The namesake of the University of North Dakota’s college of aerospace sciences was inducted posthumously into the National Aviation Hall of Fame last week.
John D. Odegard is one of North Dakota’s most prominent aviators in North Dakota history. He founded the college in 1968 with a fleet of just two aircraft. It has grown to become UND’s second largest program with over 2,000 students, 500 faculty and staff, and one of the largest civilian aircraft fleets in the country.
Odegard joins the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and Neil Armstrong in the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
He was born in Minot in 1941. He passed away in 1998.
