University Letter

UND's faculty and staff newsletter

UND to bestow honorary degrees on Si and Betty Robin

The University of North Dakota is set to bestow honorary degrees to Si and Betty Robin, benefactors of Robin Hall and owners/CEO and President of Sensor Systems. The two will each be recognized at UND’s 2018 Spring Commencement ceremony with an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of North Dakota.

Seymour “Si” Robin and Mary “Betty” E. Bazar Robin are the benefactors of Robin Hall at the University. Because of their love for aviation, they accepted an invitation from Clay Lacy, a member of the UND Aerospace Foundation Board of Directors, in 2005 to visit UND. Si was very impressed with the work ethic of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences’ faculty, staff, and students, as well as the superior facilities and inventory of aircraft equipment within the School.

Soon thereafter, Si and Betty began making contributions to the School for a new building focusing on unmanned aircraft systems education and research. The construction of Robin Hall began with the ground breaking taking place in late 2014 and was completed with the ribbon cutting in July 2016. Si and Betty attended the ground breaking for the building as well as the beam signing and ribbon cutting ceremonies – demonstrating their strong commitment toward the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Science.

About Robin Hall
Robin Hall, a much-needed UAS/aerospace research facility, has gone a long way in serving the school’s rapidly growing UAS enterprise as well as other aerospace related research activities. UND’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, a major tenant of the new research building, was the first collegiate degree program of its kind in the nation ad quickly became one of if not the largest and most widely recognized program in the world.

The building is named after husband-and-wife team Mary E. Bazar and Si Robin President and Vice President, respectively, of Sensor Systems, a California-based manufacturer of aerospace antenna. Longtime UND Aerospace champion and benefactor James Ray was also a donor.

The 66,000-square-foot Robin Hall was funded largely by private donations and $1.5 million in matches from the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education Challenge Fund. The state authorized UND to spend up to $25 million on the project. It’s being built and managed by the Aerospace Foundation, the private-sector support arm of UND Aerospace.