Tom and Konnie Middleton donated to the School of Entrepreneurship & Management School of the university’s Business College. The school is named after them.
Tom Middleton is a 1972 AND graduate who grew up in Bowesmont, ND, in Pembina County. Konnie Middleton (maiden name Peach) graduated from Central High School in Grand Forks and earned a degree in education in 1975. You are retired and live in Arizona.
“Konnie and I are very excited, honored and humbled to work with UND and the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration,” said Tom Middleton in a statement. “We were very lucky and we value donations. We have seen a tremendous opportunity to give both forward and backward for the benefit of the university, its faculty and students. “
DeAnna Carlson Zink, CEO of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, said the Middletons are “making a bold statement in support of the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration”.
“They wanted to maximize the impact of their gift on the lives of AND students,” she said. “We are grateful and humble that you have entrusted us to realize your philanthropic vision.”
The gift was unveiled during a presentation by AND President Andrew Armacost to the State Board of Higher Education on Thursday, January 28th. Changing the name of a school such as the School of Entrepreneurship & Management requires the approval of the board. The name change was approved unanimously.
Tom Middleton has spent his sales, sales management and marketing career with Johnson and Johnson and its various pharmaceutical subsidiaries. Konnie Middleton was a clothing shopper for department store chains before working at home to raise her two daughters Nicole and Lindsay.
“New and renovated buildings on our campus are wonderful, but it is the programs they contain that enable our students and faculties to participate in the education, do the research, and provide the engagement opportunities that the leaders create the North Dakota needs, “said Armacost.
This is the first school named in the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration.
“The Middleton School of Entrepreneurship & Management will represent who we were, who we are and who we want to be,” said Dr. Amy Henley, dean of NCoBPA. “Thanks to Tom and Konnie, we will be the leading provider of entrepreneurship education in the Midwest.”
This is the second major donation in the last few years in connection with the UND Business School. In 2019, Werner and Colleen Nistler donated UND $ 20 million to build a new building for the University of Economics and Public Administration on the UND campus. Construction is already underway on the $ 70 million project, which also secured a $ 20 million match of North Dakota legislation in 2019.
The UND Business College was renamed after the Nistlers after the donation.
Armacost added that the Middleton’s “most generous gift” “will have a real and lasting impact on the future of our state and its citizens by contributing to a stronger and more diverse economy.”
The NCoBPA is the largest business school in North Dakota and serves an average of 1,400 undergraduate and 350 undergraduate students each year.
