There was a lot of green and yellow at the Rugby Eagles Club on Tuesday afternoon, June 16.

And there was good reason for that.

Faculty, students and alumni of North Dakota State University (NDSU) gathered for the college’s “Conversations Across the Land.” A crowd of about 100 turned out for the luncheon.

D.C. Coston, vice president for Agriculture and University Extension, thanked alumni and supporters of the university for attending, pointing out these tours allow campus leaders to travel the state, and engage the communities and people NDSU serve. And listen to the needs and concerns of the people.

Also speaking, was NDSU representatives was President Dr. Joseph Chapman. He also stressed the relationship the university has to so many communities through its student body.

“It’s about people and it’s also about our students,’ Chapman said.

“Students are paramount to us, and truly paramount to the state. And there has been a number of incredible NDSU students who have come from Rugby.”

Chapman touched on the successes of the college is it’s ability to form partnerships with state and federal agencies, other institutions of higher learning as well as businesses. Those partnerships have enabled the college to develop opportunities for students to branch into career training and opportunities. A growing part of the college is its research enterprise, becoming a institution of development of products, services.

The university remains highly visible in the agriculture sector of the state, represented through its extension offices, spanning virtually every county. The college is also branching out to form a downtown campus in Fargo.

Gene Taylor, athletic director, touched on the the successful transition into Division I athletics. “When we made the decision to go (DI) six year ago, we knew it was going to be challenging move,’ Taylor said. “But we did have a great plan in place.”

And it’s not accident the school has enjoyed many successes so far at the DI level. Taylor said it goes back to the support of the administration, faculty, the commitment of the student-athletes as well as the strong alumni and fan support. He was also proud to say in addition to that success on the field, over 60 percent of NDSU student-athletes excelled in the classroom, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Craig Bohl, football coach, also made a few comments about the program. The Bison Art Singers closed the program by performing a few selections.

Also in attendance was former NDSU student body president, recent graduate and Rugby native Joe Heilman.

The local event was arranged in part through Rugby residents and alum Jim Bauer, Jeff Miller and Leeds resident and alum Roger Kenner.