29 Sep SBHE vote establishes Nistler College of Business & Public Administration at UND
Werner and Colleen Nistler donated the lead gift toward construction of a new UND College of Business & Public Administration building. After a State Board of Higher Education vote, occurring today, the College will be named in their honor. Image courtesy of UND Alumni Association & Foundation.
The following is a press release from the UND Alumni Association & Foundation:
The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education has voted to name the University of North Dakota College of Business & Public Administration (CoBPA) after donors Werner and Colleen Nistler. The couple has donated the lead gift toward construction of a new CoBPA building on the Grand Forks campus.
Werner Nistler earned an accounting degree from UND in 1968. He is founder and Chairman and Colleen is Vice Chairperson of Touchmark, which owns 14 full-service senior living communities in 10 states and one Canadian province. This includes Touchmark communities in Bismarck and Fargo. The Nistlers have also owned medical records processing companies along with several other businesses. They also formed Touchmark Foundation, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to enhancing the well-being of senior citizens by providing nursing scholarships to aspiring students, distributing food boxes to seniors and families in need and funding university-based research.
DeAnna Carlson Zink
“We are very appreciative of the State Board of Higher Education for agreeing to name the new building and College after Colleen and me,” said Werner Nistler. “I am humbled and proud that my alma mater would ask that this honor be bestowed on us. I am grateful for the outstanding education I received at UND, which set a path for my career success.”
“The Nistlers are so very deserving of having the building and College named after them,” said DeAnna Carlson Zink, CEO of the UND
Alumni Association & Foundation (UNDAAF). “Their lead gift has launched this project into high gear and helped convince state lawmakers to offer a $20 million matching fund as a private/public partnership.”
“Werner and Colleen are a remarkable example to our students for their business success and philanthropic spirit,” said Amy Henley, dean of the CoBPA. “Our students are going to take great pride in having the College named for such an outstanding alum.”
The CoBPA will be named the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration. The new building is planned for the corner of University Avenue and Centennial Drive. It will be connected by skywalks to the Chester Fritz Library and Merrifield Hall. The UNDAAF is conducting a campaign to raise $50 million in private donations for the $70 million project. The goal is to break ground by next fall.
The Nistlers will be on UND’s campus next week for Homecoming, with a public celebration taking place at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 at the Gorecki Alumni Center.