UND Aerospace to break ground on new Flight Operations Center

The UND Aerospace Foundation and the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences will hold a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the upcoming construction of a new Flight Operations Center, which will usher in a new era of Aerospace education for aviation students.

The ceremony will take place at the Flight Operations building located at Grand Forks International Airport. Beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 28, President Armacost and Dean Robert Kraus will hold a short commemorative program, followed by a light luncheon for guests.

The new $36 million, 28,000-square-foot center was generously financed by donations to the UND Aerospace Foundation and the UND Alumni Association & Foundation with the remainder coming from the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and UND.

The center will replace the existing concrete operations building that has served for flight operations for decades. The new construction also will bring much-needed updates to not only facilitate learning but also make the space a more comfortable and welcoming environment that can help recruit students, faculty and staff.

The new center will feature private debriefing spaces for students and certified flight instructors, a state-of-the-art dispatch center, a 16,000-square-foot event space for community and industry events, as well as provide the space to allow UND to create a high-tech connected ecosystem throughout the flight operations facility.

Construction is expected to begin in June and will take about 18 months.