Demonstrating the Spirit of UND

Dr. Joshua Wynne was presented with the UND Spirit Award. 

The UND Alumni Association & Foundation (UNDAAF) Board of Directors selected Wynne, the Vice President or Health Affairs and Dean of the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, as the award recipient. It is not given annually, but instead is bestowed upon those who go above and beyond, providing vision, tenacity and service to help shape UND.

“I want to emphasize that this isn’t about me. This is about us. This is about what we can do for the University, for our students, for our research efforts, for service to the people of North Dakota,” Wynne said upon accepting the award.

Wynne has a long list of achievements. His work with the University, the City of Grand Forks, regional health partners and the State Legislature was instrumental in the funding and eventual construction of UND’s $124 million School of Medicine & Health Sciences. He helped lead the North Dakota Workforce Initiative, which, said UNDAAF CEO Deanne Carlson Zink, “is transforming healthcare delivery and the health of everyday North Dakotans.”

Wynne served as UND interim president in early 2020. UND President Andrew Armacost is thankful for that leadership. “Josh was at the helm of our response to the pandemic, leading an amazing team across the campus to make sure that we got through it and at the same time, ushering in the rookie president.” (Armacost was named president in December 2019.)

Wynne, who has been at the University since 2004, said it is an honor to be part of the work at UND. “I do have a passion for what I do,” he said. “That passion is fueled by the team that we have all around us.”

Recipients of the Spirit Award, first given in 1985, are approved by the UNDAAF Executive Committee.