UND Winter Commencement is Dec. 20

The University of North Dakota will host its Winter Commencement ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 20, at the Chester Fritz Performing Arts Center.

Eligible to graduate are 614 undergraduate and 256 graduate students.

The Professional & Graduate Degrees Ceremony starts at 9 a.m., and two Undergraduate Degrees ceremonies start at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Engineering & Mines, Nursing & Professional Disciplines and School of Medicine & Health Sciences will be part of the 1 p.m. ceremony. The Nistler College of Business & Public Administration, the College of Education & Human Development and the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences will follow, starting at 4 p.m.

With UND President Andrew Armacost presiding over the ceremonies, UND alum Nicole Poolman will be the commencement speaker.

All three ceremonies will be available to watch via livestream on UND.edu and UND’s Facebook page.

Nicole Poolman

A native of Farmington, Minn., and a UND graduate with degrees in English and Secondary Education, Nicole Poolman has spent the past 27 years in the classroom – teaching at Grand Forks Red River, Mandan and Bismarck Century High Schools.

In 2012, following many years of volunteering for political campaigns, Poolman was elected to the North Dakota State Senate representing North Bismarck, serving in that office for a decade.

Poolman’s work in the North Dakota Legislature included sponsorship of bills to assist victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, increase government efficiency, provide major infrastructure to the western regions of the state, and reduce personal and corporate income taxes.

Poolman also championed children and public education with bills to provide safety grants to local school districts, help young people consolidate their student loans with the creation of the DEAL program, and provide early childhood education funding for at-risk children. She also worked to provide greater access to post-secondary educational programs for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Poolman retired from the State Senate in 2022.

Throughout her career, Poolman has served on many boards and commissions, and recently served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Anne Carlsen Center. She and her husband, Jim, are small business owners and have three adult children: Collin, Grace, and Nick.