To Be the Servant of the People
McVey As I continue to frame UND’s future in these remarks this afternoon, I became curious about UND’s presidency at the beginning of the 20th century since we all are participating in the development of UND at the beginning of the 21st century.
tory, found in the Robinson Department of Special Collections in UND’s Chester Fritz Library, shows that President McVey believed that the University “must be a beacon light to hold up the highest things for the city and the state.”
Almost one hundred years ago, Frank LeRond McVey became the fourth President of UND. During his tenure, he encouraged faculty research and publication. Both The Quarterly and the School of Education Record were established. He structured the University upon a relational basis. The School of Mines, the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and a course in Civil Engineering formed what we know today as the School of Engineering and Mines. With his faculty, he instituted standards for students, including a “C” average for graduation. He acted upon his conviction that a University must serve the state and adopted the motto, ”To Be the Servant of the People.” Under his leadership, UND established an Extension Division, offered correspondence courses and faculty lectures, and benefited North Dakota through its research and investigative activities, particularly those of the weather station, Geological Survey, and Public Health Laboratory. This his-
And I learned yet another lesson from UND’s history: The institutional values that we respect and hold dear are part of a fabric woven over a century of institutional development and commitment, dedicated by those who have served before us. As the concept of “service” was added to teaching and research during the start of the last century, it becomes our continued responsibility to build upon the belief that the University serves as a “guiding light” for the community and state. Fulfillment of this ideal, I believe, is what brought all of us to serve UND and will frame our institutional values for the next 100 years.
Page 28 z The Inaugural Address
Crossroads UND has achieved great stature since 1883. The institution has become a major public research university exhibiting excellence in the arts, sciences and professions. Enrollments have grown to exceed
12,000, operational expenditures exceed $310 million, research is a major mission of the University, and research-related expenditures have exceeded $100 million. Our athletic programs have moved to the highest levels of intercollegiate competition, and our student athletes have demonstrated championship performance in their chosen sports. And UND has become a major factor in economic development for our city, state and region. The dreams of our founders, and the many who followed, have come true. But we must contemplate our future. What will be our mission as we move forward in an increasingly complex world, and what resources will be needed as we attempt to move from “great” to “exceptional” in meeting UND’s mission and potential? When I was a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley during the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, I had the opportunity to listen to the university’s President, Clark Kerr, as he addressed the many challenges facing that institution. He suggested that four tasks presented themselves to the university in our society. One is to continue to stimulate the quest