State lawmakers come to UND to hear from leaders, students
Interim Higher Education Committee makes final stop on its tour of North Dakota University System schools
The North Dakota Interim Higher Education Committee convened its “Institutions Committee,” on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in the UND Memorial Union, giving legislators a glimpse into the state of the University.
UND was the last stop on the committee’s tour of North Dakota University System schools.
“I am happy to say that with today’s meeting we have hit all 11 campuses over the last 14 months, said Sen. Jonathan Sickler, Grand Forks-R, committee chair and a UND alumnus. “The campuses and the communities we have visited have been very appreciative of our efforts to get there. And the extra time we get to spend with students, staff and faculty is appreciated.”
President Andrew Armacost and University administrators, fresh off of news the institution had just set another all-time enrollment record — 15,908 students, had a long list of additional items to highlight.
Armacost kicked off the proceedings by introducing new UND Student Body President Mason Thingvold and Student Legislative Team Director Jaden Cota. Thingvold and Cota are two examples of the amazing leaders in action that comprise the UND campus, in addition to being individuals the legislators will likely get to know throughout the students’ current leadership tenure.
Armacost told committee members that he and his team wanted to use the occasion to do more than just tell “good news story after good news story.”
“We’ll also talk about issues that aren’t on your mind,” Armacost said. “How we executed and delivered on the promises we made during the last legislative session, and how we executed funding and policy decisions.”
Armacost was joined at the podium by University leaders such as Vice Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management Janelle Kilgore, who provided a rundown of student enrollment and retention health; new Law School Dean Del Crandall, who introduced himself to lawmakers and delivered a status check on North Dakota’s only school of law, Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences Dr. Marjorie Jenkins, who presented on the great things happening at North Dakota’s only school of medicine, such as the new ND85 program, an effort to grow North Dakota’s healthcare workforce by increasing the number of med school enrollees from North Dakota to 85 percent by 2030; and Vice President for Research & Economic Development Scott Snyder and Energy & Environmental Research Center CEO Charlie Gorecki, both of whom helped explain UND’s recent strides in research and economic development; among others.
A big highlight of the committee meeting was a virtual visit by recent UND senior Casia Stienhaus, all the way from Germany. Steinhaus, a Devils Lake, N.D., native, who recently was named the University’s first-ever Astronaut Scholar, is double majoring at UND in physics & astrophysics and mathematics. She is currently in Germany conducting research.
“I first toured UND almost four and half years ago now, and I knew I wanted to continue my education here because it is the only place where I would be able to pursue all of my goals with the excellent support necessary to do all of them well,” Steinhaus told the committee. “Now going into my senior year, I can actually say that UND surpassed my expectations and I have achieved more than I ever could have imagined.”
