Honoring Innovation & Teaching Excellence
Alexandra Sickler, J.D., named UND School of Law Archie Unterseher Endowed Professor.
An endowed chair, professorship and fellowship is one of the highest academic honors that the University of North Dakota bestows on a faculty member. Funded by alumni and friends of the University, endowed positions benefit not only the faculty member but their colleagues, their field, the college, the students and the greater University.
The University of North Dakota School of Law is proud to announce the Archie Unterseher Endowed Professorship title to Alexandra Sickler, J.D., a tenured professor of law. Established through an endowment created by the Oxbow Foundation of Minneapolis, this is now the largest endowed professorship at the UND School of Law.
This position honors a professor who has displayed excellence in teaching and/or research in the areas of business, commercial and/or transactional law. Sickler will hold the position for a three-year term, which may be extended for additional terms.
Michael McGinniss, former dean of the School of Law, considered this decision a highlight of his deanship before its completion on June 30. “Professor Sickler is an experienced and highly innovative teacher who has an excellent reputation among our students for her dedication to their learning and the practical value of the knowledge and skills they develop in her courses,” he said. Brian Pappas began as the new dean in July.
Sickler has served UND for the past decade, teaching courses in contracts, bankruptcy, and commercial law. McGinniss praised the respect she has earned on a regional and national scale. Internally, Sickler has received the UND School of Law’s 2018 Teacher of the Year Award, been a two-time speaker at the School’s graduation banquet and was selected as the May 2022 commencement speaker. The funds that accompany her new title will allow Sickler more resources to support her educational goals and provide opportunities to elevate UND’s law school in research, publications, and presentations.
“I’m honored to have been selected for recognition in this way and hope to leverage this support to bolster student knowledge in ways that will ultimately contribute to critical economic and industry sectors in the region,” Sickler commented. “The Untersehers are part of our extended UND School of Law family, and I am beyond grateful that the Oxbow Foundation has chosen to support student learning through an endowed professorship.”
The Oxbow Foundation receives its funding from Oxbow Industries, LLC, a holding company that invests in leading private companies to support management in their continued growth of business. The Foundation named the School of Law position in honor of Archie Unterseher (1934-2017), a 1959 graduate of the College of Business & Public Administration’s accounting program. Unterseher attended UND on a GI Bill grant and joined Nash Finch Company for a 44-year career. He and his wife, Rosa, raised four children and 10 grandchildren, four of whom obtained degrees from UND.
The Foundation released a statement about Oxbow’s decision to honor Unterseher in this way: “Archie was a first-generation UND college graduate from Hazen, North Dakota. He was very proud of his western North Dakota upbringing and his UND experience. As a strong believer in advanced education, he enjoyed a successful career built off his accounting degree from UND.”
I am beyond grateful that the Oxbow Foundation has chosen to support student learning through an endowed professorship.
The Oxbow Foundation also recently established an endowment for the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration. The Archie Unterseher Accounting Faculty Fellowship will be awarded every three years to a faculty member selected by the dean of the College once the payout from the endowment can support a stipend. To establish both endowments, the Oxbow Foundation took advantage of the North Dakota Challenge Grant match, which provided $1 in state funding for every $2 pledged.
“The Oxbow Foundation’s generosity is matched by their ingenuity to use the Challenge Grant to support faculty at UND,” said DeAnna Carlson Zink, CEO of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation. “This is the perfect way for a donor to make an even bigger impact with their gift, as Oxbow Foundation has done. We can’t thank them enough for their generosity in honor of Archie. We are also grateful to the state legislature for their continued support of the North Dakota Challenge Grant program. This public/private partnership has been incredibly important to UND.
BURWELL/PAGE INVESTITURE CEREMONY
On Thursday, June 23, 2022, a private investiture dinner was held in Wayzata, Minnesota, honoring Barbara Burwell and Greg Page, ’73, HON ’16.
The honored guests were thanked for endowing, along with their late spouses, the following positions within the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration (NCoBPA):
Burwell Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship
Funded by Rod & Barbara Burwell
Held by Dr. Sanjay Goel
Page Endowed Chair in Applied Economics
Funded by Greg & Cindy Page
Held by Dr. Chih Ming Tan
Robert Page Endowed Professor
Funded by Greg & Cindy Page
Held by Dr. Jennifer Stoner
Dr. Mark Langemo Faculty Fellow
Funded by Greg & Cindy Page
Held by Dr. Sandra Braathen
Both Barbara and Greg praised the endowed position holders and their work to bring
both their passion and expertise to enrich the student experience at NCoBPA.
HOFFMAN INVESTITURE CEREMONY
On Tuesday, July 19, a private investiture luncheon was held in Minnetonka, Minnesota, to honor Ann and Norm Hoffman, ’59.
They endowed the Ann and Norman Hoffman Endowed Chair in National Defense/Energetics within the College of Engineering & Mines (CEM). Close family and CEM representatives celebrated alongside the Hoffmans, including Dr. Gautham Krishnamoorthy, who has held the position since 2010.
Congratulations, Barbara, Greg, Ann and Norm! Thank you for your ongoing support of UND’s standout faculty members.
GIVE A GIFT THAT GROWS
An endowed gift has both an immediate and a continuing impact on the University of North Dakota. Since only a portion of an endowed investment’s earnings is spent and the rest are channeled back into the fund, an endowment grows over time. An endowment becomes a long-term source of funding for whatever a donor wishes to achieve with his or her philanthropy. To establish an endowment, contact the UND Alumni Association & Foundation at 701.777.2611 or by email at donorrelations@undalumni.net.
