A night for flight
Half century of aviation excellence for UND Aerospace celebrated during Homecoming week
To honor the 50th year of aviation excellence at the University of North Dakota, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences sold out the Alerus Center.
Or at least the ballroom.
More than 500 came to celebrate the storied success of the school and its namesake. Assistant Dean Ken Polovitz, who played the part of emcee Friday evening, said it was like a jubilant family reunion.
“I’m glad we had nametags,” he laughed. “It was a lot of fun and great to see alums and industry friends visiting, reminiscing.”
Through becoming one of the world’s premier flight schools, between alums and industry friends, UND has developed quite a family.
Helping celebrate it were UND President Mark Kennedy, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., Aerospace Dean Paul Lindseth, former Aerospace Dean Bruce Smith and Dianne Odegard – wife of the late founder of the school, John D. Odegard. They all addressed the crowd.
The theme throughout: Odegard’s enthusiasm and vision, as well as his passion for students.
“You couldn’t make four steps without bumping into somebody you wanted to talk to,” remarked Polovitz, who’s been involved with UND Aerospace for 40 years. “We could still be visiting, if not for the night ending.”
John’s legacy
It all began in 1968 with two donated planes, twelve students and the formation of UND’s Department of Aviation.
Odegard, who once scrimped together enough money to pay his college tuition from money earned by crop dusting, was the department’s first chairman.
Odegard, a native of Minot, N.D., had a lifelong fascination with aviation. As an undergrad at UND, Odegard is said to have revitalized the school’s flying club.
Odegard also was a lifetime learner, with a ceaseless passion to innovate. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from UND in 1966 and 1967, respectively. His master’s thesis, “Feasibility and Cost Analysis of Institutional Private Aircraft Transportation,” earned him approval to establish an air transportation service for UND officials.
In his lifetime, Odegard logged more than 10,000 flight hours and held an airline transport certificate for Learjet, Cessna Citation, Beechjet and single- and multi-engine aircraft. He was a certified flight instructor for airplanes, instrument, multi-engine and gliders. He was also a FAA pilot examiner for private, commercial, instrument, multi-engine, flight instructor, ATP, glider, seaplane certificates and ratings and for Cessna Citation type ratings.
Prominent figure
Odegard was also the first dean of UND Aerospace, which would become one of the nation’s most widely respected aerospace education programs under his leadership.
In 1970, he was elected president of the University Aviation Association, a national organization dedicated to the recognition and standardization of aviation curriculum, and in 1982, chaired its ground-breaking Airway Science Curriculum Task Force.
That same year, from its modest beginnings, the UND Center for Aerospace Sciences was launched to handle the tremendous growth of atmospheric research and aviation education programs that had evolved at the University.
Odegard propelled UND Aerospace to international prominence by pioneering many precedent-setting programs including the Aerospace curriculum, the Aerospace Network distance education system, and the SPECTRUM® ab initio pilot training program.
Odegard was a prominent figure on many civic, state and gubernatorial committees related to air transportation, education and economic development, such as the North Dakota Aeronautics Committee, on which he served for 12 years, including four as chairman.
Lofty honors
Among his many awards was the prestigious Frank G. Brewer Trophy presented in 1988 by the National Aeronautics Association for “his distinguished and inspiring leadership in creating new educational opportunities.” A year earlier, the editors of Aviation Week and Space Technology recognized his contributions to aerospace in their 1987 Laurels nominations for “building the Center for Aerospace Sciences into a major force in aviation and space education.”
In 1989, Odegard received the FAA Administrator’s Regional “Championship” award for Excellence in Aviation Education, and was honored as the North Dakota “Business Innovator of the Year.” And in 1994 Odegard was presented the National Air Transportation Association’s Excellence in Pilot Training Award.
In 1997, when the center was celebrating 30 years of aviation excellence at UND, the name John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences was adopted. The new name served to centralize the school’s ever-expanding aerospace presence, both educational and commercial, in everything from atmospheric sciences and environmental research to space studies to its pioneering efforts in unmanned flight.
Odegard died in 1998 at the age of 57, after a courageous battle with cancer, and was posthumously honored with North Dakota highest civilian honor the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.
Today, the aptly named school – with its Departments of Aviation, Atmospheric Sciences, Earth System Science and Policy, and Space Studies — is the second largest of UND’s degree-granting colleges, and operates one of the largest fleets of civilian flight training in North America.
Click here to view the 50th Anniversary Celebration Video – featuring Stephanie Odegard-LaDue, daughter of John D. Odegard, and a brief history of UND Aerospace.
