NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

December 10, 1998

H. Roald Lund to Retire from NDSU

H. Roald Lund, a professor of plant sciences at North Dakota State University and former dean of the college of agriculture and director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, will retire at the end of December. Lund spent more than 37 years at NDSU and served as teacher, researcher and administrator.

A North Dakota native and the eldest of six siblings, Lund grew up on farms and went to elementary and secondary schools in Hillsboro, Buffalo, Christine and Nome. Lund received his bachelor's and master's degrees at NDSU, where he studied agronomy and agricultural education. Also while at NDSU, Lund was in the Army ROTC program. He served in the Infantry Officers Leadership School in Fort Benning, Ga., and was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1959.

Later that year, Lund became assistant hard red spring wheat breeder and oat breeder at NDSU. He also served as an assistant professor of agronomy under the leadership of T.E. Stoa, the chair of what was then the NDSU agronomy department. Lund participated in the release of the hard red spring wheat variety Justin.

From 1962 to 1965, Lund pursued his doctorate degree at Purdue University at West Lafayette, Ind. Upon receiving his degree, Lund returned to NDSU, where he continued to teach and conduct plant breeding research in corn genetics.

As a teacher, Lund innovated "Auto-Tutorial," a teaching method using current technology to allow students to engage in self-instruction. The concept continues to be used within the NDSU's Department of Plant Sciences, but today's students computers and CD-ROM technology.

In 1969, Lund became NDSU's assistant ag college dean and assistant director of the experiment station. This appointment was made by Arlon G. Hazen, who Lund succeeded as ag college dean and experiment station director in 1979.

As Lund was serving in his administrative roles, NDSU went through a period of unprecedented expansion, in terms of student body and faculty growth as well as that of facilities on campus. Lund played a role in bringing to reality several NDSU building projects: the Northern Crops Institute facilities; the Northern Crops Science Laboratory; Van Es-Robinson Halls; Hultz Hall; the North Dakota State Seed Research and Regulatory Center (Johansen Hall); Loftsgard Hall; and the Industrial Agricultural Communication Center. He also participated in the formation of the state's research-extension centers and the Land Reclamation Research Center at Mandan.

Lund has served on virtually every governmental committee related to agriculture and land grant institutions, including the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC); the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy; the USDA Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences and the National Agricultural Research Planning Committee, through which he served as lead administrative adviser to the Current Research Information System (CRIS).

In 1980, Lund was named Master Builder of Men by the National FarmHouse Fraternity. He received the 1998 Harvest Bowl Agribusiness Award in November.

All of Lund's siblings are NDSU graduates, some while it was still dubbed the North Dakota Agricultural College. Likewise, all of the Lund's four children (Jeffrey, Susan, Anders and Adrian) are NDSU graduates. Lund and his wife, Janet, now live near Pelican Rapids, Minn.

There will be a reception to recognize Lund's contributions to NDSU from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17, in the atrium of Loftsgard Hall.

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Source: H. Roald Lund (701) 231-7735

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136