Notable Alumni of the University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota (UND), a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has a rich history of producing notable alumni who have made significant contributions across various fields. Founded in 1883, six years before North Dakota became a state, UND has grown from a liberal arts foundation to a comprehensive institution with a strong emphasis on scientific research. This article explores the lives and achievements of some of UND's most distinguished graduates.

A Legacy of Leadership and Innovation

UND alumni have excelled in politics and government, business, science, literature, arts and entertainment, and athletics. Nine Governors of North Dakota were educated at UND, including Fred G. Aandahl, Kelly Armstrong, Louis B. Hanna, Lynn Frazier, William Langer, John Moses, Ragnvald A. Nestos, and Allen I. Olson. Numerous Senators and Representatives of North Dakota were also graduates of UND, including former Senator Byron Dorgan and former Representative Earl Pomeroy. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey is a UND graduate.

Shaping Legal and Social Landscapes

Ronald Davies, a UND graduate and former federal judge, became a part of history when he ordered the integration of Little Rock Central High School during the Civil Rights Movement. His courageous decision exemplifies the commitment to justice and equality instilled in UND graduates.

Business Pioneers and Innovators

UND alumni have also made their mark in the business world. Notable figures include chairman of TNSE & president of the Winnipeg Jets hockey club Mark Chipman, current president and former CEO of Cargill Gregory R. Page, current president and CEO of the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant chain Sally J. Smith, current CEO of Forum Communications William C. Marcil, former Las Vegas casino owner and UND philanthropist Ralph Engelstad, and former CEO of American Skandia and founder of WealthVest Marketing Wade Dokken. Former Canadian Football League player and founder of Golden Star Resources, Dave Fennell.

Scientific Contributions and Discoveries

In the realm of science, notable UND alumni include important contributor to information theory Harry Nyquist, pioneer aviator Carl Ben Eielson, Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, engineer and NASA astronaut Karen L. Nyberg, and leading NASA manager John H. Disher. These individuals have pushed the boundaries of knowledge and exploration, leaving a lasting impact on their respective fields.

Literary and Artistic Achievements

Alumni who have become notable through literature include the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author Maxwell Anderson, Rhodes scholar and poet Thomas McGrath, essayist and journalist Chuck Klosterman, and novelist Jon Hassler. UND graduates have become editors of major magazines: Carroll Eugene Simcox of The Living Church, former Ebony editor Era Bell Thompson and former LIFE editor Edward K. Thompson.

Athletic Prowess and Coaching Excellence

Former UND students who have gone on to notable careers in athletics include former NBA player and coach and former president of the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, 1980 Winter Olympics "Miracle on Ice" hockey player Dave Christian, NHL players Ed Belfour and Zach Parise, and professional football players Jim Kleinsasser and Dave Osborn.

Prominent Alumni Profiles

Here are detailed profiles of some of UND's most notable alumni:

Phil Jackson: The Zen Master of Basketball

Philip Douglas Jackson is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. Regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time, Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998, leading them to six NBA championships. He then coached the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2011; the team won five league titles under his leadership. Jackson's 11 NBA titles as a coach surpassed the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He holds numerous other records as a coach, such as most postseason wins (229), and most NBA Conference titles (13).

Jonathan Toews: "Captain Serious"

Jonathan Bryan Toews OM is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is an unrestricted free agent. Toews most recently played for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he served as the team's captain between 2008 and 2023. Nicknamed "Captain Serious", Toews was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the team in 2007-08 and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. The following season he was named team captain, becoming the second-youngest captain in NHL history (after Sidney Crosby) at the time. Toews won the Stanley Cup in 2010, along with the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs. After winning the Cup, Toews passed Peter Forsberg as the youngest player to join the Triple Gold Club. He won the Stanley Cup again in 2013 and 2015.

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T. J. Oshie: Capitals' Stanley Cup Champion

Timothy Leif "T. J." Oshie is an American professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, as the 24th overall pick. He then spent the first seven years of his NHL career with the Blues before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2015. Oshie won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in 2018.

Sam Anderson: Versatile Character Actor

Sam Anderson is an American actor. He is best known for his character roles such as Sam Gorpley on Perfect Strangers, Principal Willis DeWitt on Growing Pains, Holland Manners on Angel, dentist Bernard Nadler on Lost, Doctor Harad in Friends, and in film, as the principal in Forrest Gump.

Heidi Heitkamp: North Dakota Senator

Mary Kathryn "Heidi" Heitkamp is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from North Dakota from 2013 to 2019. Senate from North Dakota. Heitkamp served as the 20th North Dakota tax commissioner from 1986 to 1992 and as the 28th North Dakota attorney general from 1992 to 2000. As of 2025, she is the last Democrat to hold or win statewide and/or congressional office in North Dakota.

Zach Parise: NHL Star

Zachary Justin Parise is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played for the New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders, and Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL) Parise captained the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. Parise was also an alternate captain for the American team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Shadoe Stevens: Radio and Television Personality

Shadoe Stevens is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of American Top 40 from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show Top of the World, and co-hosts Mental Radio, an approach to UFOs and paranormal topics. He was co-founder and creator of Sammy Hagar's rock station "Cabo Wabo Radio" which broadcast from the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In television, he was the announcer for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS and, as of July 2015, serves as the primary continuity announcer for the Antenna TV network. His voice can also be heard as the voiceover for "G.O.D." in the Off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz. Stevens is also often heard on Hits & Favorites, calling in at least once a week to share wisdom with his brother Richard Stevens and their friend Lori St. James.

Read also: Legacy of Fordham University

Ed Belfour: Hall of Fame Goaltender

Edward John Belfour is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Belfour was born in Carman, Manitoba and grew up playing hockey. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of North Dakota where he helped the school win the NCAA championship in the 1986-87 season. The following year, Belfour signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks (after not being picked in the draft) alternating time between them and the Saginaw Hawks of the International Hockey League. Many regard Belfour as an elite goaltender and one of the best of all-time. His 484 wins rank fifth all-time among NHL goaltenders. Belfour was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the 2011 class, his first year of eligibility. In addition Belfour is one of only two players to have won an NCAA championship, an Olympic Gold medal, and a Stanley Cup (the other such player is Neal Broten).

Brock Boeser: Canucks Alternate Captain

Brock Michael Boeser is an American professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Chuck Klosterman: Cultural Essayist

Charles John Klosterman is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for Esquire and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for The New York Times Magazine. Klosterman is the author of twelve books, including two novels and the essay collection Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. He was awarded the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for music criticism in 2002.

Greg Brockman: OpenAI President

Gregory Brockman is an American entrepreneur, investor and software engineer who is a co-founder and currently the president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and became their CTO in 2013. He left Stripe in 2015 to co-found OpenAI, where he also assumed the role of CTO.

Karen L. Nyberg: NASA Astronaut

Karen LuJean Nyberg is an American mechanical engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Nyberg became the 50th woman in space on her first mission in 2008. Nyberg holds a Ph.D in mechanical engineering. She started her space career in 1991 and spent a total of 180 days in space in 2008 and 2013 as a mission specialist on STS-124 and a flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-09M.

Dave Hakstol: NHL Coach

David Hakstol is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. Hakstol was the head coach for Sioux City Musketeers for four seasons, followed by four years as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of North Dakota. He was promoted to head coach in 2004 and led the program for eleven seasons. Hakstol was a head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2015, leading the team until his firing in 2018. Additionally, he served as the first head coach of the NHL's Seattle Kraken from 2021 to 2024, after their expansion. Internationally, Hakstol was an assistant coach for Canada's national men's team in 2017 and 2019.

Dick Armey: Former House Majority Leader

Richard Keith Armey is an American economist and politician. Representative from Texas's 26th congressional district (1985-2003) and House Majority Leader (1995-2003). He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, in which Republicans were elected to majorities of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. Armey was one of the chief authors of the Contract with America. Armey is also an author and former economics professor. After his retirement from Congress, he has worked as a consultant, advisor, and lobbyist.

Edgar Dale: Educational Theorist

Edgar Dale was an American educator who developed the Cone of Experience, also known as the Learning Pyramid. He made several contributions to audio and visual instruction, including a methodology for analyzing the content of motion pictures.

Chase Iron Eyes: Native American Activist

Chase Iron Eyes is a Native American activist, attorney, politician, and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. In April 2016 he announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for North Dakota's at-large congressional district. He lost to incumbent Kevin Cramer.

Vilhjalmur Stefansson: Arctic Explorer

Vilhjalmur Stefansson was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada.

Dave Tippett: NHL Coach and Player

David G. Tippett is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player.

Mike Commodore: Stanley Cup Champion

Michael W. Commodore is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Commodore played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2006, he won the Stanley Cup as part of the Carolina Hurricanes. Commodore was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the second round (42nd overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Kelly M. Armstrong: Governor of North Dakota

Kelly Michael Armstrong is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 34th governor of North Dakota since 2024. representative for North Dakota's at-large congressional district. He also served from 2012 to 2018 as the North Dakota state senator from the 36th district and from 2015 to 2018 as chair of the North Dakota Republican Party. On January 23, 2024, he announced he would not seek reelection to the House and would instead run in the 2024 North Dakota gubernatorial election. Armstrong won the Republican primary on June 11, 2024, and defeated Democratic nominee Merrill Piepkorn in the general election.

Byron Dorgan: Former U.S. Senator

Byron Leslie Dorgan is an American author, businessman and former politician who served as a United States Representative (1981-1992) and United States Senator (1992-2011) from North Dakota. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Tyson Jost: NHL Forward

Tyson Jost is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward, currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Maxwell Anderson: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright

James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist.

Nick Schmaltz: NHL Forward

Nick Schmaltz is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL, as well as the Arizona Coyotes until the team suspended operations and all hockey assets were transferred to the expansion Utah Hockey Club.

Brock Nelson: NHL Alternate Captain

Brock Christian Nelson is an American professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nelson was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Islanders. Prior to playing professional hockey, Nelson played at the University of North Dakota. His first experience in professional hockey was at the American Hockey League (AHL) level with the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Travis Zajac: NHL Veteran

Travis Zajac is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Zajac was selected in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he would go on to play for 15 years and over 1,000 NHL games. He also briefly played for the New York Islanders.

Brandon Bochenski: Mayor and Former NHL Player

Brandon Louis Bochenski is an American former professional ice hockey player and politician. He played 156 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for several teams before serving as captain of Barys Astana in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Internationally Bochenski represented both the United States and Kazakhstan, playing in several World Championships. In June 2020, Bochenski was elected mayor of Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson: Olympic Gold Medalist

Jocelyne Nicole Lamoureux-Davidson is an American former ice hockey player. She scored the game-winning shootout goal to win the gold medal for Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics against Canada after her twin sister Monique tied the game near the end of regulation.

Warren Magnuson: Longest-Serving Senator from Washington

Warren Grant Magnuson was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Washington in Congress for 44 years, first as a Representative from 1937 to 1944, and then as a senator from 1944 to 1981. Magnuson was a member of the Democratic Party. He was Washington state's longest-serving senator, serving over 36 years. During his final two years in office, he was the most senior senator.

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