The Year in Alumni Events

In 2019, the UND Alumni Association & Foundation hosted more than 100 alumni events across the country. Enjoy some of the highlights of the year, and mark your calendars for events coming to a location near you in 2020!

JANUARY

UND WILD ROAD TRIP 1.10.2019

University of North Dakota alumni and friends gathered at the Xcel Energy Center to watch the Minnesota Wild take on the Winnipeg Jets for the first-ever UND Wild Road trip. Fans had the chance to purchase a ticket package which included a seat at the game, photo opportunity on the ice and a pregame party at the arena prior to puck drop!

FEBRUARY

GIVING HEARTS DAY 2.14.2019

This year's regional Giving Hearts Day impacted students to a new level! Generous donors gave over $150,000, granting 40 scholarships to students immediately. This giving day focuses on providing a scholarship opportunity to every student at UND, whether they are on-campus, online, an incoming freshman, or an outgoing senior.

SPIRIT WEEK / PHILANTHROPY MONTH

For the first time, UND celebrated Philanthropy Month. The month was focused on philanthropic efforts made at UND through celebrating the generous donors who have made the University what it is today, and by encouraging students to be active in saying ‘Thank You!’. Students and the campus community also had the opportunity to participate in philanthropy, thanks to a generous donation made by Scheels of Grand Forks. Scheels donated 500 beanie hats to be sold on campus with 100% of the proceeds designated to a fund voted on by the students. This generated over $3,500 in donations for the Food for Thought Food Pantry on campus.

MARCH

UND IN FARGO 3.21.2019

UND alumni and friends in the Fargo/Moorhead area heard from marketing and personal branding expert Amanda McKinnon, Bodacious Brander & CEO of MSPIRE, on how you are building your brand without knowing it. She explained how to build it in a way that best represents you and then communicate it to the world. This event is part of a traveling alumni series to encourage lifelong learning with our alumni as well as professional growth.

APRIL

WOMEN FOR PHILANTHROPY 4.16.2019

Our annual Women for Philanthropy luncheon featured keynote speaker Kris Engelstad McGarry. A sold-out crowd listened to a great conversation led by CEO DeAnna Carlson Zink. With over 200 applications submitted, two $2,000 Women For Philanthropy scholarships were awarded.

APRIL

UND GIVES 4.24.2019

Generous donors joined together for the first-ever UND Gives, a day of giving back to the University of North Dakota in any area and capacity you can! Over 600 donors gave $380,000 in just 24 hours and made huge impacts on the campus community and students.

CHAMPIONS BALL 4.27.2019

UND and Athletics supporters came together this April to support studentathletes in the largest capacity in history. This year's Champions Ball raised a record amount of more than $300,000 in just one night!

MAY

COMMENCEMENT/HONORARY DEGREE 5.11.2019

Josh Duhamel, Hollywood actor and North Dakota native; Heidi Heitkamp, the first North Dakotan to be elected to the U.S. Senate, serving from 2013 to 2019; and Clay Lacy, known throughout the world of aviation industry and education as a pilot, entrepreneur, innovator, record setter, and benefactor, were all awarded Honorary degrees from UND in 2019.

GOLF TOURNAMENTS JUNE 2019

Each summer, alumni around the North Dakota and Minnesota regions come together on the green. From Fergus Falls, Minnesota, to Grafton, North Dakota, our alumni and friends support student-athletes and connect back to their alma mater through the Champions Club Golf Tour.

JULY

UND AT TARGET FIELD 7.18.2019

This year, we had 2,315 UND alumni and friends in attendance at Target Field to watch a Minnesota Twins win against the Oakland A’s! Former UND men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol threw out the first pitch. Before the game, alumni gathered for our pregame at The Pourhouse.

SEPTEMBER

NAMING OF NISTLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 8.26.2019

UND and the UND Alumni Association & Foundation were thrilled to announce the College of Business and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota will now bear the name of Werner and Colleen Nistler. The Nistlers have generously stepped forward to be the lead donors on a new College of Business and Public Administration building on the UND Campus.

SEPTEMBER

UND VS. NDSU FOOTBALL PREGAME 9.7.2019

UND held a pregame gathering before the UND vs. NDSU football game at the Fargo Air Museum. The event was attended by over 300 alumni, friends and fans.

Red Pepper was the meal sponsor and served up grinders with chips and sauce and a cash bar was put on by SideStreet Grille & Pub with 20% of their sales going to UND scholarships.

OCTOBER

HOMECOMING 2019

As always, Homecoming was filled with excitement, tradition and cheer! Students participated in on-campus events all week with generous sponsors like Bully Brew Coffee Co., Ground Round and the featured sponsor for the week-long celebration, United Valley Bank. A Hawk's Hour was held at Bonzers to kick-off alumni focused engagement, which led to other traditional events including the Sioux Awards. The weekend ended with wins from both the football team and the men’s hockey team.

UND IN MSP 10.15.2019

UND in MSP was held again this year at Summit Brewery in St. Paul. Alumni and friends in the area gathered, socialized and networked, while hearing about the expansive changes and good news from campus. Thanks again to Mark Stutrud, owner of Summit Brewery, for hosting this event!

SEATTLE GATHERING 11.4.2019

Alumni & friends gathered at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The event was attended by more than 100 guests and was hosted by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and the College of Engineering & Mines. Guests attended from across the U.S.!

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY 11.11.2019

We hosted our annual Veteran's Day Ceremony; a day where we remember and honor all those who have served this great country. We host this event in conjunction with UND’s Army ROTC program.

DECEMBER

HOLIDAY CHEERS 12.9.2019

This year was the 6th annual Holiday Cheers event in which we welcomed those on campus and in the community to gather and celebrate the season. This year, we had a heartwarming amount on nonperishable food items donated by guests that went to the Food for Thought Food Pantry on campus. We had one very special guest, Santa, who visited and took pictures with guests.