Opgaard, Carleton Myron, Dr. (1929-2014)

Dates

• Existence: 1929 - 2014

Biography

Carleton Myron Opgaard was born February 18, 1929, at Fort Ransom, North Dakota. After graduating from Fort Ransom High School in 1946, he began his teaching career in a one-room country school at the age of seventeen. Six years later, Opgaard received his Bachelor of Science degree in English/Speech from Valley City State College of North Dakota. He completed his Master of Arts degree in American Civilization from the University of Wyoming and his Ph.D. degree in Education from the University of Washington. Opgaard spent one year studying at the University of Oslo, Norway, as a Fulbright Scholar. He served with the United States Army for two years.

Opgaard held many positions in education, such as an elementary, secondary and college classroom teacher; an elementary and secondary principal; a high school counselor; and a college Dean of Instruction.

Opgaard was the founding President of Malaspina College (now Vancouver Island University) in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. He began his work at Malaspina when the only building on campus was Nanaimo’s old hospital. Opgaard left Malaspina with a campus valued at over 12 million dollars and serving some 1,600 full-time and 1,200 part-time students.

In 1978, Opgaard became President of Dakota State College, where he initiated the summer study program with Tamagawa University.

Opgaard and his wife, Phyllis, had four children. Opgaard served as a member of several professional associations, including the Association of Canadian Community College Administrators, the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, Association of Canadian Community Colleges, Canadian Vocational Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals and Phi Delta Kappa. While living in Madison, he was active in the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, as well as serving as President of the Lutheran Church. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Valley City State University.

Opgaard died on July 6, 2014, in Tacoma, Washington.

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