Kristi Hall-Jiran, John Horpedahl, five others to receive awards from Education and Human Development
A violence intervention advocate, two tribal college presidents, a teacher, a principal, a health and human services consultant, and a professor will receive alumni achievement awards from the UND College of Education and Human Development Friday, April 30.
“Every year I am inspired to see what our graduates have done with their lives,” said Dan Rice, dean of the College. “It is such an honor to have these individuals come back to campus and let the departments and our faculty recognize their outstanding work,”
The awardees follow, in alphabetical order:
*Verna Fowler established the College of Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin, on the Menominee Reservation, 17 years ago. The College, which she continues to serve as founding president, is chartered by the Menominee People and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. She earned a master’s degree in 1986 and a doctorate in 1992, both in education administration from UND. In 1999 she was appointed by President Clinton to the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities and in 2006 was reappointed by President Bush.
*Cindy Gruman is a senior consultant with the Lewin Group, a national health care and human services policy research and consulting firm. She received a bachelor’s degree in social work from UND in 1989. Previously she was director of the Braceland Center for Mental Health and Aging with a joint appointment at the University of Connecticut Medical School. She has been involved in planning, designing, and conducting program and process evaluations with an emphasis on long-term care administration, persons with disabilities, home- and community-based direct service workforce issues, mental health disparities, and Medicare/Medicaid financing.
*Kristi Hall-Jiran, executive director for the Community Violence Intervention Center, Grand Forks, is a community leader who has spent her career serving and fighting for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault victims in our community. She received a master’s degree in counseling in 1990 from UND. Hall-Jiran continues to serve the community in a variety of ways and is a past chair of board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks.
*Jack Harper has nearly 40 years of experience in the field of recreation planning and management. For the past 24 years, he was professor and associate dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management and Coordinator of the Recreation Management and Community Development Degree Program at the University of Manitoba, where he taught courses in parks and recreation facility planning and community development. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from UND in 1969 and a master’s degree in 1970.
*John Horpedahl retired after spending more than 30 years working in schools. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and a master’s degree in 1985, both in physical education from UND. Throughout his career, John coached girls and boys basketball at the varsity level, along with football, and track and field. He taught at South Junior High in Grand Forks for nineteen years. At Red River High School he served as an associate principal and was principal at Schroeder Middle School.
*Jennifer Sinsel teaches gifted elementary students in Wichita, Kansas, at Bostic Elementary School, in an urban school district serving approximately 50,000 students. She received a bachelor’s degree in earth science education in 1997 and a master’s degree in space studies in 2000, both from UND. She has 11 years of teaching experience, and she uses science to excite her students about learning. Each year, she uses the knowledge she has gained through numerous space-related fellowships, including a National Space Biomedical Research Institute Teacher Academy Fellowship and a NASA Ames Airspace Systems Educator Fellowship, to integrate aerospace activities into reading, writing, and mathematics.
*Laurel Vermillion, a recognized member of the Hunkpapa-Lakota tribe of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, is president of Sitting Bull College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1980, a master’s degree in education administration in 1992, and a doctorate in teaching and learning in 2005, all from UND. She is an active board member for numerous non-profit and community service groups, including, the Standing Rock Education Consortium, Standing Rock Education Leaders, Recruiting American Indian Nurses (RAIN) program, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), and many others.
The dinner and program will be held Friday, April 30, at Touch of Magic in East Grand Forks (top floor of the Applebees Restaurant building on the river front). The social begins at 6 p.m., with the dinner and program at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $15 each. To register or send a note of congratulations, please contact Jena Pierce, director of alumni relations and development at 777-0844 or jena.pierce@und.edu .
Event Web site with images of this year’s UND College of Education and Human Development achievement award winners: www.und.edu/dept/ehd/alumni/2010alumniawards.html .
