University Letter

UND's faculty and staff newsletter

David Dodds named UND Communication Director

David Dodds accepts the Presidential Appreciation Award from President Mark Kennedy

David Dodds has been named Communication Director in the Division of Marketing & Communications, where he will develop and implement media and communications strategies for UND, develop strategic media plans, coordinate public relations, UND Today, manage media contacts, pitch stories and respond to media inquiries.

Dodds begins his new duties Feb. 19. He is the founding editor and developer of UND Today, which was conceived by UND President Mark Kennedy. Since its inception in 2016, it has grown to nearly 7,000 subscriptions.

“I am thrilled to have David step into the communications director role,” said Meloney Linder, Vice President for Marketing & Communications. “During my time at UND, David has already begun to help us advance our efforts to proactively tell our UND stories locally, regionally, and nationally.”

Dodds has been with UND for 11 years, and has worked with media, publications and public relations. Previously, he was a reporter for The Grand Forks Herald, where he mostly covered higher education in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Retired from the National Guard, Dodds has served on several deployments, including to the Middle East as a military journalist with the Army National Guard, where he also escorted national and international civilian reporters and helped them embed with troops who serving overseas. He has also been deployed to Kosovo, Germany, Italy and South Korea.

Dodds, who was born in New Rockford, N.D., and grew up in Dickinson, earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from UND in 1998. He is married to Jennifer, an elementary teacher in Grand Forks, where they have chosen to settle and raise their children: Emma, Eliza, Josephine, Amelia and Lydia.

He takes the baton from longtime University spokesman and former Interim Vice President for University Relations Peter Johnson, who now is working part-time for UND.