I had the amazing opportunity to meet with President Andrew Armacost over Zoom and ask him some questions to help new UND students get to know him better. Thank you to President Armacost for taking the time to meet with me, and special thanks to Cheri Williams for helping arrange and set up the meeting.
What is your favorite thing to do on UND’s campus?
“There’s lots of great things to do on the UND campus of course, but something that Kathy and I look forward to almost every evening unless it’s too cold is going for a walk around campus. Sometimes it’s for exercise, and sometimes it’s just to be together and blow off some steam. We had a dog when we first moved in. After the dog passed away, we kept walking because it’s good for the soul. And then whether it’s sporting events, musical events, or theater performances, we try to take advantage of as many things like that as possible. What we really relish is seeing people on campus at events, interacting, and just saying hi and getting to know people.”
What is your favorite thing about working at UND?
“I’ll give you an answer that might sound a little cliché, but it’s the people. It’s the interactions that we get to have on a daily basis, the sense of a common purpose of educating our students, being around the students, faculty, and staff members. Nothing is better than the kind of good group of people we have at UND.”
While I’m sure every day is different, what does a day in the life of being UND’s President look like for you?
“You’re right, every day is different. They are often very busy. Usually, I’m up pretty early getting email and prep work done for the day. When possible, I try to get a quick workout in 30-45 minutes. Then the day starts and runs from 8-5 generally with meetings, visitors, visits around campus, visits to the local community, and then sometimes events during the evening might run from 6-9. Or evening walks with Kathy. The weekends are busy too; there’s usually sporting events or special events, but I enjoy those. If I were to say that going to a track meet, basketball game, or hockey game was work, I’d be wrong. It’s part of the position of being a President and being present in the University and seeing our student athletes compete at such a high level.”
What were some factors that influenced you to become UND’s 13th President?
“I was a retired brigadier general in the Air Force; 20 of my 30 years were at the Air Force Academy, as a professor, as a Department Chair, and as a Provost. I retired from that position in the Fall of 2019 at the same time I was interviewing for the Presidency at UND. What really drew me to UND was a number of factors. First, I had a number of people that I knew at the Air Force Academy who were from North Dakota and spoke so highly of UND. I loved what I learned about the entire campus and our programs; I really appreciated the focus on leadership. That resonated with me being in uniform for 30 years and developing leaders at the Academy, I felt like there was something I could contribute here. Most people think military leaders are autocratic and order people around, but that’s not effective leadership, not in the military for sure. I thought there was a close correlation between what we were doing at the Academy and the same sense of aspiration to get people ready for life and leadership opportunities in the future, and the people on the campus had a reputation as kind, hard-working people. Who wouldn’t want to be around people like that? After three years in this seat, it’s been such a delight and a real honor to keep moving the campus forward to honor the hard work of people on campus.”
What is one lesson that you remember from your time at the Air Force Academy?
“The one thing I realized at the Air Force Academy is that even in a group setting like a classroom, you can make an important and deep connection with every one of your students. It’s important to treat people as individuals and understand who they are, what their backgrounds are, and what challenges they’ve faced. The ultimate lesson was learning that professors, administrators, deans, all of us can and must reach each and every student. There’s a way to tap into the interests, talents, and aspirations of every student on the campus. We have to work hard to do that. At the Academy, I learned that this is possible.”
If you could talk to yourself in your first year out of high school, what would be some advice that you would give?
“I’d have two pieces of advice. One, don’t worry about becoming a professional baseball player. Second, I was a pretty shy and introverted person coming out of high school. I felt like I shouldn’t ask questions of others or in class because I felt like it was my responsibility to learn the class material. What I would tell myself would be to have confidence in yourself, and I think that confidence comes at different times in your life in different ways. I met a student last year in the Chopped Competition at Wilkerson and his parents were there. They came up to me and said, ‘We can’t believe this is the same kid we dropped off in August. We would have never thought that he would be in a Chopped Competition.’ They went on about how the experiences at UND had created this blueprint for him to become a different person than he was in high school. We want the four years at UND to have that transformational impact for every one of our students.”
What motivates you?
“The feeling of doing good work and helping others and being a University President is a great position to do exactly that. Doing good work and positively impacting others is what motivates me.”
What are your favorite hobbies in the little time you spend outside of UND?
“Reading is a good thing, although I don’t do enough of it. I do a lot of reading in my job to the point that reading for enjoyment doesn’t happen as much as it should. I’ve always been into sports. I played sports my whole life and through my adult life. I’ve had to give up basketball because I’ve broken way too many bones playing basketball. As a parent, your kids’ hobbies become your own. Both of my daughters were competitive dancers, and then actors in theater when they became older. Supporting them in their hobbies became my hobbies. I was the stage manager for dance recitals and competitions. The dads would get together every year and do a ‘Dads Dance Routine.’ It was a total goofball routine, but it was nice to get to know the other dads on a human level. Music was also a big part of my life through high school. I was a cellist, and I played electric bass as well. So now, Dr. Simona Barbu has me on track to regain my cello playing abilities, so cello is now catching up on the hobby list in the limited time I have.”
What are some values that you look at as important to you in your personal life?
“They’re probably the same ones I bring to work. It’s nice when your personal values align with the institution. A couple that come to mind are terms like honesty, love, and commitment. Kathy and I both try to epitomize those in our lives with one another and in the way we treat other people.”
President Armacost will be speaking on Friday, October 6th at 1:30 PM in the Memorial Union Ballroom to make a historic announcement for the University at the Forever UND event.
Garrett Webber is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
