Sheridan County Courthouse Renville County Courthouse
The class then went to work raising funds for the project . “ Each year , the UND School of Law ’ s 3L class hosts an art auction to raise funds to help pay for graduation expenses , including the graduation banquet . The annual art auction is a formal affair featuring networking , high-quality items for auction , and an opportunity to get out of the law library for an evening ,” Pelton notes .
“ Our class was fortunate to hold a blockbuster event with its 2016 UND Art Auction ,” he continues . “ This left us able to help finance the Courthouse Photography Project and give something of longlasting value back to the students , faculty , and staff of the UND School of Law .” had agreed upon , with the goal of representing rural areas and places where our students and alumni are connected too ,” says Carolin . “ Ultimately , she took shots of nine courthouses . We ended up using eight in the final project , and decided on those eight based on architecture , style , and even a bit of the history .”
Schill notes she was struck by the architecture of many of the courthouse buildings , as well as the variety of materials used to construct the buildings and how they weathered through the years . The most unique among those photographed , she says , include the Art Deco courthouse in Renville County and the all-concrete
Worth the Wait
Rob Carolin , chief of staff for the Office of the UND President and former director of Alumni and Public Relations at the UND School of Law , says , while the project took longer than anticipated , the final collection of stunning photographs was worth the wait . “ This project brings the connection of the legal community of North Dakota into the law school ,” he notes . “ A focus on rural areas was important to the law school , because it is a connection we are working to make between the law school and rural areas .”
Shortly after the Class of 2017 initiated the project in 2018 , Carolin notes the university ’ s photographer took a different position out of state . In working to find another photographer , the timing of the summer project also had to be taken into consideration . It wasn ’ t until the summer of 2020 that UND ’ s Senior University Photographer Shawna Schill was able to take on the project . “ She did a lot of research and driving around the state ,” says Carolin . “ She took a broad approach , looking at the unique architecture of the buildings and their rural settings . She picked great perspectives and shots of the courthouses .”
The project was completed over two weekends , with Schill driving 1,302 miles across the state to capture the courthouse photographs . In preparation , she also viewed the state ’ s courthouses and their histories at history . nd . gov / hp / courthouses . html . “ She had a list that we
McHenry County Courthouse
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