Provost leads top academic leaders, administrators on bus tour University of North Dakota Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Greg Weisenstein is leading a three-day Deans Bus Tour across North Dakota. The second annual deans tour, which is modeled after the UND president’s yearly New Faculty and Administrators Bus Tour, helps keep the state’s flagship university in close touch with the community that supports it, Weisenstein says. “This is a terrific opportunity for us to connect with communities, leaders, and our alumni,” says Dennis Elbert, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration and participant in this year’s tour. For Arts and Sciences Dean Martha Potvin, the tour likewise offers a unique chance to meet parents of current and future UND students. “It is as important for me to hear from the people of North Dakota about how we can contribute to the success of the state and its workforce as it is to report on our faculty and student achievements,” Potvin says. “The bus tour is a wonderful way to make those direct connections.” UND media relations coordinator Peter Johnson, who is on the tour this year said the first day included a very successful stop early Monday in Grafton for a breakfast and a tour and discussion at Marvin Windows, one of the region’s major employers; the group made a lunchtime visit at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, where the UND leaders enjoyed an opportunity to meet their LRSC counterparts, legislators, and community and civic leaders. The group began Tuesday with a breakfast meeting at Jamestown College for an informal opportunity to meet the administration and faculty at that institution. The tour stopped at the wind farm near Edgely, a highlight arranged by UND School of Engineering and Mines Dean John Watson. Other tour stops include an overnight stay in Fargo and a visit with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Dakota and affiliate organizations.