University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota. The university has the only schools of law and medicine in the state of North Dakota. The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences was the first in the country to offer a degree in unmanned aircraft systems operation. Several national research institutions are on the university's campus including the Energy and Environmental Research Center, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". History Founding UND was founded in 1883, six years before North Dakota became a state. UND was founded with a liberal arts foundation and expanded to include scientific research. Grand Forks native George H. Walsh submitted the bill to the Territorial Legislature of Dakota Territory that called for the new state of North Dakota's university to be in Grand Forks. The first classes were held on September 8, 1884. The first building at UND, Old Main, housed all classrooms, offices, dorm rooms, and a library. In the 1880s, UND consisted of only a few acres of property, surrounded by farms and fields, nearly two miles west of the city of Grand Forks. Students living off campus had to take a train or a horse and carriage bus, dubbed the "Black Maria", from downtown to the campus.