Sociology Alumni Features

Professor Michael L. Rustad

As part of the University of North Dakota’s graduating class of ‘71, Professor Michael Rustad has accomplished many things. A founding director and current co-director of the Intellectual Property Law program, he is the Thomas F. Lambert Jr. Professor and Co-Director of the Intellectual Property Concentration at Boston’s Suffolk University Law School where he has been since 1989. However, there are several other milestones between Professor Rustad’s time at UND and where he is today.

After graduating from UND, he earned his MA in Sociology at the University of Maryland and earned his PhD from Boston College in 1981. Professor Rustad taught at Boston College as an adjunct assistant professor and later was appointed as a tenure-track sociology professor at Northeastern, where he taught from 1981 to 1986. Women in Khaki: The American Enlisted Woman was his most significant contribution to sociology.  This book was on his field studies and interviews with American enlisted women serving in the Signal Corp in Germany.

Michael L. Rustad, Ph.D., J.D., LL.M, who specializes in torts, intellectual property, and commercial law is widely published and one of the most cited torts professors in the world. Professor Rustad then went to Suffolk Law School’s Evening Division where he finished first in his class out of five hundred students.  After clerking for the Hon. Judge William E. Doyle of the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, he became an attorney at Boston’s Foley, Hoag.

Later he returned to Suffolk University Law where he was appointed as the Thomas F. Lambert Jr. Professor of Law. He brought his sociological skills to do an empirical study of punitive damages in products liability, 1965-1990.  In a 1994 case, the U.S. Supreme Court called this work the most comprehensive empirical study of punitive damages in products litigation.  Currently, he is doing an update of punitive damages in products litigation, 1991-2024.   His current article just published in the Missouri Law Review calls for mandatory consumer rules in federalizing U.C.C. Article 2.

References

Michael L. Rustad, Cancel Carte Blanche for the Information Industries: Federalizing U.C.C. Article 2. 89 Mo. L. Rev. 59 (forthcoming Summer 2024)..

Michael L. Rustad, In Defense of Punitive Damages in Products Liability: Testing Tort Anecdotes with Empirical Data, 78 Iowa. L. Rev. 1 (1992).

Tricia Berg, MSW, LMSW

Tricia Berg, who holds a double major in Social Work and Sociology as well as a master’s in social work from UND, has dedicated most of her professional career to giving back to others. Originally from Devils Lake, North Dakota, Tricia has spent nearly ten years working for Grand Forks County as a foster care social worker. Prior to this work, Tricia served as a social worker for agencies that support individuals with disabilities to be active and engaged independently and in the community. As an undergraduate student, new graduate, and graduate student, she also worked as support staff and facility coordinator for those in need of peer, employment, housing support for those in mental and behavioral health recovery. Part of her role in this capacity was also to provide education and awareness about mental and behavioral health in Grand Forks and the surrounding area.

An active member of the Grand Forks volunteer community, Tricia spends her time supporting several nonprofit organizations, such as the Women’s Fund where she serves on the Advisory Committee. She also formerly served as a board member for the Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals and United Way. She is an advocate for diversity, equity, and the local arts. In June 2024, Tricia was elected to the Grand Forks City Council as the Ward 3 Representative. She is excited to continue to advocate for positive change to further enhance the vibrancy of Grand Forks for its community members and promote economic opportunity.

Tricia and her husband are long-time foster parents, primarily for teens, and are avid UND Hockey fans.

Dr. Delore Zimmerman

Recently four sociology faculty members had the privilege of attending an inspirational presentation by esteemed Sociology alumnus and UND honorary degree recipient Dr. Delore Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman, co-founder, president, and CEO of Praxis Strategy Group, travels the world bringing communities together for economic development projects. His presentation centered on how to be a better global citizen. A range of suggestions were given, including exploring cultures close to home, knowing your nation’s history, participating as a citizen in your country, and expanding your global literacy. Dr. Zimmerman also highlighted how the sociological skills of systems thinking and understanding group processes can help us become better global citizens.