Participants learned about industry, commerce, history, education and beauty of the Roughrider StateParticipants of the 32nd Annual New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour of North Dakota pause from site seeing for group photo at a picturesque overlook of the Little Missouri River in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, N.D., on Aug. 20. The UND crew was joined by tour guides Valerie Naylor (center, front), former longtime superintendent of the national park, current national parks researcher at The Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University and a UND alumna; and Shannon Straight (back row, right), executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance and a UND alumnus. Photo by David Dodds.
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. 19-22 to learn firsthand about their new state.
This year’s New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour, the 32nd of its kind, mostly straddled North Dakota Highway 200 and Interstate 94, with stops in Mayville, Carrington, Bismarck, Hebron, Medora, Jamestown and Fargo, before heading home to Grand Forks to kick off the new academic year. Around 25 touring faculty and administrators were treated to stops at the Oscar Zero Minuteman Missile Operations Center, a historically renovated throw-back to life in North Dakota during the Cold War near Cooperstown; a traditional drive-in diner in Carrington; the North American Coal mining operation south of Underwood near Falkirk; the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Capitol in Bismarck; the world-famous Hebron Brick Co.; the historic tourist town of Medora and the nearby Theodore Roosevelt National Park; the Black Leg Ranch, known for its dedication to regenerative agricultural and natural approaches to raising livestock southeast of Bismarck; the World Largest Buffalo at Frontier Village in Jamestown; and a date representatives of the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce at the Brewhalla entertainment complex in Fargo.
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The new faculty and administrators also had breakfast with 10 incoming UND students, who are Presidential Scholarship Recipients, and the students’ family members at the First International Bank building in Bismarck.
Along the way, bus riders also heard from North Dakota residents and experts in a variety of fields, including state agricultural leader Chris Griffin, a former North Dakota legislator; Brian Van Horn, president of Mayville State University; Valerie Naylor, former longtime superintendent of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and current national parks researchers with The Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University, and Shannon Straight, executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance; Jerry Doan and son, Jay, owner/operators of the Black Leg Ranch near Bismarck; and many more.
UND Vice President for Research & Economic Development Scott Snyder, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Randi Tanglen and new Dean of the College of Education & Human Development Shelbie Witte were among the tour participants.
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:
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The UND branded tour bus arrives at the Oscar Zero Minuteman Missile Operations Center (now a state tourist site) near Cooperstown, N.D., on Aug. 19, 2024. The bus carried around 25 new faculty and administrators across North Dakota Aug. 19-21. Photo by David Dodds.The security gates of the Oscar Zero Minuteman Missile Operations Center near Cooperstown, N.D., are wide open today, but during the Cold War, the site was heavily guarded. Nuclear missile operations sites such as these have been a major part of the nation’s deterrence plan to keep peace with the Soviet Union and current day Russia since the 1960s. Today Oscar Zero is no longer operational and is a North Dakota historic site open to tours. New faculty and administrators from UND visited the location on Aug. 19. Photo by David Dodds.Rob Branting, a tour guide with the state of North Dakota, shows off one of the smaller security doors that are located about 50 feet below ground level in the Oscar Zero Minuteman Missile Operations Center. (From front to back) UND bus tour participants Joao Ozawa, assistant professor of communication; UND First Lady Kathy Armacost; Thanh Phat Vo, assistant professor of mathematics; and UND President Andrew Armacost listen intently to Branting. He explains that the smaller of two security doors in the center “only weighs about 8 tons.” A larger door nearby is closer to 13 tons. Photo by David Dodds.A number of participants of the UND New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour cram into the only elevator of the Oscar Zero Minuteman Missile Operations Center before they head back up to the surface level. The elevator transports occupants about 50 feet from the surface to the missile operations center. The average temperature in the elevator shaft hovers around 59 degrees at it descends to and ascends from its lowest point. Photo by David Dodds.Participants of the UND New Faculty & Administrators Bus Tour ascend to the operational level of a massive dragline coal excavator at North American Coal near Underwood and Falkirk on Aug. 19. Photo by David Dodds.Justin Wigard (foreground), assistant professor of English; and Michael Butler, assistant professor of philosophy & ethics; enjoy the ride from the operational level of the dragline coal excavator at North American Coal near Underwood and Falkirk on Aug. 19. Photo David Dodds.Bus Tour participants get an up close and personal look at the gigantic buckets that are used by North American Coal to excavate coal near Underwood and Falkirk. Photo by David Dodds.Christina Erickson, associate dean of the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines, feels the quality texture of the bricks produced at the Hebron Brick Company in Hebron, N.D. The bricks are made from special clay that is collected in deposits north of Hebron in southwest North Dakota between Bismarck and Dickinson. Photo by David Dodds.(Left to right) Daile Zhang, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences; Justin Wigard; and Michael Butler enjoy the rugged hills across the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora on Aug. 20. Photo by David Dodds.UND President Andrew Armacost and First Lady Kathy Armacost visit with incoming Presidential Scholarship students and their families at a breakfast event held in the students’ honor at the First International Bank in Bismarck on Aug. 21. Photo by David Dodds.UND President Andrew Armacost takes a photo with 10 incoming Presidential Scholarship recipients high atop the First International Bank building in Bismarck on Aug. 21. The student will be starting their education at UND this week. They were among the top high school graduates in the state in 2024. Photo by David Dodds.Lee Ann Williams (left), program director & clinical assistant professor in the College of Education & Human Development; and Kimberly Dasse, assistant professor of law; tour The Great Hall of the North Dakota State Capitol building in Bismarck on Aug. 21. Photo by David Dodds.Vitoria Faccin-Herman (left), assistant professor of graphic design; and Jacob Carstens, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences; can’t get enough of “Babe” the young buffalo on the Black Leg Ranch southeast of Bismarck on Aug. 21. The Doan family, who owns and operates the environmentally friendly ranch operation, rescued Babe from an untimely death on their ranch when the animal was very young. Photo by David Dodds.Jerry and Jay Doan, owners and operators of the Black Leg Ranch southeast of Bismarck, show off their UND Challenge Coins, given to them as by UND President Andrew Armacost to recognize the family for their hospitality in hosting a delegation of new UND faculty and administrators on Aug. 21. President Armacost also congratulated the Doans for their successes in running the Black Leg Ranch, an award-winning operation known for its dedication to regenerative agricultural and natural approaches to raising livestock as well as many other entrepreneurial ventures. Photo by David Dodds.No trip through North Dakota is complete without visits to some of the state’s quirky roadside attractions, such as the sculptures along the Enchanted Highway between Taylor and Regent or Salem Sue, the world’s largest Holstein Cow just outside of New Salem. Above, Kelden Pehr (left), assistant professor of geology; Lee Ann Williams, Christie Cole, assistant professor of Spanish; and Vitoria Faccin-Herman pay homage to the world’s largest buffalo at Frontier Village in Jamestown. Photo by David Dodds.
