Photo feature captures newcomers learning about commerce, history and beauty of Roughrider State
Participants of the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota, their hosts and guests pose for a group photo in the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, near Medora, N.D., on Aug. 18. (Back row, right to left) John Bradley, with the North Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society; Jayne Kinney, assistant professor of history & American Indian studies; Liz Legerski, professor of sociology and director of faculty development at UND; Meloney Linder Mecklenburg, tour host and vice president for Marketing & Communications; Nicole Massie, tour host; Tom Cui, assistant professor of Real Estate; Shannon Straight, executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance; (Font row) HJ Tina Yeo, assistant professor of education, health & behavior studies; Priyanka Ravi, assistant professor of education, health & behavior studies; Matt Brown, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences; Puja Roy, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences; Addison Lucas Kwasneski, assistant teaching professor of music therapy; Monica Evavold, tour host; and Jen Morlock; co-owner of Dakota Cyclery of Medora, N.D. UND photo.
Several of UND’s newest faculty and administrators trekked to the western edge of North Dakota and back recently on a three-day bus tour Aug. 17-20 to learn firsthand about their new state up close and personally.
This year’s New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour, the 34th of its kind, mostly straddled North Dakota Highway 200 and Interstate 94, passing through Mayville, with stops in or near Carrington, Underwood, Bismarck, Medora, Sterling and Fargo — before heading home to Grand Forks to kick off the new academic year.
Eight touring faculty, a sampling of UND’s newest, launched Monday morning (Aug. 17) from UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center, after breakfast, an overview of the research center by CEO Chalie Gorecki, and a quick tour. Over the next three days, the bus tour made additional stops at Cows & Co. Creamery, near Carrington; the North American Coal mining operation near Falkirk and Underwood; the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Capitol in Bismarck; the brand-new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the historic tourist town of Medora and the nearby Theodore Roosevelt National Park; United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck; the famous Black Leg Ranch, known for its dedication to regenerative agricultural and natural approaches to raising livestock southeast of Bismarck near Sterling; and the Fargo Jet Center.
The new faculty also had a pizza dinner with incoming UND students, who are Presidential Scholarship Recipients, and the students’ family members atop the First International Bank building’s rooftop gathering space, in Bismarck. The gathering was hosted by Nate Martindale, a UND alum and former student body president, along with his wife, Allison, and their son, Thomas.
Along the way, bus riders also heard from other UND alumni, North Dakota residents and experts in a variety of fields, including EERC’s Gorecki, state agricultural leader Chris Griffin, an alum and former North Dakota legislator who works for the Red River Land Co.; Alum Shannon Straight, executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance; John Bradley, with the North Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society; Jen Morlock, businessowner in Medora, N.D.; Ken Vien, with the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Jay Doan, co-owner/operator of the Black Leg Ranch; Tracey Bauer, with the North Dakota Tribal College System, and great friends of UND and alums, Jim and Pat Sweeney, president and CEO, respectively, of the Fargo Jet Center.
UND Vice President for Marketing & Communications Meloney Linder Mecklenburg served as tour host.
The tour, free for participants and supported by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, alternates between northern and southern routes of the state each year. It was introduced in 1990, when Tom Clifford was president of the University.
Check out the sights of this year’s bus trip across North Dakota through the photo tour below:
UND Energy & Environmental Research Center Senior Engineer John Oleksik (foreground) explains the basics of carbon capture technologies to new UND faculty members on the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota. Oleksik joined EERC Assistant Director of Energy Systems Josh Strege in delivering the talk during a tour of the EERC on Monday, Aug. 17. UND photo.UND Vice President for Marketing & Communications Meloney Linder Mecklenburg presents Chris Griffin, of the Red River Land Co., with a Fighting Hawks branded beverage coaster, as a token of appreciation for his agricultural tour of North Dakota crops along Interstate 29 and North Dakota Highway 200, during the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota. UND photo.Puja Roy and Matt Brown are excited to arrive at Cows & Co. Creamery, a few miles southeast of Carrington, N.D. UND photo.Hosts Monica Evavold and Meloney Linder Mecklenburg welcome bus tour participants to Cows & Co. Creamery, near Carrington. UND photo.Young UND fan, Shepherd Murphy (4), son of Casey and Maartje Murphy, lets participants of the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour know what he thinks of the North Dakota flagship university. His parents are UND alumni and co-owners of the Cows & Company Creamery near Carrington. UND photo.Casey Murphy, co-owner of Cows & Co. Creamery, explains the history of their family farm and how they have created one of the region’s best-known cheese and gelato production and distribution businesses. UND photo.Casey Murphy offers one of Cows & Co.’s signature gelato flavors to Liz Legerski, who participated in the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota. UND photo.Jay Kost (foreground), with North American Coal Corp.’s Falkirk Mine, lets new UND faculty members ride on one of the strip-mining company’s 113-million pound drag line coal excavators, near Underwood, N.D. UND photo.All eight faculty members on the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota and tour hosts stop for a picture inside a gigantic drag line bucket at North American Coal Corp’s Falkirk Mine, near Underwood. UND photo.Puja Roy takes her time as she absorbs each exhibit at the brand-new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, N.D. UND photo.Teddy Roosevelt, himself (portrayed by actor Joe Weigand), stops by the large auditorium of the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library to visit with UND’s new faculty members and their hosts. Grand Forks’ Ken Vien, a library executive, is seated in the background and served as a guide for the UND group during its stop at the presidential library. UND photo.A group of UND faculty and their guest, Jen Morlock, from nearby Medora, stretch their legs in the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, on Tuesday, Aug. 18. UND photo.New Faculty member HJ Tina Yeo, assistant professor of education, health & behavior studies, is on top of the world in the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. UND photo.Friends from way back, Brooke Conlin and Shannon Straight, pose for another photo, something that has become an annual tradition for them in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Conlin, director of ceremonies & university events at UND, and Straight, executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance, have been reuniting as friends on the tour since Conlin took over the lead hosting role on the bus tour four years ago. Straight also provides bus tour participants with expert knowledge about the Badlands and conservation efforts taking place in the state. UND photo.Priyanka Ravi, HJ Tina Yeo and Puja Roy celebrate a great day in the North Dakota Badlands, during the 2026 New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota, on Tuesday, Aug. 18. UND photo.(Left to right) Priyanka Ravi, Puja Roy, HJ Tina Yeo, Jayne Kinney, Matt Brown and Addison Lucas Kwasneski give their best effort to form the letters U-N-D during their visit to the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park on Tuesday, Aug. 18. UND photo.“Surprise, I’m in North Dakota,” Puja Roy seems to be saying, as she’s photographed by fellow new UND faculty member, Priyanka Ravi. HJ Tina Yeo holds an umbrella for Ravi. UND photo.Young Thomas Martindale, son of Nate and Allison Martindale of Bismarck, poses for a quick photo with new friend, UND Vice President Meloney Linder Mecklenburg, atop the roof of the First International Bank in Bismarck. Linder Mecklenburg and Thomas provided hosting duties at a pizza dinner for several incoming UND Presidential Scholars and their parents on Tuesday, Aug. 18. UND photo.UND’s newest faculty and their hosts learn about the history of the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck, starting in the Theordore Roosevelt Rough Riders Award Hall of Fame. UND photo.Matt Brown (left), assistant professor of atmospheric sciences; and Addison Lucas Kwasneski, assistant teaching professor of music therapy; can’t get enough of “Babe” the young buffalo on the Black Leg Ranch, near Sterling, N.D., on Aug. 19. The Doan family, who owns and operates the environmentally friendly ranch operation, rescued Babe on their ranch when the animal was very young.Jay Doan (front middle), a co-owner and operator of the Black Leg Ranch near Sterling N.D., poses with members of the 2026 UND New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour and hosts, following a lunch in the Black Leg Ranch indoor events space and Cowboy Cantina. Doan and his family oversee an award-winning operation known for its dedication to regenerative agricultural and natural approaches to raising livestock as well as many other entrepreneurial ventures. UND photo.
