New flight operations building cleared for takeoff

Facility will modernize UND’s aviation program, serve as symbol of excellence, say campus leaders

Editor’s note: In the UND LEADS Strategic Plan, the Affinity core value calls on the University to “cultivate physical and online campus environments that are welcoming, safe, healthy, and inclusive.” This story reports on a UND project that aims to deliver the best possible physical environment for the University’s Aerospace program.

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Last week, city, county and university leaders gathered to break ground on UND’s new state-of-the-art flight operations building.

The $36 million facility will replace UND’s current flight operations building – which was built in 1974 and is largely obsolete for today’s academic environment. Funded entirely through private donations, the new building will feature 28,000 square feet of instructional and event-hosting space, including a dispatch center, pre- and post-flight debriefing rooms and aviation bookstore.

Construction will begin this month and take about 18 months to complete.

In his welcoming remarks, UND President Andy Armacost alluded to Leonardo da Vinci — an Italian polymath of the Renaissance era best known for his artwork, but whose contributions to the natural sciences also included observations on the potential for human flight.

Armacost read a quote often attributed to da Vinci but actually was spoken by an actor portraying the artist in a 1961 film. Nonetheless, Armacost said, it encapsulates da Vinci’s interest in aviation.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,” Armacost read. “For there, you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

“For all those involved in the business of aviation and teaching people how to fly, I know that feeling of returning to flight lives within every pore of your souls and bodies,” he continued. “This quote also represents the spirit of the Odegard School and UND Aerospace.”

Robert Kraus, dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, expressed amazement at the progress the college has made since its establishment in 1968. From housing just a few aircraft at its inception, to now calling over 15,000 professional pilots as alumni, Kraus said the new facility is evidence of nearly 60 years of momentum.

“When I arrived at UND a little over four years ago, one of the questions I asked is, ‘What is the school’s greatest need?’,” he said. “The answer was a new flight operations building. The next generation of students who visit may be inspired to come through the gateway and start their UND journey.”

And the new facility serve not only UND’s aviation program, but also as a beacon of the program’s excellence, Kraus added.

“When people fly into Grand Forks International Airport, the first thing they will see is this flight operations building and our growing fleet of aircraft,” he said. “The University’s theme is Leaders in Action, and our students and graduates continue to exemplify that.”

Kraus also thanked the many donors in attendance who made the project’s construction possible — among them Seymour “Si” Robin, namesake of UND’s Robin Hall. A lifelong aviator who has expressed admiration for the Odegard School’s mission, Robin has pledged $5 million for the project and led the building’s groundbreaking ceremony.

In addition to Robin and his family members in attendance, Kraus thanked other donors, including Chuck Ahearn, president of the James C. Ray Foundation. A Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing opportunities in aviation education, the Foundation honors the aforementioned benefactor, who donated millions to the UND Aerospace Foundation in the course of his lifetime.

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