UND Opens for Summer Session
By Laura McCallum
May 15, 1997

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Another milestone in the post-flood recovery of Grand Forks occurred this week with the beginning of summer school at the University of North Dakota. The state's second-largest employer, UND didn't sustain the level of flood damage suffered by the city's downtown, yet university officials say it will take several years for the campus to return to full strength. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

A front-loader removes bags of sewage-soaked trash from a gaping hole in the lower level of the UND Medical School. Physical Plant Director LeRoy Sondrol says his staff knocked out part of the wall to make it easier to clear out the building - just one example of the drastic steps taken to try to quickly restore buildings on campus. Inside the med school, the scene resembles a hazardous waste spill, as a clean-up crew dressed in white waterproof coveralls and gas masks lines up microscopes and other equipment that might be salvagable. Sondrol, who's worked at UND for more than forty years, says about a third of the buildings on campus were flooded, mostly by sewer back-up. But Sondrol says it could have been much worse, had his staff not shut off power to flooded buildings, preventing fires and possible electricutions.

THEN, YOU LOOK BACK AT THAT AND YOU SAY, WELL, WE REALLY DIDN'T LOSE. WE GOT BEAT UP A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE DIDN'T LOSE.

UND President Kendall Baker says the damage estimate is $50,000,000 and counting, and he's not sure where the money will come from - hopefully some from the federal government, some from the state, some from alumni contributions. But Baker does not think the flood will have a long-term negative effect on the university - in fact, he says he thinks it will result in a STRONGER institution. At one point during the flood, UND housed the city's emergency operations center, FEMA, the only Grand Forks radio station still on the air, and the only health clinic. Baker says the university will build on those partnerships.

WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THE ROLE THAT WE ARE PLAYING AND WILL PLAY IN THE RECOVERY OF GRAND FORKS. AND WE SEE PLAYING THAT ROLE AS TRANSFORMING WHAT KIND OF INSTITUTION WE'RE GOING TO BE AND WHAT KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES WE'RE GOING TO OFFER FOR OUR STUDENTS. THINK OF THE INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AVAILABLE FOR OUR STUDENTS AS OUR COMMUNITY GOES THROUGH THIS PROCESS. THINK OF THE EXPERIENCIAL LEARNING THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GONNA HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT PEOPLE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE NOT GOING TO DO.

It's possible some students would prefer to avoid a first-hand look at disaster recovery, but Baker's desire to see good come out of a crisis seems to have filtered down to the rest of the university. LeRoy Sondrol says his staff will try to rebuild gutted-out basements in a more efficient way. He says the union's flooded bowling alley will likely not be replaced, instead, the university will come up with a better way to use the space.

As UND's first summer session got underway this week, there seemed to be the usual amount of first-day-of-class confusion at the so-called "help tent" on campus. Don Piper, who's coordinated summer school for the last few years, says he doesn't have firm enrollment numbers yet - some students who registered left town when Grand Forks flooded, others had trouble registering when the university's mainframe computer was down.

WE SUSPECT THAT WE WILL BE DOWN SOME IN ENROLLMENT - I MEAN, WHY WOULDN'T WE BE, GIVEN THE TRAGEDY THAT HAS COME HERE? BUT WE'RE PRETTY SURE IT'S NOT GONNA BE A DISASTER - ANOTHER DISASTER. WE THINK THE SUMMER SESSION WILL BE A SUCCESS, IF FOR NO REASON THAT WE DO HAVE ALL THESE FACULTY AND STUDENTS BACK HERE.

Piper says he's only heard of one professor who may not return to UND. Like nearly everyone on campus, Piper spends his time away from work trying to clean up his flooded home, while commuting four hours a day to Walhalla, North Dakota. Piper says UND professors seem to find it a relief to return to the classroom.

FOR NEARLY THREE WEEKS NOW, THEY'VE BEEN ESSENTIALLY WANDERING AROUND, OR BEEN IN SHELTERS, OR TRAVELING AROUND THE COUNTRY. I THINK MANY OF OUR FACULTY ARE OVERJOYED JUST TO GET BACK INTO SOMETHING THAT'S KINDA NORMAL, LIKE THIS IS MY JOB AND I'M HERE DOING IT.

Some of the immediate challenges remaining at the University of North Dakota include repairing nearly forty damaged elevators, and ten air conditioning systems before the weather warms up. Physical Plant Director LeRoy Sondrol says by a stroke of luck, a local greenhouse was able to save the university's summer flowers from flooding. He says having flowers on campus will serve as a small symbol of regrowth, as the rest of campus continues to clean up. I'm Laura McCallum, MPR News.

Go to Flood of 1997.