Looking back on nine years of leadership

After serving as UND's leader for nine years, President Charles Kupchella will officially step down from the position on June 30. During his time in office, he helped to oversee record enrollment figures, dramatic increases in research and several large additions to the campus.

Kupchella, the 10th president of the university, said that he and wife Adele aren't going to forget their time at UND and in Grand Forks. "I'm going to miss absolutely everything about it," he said. "It's a great place, and we loved the time we spent here."

The only moments he would have rather not had to experience, he said, were the tragic times during his nine years in office, such as the kidnapping and death of Dru Sjodin and fatal plane crashes of UND students.

"Those kinds of things are the only things, and they're obviously very profound, that would keep me from saying that we loved every minute," he said. "We're going to miss it all."

The thing he'll miss the most, according to Kupchella, is taking part in the graduation ceremonies and helping students celebrate their long-awaited achievements. "To see those graduates come bounding across the stage with a big grin and ready to tackle the world is just a great thrill to me, and always will be held that way," he said.

Coming to UND

According to Kupchella, UND's academic programs and unique offering of both law and medical education are what brought him to Grand Forks. "What attracted me here was the opportunity to serve as president of what really is a very complex, comprehensive university," he said.

He also was excited about the challenges and opportunities of taking over the university at a key point in its history. Kupchella said that he saw a chance at helping UND spur the economy of North Dakota.

"What I recognized is there's going to be an opportunity here to kind of reinvent the region," he said.

He saw issues like the outmigration of the state's young people and the strong emphasis on agriculture and energy as things that could be addressed by the university.

"I said, wouldn't it be great to lead an institution that was going to play a major role in turning all that around and kind of revitalizing this whole part of the country," he said. "I think we have played a role."

According to Kupchella, he had one main objective when he accepted the job. "The only goal I had was to serve well as a leader and to find out what some of the possibilities were for this great university," he said.

To accomplish this, he set out to include the faculty, staff and students in the planning for UND's future. Within a year of filling the position, Kupchella helped create the first of two published strategic plans that would help guide the university to achieve its goals.

These guidelines addressed things such as teaching and curriculum, research and public service, positive campus climate and a shrinking college student-aged base in the region. Overall, Kupchella said the planning enabled UND to deal with the big issues that it faced by establishing specific, measurable goals.

"I think we've been fairly successful in accomplishing many, if not most, of them," he said.

Successes

Kupchella said that he likes to think of the positive outcomes of his time as president as "our successes" rather than his successes. "Most if not all the work has been done by, well, faculty, staff and students here," he said.

He highlighted things such as UND's recovery from the impact of the flood that devastated Grand Forks in 1997, expanding graduate programming and preserving the liberal arts emphasis of the university as important victories for the university.

Among the more visible changes that UND has seen since Kupchella's arrival is the drastic amount of construction that has expanded operations and the size of the campus itself. Since 1999, the university added nearly $500 million in new or remodeled assets, including the Wellness Center and various developments on the Bronson property.

He pointed out that even though UND doesn't own the Ralph Engelstad Arena and the Alerus Center, the university has greatly benefited from the addition of these venues to the city.

"They really are part of our asset base," he said.

Kupchella also said that he believes UND has made some progress towards having more competitive faculty and staff salaries. "We still have a long, long way to go, but we've cut some of the gap that existed considerably," he said.

Another key success, he said, was adding new academic programs to the curriculum, such as the new entrepreneurship program.

He was quick to point out that these things were largely done with the help of those around him. "I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish," he said. "I attribute it all to the good fortune of being here with a great group of people ready to go and sign on and get it done."

Working with the state

In 1999, the North Dakota Legislature created the Higher Education Roundtable to benefit the state through improvements and growth of its universities.

The group, made up of state officials as well as members of the public sector and higher education, helped focus the universities work towards revitalizing the region according to Kupchella.

"We got to do that in a way the engaged and cooperated with the Board of Higher Ed., the legislature and the private sector," he said. "The result was a coming together of all of the players. It was great harmony and connectivity that probably couldn't have happened any other way."

The work with the roundtable also enabled the university to specifically tailor its strategic plan to fit within the goals of the state, he added.

Kupchella said that some of the things students might notice out of the roundtable's efforts include a strong focus on academic excellence for UND's programs and involving the university to a greater extent in the development of the region's economy.