Last week’s 1 Million Cups was different from the rest in a few ways. As opposed to the usual tech-related content, the event kicked off by showing a video from CNN Airport featuring our friends at the Fargo Brewing Company and the work they did in collaboration with the MBAxAmerica.

The video, which calls Fargo a “mixed bag of quirky and quaint,” is airing on the CNN Airport channel in airports across the country. Cheers to the great work (and great beer) happening over on 610 University Drive!

After the usual announcements and introduction, the 209 people filling the theater gave a hearty welcome to NDSU President, Dr. Dean Bresciani, as he walked on stage to the music from Game of Thrones (and sporting an excellent tie).

Bresciani, who stated in an earlier article that he wanted to speak at 1 Million Cups because of its status as the most talked-about place for entrepreneurs and businesspeople, sounded a call for collaboration between NDSU and Fargo’s entrepreneurial community. He drew attention to the fact that NDSU is one of the biggest businesses in North Dakota, second only to Sanford. Many people don’t realize that, and perhaps this is because of the gap often drawn between universities and the business world, he said.

This is something Bresciani is aiming to change.

“Our college of business, frankly, has been detached from the business and economic environment of the Fargo-Moorhead area of the state,” he said. “That is not going to be the case going forward in the future.”

During the question and answer session, an audience member posed a question that many might have when considering partnering with a university: How does the community collaborate with an entity as big as NDSU?

To this, Bresciani had a quick and simple answer.

“I’m going to make it real easy for you,” he said. “Send me an e-mail.”

He explained that this is something he has done through his past involvement with various institutions, and it works; if you send him a direct e-mail explaining what you want to accomplish, he will be the gatekeeper that gets you in touch with the right person.

“I’ll also blow you away with how quickly I’ll respond to your e-mails,” he added.

This response was met with applause. Steps that the university is presently taking to bolster that community connection, he said, is through the work of their current interim dean.  She is “already connecting with business leaders, connecting with our entrepreneurial environment, and is already asking how can we better serve you,” Bresciani said.

He also added that as they search for candidates for the new dean, that they “will be defined by those features.”

Moving forward, he pointed to the partnership between North Dakota’s universities and the community as a vital part of growing the state as a whole. A part of that, he said, is turning from the characteristic modesty of North Dakota and claiming pride in the success of the state’s universities.

“[NDSU and UND] are some of the strongest magnets we have in bringing more talented young people and young professionals to our state,” he said. “And we have the potential to get them here and keep them here. But we gotta get better at leveraging those magnets.”

Right now, Bresciani illustrated, NDSU is experiencing a year of great success in research and statewide involvement.

“We’ve never had a university as successful as NDSU is being right now,” he said. “We need to hinge on that success.”

Come on over to the Stage at Island Park at 9:15 am this Wednesday, November 26, for another morning of coffee and conversation. Let us know you’re coming to the next 1 Million Cups, here.

 

Fargo Brewing Co. logo provided by beerles.com. All photos taken by Marisa Jackels.