ND Press Association Moves HQ to University of North Dakota – 1958

Grand Forks, North Dakota – On March 25, 1958, the North Dakota Press Association (NDPA) announced its plans to establish its headquarters at the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, according to an Associated Press dispatch reported in the Grand Forks Herald.

The move, formalized through an agreement with UND’s Department of Journalism, involved a collaborative effort to hire an individual who would split their time between teaching journalism students and supporting the NDPA’s operations. F.J. Froeschle, publisher of the Lisbon, N.D. Newspaper and executive secretary of the NDPA, stated that a special committee had approved the invitation from the university.

While the specific individual for the dual role had not yet been selected, and the logistics of the headquarters’ opening remained to be finalized, Froeschle indicated that the NDPA’s business affairs and advertising services would be managed from the UND campus. The association had too received an invitation from the printing department of the Wahpeton School of Science, but ultimately chose to partner with UND.

The decision to locate the NDPA headquarters at UND echoes a historical connection between the two institutions. According to a University of North Dakota press release from January 2024, the North Dakota Newspaper Association was previously housed within the UND Department of Journalism for decades, and the association’s Hall of Fame was also located at the university. UND also founded the Northern Interscholastic Press Association in 1920, which hosted annual conventions for high school journalists from several states, including North and South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota.

The establishment of the NDPA headquarters at UND occurred during a period of significant activity for the university’s journalism program. UND announced in January 2024 that it would reestablish a journalism major, a century after first offering the degree. Soojung Kim, associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication, emphasized the importance of the program in addressing a growing need for skilled journalists within North Dakota, noting that newsrooms across the state were struggling to fill positions at all levels.

Cecile Wehrman, executive director of the North Dakota Newspaper Association, welcomed UND’s initiative, stating in January 2024 that North Dakota newspapers were “in dire need of a new generation of journalists.”