NDSU will launch its first university museum on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Union Gallery.
NDSU will launch its first university museum, which will unify, catalog and exhibit its diverse collections of more than a million objects and artifacts across campus.
A launch celebration for the NDSU Museum and Collections, which is slated to include a reception, tours to exhibit installations across campus, student panels and a dedication by NDSU President David Cook, is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Union Gallery. The event will continue Wednesday, Sept. 18 and Thursday, Sept. 19 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., each day at the Memorial Union Gallery.
“The establishment of NDSU’s first museum is a once-in-a-career opportunity to support and enrich the campus and region. We are grateful for a large NDSU Foundation grant to bring this idea to reality, which will undoubtedly have a long-lasting impact on NDSU,” said Michael Strand, director of the NDSU School of Design, Architecture and Art and the principal investigator of the museum project.
The museum will be decentralized. Instead of hosting collections in a primary building, core galleries will exist in the Memorial Union, an interpretative center in the NDSU Main Library and the new President’s Gallery in Old Main, among other smaller venues across campus. Other exhibitions and collection spaces will be flexible and dispersed throughout the campus, offering visitors a variety of guided and self-guided tours, an updated inventory of collections and comprehensive educational resources.
A unique feature of the NDSU Museum and Collections will be a collection of portals — modular and adaptable displays containing interpretive information that showcase collections from across campus. Portals can be placed anywhere on campus or with community partners, offering flexibility and broader reach.
“The portals can accompany gatherings, football games or anywhere we want to go as temporary installations or remain long-term. We believe that our museum will be even more dynamic than a static single building as we can be integrated literally anywhere and anytime,” Strand said.
The museum will highlight the university's extensive collections, which span areas such as archives, art, athletics, design, historical objects, textiles and scientific artifacts, providing a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and educational outreach. The museum also will include a website, which will enhance visibility for the collections and bring more visitors to campus.
The NDSU Museum Founding Committee, which worked for eight months to bring the concept to reality, is: Strand; Angela Smith, professor of history and chair of the committee; Nate Wood, assistant professor of education; Anthony Faris, curator of the Memorial Union Gallery; Susan Curtis, Emily Reynolds Historic Costume Collection Curator; Wyatt Atchley, archivist; Suzzanne Kelley, editor and chief of the NDSU Press; Jeff Knight, assistant professor of art & design; and Alexandra Rowe, assistant director for writing programs and doctoral student in rhetoric.
The project launch also includes the work of several NDSU student fellows, who helped this summer with collection organization, documentation, curation, branding and design.
The core committee and fellows have created five portals for the opening that showcase collections from the NDSU Archive, engineering, ornithology, art and dendrochronology.
The launch of the NDSU Museum and Collections is funded by a $75,000 NDSU Foundation Impact grant. Kimberly Wallin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Jolie Graybill, dean of NDSU Libraries, are co-principal investigators and played vital roles in the museum’s inception and creation.
Additional funding from the NDSU College of Arts and Sciences, the NDSU School of Design, Architecture and Art and NDSU Libraries will help the museum host rotating and static displays across campus, making use of existing public-facing spaces like the Memorial Union Gallery and other key locations. The museum will integrate digital elements like QR codes for interactive learning, ensuring visitors can engage deeply with the exhibits.
“Twenty-five years from now this founding group will be able to look back and know they have had a lasting impact on NDSU, the region and beyond,” Strand said.
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