GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KFGO-AM) The dean of the University of North Dakota aerospace school is stepping down.
Bruce Smith says he will retire in June 2016. The aviation school has grown under his tenure to become the largest program in the United States, with 120 aircraft flying more than 116,000 hours a year.
Smith is also president and CEO of the UND Aerospace Foundation, which has grown from $2.2 million assets in 2000 to $60 million in assets.
Smith is a former all-American football player at UND who received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and education. He holds a master's degree from Arizona State University and doctorate from Florida State University.
Smith was awarded North Dakota's State Meritorious Service Medal in 2006. He recently published a book entitled ``Nowhere but North Dakota.'