Williston State College expanding offerings

With a new president and expansion plans under way, Williston State College is positioning itself for the future.

The college’s new president, Ray Nadolny, arrived on campus on April 15 from the Seattle metropolitan area where he had been vice president at a community college operating near Microsoft Corporation’s headquarters and the corporate offices for Costco and Nintendo.

Nadolny arrives at a key time for the college as it continues to expand its role supporting the area’s workforce needs. He says the challenge for Williston State College, which trains about 4,000 workers a year as one of the state’s four TrainND centers, is “to be market driven.”

Williston State College recently announced plans for a new 60,000-square-foot Career and Technical Center that will house educational programs for diesel technology, building trades like carpentry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, electronics, architecture and drafting, 3D graphics and green energy careers.

The two-year college’s Petroleum Safety and Technology Center, one of the state’s Centers of Excellence, was also dedicated in June and houses well servicing, commercial drivers license, introduction to oil and gas operations, Safety, Management and Rig Up Training and fire training programs.

The college is also spending $1.6 million to renovate its science labs and is investing $9 million in new dormitories.

Williston State College offers four-year degrees through Minot State University and Dickinson State University. The college has about 260 students on campus and a total of about 850, most studying online, including many high school students who are earning college credits through online courses.

Since moving to Williston, Nadolny says he has been impressed with the two-year college and the community.

“The community of Williston was very hospitable and the town offers a lot of one-to-one activities,” he says. “The people are really social in Seattle, but not like North Dakota.”

Tags: williston nd, williston college