Harold Hamm, Monsignor Shea, Governor Burgum, and other dignitaries gathered with students and faculty at the University of Mary to christen the Hamm School of Engineering. Monsignor Shea says the school was the hardest thing they’ve built in the last 20 years.
"Nursing is something we've done since 1959. Education is something which the University of Mary has done, but engineering was out of our wheelhouse, and we thought, we don't event know where to start with that."
Monsignor Shea says the engineering school is a response to the need for engineers in western North Dakota. He hopes to graduate 50 students from the school each year.
"What the University of Mary is good at, is training servant leaders who are culturally prepared for the workplace and know how to lead a team, and know how to communicate. Those are the kinds of engineers that we need if we're going to really amplify everything that's happening in the future. And so we said, if that's what you're looking for in engineers, we can get them to pass their boards, we can get them to pass their technical exams, we can get them the technical skills, but we can also get them those human skills that are so necessary in order for North Dakota really to thrive, not just to survive, but to really thrive. That's why we've done this."