time I’d ever be flying fighter jets.” Now Will, who flies the Airbus A‐320 for his day job spends most of his free time in and around high‐performance airplanes. But, not just any planes. “I fly MiG jets,” says Will. “I went down to fly a P‐51 (an ultra-highperformance World War II‐era fighter plane) in Orlando one day a few years ago and there was this MiG-17 in the corner of the hangar. That was it,” said Will, who went to a MiG school in Santa Fe, N.M., to get checked out on the 17.

But, hey, why stick with the MiG‐17 when there’s a MiG‐21 to fly? “The MiG‐21, dubbed ‘widowmaker’ by the Soviets, is a very demanding fighter to fly!” Will says. “It took me several years to become comfortable with it. It’s like flying a quarter‐mile top fuel dragster. The MiG‐17 is a gentleman’s airplane in comparison.” Will runs a full-fledged air show team with his two jets. “For every 15 minutes of show type there’s 100 hours of preparation—maintenance, marketing , promotion, keeping the Federal Aviation Administration happy,” says Will. “I’ve got a full crew of pros to work with me. It’s my second family.” Flying aerobatics, you’re basically wearing the airplane, Will says. “It requires total, complete focus.” Juan Pedraza

Jeff Boerboon, ’92, a pilot for Delta, takes the lead spot in his colorful aerobatic aircraft. In his free time, Boerboon frequently pushes the limit in various models of prop-powered and jet aircraft at air shows and other events.

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UND students joined together to aid in the 2009 Red River Valley flood fight efforts. UND dismissed classes for a few days to allow students to help. Student Government also arranged for buses to take students to Fargo, an area where the flood fight was most serious.

Dean’s Corner

Excelling to New Heights dear alumni & friends,

Joseph N. Benoit Dean, The Graduate School

It’s been a great year for The Graduate School. We’ve reached new heights in enrollment, program recognition and student accomplishment, with more than 2,100 graduate students now pursuing graduate study at UND: students like Neville Forlemu and Dan Theis in chemistry; Mary Jo Titus in art, and Vishnu Reddy in Earth systems science & policy. The academic year began with Dan becoming one of 60 students in the nation to be selected to attend the 58th Annual Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany. Soon after this announcement, we learned Neville had received a prestigious UNCF‐Merck Science Fellowship, a first for a UND student. The nationally exhibited artwork of Mary Jo and the discovery of a new asteroid by Vishnu added to the growing list of accomplishments. Vishnu presented Governor John Hoeven with a certificate from the International Astronomical Union officially naming Asteroid #114703, “North Dakota.” Governor Hoeven referred to the naming as “an out‐of‐this‐world honor.” Throughout our history, The Graduate School

has attracted and prepared the best and brightest for leadership roles in academia, research, government, and the private sector. The challenges we face in areas of energy independence, global warming, economic prosperity, health care, and more will require solutions provided by our most highly-educated leaders. The stakes have never been higher and our needs for innovative solutions have never been greater. I encourage you to invest in the future by supporting our efforts to attract and educate the best and brightest minds. I am confident The Graduate School is capable of producing the intellectual capital necessary to address the challenges ahead. Yet, I am also cognizant that many of the brightest students may never have the opportunity for advanced study without your support. I encourage you to learn more about The Graduate School and consider how your contributions can assist UND in preparing tomorrow’s leaders.

Joseph N. Benoit Dean, The Graduate School

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UND student Mitch Braegelmann, ’08, excels in the classroom and beyond.

When asked if he considers himself an extreme student‐athlete, UND grad student Mitch Braegelmann, ’08, smiles humbly and says, “Nah, there are a lot of guys like me.” To anyone who knows him, they’ll tell you he’s being modest. Braegelmann, who graduated with a chemical engineering degree last May, will earn a graduate degree in the discipline this month. While that’s impressive in its own right, his resume doesn’t stop there. The St. Cloud, Minn., native has been known to dominate on the football field as well as in the classroom. An offensive lineman who suited up for a total of 49 games, Braegelmann started in every game he ever played for the Sioux. “It was really busy. I had to learn to balance everything,” he said. But, that’s why he’s here. Though he knew at times it would be tough, Braegelmann said he chose to come to UND because of its first‐class football program and strong reputation in

engineering. The curriculum for chemical engineering students can be challenging to say the least. The prerequisites alone include four calculus classes, two physics classes and three chemistry classes. Braegelmann recalls many stressful days of going to school all morning and afternoon, then heading off to football practice, only to get home at 7 p.m. to study for the rest of the night. “I lived in a house with seven other guys, so sometimes they would be having fun and I would need to study. There are definitely things you miss out on, but I still managed to have some fun, too,” Braegelmann smiled. His list of accomplishments on and off the gridiron is long. In the classroom, Braegelmann earned a 3.9 grade point average as an undergrad and has maintained a 4.0 in graduate school. He was named one of five Laureates by Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, and was named the sophomore

chemical engineer of the year and a finalist for the award as a freshman and junior. On the football field, Braegelmann was named a second team All‐American by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette and was named to his second straight All‐North Central Conference first team. Braegelmann was also an ESPN the Magazine Academic All‐American first team honoree. “He’s the consummate student‐athlete and team player. For someone to major in chemical engineering and still earn all of these academic and athletic awards, he is doing it right. The team looked to him as a leader, which is obvious since they named him team captain last season,” said UND Head Football Coach Chris Mussman. Though at times it was intense, Braegelmann doesn’t believe his athletic or academic career suffered because of the other. “I actually think they may have helped each other. In football you learn to be so disciplined. They make sure you’re going to class, studying and getting good grades. You really learn how to budget your time,” he said. This semester, Braegelmann is enjoying the extra time he has. With his football career behind him, he’s ready to move on to the next extreme task in his life and has accepted a chemical engineering position with Cargill in Blaire, Neb., “I look forward to seeing my plans get put to use and built or operated the way I developed them. In school you would put together these big plans for different processes and design things and it just stays on paper. I think it will be really cool to see something I helped with actually be built,” he said. Braegelmann knows he’ll be in good company at Cargill, where the Chairman and CEO is Greg Page, a 1973 UND graduate. A total of 70 UND alums are currently employed by Cargill, a top recruiter of grads from the University. ■

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by Leanna Ihry

Standing on the

Roof of Africa

by Leanna Ihry

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Nothing compares to the bond between a mother and her daughter. Barbara (Benner) Olson, ’63, and her oldest daughter Kristin (Olson) Jackson, ’89, have always been close. It’s clear by the way they finish each other’s sentences, their similar facial expressions and their exuberant personalities. But, both Barb and Kristin agree their mother‐daughter connection became much deeper last fall when the two tackled a feat many wouldn’t dream. It all started with a television report from Twin Cities TV news reporter Don Shelby, who had recently climbed the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, Mt. Kilimanjaro, in Africa. Kristin saw the news story, which rekindled a long‐time dream of hers to do the same. As someone who has always been an avid runner and quite athletic, Kristin felt confident she, too, was physically fit enough to hike to the top of the mountain, but she didn’t want to do it alone. Her first inclination was to try and convince her husband, Todd, ’00, who wasn’t too keen on the idea. Her mom, on the other hand, surprised everyone. “I just said, I’ve always wanted to go to Africa,” said 67‐year-old Barb. “I woke up in the middle of the night and thought, ‘I’m going to do this.’” At that time, Barb wasn’t 100 percent sure just how extreme this adventure would be and what exactly she was getting herself into. Each year about 25,000 hikers attempt to reach Uhuru Peak at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, while reports say only one in ten people actually make it to the top before quitting. The trek involves traveling through six different ecosystems, from tropical jungle, where temperatures reach 90 degrees, to the glacier summit at 19,330 feet where cold arctic conditions and a diminished oxygen supply make adaptation extremely difficult. “I went to the doctor and asked, ‘I’m going to be 67 years old, can I do this?’” Barb said. “He asked me if I thought I could and I told him, yes,” she smiled.

The knee injury paled in comparison to the head injury she suffered from that same fall. “She cracked her head open,” Kristin said, “I was so worried about her and wondered if she would be able to continue.” But, with a great deal of perseverance and the support of her tour guide, Simon, Barb was determined to keep going. She had followed about 30‐40 minutes behind her daughter throughout the trip and on this final day to the summit, things were no different. In fact, Barb and her tour guide woke up early and started their hike long before the rest of the group, allowing Barb extra time to reach the peak. “We wanted her to be at the top with the rest of us, but because of the altitude we were only allowed to stay up there for about an hour. It was so important for me to be at the top with her and we figured if she left earlier than everyone else that would be possible,” Kristin explained. On the seventh day, at about one o’clock in the afternoon, Kristin accomplished a feat she had been anticipating for many years. “I thought to myself, ‘I can’t believe I’m standing on the roof of Africa. I did it. I just hope my mom makes it, ’” she recalled. Crying tears of joy, Kristin waited for about 40 minutes, only to see her mom heroically come up the hill. “I felt relief, such relief. We just hugged each other and cried,” Kristin said. “I made it and I’m so proud,” an emotional Barb told an on‐site videographer. With a deeper bond than ever before, Barb and Kristin thank God they were able to accomplish this task together. “We literally prayed. We really think God had a hand in this,” Barb said. “Mom and I had always done things together, but this wasn’t typical for her. This really got her to step outside the box and I’m so proud of her,” she said. Though Barb wasn’t the oldest person to ever summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, she doesn’t want to attempt the record held by a 79‐year‐old American man. She and Kristin agree they would love to go back to Africa to do mission work, but Barb has permanently put away her hiking boots. She calls the Kili climb a “once in a lifetime experience” and means it, literally. ■ su m m e r 2 0 0 9

Over the next nine months, Kristin and Barb prepared for their upcoming mission by training on the largest mountains they could find in Minnesota—some local ski hills. Wearing the same heavy hiking books they would use for the actual climb, along with a backpack filled with supplies, they did their best to mimic their upcoming adventure. “It’s great physical training, but there is no way to prepare for all of the different altitudes you are going to go through. That’s the hardest part,” Kristin said. On Sept. 17, the mother and daughter left their Chanhassen, Minn., homes for Tanzania, Africa. The hike would take nine days—seven days to reach Africa’s roof and two days back down. “They told us exactly what to bring. We had our packs with water bottles and clothes for different environments, medicines. Each of our packs weighed 20‐30 pounds,” Kristin said. Their group was made up of themselves and 10 other hikers from countries all over the world, along with several local porters to carry tents, food and cooking equipment, all necessary daily items. Barb was the oldest in the group and affectionately nicknamed “Bibi” by one of the porters, which is Swahili for grandmother. “I would tell them, ‘you better watch out for me, I’m a grandma,’” Barb said. While they say climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro isn’t so technically difficult, it’s the altitude changes and varying temperatures that make it dangerous. “You need to go very slowly so you have time to adapt and avoid altitude sickness. We would start hiking around 6 a.m. and finish at around 4 p.m. We would set up camp and sleep and eat in each ecosystem, spending about a day and a half there. Everyone in our group got headaches except for mom,” Kristin said. “I suffered quite a bit of altitude sickness, but drinking a lot of water and taking some medicine seemed to help,” she added. Despite the fact that she didn’t get altitude sickness, Barb is quick to admit she faced her share of challenges. “I got up to go to the bathroom on the second to last night and the camp was pretty rocky. I was standing on some slippery shale and fell backward. I still have a numb spot on my knee,” Barb said during our interview two months after the fall.

Fou n dation Ne ws

Radiologist John Fischer’s lifestyle models his interest in combining allopathic and alternative medical education. The approach will, in his words, give physicians the benefit of blending the pharmacy with alternative approaches for balanced health care.

Integrative

Medicine by Amanda Hvidsten

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One alumnus’ vision of the ideal physician

The metaphysical definition of balance is “a desirable point between two or more opposite forces.” The idea of finding that desirable middle ground, or being well‐rounded, comes up in many areas of our lives from work to relationships, and certainly with our health. “Everything in moderation” is one common saying, and there’s the notion that a combination of diet and exercise is the best way to balance one’s health. These are things we as individuals are responsible to do for ourselves. Yet, what about receiving a balanced approach from those around us? Mainly, from those who carry some responsibility for our health, our physicians? One physician is helping UND address that very question. Dr. John Fischer, UND medical class of 1965, grew up in North Dakota, son of another UND‐trained physician, Dr. Verrill Fischer, ’35. John’s view of medicine has shifted over

Fou n dation Ne ws the years from purely being interested in treating disease to now looking for ways to promote health. “We have what we call a ‘health care system’ but it is a ‘disease care system’,” he says. “It does nothing to provide good health – it combats a disease after it is established.” A strong statement, yet one he passionately believes. A Harvard‐educated radiologist, Dr. Fischer laughs that he is not someone expected to be advocating a combination of allopathic and alternative medical education. All the same, he’s made a significant multi‐year gift with additional support in his estate plans to establish an integrative medicine program at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The goal of the integrative medicine program is not to disregard conventional medical practice, but rather offer more options to physicians to best help, support and guide patients. The goal is to provide balance. “The ideal physician I’d like to see come from North Dakota is allopathically trained but in addition to this, understands and can implement alternative approaches that can augment and improve the therapies patients are given. With this, the physician will have the benefit of the pharmacy, but also can blend in alternative approaches to produce something better,” Fischer says. As he describes it, his gift was less out of idealism or philanthropic interests, stemming more from a desire to fix a serious problem in the health care system not currently being addressed. “It will improve physicians,” he says. “The whole purpose of medical health care is to improve health and treat disease in the most effective, least expensive manner. But, now we’re slaves to the drug companies.” Dr. Fischer sees a whole world of therapies in existence that have nothing to do with drugs. The fact they are counterculture to allopathic medicine taught in medical schools is where the conflict exists, he says. “My specialty is interventional radiology and neuro‐radiology. Everything I do is high‐tech and very expensive. And, by the time patients get to me, they are not looking for good health; they are just looking to survive. There is not much good health at the top of the high‐tech health care industry, but that’s the direction we’re all going. It’s the wrong direction in my opinion because it doesn’t make you healthy, it just makes you bankrupt.” Dr. Fischer still feels a strong identification to his home state, returning to hunt each year. This connection is, in part, why he chose to help establish the integrative medicine program here at UND instead of another medical school. “I made the gift through the UND Foundation because North Dakota needs it. In North Dakota, funds are limited, but used wisely.”

So how did this traditional, specialized doc become so passionate about integrative medicine? Obviously he’s always held an interest in health, but as he describes it, “I gradually became interested in non‐traditional types of health care that are less toxic, less expensive and equally effective in restoring and maintaining good health. I have good genes to thank for my own health but my lifestyle contributes perhaps even more. The two pillars of good health are proper nutrition and regular exercise. Adhere to these principles and you will be able to avoid the health care system for most of your life.” Although the positive effects of alternative medical treatments are difficult to scientifically prove, the fact that there are positive effects can easily be noticed. Everything from acupuncture, chiropractic, meditation, diet, supplements, and exercise, can have a beneficial impact on the body. “Just because we do not always know how something works does not mean that it doesn’t work,” Dr. Fischer notes. His view of a balanced, healthy life compliments such statements. “If you keep diet and exercise going throughout your whole life,” he says, “you won’t need all the disease treatment. Most diseases are products of how you’re living. If you take the proper supplements and vitamins, get exercise and eat well you can actually fool your genes.” He says our genes do not have to fully define our medical charts and by taking healthful measures we can redefine the expression of our genetic codes. “The results of your genetic code are not fixed in stone. Even though your genes may predispose you to certain things, their expression can be modified by proper diet and exercise. Only 15 percent of cancers are thought to be genetically determined. The remaining 85 percent are products of our environments. We have some control over that environment.” While it may be a concept that will take time to widely implement, the seeds are planted here at UND. Thanks to Dr. Fischer, UND‐trained physicians will have doors opened to them to expand upon anything they may have previously learned. Dr. Fischer’s desire for wholeness and a well‐rounded approach to wellness makes this time in the history of medical education remarkable. “In 35 years of practicing high‐tech medicine I did not give one person good health. I ameliorated some disease, but no one got good health. That is not the approach medicine, particularly medicine in North Dakota, should take.” ■

North Dakota Medicine, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences magazine, featured the integrative medicine program in its April 2009 edition. It is also available online at www.ndmedicine.org.

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“I made the gift through the UND Foundation because North Dakota needs it. In North Dakota, funds are limited but used wisely.”

HOME COMING 2009

S AV E TH E D AT E F O R H O M E C O M I N G 2 0 0 9 | S E P T. 2 8 – O C T. 3

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOMECOMING EVENTS GO TO WWW.UNDA LUMNI.ORG

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

Alumni Class News

Ἅ l u m n i R e v i e w w w w . u n d a l u m n i . o r g

Find out what your classmates are doing now!

UND students visit outside the Tri Delt sorority house in 1966. Are you in this photo or do you recognize anyone who is? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Send an e-mail to alumnireview@undalumni.net, or call 800 . 543 . 8764. Photo courtesy of Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections/Chester Fritz Library.

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

1943

George A. Swendiman Jr., ..’43, received the Northern California Golf Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He has been a member of the organization since 1967 and became the organization’s president in 1979. George played basketball at UND in the 1940s. He and his wife, Marian (Foley), ..’42, reside in Redding, Calif.

This photo from the Spring Alumni Review was a huge hit! We received dozens of e‐mails and phone calls from people who recognized this famous threesome. Here is just one of the many letters that came in: This picture in the Alumni Review caught my eye. It looked so familiar. I started looking through my old scrapbooks. I was a freshman in high school when I cut that picture out of the Grand Forks Herald because I thought it was a cute caption: “Beauty was added Friday to diking operations in the Riverside Park area when Kay Boyum, sweetheart of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of North Dakota and also newly‐crowned Miss Grand Forks, joined the men in sandbagging. She is flanked by Brian McAlpin of Bismarck, left, and Rick Fargo of Minneapolis. Later, Miss Boyum was ‘accidentally’ mistaken for a sandbag and was passed along the line by willing hands.” Patricia (Kroeber) Palczewski ’73 Scranton, N.D.

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projects, athletic teams, service groups, and more. We proudly salute UND’s six sorority and 12 fraternity chapters in this milestone anniversary year. Each Greek life member in this section is denoted with this column.

··························· 1960s Remember when, in 1964, the average cost of medical school at UND was $1,300 per year? The average cost country‐wide was $4,000. Today, the average cost of tuition for medical school (in-state) is more than $22,000. 1961

Remember when, in 1952, the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development accredited the UND chemical engineering department? The department had lost its accreditation in 1942 due to war-time conditions.

Patricia (Borgman) Filipi, ’61, was named to The Forum Readers Board. She retired in 2001 from the Agriculture Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Patricia and her husband, Glenn, ’62, reside in Moorhead, Minn.

1952

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Fabian Noack, ’52, ’57, was honored by the Carrington, N.D., City Council and had the council chambers named after him. He has served the community where he resides for more than 50 years as city attorney.

··································· Greek life at UND celebrates 100 years in 2009. Since the first days of Sigma Chi back in 1909, fraternities and sororities have been a vibrant part of our campus and home to nearly 10 percent of the student body. In that time, Greek life members have served on Student Government, research

Gordon Norman, ’59, and his wife, Diane, were named 2008 Citizens of the Year by their community of Glendora, Calif., where they have lived for the past 42 years. Gordon was director of instrumental music for Glendora High School for 25 years, five of which his bands were selected to play at the Rose Bowl.

1954

Ernest Schanilec, ..’54, wrote a Western novel entitled Ice Lord. The novel is the ninth in his Hastings Series. Ernest resides in Vergas, Minn.

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Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net

Remember when, in 1946, students “sweated out” slow moving lines as they waited for their meals at the University Commons? The Commons had such limited seating that students ate their food standing up.

1954

1963

Larry Fleming, ’63, ’65, an accounting instructor and founder of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship chapter at Grove City College, retired after 33 years of teaching. In 2007 he was named Grove City College Professor of the Year. Larry and his wife, Peggy (Larson), ’69, live in Grove City, Pa.

··································· 1964

Jay Mondry, ’64, a retired Minnesota district judge, raised more than $50,000 through a

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1940s

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

A Choreographed Prayer

by Amanda Hvidsten

Neither by design, nor

by ambition has Kevin Locke traveled the world performing the hoop dance. Yet, his performances have touched thousands and brought him to 89 countries since 1977. “The first thing, of

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course, is what I do has zero relationship to entertainment

1967

– it’s like the opposite of

Don Fischer, ’67, is a chaplain for the North Dakota Youth Correctional Center. In this role, Don provides non‐denominational spiritual advice for youths at the center. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Bismarck.

entertainment,” he says, explaining that since people lead stressful lives they want to escape their realities using the arts. But, in traditional cultures or folk arts, art is not escape. It is, instead, used to

Photo courtesy of www.kevinlocke.com

connect people to reality.

The hoop dance Locke performs is done using 28 hoops representing unity – the

four colors of the hoops (black, red, yellow, and white) signify the four human races, four seasons, four winds, four directions, and more.

As described on his Web site, www.kevinlocke.com, the “Hoop Dance is a physical

metaphor for the regeneration which we are presently undergoing as one species within a planetary field of life.”

Locke adds, “Peoples’ conceptions are that music and dancing are superfluous,

extraneous. We could eliminate them and it wouldn’t make a difference. But, go to Fort Totten, New Town or Fort Yates, N.D. – dancing is not an option, it’s obligatory,” he says. “Dancing is how you create unity – it’s like the DNA of life, a building block.

“The hoop dance dates back to pre-reservation period,” Locke says. “It’s a

choreographed prayer essentially. The main theme is the symbolism of the hoop – the shape of the circle is the most ubiquitous, universal archetype.”

A Fort Yates native and a Lakota tribal member, Locke translates the significance

of this particular folk art to his background. “We in the Midwest are surrounded

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by the horizon, the seasons, the stars – everything is really blaring. On the prairie,

historically things are in the shape of circles – no corners, no dark spaces, nowhere to hide. It’s all front row seats. In the dance, the hoop represents that wholeness, peace, harmony, continuity. And, we are in the midst of the great hoop of life.”

charity he founded, North Country Charity Group, to purchase a much‐needed van for a hospice program for terminally ill children in Torun, Poland. Jay is a volunteer with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and was teaching as part of a UNESCO Language Camp when he learned of the need. Jay and his wife, Judith (Trueblood), ’61, live in Park Rapids, Minn.

When performing the hoop dance, Locke doesn’t have to explain all this to

people on an intellectual level. Rather, he’s connecting heart to heart and inviting them into the vision. With a smile in his voice he says, “That’s where you get the feeling of being conjoined and up-lifted. It’s a springtime that occurs in the collective heart of humanity.”

··································· 1969

Almon Clegg, ’69, works in consumer electronics and participated in early development of the Compact Disc. He is a senior life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Almon and his wife, Janis, live in Lehi, Utah.

··························· 1970s Remember when, in 1973, entertainer Lawrence Welk “lectured” during a minicourse in popular culture? 1970

Lynn Coles, ’70, is a senior engineer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In this role, Lynn assists in integration of wind and other renewable technologies into the USA’s power transmission networks. Lynn and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Longmont, Colo.

Kevin Locke is a 1976 UND graduate with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Prior to his full-time performance schedule, Locke taught and was a school administrator in the Fort Yates schools. He lives in Wakpala, S.D.

Cynthia Rothe-Seeger, ’70, ’72, ’75, retired from her position as east central judicial district judge. She

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

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Jim Davis, ’71, received the 2008 Staff Award for Excellence from the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND). He was selected by his colleagues as the agency’s outstanding employee. Jim is the head of reference services with SHSND’s archives division. He and his wife, Pam, live in Mandan, N.D. Karla (Stenseth) Quale, ..’71, is a compliance officer with Dakota West Credit Union. In this role, Karla is responsible for compliance with rules, regulations and internal auditing at the credit union. She and her husband, Glenn, ..’71, reside in Watford City, N.D.

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Jim Holland, ..’73, retired after 28 years with Strasburg State Bank. Most recently he was the bank’s vice president. Jim and his wife, Patsy, live in Bismarck.

··································· 1974

David Engstrom, ’74, ’76, was named to the

Dale Erickson, ’74, ’75, ’78, was named vice president tax, downstream for Royal Dutch Shell plc. Dale has held various taxation positions with Shell in the U.S. and overseas over the past 25 years. He and his wife, Joanne, reside in London. Bruce Gullingsrud, ..’74, is vice president of business development for Spectrum Aeromed, an air medical/air ambulance equipment company. Prior to this position, Bruce spent a decade as account manager in the rotor wing and fixed wing division of LifePort, Inc. He resides in Vancouver, Wash.

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Dorie (Benesh) Refling, ’75, formed the Refling Law Group PLLC in Bozeman, Mont., where she has practiced law, specifically construction law and related litigation, since 2000. Dorie and her husband, Paul, ’74, reside in Bozeman. William Mayo, ’75, ’77, ’79, is a family practitioner with MeritCare. He resides in Wahpeton, N.D. Sheryl Ramstad, ’75, was reappointed to the Minnesota Tax Court by Governor Tim Pawlenty. Sheryl has been a tax court judge since 2003. Her six‐year term expires in January 2015. Sheryl and her husband, Charles Hvass, live in St. Paul, Minn. Janet (Thorleifson) Streff, ’75, received the Inspiring Efficiency Chairman’s Award

from Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA). She manages Minnesota’s Utility Conservation Improvement program and federal Weatherization Assistance program, which provides energy assistance for low‐income families. She also serves as vice chair of the National Association of State Energy Officials and sits on the board of Minnesota Greenstar, a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to advance green design and construction in Minnesota’s residential sector. Janet and her husband, Steve, live in Golden Valley, Minn.

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Craig Campbell, ’76, ’81, was promoted to executive vice president and chief administrative officer with Noridian Administrative Services in Fargo, where he and his wife, Deborah, reside. Danette (Braun) Coles, ’76, is a customer service representative with Alerus Financial. She and her husband, Kevin, ’79, live in Northwood, N.D. Susan (Block) Moe, ’76, is a teacher with Hillsboro Elementary School. Susan has been teaching the first grade for 25 years. She and her husband, Robert, ’76, live in Fargo.

UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He and his wife, Mary (Lucius), ’84, ’91, reside in Grand Forks.

Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net

Robert Udland, ’70, ’76, retired after 38 years of service with the North Dakota National Guard. He served as the commander of the North Dakota National Guard’s Joint Training and Operations Command (JTOC). More recently, Robert led the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 164th Regional Training Institute. He and his wife, Ann ( Jacobsen), ’75, reside in Fargo.

Breckenridge‐Wahpeton Endowment Fund Board. He is retired from his position as assistant dean and associate professor of medicine at Michigan State University. David lives in Wahpeton, N.D.

Steve Stenehjem, ’77, was named chairman of the board of directors for the Independent Community Bankers of America. He is chairman of First International Bank and Trust. Steve and his wife, Gretchen, reside in Watford City, N.D. John Van Grinsven, ’77, is the city attorney in Minot, N.D. Previously, he was Ward County state’s attorney. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Minot.

··································· 1979

Andrea Gullickson, ..’79, is professor of music and chair of the department of music at Butler University. Andrea, an oboist, has traveled around the globe and helped found a highly‐acclaimed chamber ensemble. She has also released six recordings. Andrea lives in Indianapolis. Fredrick Mitzel, ’79, ’81, is a family physician with focus on geriatrics and sports medicine with Innovis Health in Valley City, N.D., where he and his wife, Mary, live.

··························· 1980s Remember when, in June

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 1982, hundreds of Girls 1977

Mark Lambrecht, ’77, is a senior project manager with Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. (AE2S), in its Grand Forks office, where he and his wife, Vickie, ’03, ’04, reside. Denis MacLeod, ’77, is a communications specialist with the Center for Rural Health at the

State delegates gathered in front of the J. Lloyd Stone Alumni Center to cut a ribbon to rename Campus Drive to Centennial Drive? Scott Lindemann, ’80, is general manager of the multi‐business incubator project within the Griggs‐Steele Empowerment Zone in Cooperstown, N.D. He and his wife, Christie, live in Perham, Minn. 35

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was the first woman to become a district judge in North Dakota when she was appointed in 1988. She and her husband, Mark, reside in Mahnomen, Minn.

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws Tracy Sipma, ’80, teaches a business entrepreneurship class for Roughrider Area Career and Technology Center. He also teaches business and computer classes at Dickinson High School. Tracy and his wife, Dawn ( Johnson), ’81, reside in Dickinson, N.D.

··································· 1981

Kathy Sukalski, ’81, serves on the board of directors for Grand Forks Homes Inc., a nonprofit that helps provide housing for the elderly. She is an associate professor and director of education in UND’s department of biochemistry and molecular biology. Kathy and her husband, William “Tom” Johnson, ’76, reside in Grand Forks.

management firm. He and his wife, Sara, live in Scappoose, Ore.

··································· 1984

Mary (Kelly) Jagim, ’84, is client engagement manager for Intelligent InSites Inc. She and her husband, Ryan, ’76, ’79, reside in Fargo. Laurel (Evenson) Nelson, ’84, was elected to the board of trustees for Lake Region Healthcare Corporation. She and her husband, Brent, ’84, own and operate Nelson Auto Center in Fergus Falls, Minn., where they live. Daniel Viau, ’84, ’85, is a senior engineer for Moore Engineering. He and his wife, Kathy, reside in Fargo.

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Marty Leiss, ’82, was elected to a three‐year term as director of the North Dakota Agricultural Association. He is a regional sales representative with West Central Inc., Fargo. Marty and his wife, Jodie, live in Mayville, N.D.

Ἅ l u m n i R e v i e w w w w . u n d a l u m n i . o r g

Gail (Beck) Nelson, ’82, is a family therapist at Prairie St. John’s, where she works with children, teens and their families in the Partial Hospital program. She and her husband, James, live in Fargo.

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Rex Carlson, ’83, is chief operating officer of Precision Diagnostic Services. He and his wife, Bonnie (Mondry), ’83, reside in Fargo. Russell Peterson, ’83, is regional vice president of northwest regional operations for Pinnacle, an international real estate

1985

Joseph P. “Dutch” Bialke, ’85, ’87, ’91, was promoted to the rank of colonel with the United States Air Force. In his new rank, Joseph was appointed as the deputy judge advocate for United Nations Command (UNC) and United States Forces Korea (USFK). The UNC/USFK Office of the Judge Advocate consists of 87 personnel who provide executive and administrative legal support in five functional areas: client services, military justice, administrative law, international law, and operations law. Joseph and his wife, Kathryn, live in O Fallon, Ill. Alisa Mitskog, ..’85, was named to the Breckenridge‐Wahpeton Endowment Fund Board. She is a chiropractor in private practice and serves as president of the Wahpeton City Council. Alisa and her husband, Allen Yaggie, live in Wahpeton, N.D.

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1986

Judy Streifel-Reller, ’86, ’89, is director of training for Brady, Martz & Associates P.C. She and her husband, Stephen, ’90, live in Grand Forks.

··································· 1988

Greg Hammes, ’88, ’92, is senior vice president/legal counsel with State Bank & Trust. He works in estate planning for trust clients and serves as the bank’s corporate counsel. Greg and his wife, Stephanie, reside in Fargo.

··································· 1989

Kelly (Bertsch) Foley, ’89, is a business information analyst with Alerus Financial. She and her husband, Daryl, ’07, reside in Grand Forks.

··························· 1990s Remember when, in 1990, UND’s Association of Residence Halls (ARH) earned the National Association of College and University Residence Halls School of the Year Award for having the country’s best overall residence-hall programming? Kari (Dosch) Hunt, ’90, is a group benefits consultant in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota service office in Devils Lake, N.D., where she and her husband, Rod, reside. Michael Overby, ’90, is director of development for colleges and athletics at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Previously, he served as area director for Walsh and Associates, a church fundraising and stewardship

consulting firm. Michael lives in Moorhead, Minn. Myra Quanrud, ’90, is a pediatrician with Innovis Health. She and her husband, Andrew Hennessey, live in Jamestown, N.D.

··································· 1991

Patrick Emery, ’91, ’95, is a primary care doctor with MeritCare in Wahpeton, N.D., and Milnor Clinic in Milnor, N.D. He is also trained in occupational medicine. Patrick and his wife, Pamela, reside in Wahpeton. Brent Gillund, ’91, ’94, is a certified clinical research coordinator with Cetero Research in East Grand Forks, Minn. He and his wife, Brenda Jo ( Johnson), ’92, ’97, live in Grand Forks. Lanny Harris, ’91, ’04, is telecommunications group leader with Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, an engineering, surveying, planning, and asset development firm. He has been with the firm for the past 17 years. He lives in Mandan, N.D. Laura (Nelson) Herter, ’91, is a human resource generalist with Cetero Research. She and her husband, Jason, ’03, reside in Fargo.

··································· 1992

Paula Bercier, ’92, is a physician with Trinity Medical Group. Previously, she practiced with the Quentin Burdick Memorial Health Care Facility in Belcourt, N.D. Paula lives in Minot, N.D. Steve Onstad, ’92, is a business analyst with AgCountry Farm Credit Services. He and his wife, Linda, reside in Grand Forks.

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

Jay Bushy, ’93, is a project engineer with Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. (AE2S) in Grand Forks. Previously, he was a project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jay and his wife, Christy (Cellmer), ’90, live in East Grand Forks, Minn.

THE LOYAL FAN by Jordan Buhr

His first name couldn’t be more fitting. Loyall Jahnke’s loyalty to the UND Fighting Sioux is second to none. You'd likely agree if you’ve been to a UND football game in the last 14 years where the

···································

53-year-old can undoubtedly

1994

waving a UND flag as he runs

be seen in a cowboy hat around the field cheering

Stephanie (Lauer) Barth, ’94, was promoted to director of financial planning and reporting for WBI Holdings Inc. Previously, she was financial planning and reporting manager. Stephanie and her husband, Randy, reside in Bismarck.

on athletes and the crowd. The tradition began when Loyall’s stepson, Marcus McKenzie, was the starting center for the UND football team (1995-99). “If you’re around UND, you are gonna feel the passion, and that’s

Chad Wocken, ’94, is senior research manager at UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center. He and his wife, Sarah (Hergert), ’94, reside in Grand Forks.

why I do it,” said Loyall, who has since begun cheering at the UND men’s and women’s basketball games as well. Loyall, who operates heavy machinery and welds for a dirt moving contractor,

··································· 1996

has arranged his work schedule so he has Fridays

Shantell TwoBears, ’96, joined LilyCare Clinic in Fargo as a family practice physician. She lives in Fargo.

off to attend UND sporting events. He and his wife, Carol, who live on a small farm south

···································

1997

James Bayer, ’97, is executive director of Red River Valley Gymnastics in Grand Forks, where he and his wife, Jennifer, reside. Sarah Shimek, ’97, ’99, is a customer service representative with Choice Financial in Grand Forks, where she lives.

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Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net

1993

of Casselton, N.D., have made the 200-mile round trip to Grand Forks over 20 times this season to attend football and basketball games. To make the trip more affordable they even went as far as purchasing a fuel-efficient Honda car. “I think it’s paid for itself already,” he said. Loyall is quick to point out he doesn’t let anything get in his way of cheering on the

team. On his way to Vermillion, S.D., for the final football game of the season last year, he found himself in the ditch after being rear-ended on an off-ramp. His car was totaled and he was only halfway there, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. “I told them [a towing company] I needed a car full of gas. He showed up with the car and within minutes I was back on the road. I was only 10 minutes late for the game,” he said.

In addition to his regular appearances at sporting events in Grand Forks, Loyall has

been to Sioux games around the country, including two trips to Florence, Ala., – host of the NCAA Division II Championship football game. Loyall said he considers it an “honor and a blessing” to be invited to cheer on the teams and added he will stop doing what he’s doing when they ask him to stop, or when his body can’t do it anymore. “Who has more fun than me at the games? I don’t think anyone. It doesn’t get any better and it’s not gonna last forever, so I’m gonna take it all in.”

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Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

1998

Rita Haag, ’98, is volunteer coordinator with East Grand Forks Campbell Library. She and her husband, Scott, ’06, live in Grand Forks. Jason Laumb, ’98, ’00, was promoted to senior research manager with UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center, where he leads the Energy Conversion Systems Group. He and his wife, Margaret (Henriksen), ’98, ’00, live in Grand Forks. James Pfeifer, ’98, is chief clinical officer with Prairie St. John’s in Fargo, where he and his wife, Marni (Mertz), ’98, reside. Grant T. Weller, ’98, was promoted to lieutenant colonel with the United States Air Force. He serves as assistant professor of history for the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he and his wife, Marie, reside.

singer/songwriter who records and performs in Europe and North America. He lives in Santa Monica, Calif. Erik Gunderson, ’99, is credit officer in the bank services department with American Federal Bank’s home office in Fargo. He and his wife, Emily, live in West Fargo, N.D. Rachel (Hille) Ness, ’99, ’03, is a medical doctor with Dermatology Associates in Fargo, where she and her husband, Matthew, reside. Tanya Vachal, ’99, is manager of the Williston customer service office for Job Service North Dakota. Tanya was previously a senior family self‐sufficiency coordinator for the Grand Forks Housing Authority. She lives in Williston, N.D.

··························· 2000s

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Remember when, in 2002, 1999

Tommy Brosseau, ’99, is a

the women’s soccer team qualified for post-season play for the first time in

school history? They were defeated by the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the North Central Conference tournament and ended their season with a record of 12-6-1. Jodi Henrikson, ’00, an obstetrician/gynecologist, joined Northern Valley Obstetrics and Gynecology on the new Aurora Medical Park campus. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Grand Forks. Danial Padgett, ’00, ’05, is a physician with Trinity Medical Group. He and his wife, Stephanie, reside in Minot, N.D.

··································· 2001

Neil Danner, ’01, was hired by One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning as a comfort adviser. Neil is also assistant coach of the high school girl’s basketball team in Thompson, N.D., where he and his wife, Kami (Winger), ’00, reside. Brian Doty, ’01, is a mechanical engineer with EAPC in Grand

Forks. He was previously a manufacturing engineer for Cirrus Design Corp. Brian lives in Euclid, Minn. Craig Hashbarger, ’01, is a senior staff accountant in the audit department for Widmer Roel, a public accounting and business advisory firm. He and his wife, Sherri (Richards), ’02, live in Fargo. Reva (Roehl) Kautz, ’01, joined Edgewood Vista as marketing manager for Edgewood Village in Bismarck, where she and her husband, Mike, reside. Sadie (Callahan) Ripley, ’01, was promoted from retail relationship manager to business banker with Bremer Bank. She and her husband, Eric, ’99, ’05, reside in Grand Forks.

··································· 2003

Rene Fredstrom, ’03, is a physician in internal medicine with Altru Health System in Roseau, Minn., where she lives.

A WISH FULFILLED Alumni Review, I would like to submit this picture for the Alumni Review.

Ἅ l u m n i R e v i e w w w w . u n d a l u m n i . o r g

Recently, my dad was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's). It was

always a dream of his to go to the Ralph and see a Fighting Sioux hockey game. Well, on Friday, Feb. 13, his wish came true. It took some planning, but thanks to our family friend, Brent Atkins, we all had a great time as the Sioux beat Mankato. Pictured left to right: Brent Atkins, ’91; Jeff Lundquist, ’83; my dad, Bud Lundquist; and me. My dad has always been a huge fan of UND Athletics and I know this will be a fond memory of his. Thanks, Ron Lundquist, ’92 Kindred, N.D.

Ἅ l u m n i N e ws

2004

Christopher Carlson, ’04, is a GIS technician in the water resources group of Moore Engineering, Inc., a civil engineering and land surveying company in West Fargo, N.D., and Fergus Falls, Minn. He resides in Fargo. Tyler Curran, ’04, is a research engineer for UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center. Previously, he was a mechanical and electrical engineer with Hawkes Manufacturing. Tyler and his wife reside in Grand Forks. Eric Kiefert, ’04, is a police officer with the United States Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. Eric graduated from the Capitol Police Training Academy in November. He lives in Alexandria, Va. Bradley Loiland, ’04, is an IT technician with Advanced Engineering & Environmental Services Inc. (AE2S), in Grand Forks, where he lives. Brett Narloch, ’04, is executive director of the North Dakota Policy Council. He also has written for several publications including the Dakota Beacon and the State Policy Network newsletter. Brett and his wife, Lindsey, live in Bismarck. Joshua Parrill, ’04, is an auditor

Coaching Excellence

Forry Flaagan, ’77, head cross country coach at Rapid City (S.D.) Stevens

High School, was selected for induction into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place in June in Minneapolis.

Forry has been head cross country coach and assistant track coach of the

Rapid City Stevens Raiders for the past 21 years. During his career, he’s led his girls and boys teams to a combined 19 state Class AA championships.

Along with coaching, Forry is a lumber broker in Rapid City. A fitting career

for a man who’s full name is Forrest! Forry welcomes e-mails from old friends and classmates at flaagan4e@yahoo.com.

with Alerus Financial. He and his wife, Emily (Pulis), ’05, live in East Grand Forks, Minn. Amy (Knutson) Shimek, ’04, ’08, is a nurse practitioner with Altru Health System’s Truyu Aesthetic Center. Amy is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses. She and her husband, Russell, live in Manvel, N.D. Jane Sykes Wilson, ’04, is an education abroad adviser at UND. Previously, she was an

account coordinator for Flint Communications. She and her husband, Matthew, ’02, live in Grand Forks.

··································· 2005

for Alerus Financial. She and her husband, Steven, live in Grand Forks. Sara Lien-Mehrer, ’05, is a financial representative for Country Financial. She and her husband, Steven, ’04, live in Fargo.

Jordan Bremer, ’05, is a research scientist for UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center. He and his wife, Rachel (Robinson), ’06, reside in Grand Forks.

Garrett Ludwig, ’05, ’08, is an attorney with Kelsch Kelsch Ruff & Kranda law firm in Bismarck, where he lives.

Robin Carriere, ’05, is a customer service representative

Erin Schill, ’05, is customer service representative for Alerus Financial. She worked in public

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Photo courtesy of rapid city journal

Jason Johnson, ’03, is controller for Starion Financial in Mandan, N.D. He and his wife, Stacey (Mees), ’04, reside in Bismarck.

Please send your news to alumnireview@undalumni.net

Kyle Glazewski, ’03, ’05, is a research scientist for UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center. In this role, Kyle works with water quality assessments and watershed‐ scale water quality modeling. He lives in Grand Forks.

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Ἅ l u m n i N e ws accounting for three years prior to joining Alerus. Erin lives in Fargo.

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Suzanne Halverson, ’06, is Steele County coordinator. She resides in Finley, N.D. Nikki (Bye) Jehs, ’06, is an accounting clerk with Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. (AE2S). She and her husband, Chad, reside in Grand Forks.

··································· 2007

Ashley Bergman, ’07, is a financial adviser for Citi Smith Barney in Fargo, where she lives. Aaron Olsen, ’07, is a sales operations specialist with Intelligent InSites. Previously he worked for SEI as a member of the operations team for Microsoft accounts. Aaron lives in Fargo.

··································· 2008

Jeff Fix, ’08, is a staff accountant with Brady Martz in Grand Forks, where he lives.

Ἅ l u m n i R e v i e w w w w . u n d a l u m n i . o r g

Lauren Gessler, ’08, is store manager of Indigo, a college/teen resale shop in Grand Forks, where she lives.

Cassandra (Capp) McDonald, ’08, is a customer service representative with Alerus Financial. She and her husband, Curtis, live in Larimore, N.D. Stacy McGill, ’08, is a customer service representative with Alerus Financial in Grand Forks, where she resides.

Kyle Palmiscno, ’08, is a research engineer for UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center. Kyle works in the area of process engineering and design related to conversion of coal and biomass to fuels, chemicals and energy. He resides in Grand Forks. Connie Soper, ’08, is a physician assistant with Innovis Health’s occupational medicine department in West Fargo, N.D. She and her husband live in Argusville, N.D. Jennifer Thon, ’08, is employed with Watomwan County law office in St. James, Minn. She lives in Windom, Minn. Dan Waind, ’08, is lead personal banker with Alerus Financial at its Express location in downtown Grand Forks, where he resides. Jana Zwilling, ’08, is a nurse practitioner with Altru Health System in Grand Forks, where she lives.

··························· Friends Debra Bell was certified by the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. She is one of only 1,160 physicians who have been certified by the ABIHM. Debra is a physician with RiverView Family Practice in Crookston, Minn., where she lives. Jean Nygaard retired from her role as a nurse practitioner with Crosby Clinic and St. Luke’s Hospital. She will continue to do office work on the Health Insurance Portablility and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, policy and procedures, and staff education. Jean and her husband, Ray, ..’72, reside in Wildrose, N.D. ■

Find the exclusive T.J. Oshie bobblehead and all your favorite holiday gear and gifts at siouxshop.com.

Events

Gayle (Shemorry) Williamson, ’69, and her friend, Teri Hutton, got together at the St. Paul Green Engagement in March.

Catie (Neath), ’04, and Josh Sondrol, ’02, and their daughter, cheered on former UND hockey players T.J. Oshie of the St. Louis Blues and David Hale, ..’03, of the Phoenix Coyotes at a UND gathering in Glendale, Ariz.

Larry Pate, the Rod Burwell Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurship, CoBPA, along with business students, Marc McKinley and Kayla Mattfeld visit at the St. Paul Green Engagement.

Dick, ..’72, and Lanna ( Jeffrey) Piker along with Jim, ..’68, and Melody ( Jeffrey) Nord, ’94, enjoyed a UND fan gathering in Glendale, Ariz.

A group of Fighting Sioux fans got fired up for the Final Five hockey tournament in St. Paul on Mar. 20.

The Griffeths made it a family affair at a UND alumni reunion in Tucson, Ariz. Pictured from left: Charlotte, Kelly, George, ..’79, and Gary, ’53, ’54, Griffeth.

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2009

June 11 north Valley Park River/Hillcrest Golf Club Registration: 10 a.m./Shot-Gun Start: 11 a.m. Social/Dinner: 5 p.m. Cost: $100 June 15 Fargo/Oxbow Golf & Country Club Registration: 11 a.m./Shot-Gun Start: 12:30 p.m. Social: 5:30 p.m./Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Cost: $150

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i n m e m o ri a m 1920s

T. B. Asmundson, ’29, ’31, Bellingham, Wash.

1930s

J.P. Birdzell, M.D., ’32, ’33, Niles, Minn. Doris E. (Brown) Kempf, ’35, Prior Lake, Minn. Clifford D. Olson, ’36, Grand Forks Joseph H. Reinertson, ’36, Fairbault, Minn. Laura A. (Hovick) Berkley, ’37, ’38, Grand Forks Bernard A. Stratmoen, ’37, Arlington Heights, Ill. Harriet T. (Thorstad) Drummond, ’38, ’45, Grand Forks Catherine E. (Davies) Jones, ’38, Minot, N.D. Kenneth K. Ostreim, ..’38, Rolette, N.D. George M. Olson Jr., ..’39, Grand Forks

Ἅ l u m n i R e v i e w w w w . u n d a l u m n i . o r g

1940s

Phyllis A. (Dietrich) Dazet, ’40, Richmond, Va. Phyllis M. (Sweetland) McCusker, ’40, Denver, Colo. William J. Thoreson, ..’40, Richland, Mich. Norma E. (Bjornthun) Haney, ..’41, Bellevue, Wash. Philip MacMillan, ..’41, Fargo Richard I. McCosh, ..’41, Keizer, Ore. Selmer Rodning, ’41, Peoria, Ariz. Roger L. Roy, ..’41, Detroit Lakes, Minn. Alice M. (Danuser) Anderson, ’42, Sarasota, Fla. Peggy L. (Meyer) Beaton, ..’42, New Castle, Pa. Bethel (Larson) Bolstad, ’42, Great Falls, Mont. Thomas J. Clifford, ’42, ’48, HON ’00, Grand Forks Peter M. Geiser, M.D., ’42, ’43, Cottage Grove, Minn. Clarence W. Piltingsrud, ’42, Canon City, Colo. Betty J. (Bonner) Robertson, ..’42, Harlowton, Mont. Mrs. Fredrick Saefke, ..’43, Bismarck Agnes B. Bratlee, ’43, Cando, N.D. Myron J. Talbert, M.D., ’43, ’44, Redlands, Calif. George J. Schunk, M.D., ’44, Salem, Ore. Helen F. (Brown) McCurdy, ’45, Cavalier, N.D. Dr. Ella Jane (Cookson) Oyer, ’46, West Boylston, Mass. Grace M. (Trask) Brower, ..’47, Crookston, Minn. Beverly M. (Weberg) Falstad, ’47, Billings, Mont. Marie (Nelson) Lindgren, ..’47, Vista, Calif. Thomas A. Roney, ’47, Venice, Fla. Judge A.C. Bakken, ’48, Woodburn, Ore. Kenneth J. Carey, ’48, ’49, San Antonio, Texas Earl C. Miller, ..’48, Sonoma, Calif. William N. Leonard Jr., ’48, Lacey, Wash. Herman J. Desautels, ’49, League City, Texas Robert Jacobson, ’49, Bottineau, N.D. George R. “Bob” Johnson, ’49, Devils Lake, N.D. Melvin L. Johnson, ’49, Roseville, Minn. H. Dale Sellheim, ’49, Easley, S.C.

1950s

Robert C. Heinley, ’50, ’56, Carrington, N.D. Loren J. Lybeck, ’50, Las Vegas, Nev. James C. Morley, ..’50, Hillsboro, Ore. R.J. Rutten, M.D., ’50, ’52, Goleta, Calif. Ray Wilwant Jr., ’50, Venice, Fla.

Richard K. Brusegaard, ..’51, Las Vegas, Nev. Carl E. Flem, ’51, ’55, Bedford, Texas James P. Hesketh, ’51, Minnetonka, Minn. Clarence A. Jensen, ’51, Boulder, Colo. John T. Norton, M.D., ’51, Scottsdale, Ariz. Donald H. Schmoldt, ..’51, Spring Branch, Texas Edward C. Wilson, ’51, Aiken, S.C. Harold E. Anderson, ’52, ’56, Bismarck James A. Bischke, ’53, Billings, Mont. Nancy A. (Peterson) Heising, ..’53, San Diego Robert L. McKenzie, ’53, Edmonds, Wash. Harry L. Salisbury, ’53, Fargo Harry M. Schwenke, ’53, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Paul J. Storsteen, ’53, Minot, N.D. Earl F. Hillesland, ’54, Wadena, Minn. H. Cornelia Martineau, ’54, Devils Lake, N.D. L. Ralph Werner, ’54, Bismarck Gerald W. Bidwell, ’56, Pataskala, Ohio John J. Galvin, ..’56, Andover, Minn. Patricia A. Warcup, ’56, ’58, Lengby, Minn. N. Dean Tsoumpas, ’57, Spokane Valley, Wash. Gary O. Cranston, ’58, Battle Lake, Minn. Ardyce V. Petersen, ’58, Bismarck Roger L. Rustan, ’58, Bellevue, Neb. Dale Wavra, ’58, Grand Forks Timothy R. Estes, ..’59, Bottineau, N.D. Sylvia S. (Back) Pederson, ..’59, Tioga, N.D. Donald V. Polack, ’59, Modesto, Calif. Gary M. Timm, ..’59, Kimberling City, Mo. John Yacio II, ’59, Arlington, Texas

1960s

Joe H. Bach, ’60, Cosmopolis, Wash. H. Thomas Iverson, ..’60, Mayville, N.D. Marlene Joy (Johnson) Bracy, ..’61, Portland, Mich. Alton N. Koppang, ’61, Bismarck Michael L. Halpern, ’62, Glen Ullin, N.D. Maynard W. Schanilec, ’62, Hawley, Minn. Wilbert Speidel, ’62, San Jose, Calif. Margaret R. (Reynolds) Arion, ’63, Ithaca, N.Y. Jean A. (Thompson) Bina, ’63, Grand Forks James E. Barker, ’63, ’68, Grand Forks Theodore Effos, ’63, Muskogee, Okla. Wayne F. Pricer Sr. ’63, Royal Oak Mich. Nancy A. (Stucy) Teigland, ’63, Oklee, Minn. Otto U. Tyler, ’64, Northwood, N.D. Hugh G. Bray, ..’65, Dallas Gary D. Crawford, ’65, Rome, N.Y. Nancy J. Jones, ’65, Wenatchee, Wash. Robert A. Thompson, ..’65, Grand Forks Lt. Col. Clifford H. Beeks Jr. (RET.), ’66, ’78, Chillicothe, Ohio William P. Fugelso, ’66, Las Cruces, N.M. Charles L. Ruppert Sr., ..’66, Minot, N.D. Janice L. (Janes) Gad, ’67, Fargo John J. Murray, ’67, Williamsport, Pa. Lowell J. Mickelson, M.D., ’68, ’70, Detroit Lakes, Minn.

Wayne E. Simonson, ’68, Casper, Wyo. S. Lee Vinje, ’68, Mayville, N.D. Leonard A. Ratzlaff, ’69, Mesa, Ariz. John W. Shae, ’69, Owatonna, Minn.

1970s

Robert A. Christopher, ’70, ’74, Grand Forks Fredric A. Krieg, ’70, Houston Bonnie M. (Fischer) Stjern, ’70, Anoka, Minn. Dr. Kalyn J. Anderson, ’71, Valley City, N.D. Edward M. Babeck, ..’71, Bismarck Georgia A. (Helgeson) Flaat, ..’71, Panama City Beach, Fla. Robert J. Fodera, ..’71, Cape May Court House, N.J. Jacqueline P. (Benson) Iverson, ’71, Grand Forks Elizabeth C. (Allery) Keplin, ’73, Belcourt, N.D. Byron D. Amundson, ..’74, Grand Forks Donald L. Skinner, ..’74, Watertown, S.D. Abbejean Kehler, ’75, ’77, Columbus, Ohio Fair A. Meeks, ’76, St. Paul, Minn. Charlene M. (Behrens) Schwert, ’76, Fargo Julie A. (McLaughlin) Lejulie, ’77, Aurora, Colo. Winona M. (Jeanotte) Moore, ’78, Belcourt, N.D.

1980s

Loren L. Rohweder, ’80, Grand Island, Neb. Flora Vendellen, ..’80, Grand Forks Ray E. LaMontagne, ..’81, Addison, Texas Brian A. Meehl, ’81, Englewood, Colo. Lawrence R. Hoffman, ’82, Escondido, Calif. Dr. John P. Franzoia, ’89, St. Cloud, Minn. Michael T. Kilen, ’89, Chicago

1990s

William R. Holden, ..’90, Manvel, N.D.

Michael J. Nisbet, ’93, Grand Forks Carl S. Osmundson, M.D., ’93, ’98, Big Lake, Minn. Ian R. Miller, ’95, Park River, N.D. Charles J. Hosier, ’96, Denver Travis L. Engstrom, ’97, Bozeman, Mont. Dr. James B. Richmond, ’97, Grand Forks Wade C. Westin, ’97, Bismarck

2000s

Mark V. Perkins, ’00, ’01, Browerville, Minn. Bryn E. Pieschel, ’02, Denver

Current Students

Nicole J. Thorson, ’10, Grand Forks

Retired Faculty/Staff

Jess A. Carl, Grand Forks Phyllis, Hellem, Laporte, Minn.

Friends

Eleanor L. (Dalbey) Anderson, Gaithersburg, Md. E.F. Dump, Grand Forks Estelle (Fiskum) Graham, Fargo Jack W. Johnson, Des Moines, Wash. Mrs. D. Bruce MacDonald, Grand Forks Ellen L. (Nagle) Nerby, Grand Forks Vern Olson, Grafton, N.D. Rita (LaCoursiere) Perusse, Sandpoint, Idaho Alvera Schuld, Dickinson, N.D. Sharold O. Stromli, East Grand Forks, Minn. Agnes T. Vennes, Grand Forks Elsa (Mork) Vogel, Bismarck Leonard L. Vonasek, East Grand Forks, Minn.

et e rna l f l a m e s o ci et y

cumulative giving George Starcher Circle ($100,000) Brian & Terrie Dahl, Fargo; Tony & Jan Sdao, Longmont, Colo.

President’s Circle ($25,000) Jo L. Bullis, Mancelona, Mich.; Debbie Evenson, Grand Forks; Donald T. Johnson Estate, Edina, Minn.; Franklin G. & Jo Andrea Larson, Valley City, N.D.

annual giving Dacotah Circle ($5,000 +) Accenture Foundation, Inc., Chicago, Ill.; Adeline M. Bjork (Hoge) Estate, St. Paul, Minn; Cessna Foundation, Wichita, Kan.; Choice Financial Group, Grafton, N.D.; John R. Fischer, M.D., Anchorage, Ala.; Donald T. Johnson Estate, Edina, Minn.; Philip & Adeline Johnson, Horace, N.D.; Stephen P. Kramer, Springfield, Ore.; Dr. Steve & Teri Lantz, Horace, N.D.; Franklin G. & Jo Andrea Larson, Valley City, N.D.; MeritCare Health System, Fargo; Drs. Kimberly Kelly & Daniel Mickelson, Fargo; Douglas C. & Laura Munski, Grand Forks; George & Arline Schubert, Grand Forks; Tony & Jan Sdao, Longmont, Colo.; Jim & Nancy Seifert, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Bryce & June Streibel Estate, Grand Forks; Dave R. Rettker, Chicago.

su m m e r 2 0 0 9

Listed are the dedicated alumni and friends of UND who became new UND Foundation Eternal Flame Society members from Jan. 1 – Mar. 31. The Society recognizes those who, by reaching a level of giving, are showing their commitment to UND’s growth.

FIELD TESTED

FUTURE READY

INVESTING IN

THE POWER OF YOU

At the University of North Dakota, learning means doing. UND graduates have put their knowledge and skills to the test — in the laboratory and in the studio, on paper and in the field, alone and in groups. They have had the advantages of first-class resources and faculty who are both dedicated teachers and well-known experts in their disciplines. UND graduates are ready for change and ready to be the people who will make great things happen. The University of North Dakota emphasizes “the power of YOU!” That’s why nine in ten UND graduates work in their chosen fields, and 98 percent go on to full-time employment or further studies.

CREATIVE INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRITED

www.und.edu

An equal opportunity / affirmative action institution

Your Life Your Style 4x5.25 Pool.qxp

1/6/2009

8:32 AM

altru.org/parkwoodplace

Whether you want complete independence or slight medical assistance, Parkwood Place is the community for you. Residents have complete control over their lifestyle and our staff is there to offer any conveniences necessary. • Basic care, assisted, or independent living options • Furnished or unfurnished apartments • Easy access to grocery, banking, shopping and healthcare services • Delicious meals and comfortable dining rooms • Convenient shuttle bus service Contact Jo- at (701)780-2612 or jhirsch@altru.org to schedule a tour or for more information.

749 S. 30th Street

Grand Forks, ND

Page 1

Alumni Association BlogSpot ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

www.undalumni.org

Stand Up and Cheer

Stand Up and Cheer is a new book about the founding of the UND Varsity Bards, written by James T. Fudge, Ph.D. Full of old photos and Bards’ programs, the book tells of the founding of the organization in 1952 and explains the traditions that were established by the group during the first two decades of their award‐winning existence. If you are interested in purchasing a book, along with a CD featuring 15 songs recorded by the Bards from various classes over the years, send a check for $49.95 along with your mailing address to: Phil Schmidt, 8526 Amato Drive, Lakeside, CA 92040 note: Make checks payable to Philip Schmidt, with a note on the check, “For Bards Book & CD”. Feel free to contact Phil with any questions at 619 . 749 . 1641 or e‐mail PhilSchmidt@Cox.net. All proceeds will benefit the current Bards organization. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Helping Young Hearts and Minds

Julie (Williams) Barner, ’70, ’71, and her long‐time Delta Gamma sorority sister Claudia (Block) Danovic, ’70, shared a two‐week adventure in service in January as they traveled to Ecuador with Global Volunteers, a nonprofit, nonsectarian international development organization, based out of St. Paul, Minn. As part of a seven‐member team of Americans, the women volunteered at a childcare facility for at‐risk children of poverty. The team assisted classroom teachers, engaged in recreational and educational activities with preschoolers and assisted in meal

preparations. Julie, a former elementary school teacher lives in Fargo with her husband, Michael. Julie speaks little Spanish, but felt it was amazingly easy to communicate with the children. “I guess our hearts were speaking the same language,” she said. Claudia, a former Fargo resident, now lives in Paradise Valley, Ariz. Since moving there six years ago, she has been a volunteer reading tutor at an elementary school. For more information on how you can serve in this unique way visit www.globalvolunteers.org.

You're Invited The UND Alumni Association Annual Meeting and anniversary celebration is Friday, June 12, at 11 a.m., at the J. Lloyd Stone Alumni Center. Everyone is welcome.

Alumni Review University of North Dakota Alumni Association 3100 University Ave Stop 8157 Grand Forks, ND 58202â&#x20AC;?8157

Ireland

septembeR 5-13, 2009 From $2,174

to booK youR tRip to iReLand or to view other Alumni Travel options go to www.undalumni.org and click on Events & Travel. Or call 800.842.9023.

Visit everywhere from bustling Dublin to idyllic Killarney and all the beautiful stops in between. Ireland has all the charm and warmth of an old neighborhood, while serving as one the economic hubs of the European Union. It is the vacation of a lifetime to include Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park, Dingle Peninsula, and the Ring of Kerry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; topped off with a Blarney Stone kiss and a pint of Guinness! this is a land of folklore and legend, where the genuine warmth, humor and friendliness of the local people will leave a lasting impression.