Grand Forks (5.8.2013) -- After 11 years as Executive Vice President and CEO of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, Tim O’Keefe has announced he will retire on March 31, 2014.

“This chapter of my personal and professional life has been a privilege,” O’Keefe said. “I can’t imagine more rewarding work than for an organization and a mission close to my heart and so critical to the public good and future of the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, our region and my beloved great state of North Dakota.”

O’Keefe, in partnership with UND leadership, led the University through its first major capital campaign. North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND, which ends at Homecoming in October, surpassed its $300 million goal six months early. During the campaign, the number of unique donors to UND jumped from 8,000 a year to more than 13,000, and funds raised annually jumped from $8 million to $45 million.     

“Our alumni and friends are special people. The branding of our campaign as ‘North Dakota Spirit’ could not have been more accurate in its representation of the accomplishments, integrity, shared passion and loyalty among our followers for our University and state,” O’Keefe said.

“The University of North Dakota has a great friend in Tim O'Keefe,” UND President Robert Kelley said. “His work as the head of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation has been exemplary, and we are the beneficiaries of that work and leadership, which includes oversight of the $300 million North Dakota Spirit Campaign. Tim’s legacy is already helping to provide an exceptional UND for the future. All of UND joins me in wishing Tim and his wife, Becky, the very best on the next exciting phase of their lives.”

A transition team made up of current and former UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board members as well as UND partners will map out the steps for finding O’Keefe’s replacement.  

“Tim has been a visionary leader with an incredible list of accomplishments over his tenure, which has benefited us all,” said Al Royse, UND Foundation Chair. “But while we will certainly miss Tim and his leadership, he has positioned us very well for the future, and we look forward to continuing what he has started. A transition team has been formed, and we are in the process of finding the next great leader for this organization.”

“Tim’s leadership has been transformational for the UND Alumni Association & Foundation,” said Carolyn Becraft, UND Alumni Association Chair. “Under his tenure, the connection to alumni has been greatly strengthened and the endowment has more than tripled. You can see his vision in the Gorecki Alumni Center, the Hopper-Danley Spiritual Center, the President’s residence, and multiple projects currently in the pipeline that will continue to transform the campus.  He has built a strong organization that will continue to do great things for UND.”

During O’Keefe’s tenure, UND alumni and friends have established more than 479 new endowments ― investments that provide support for years into the future ― including 262 for student scholarships.

“We only exist for one reason, and that’s students in one form or another,” O’Keefe said. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s alumni. We have always attracted a unique quality of student to UND, and it is the students who have inspired me every day.”

North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND has already surpassed its fundraising goal with months to go before the campaign wraps up during Homecoming this fall.

Tim O'Keefe, UND Alumni Association & Foundation executive vice president & CEO, announced today during at the annual State of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Address that two large donations have pushed the campaign total over the $300 million goal to $300,593,489.

“When we set the goal of $300 million a little over six years ago,” said O’Keefe, “many thought we were beyond overly optimistic. In fact, some even questioned our sanity. We have not only blown through this goal, but we are going to accomplish so much more throughout the balance of this campaign and beyond.”

The objective now, O’Keefe said, is to push to see just how much more can be secured to impact the University’s passionate students, inspirational educators, innovative programs, and extraordinary places.

“I think we have some great projects and programs that will keep us motivated through the end of the campaign,” said DeAnna Carlson Zink, associate executive vice president and chief development officer. “We have a number of alumni and friends that are still planning to get engaged, so we are thrilled to see where we’ll end up in October.”

The impact of the Spirit Campaign was the focus of the State of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation address, which is held as part of UND Spirit Week. UND student and 2011 Spirit Award scholarship winner Adam Swigost gave a heartfelt speech in which he thanked those who’ve given to the campaign.

“I want to thank all of alumni who have ever given the University of North Dakota,” Swigost said. “Without your gifts, my education would not be possible, nor would the education of my classmates. You are what make this University such a rich and fulfilling place.”

Other highlights of the financial report given during the address:

• 575 new funds have been established on campus since the Spirit Campaign started, including 270 scholarship funds.
• 354 new endowments have been funded since the start of the campaign.
• 36,400 alumni and friends have made donations to the Spirit Campaign.
• $43.7 million was committed to the Spirit Campaign by 13,161 investors in Fiscal Year 12.
• In FY12, the Foundation’s assets hit an all-time high of $246 million.
• The endowment balance at the end of FY12 was also a record at $140.3 million.

• Support for student scholarships in FY12 hit $4.8 million, and total support including scholarships and programs was $11.1 million.

The students, along with the rest of the more than 300 people in attendance, were inspired by the stories of the successful alumni honored this year: Ben, ’62, ’63, and Dorothy Gorecki, the namesake donors for the Gorecki Alumni Center; Kathryn Uhrich, ’86, Dean of the Mathematical & Physical Sciences department at Rutgers University in New Jersey; Mark Chipman, ’83, ’85, President of True Sports North & Entertainment, parent company of the Winnipeg Jets; and Garfield Beckstead, ’61, Florida real estate developer and owner of Useppa and Palm Islands.

Read about this year's recipients and watch videos of their acceptance speeches here.   

The University of North Dakota Alumni Association and UND Foundation have chosen four distinguished alumni to receive their highest honor, the Sioux Award. In addition, two deserving alumni have been named Young Alumni Achievement Award winners. Each year, the awards are given based on achievement, service and loyalty.

The Sioux Award Banquet will be held on Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Alerus Center. A social hour starts at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and the awards ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m. Reservations can be made online at www.undalumni.org/siouxawards2011.

The 2011 Sioux Award recipients are:

Norm Hoffman, ’59: Norm is the retired co-founder and President/CEO of Technical Ordnance, Inc. He received a degree in Chemical Engineering from UND and ran Technical Ordnance, which specialized in detonators and initiators used in rockets and various military safety systems, for 40 years before retiring in 2006. He and his wife, Ann, have established the Ann and Norman Hoffman Chair in National Defense/Energetics at UND.

Gary Marsden, ’63: Gary is the retired founder and CEO of Marco, Inc., and a former UND Alumni Association & UND Foundation Board member. The Hillsboro, N.D., native transformed Marco, Inc., based in St. Cloud, Minn., into a 450-employee office technology company with 21 locations. Gary currently serves on the National Campaign Steering Committee for North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND.

Dr. Robert Nordlie, ’57, ’60:  Dr. Nordlie is a retired Biochemistry professor from the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Dr. Nordlie dedicated 38 years of his career to the SMHS and served as the chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department from 1983 to 2000. He has published more than 130 papers and was a member of 16 professional and scientific organizations.

Diane Odegard, ’86: Diane was a teacher in Grand Forks for 25 years and a former UND Alumni Association & UND Foundation Board member. Diane and her late husband, John, drove the development of the aerospace program at UND. She recently helped complete the fundraising to establish the Delta Gamma Foundation/Everson Family Lectureship in Values and Ethics, a program that will bring nationally prominent speakers to campus.

Amanda Bentow, ’04, ’06: Amanda is a Community Relations Officer in the Office of University Relations at UND. Within the Grand Forks community, she’s president of the Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals; a member of the Steering Committee for the Community Visioning Project; a member of the Altru Foundation Board of Directors, and has been heavily involved on the steering committee for the Launch Grand Forks Initiative.

John Kutch, ’93: John is the President/CEO of Trinity Health in Minot, N.D., where he has successfully recruited more than 70 physicians to the region. Kutch is a member of several professional and civic organizations and serves on the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences Advisory Board representing the west region and various advisory boards for the Greater Minot Area.