In what the school's office of university relations called an "academic hat trick," UND recently won its third ranking in a national publication in as many weeks.
The most recent ranking comes from Washington Monthly, which places UND among the country's top 70 public universities. UND is ranked 69, up 31 spots from last year. Among public and private schools, UND is ranked 117, up 52 spots from last year.
The rankings jump was in part because of a new approach by the magazine, which focused this year on the impact a university has on enhancing social mobility, research and public service.
UND President Charles Kupchella said he was pleased with the new ranking, particularly because of the magazine's focus on social mobility and research, but cautioned against reading too much into the rankings game.
UND recently was ranked in the top 200 schools by U.S. News & World Report and in The Princeton Review's list of The Best 366 Colleges in the U.S.
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Centers of Excellence
project recognized
in national report
North Dakota's $50 million Centers of Excellence project recently won high praise in the report "Investing in Innovation," prepared by the Pew Center on the States and the National Governor's Association.
The state-funded Centers of Excellence project provides seed money to cooperative projects between university researchers and private sector businesses that promise to create jobs and bring industry to the state.
The report states: "The R&D experience of North Dakota is proof positive that finding a niche - in this instance surface protection - and succeeding flows from strategic thinking and a solid R&D foundation."
The report is referencing North Dakota State University's Center of Excellence in Surface Protection, the process of applying surface coatings to protect the durability of manufactured products.
The report focuses on state-funded research and development projects in several states, many of them created in response to cuts in federal research funding.
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For the past three North Dakota legislative sessions, Centers of Excellence money has been awarded competitively to projects that promise at least a 2-to-1 match in private sector investment.
UND has taken home more than $7 million in Centers of Excellence money so far, which has helped finance construction of the Energy and Environmental Research Center's National Center for Hydrogen Technology, the UND Research Foundation's Center of Excellence in Life Sciences and Advanced Technology and other campus projects.
Science College
students chip in
Students from the North Dakota State College of Science's Electrical Technology Club will travel Wednesday to Northwood, N.D., to help residents restore homes and businesses following last Sunday's tornado.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the students will be in Northwood working in conjunction with Braun Electric, a Northwood business owned and operated by Ron Braun and his son, Darin, both NDSCS alumni.
UND begins search for
new engineering dean
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UND Provost Greg Weisenstein hasappointed a 14-member committee to find a new dean for the university's School of Engineering and Mines.
Dean John Watson, who has held that position since 2001, is retiring this fall.
Joshua Wynne, executive associate dean at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will chair the committee.
Sitting Bull College
wins HUD grant
Sitting Bull College has received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be used toward the school's new campus project
The college kicked off a $40 million capital campaign in 1999 to build a new campus and has so far raised a little more than $18 million.
Visitors tour tribal colleges
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The American Indian College Fund, a nonprofit organization that raises scholarship funds for American Indian students to attend tribal colleges, will sponsor a tour of North Dakota tribal colleges Thursday through Sunday.
Tour participants will meet with students, professors and college presidents at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck and at Sitting Bull College on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
Participants will also attend an American Indian History and Policy seminar, presented by American Indian College Fund President Richard B. Williams and UTTC research director Cheryl Long Feather.
VCSU to serve
Maryland teachers
The Maryland State Department of Education and Valley City (N.D.) State University have entered into a memorandum of understanding to offer VCSU's online programs in technology education to Maryland teachers.
The agreement was prompted by the critical shortage of technical education teachers in Maryland. The program is intended to serve teachers who either prefer an online program or do not have access to on-campus alternatives.
UMC makes the list
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The University of Minnesota-Crookston was listed among the top 161 Midwestern Colleges in the book's annual list. That list is a regional subset, separate from the review's more expansive list of the country's top 366 universities.
UND neuroscientist
wins NIH grant
UND neuroscientist Colin Combs received a nearly $700,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study Alzheimer's disease.
The four-year grant allows Combs to continue research aimed at stopping or slowing inflammatory changes in the brain which are believed to be involved in Alzheimer's disease.
Combs has been studying the underlying causes of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases for 18 years.
Lake Region search
committee to meet
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The first meeting of the Lake Region State College Presidential Search Committee will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Sept. 13 on the Lake Region campus.
Lake Region President Sharon Etemad plans to retire in January after a 25-year career at the school.
Marks reports on higher education. Reach him at (701) 780-1105, (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or jmarks@gfherald.com .
