University of North Dakota

University of North Dakota

Motto	Lux et Lex (Latin)
Motto in English	Light and Law
Type	Public Flagship Space-grant
Established	1883
Parent institution	North Dakota University System
Endowment	$230.5 million
President	Mark Kennedy
Provost	Thomas DiLorenzo
Academic staff	823
Administrative staff	2,051
Students	14,906
Undergraduates	11,537
Postgraduates	2,866
Location	Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States
Campus	Urban – 550 acres (2.2 km2), 240 buildings, 6,400,000 sq ft (590,000 m2)
Colors	Green, White
Athletics	NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference NCHC (Men's hockey) WCHA (Women's hockey) WAC Summit League (Effective 2018) Missouri Valley Football Conference (Effective 2020)
Nickname	Fighting Hawks
Website	www.und.edu

The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, it is the state's oldest.

UND was founded as a flagship university with a strong liberal arts foundation, but has grown into a prominent scientific research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as having high research activity, and is considered one of the top academic and research institutions in the northern Midwest. UND is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report, and is widely regarded as the top university in the American Northern Plains region.

The University offers a variety of professional and specialized programs, including the only schools of law and medicine in the state of North Dakota. Its best known college is perhaps its John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, which is the first in the country to offer a degree in unmanned aircraft systems operations, and is competitively ranked as one of the world's top schools of aviation and aerospace.

UND maintains nationally competitive programs in aerospace, health sciences, political science, nutrition, energy and environmental protection, and engineering research, among others. Several national research institutions are located 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.

North Dakota's athletic teams compete in the NCAA's Division I. Most teams compete as members of the Big Sky Conference, with the exceptions of men's hockey (National Collegiate Hockey Conference), women's hockey (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), and swimming (Western Athletic Conference). The men's ice hockey team has a long history as one of the top in the nation. They have won eight national championships, and play in the Ralph Engelstad Arena.