GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – For the 32nd time, new University of North Dakota faculty and administrators will get a front-row seat on a tour of the state when they embark on this year’s bus tour of North Dakota on August 19-21.

This year’s route will give the travelers, many of whom are new to the state, a chance to explore much of the southern portion of North Dakota, through or near communities such as Cooperstown, Carrington, Underwood, Bismarck/Mandan, Hebron, Medora, Jamestown and Fargo.

UND President Andy Armacost and First Lady Kathy Armacost once again will be hosting the tour.

Among those joining the Armacosts on this year’s tour will be Scott Snyder, vice president for research & economic development; Randi Tanglen, vice provost for faculty affairs; Shelbie Witte, dean of the UND College of Education & Human Development; and David Wilson, chair of the UND Department of Indigenous Health.

As part of their trip, the UND travelers will have breakfast with incoming UND Presidential Scholars and their families from the Bismarck/Mandan area.

The three-day tour, free for participants and supported by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, alternates between northern and southern routes of the state each year. It was introduced in 1990, when Tom Clifford was president of the University. And apart from two years during the pandemic, there’s only been one other time when the tour did not happen.

Some other highlights of this year’s tour (not in order) will be visiting the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historical Site near Cooperstown, the Hi-Way Drive Inn for lunch in Carrington, the Falkirk Coal Mine near Underwood, Hebron Brick Company in Hebron, the North Dakota’s State Capitol and Heritage Center in Bismarck; Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, and Frontier Village in Jamestown.

Throughout the tour, participants also get a chance to learn more about North Dakota agriculture, education, tourism, energy development, government and business from experts in the field, as well as learn more about each other.