Jodsaas Center
Grow your leadership and entrepreneurship skills at the Jodsaas Center.
The goal of the Jodsaas Center is to provide opportunities for students to experience the challenges of going beyond design and manufacturing into the realm of commercialization, marketing and sales.
Activities include:
- Academic Programming: including offering courses in leadership and technology development and a certificate Program in Engineering Entrepreneurship.
- Outreach Activities: hosts seminars and workshops on various topics of interest to our students to enhance their networking skills.
- Hands-on Learning Experiences: Such as student venture evaluation and development and service learning opportunities.
Creation of the Jodsaas Center
The Jodsaas Center for Engineering Leadership and Entrepreneurship was made possible by a generous gift from UND College of Engineering & Mines alum, Larry Jodsaas, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, 1962.
About Larry Jodsaas
Following graduation Larry Jodsaas secured a position with Control Data. There, he held several different roles including president for Control Data’s systems business and vice president of operations for the peripheral products portion of the company. In 1990 Jodsaas bought VTC, Inc., a semiconductor manufacturing business. He sold the brand engineering and sales and marketing portions of VTC in 2000, but kept the manufacturing portion and through it he started PolarFab - the only privately held semiconductor foundry in the United States. Jodsaas, who retired in 2005, funded the Jodsaas Center within UND’s College of Engineering & Mines in 2008. Larry lost his battle with Alzheimer’s disease on April 27, 2020 in the peacefulness of his Summit Hill home in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Mission
- Develop the leadership and entrepreneurship skills of our students
- Promote the formation and development of student-led entrepreneurial ventures
- Serve as the link between the College of Engineering & Mines and other established programs on campus, including the Center for Innovation and the Entrepreneurship Program within the College of Business & Public Administration.