N&D’s Dr. Nathaniel Johnson and Fellow Panelists Discuss how work supports UND LEADS

When a UND student posts his or her research results on the Chester Fritz Library’s Scholarly Commons, for all to see … or takes multiple, real-world internships to test-drive different careers … or even asks the Angel Fund to pay for a plane ticket home, where Mom’s illness has left siblings needing help …

Then it’s all going according to plan.

The UND LEADS Strategic Plan, that is.

As UND President Andy Armacost wrote in the introduction to the UND LEADS Strategic Plan in 2022, every college and division at UND should see the plan “as a way to form detailed initiatives aligning with the aspirational vision for UND, helping to move the institution forward.”

In the Memorial Union on Feb. 25, five campus leaders explained how their own work is helping to do just that. At the event, titled “Celebrating UND LEADS: An Update on the Strategic Plan,” the five took part in a panel discussion at the Memorial Union’s Social Stairs.

In a discussion moderated by Ryan Zerr, professor of Mathematics and associate vice president for Strategy & Implementation at UND, the panelists took turns explaining how their work fits in with UND LEADS and helps carry out the plan’s broad vision for the University.

Contributing to the success of UND LEADS

“We have accomplished much that has advanced UND LEADS,” Zerr said when he introduced the panelists.

“And we’re here today to talk with five individuals whose work exemplifies the way in which people are bringing the Strategic Plan to life. Our panelists will share their insights as well as the challenges and opportunities they’ve encountered as they contributed to the plan’s success.”

The panelists were Zeineb Yousif, digital initiatives librarian at the Chester Fritz Library; Cassie Gerhardt, senior associate vice president for Student Affairs; Beth Valentine, equity, compliance and education manager, Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX; Casia Steinhaus, Physics and Mathematics major and undergraduate research assistant; and Nathaniel Johnson, assistant professor of Nutrition and Dietetics.

They took turns describing how their work furthers the mission and goals of the UND LEADS plan. In particular, each spoke in connection with one of the five core values that make up the acronym LEADS – Learning, Equity, Affinity, Discovery and Service.

The Learning core value, for instance, declares that everyone should see themselves as making a difference at UND. “And I think that is something that the UND Scholarly Commons can really enhance for everybody at UND,” Yousif said.

The Scholarly Commons is a repository of UND’s research and scholarly output – not only from faculty, but also from students.

For students, that helps contribute to their “sense of wonder” – another Learning principle – “because it lets them shift from thinking of themselves just producing something for a classroom,” Yousif said.

Instead, “when we make their work publicly available, we send the message to students that their work is that valuable – like, they’re not just learning, they’re also producing something new that adds to human knowledge. …

“That’s the kind of thing that really does spark that sense of wonder: when you realize that what you’re doing matters,” she said.

A big part of the “Equity” core value involves reducing barriers to higher education, Gerhardt noted. That’s where the Angel Fund comes in.

The Fund helps UND students overcome unexpected crises for which financial support is needed. Over the past five years, “we’ve awarded just over $625,000 to students – a total of 891 students – which means an average grant of about $701,” Gerhardt said.

As she looks back, “the students who stand out are the ones who had loved ones who are ill,” she said. “This is making me emotional even as I’m thinking about it. It’s the student who is trying to go to class, but has an ill family member in Fargo, and is also maybe driving back and forth at night because of family obligations. Or the student who has lost a loved one and is looking for some support to travel home for funeral or other memorial obligations.”

In such cases and hundreds of others, the Fund “provides an equitable opportunity for so many of our students, who just need that little extra bit of help to in order to be successful here,” she said.

Where ‘everyone can feel like they belong’

The core value of Affinity is all about helping people feel like they belong. And as UND knows, Valentine said, inspiring that feeling depends in part on making sure the University’s vast digital resources are accessible to all.

The drive to make that happen will span years, she said. And ultimately, it’ll involve “everybody who makes content, everybody who edits a website, everybody who manages social media accounts or who teaches a course and creates course content.

“We all have a role to play in making sure our digital space is accessible, so that everyone can feel like they belong.”

There is Big “D” Discovery, the UND LEADS core value that calls upon UND to cultivate excellence in creativity, research and innovation. Steinhaus, a UND sophomore who is, among other endeavors, looking for supernovas using the 20-inch PlaneWave telescope at UND’s Martens Observatory, is a big fan of that core value.

But don’t forget little “d” discovery in the process, Steinhaus said. For example, “I think working in research helps you specify your career path,” she said.

At times during an internship, a student will say, “Well, I thought I wanted to do this, and then after working with it, I discovered I didn’t really like it.” That happens just as often as a student learns, through their internship, that they’ve found just what they’re looking for.

In other words, UND students often use their experiences to “discover” not only new findings via scientific research, but also their own passions or interests. In this way, they make discoveries about themselves through their work, she said.

Creating ‘front doors’ to UND

As for the core value of Service, one of its directives calls for experts to share their knowledge with the public, through the creation or use of numerous access points or “front doors” to the University.

One such access point is The Conversation, the nonprofit that – by publishing, and making available worldwide, news reports written by scholars – tries to combine “academic excellence” with “journalistic flair.”

“Research that’s not read is not used,” said Johnson, who has published three articles in The Conversation. “And so, writing for The Conversation represents probably the most direct route to get your research seen by normal people and actually have that information put into practice and real-world use.”

After all, he continued, “You’re lucky as a scholar to probably get a few hundred people reading your academic papers. Meanwhile, I’m at more than 130,000 or 140,000 reads on The Conversation. … So that’s really the reason why you choose to publish with them, is to get your information out there. Because if you’re doing research and if you find it meaningful, then other people should find it meaningful as well.”

To sum up, Zerr said, “the work being done through UND LEADS is truly shaping the future of this institution, and it’s inspiring to hear the progress and plans about moving forward.

“As we wrap up, I encourage everyone to stay engaged and continue to think about how we can each play a role in making UND’s vision a reality.”