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Rick Collin
North Dakota State Liaison
North Dakota Heritage Center,
612 East Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58505
(701) 328-1476
(701) 328-3710 (F)
www.nd.gov/hist
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Governor John Hoeven appointed Rick Collin as North Dakota’s liaison to the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission in December 2005. “Rick has a deep and active interest in history, especially U.S. presidents, and this position will give him the opportunity to use that knowledge to help the state observe this bicentennial for one of our nation’s greatest presidents,” Hoeven said.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Collin worked as a radio news reporter and media relations coordinator for 10 years in North Dakota. He served as Communications Director for Governor Ed Schafer for two years, from 1993-95. Since then, he has worked at the State Historical Society of North Dakota, where he is Communications and Education Director. He has been a board member of the North Dakota Humanities Council since 2003, and is serving a one-year term as chair through June 30, 2008. Since 1996, he has also taught American history, political science and communications courses at colleges in Bismarck.
In the 1980s, Collin was active in the successful efforts to restore Fort Union Trading Post near Williston. He was Chairman of the Friends of Fort Union from 1985-86. In 1994, he edited and revised for republication Bloody Knife: Custer’s Favorite Scout, by the late Ben Innis.
He earned a bachelor of arts degree in American history from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1977, a diploma from the Brown Institute of Radio and Television Broadcasting in Minneapolis in 1982 and a master of science degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks in 1991.
He lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma in the early 1990s, where he worked as coordinating producer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s education videoconference series, “Update for Teachers,” broadcast live to sites throughout North America from Oklahoma State University.
A U.S. Army veteran, Collin was stationed in Erlangen, West Germany from 1979-81, serving as a telecommunications specialist with an armored brigade.
Collin has been married since 1986 to Andrea Winkjer Collin, a native of Williston, North Dakota. They have three daughters, twins Sonja and Elizabeth, ages seventeen, and Karen, age twelve.
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Events for the Lincoln Bicentennial in North Dakota, 2008-09
September 20 Homesteading Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., North Dakota Heritage Center, Bismarck, featuring family activities, programs, demonstrations and musical entertainment highlighting the Homestead Act and its impact on North Dakota. Signed in 1862 by President Lincoln, the Homestead Act is on exhibit at the North Dakota Heritage Center through November 10, 2008, on loan from the National Archives.
October 16 An Evening with James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian, discussing his latest book, “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief,” 7 p.m., Historic Fargo Theatre, Fargo, North Dakota. Sponsored by Read North Dakota.
October 2008 “Lincoln, Land, and Liberty” Symposium in Fargo-Moorhead, sponsored by the NDHC , in cooperation with North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota, and Concordia College. Various programs to be scheduled throughout the month.
November 7-8 20th Annual Governor's Conference on North Dakota History, sponsored by the SHSND at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. The theme will be Lincoln Legacy: The Homestead Act. This will be the second part of a two-part theme for the state history conference – part one, Lincoln Legacy: The Railroad, was held November 2-3, 2007.
November 15-16 The Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra will perform Lincoln at Ease, written exclusively for the Lincoln Bicentennial by Peter Schickele, an internationally renowned composer, musician, author, and satirist who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. It will be performed Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 16 at 2 p.m. at the Empire Arts Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Louisville Orchestra commissioned Schickele to compose the work for the national launch of the Lincoln Bicentennial in Kentucky. The orchestra granted the state of North Dakota performance rights to the work after its premiere on February 11, 2008.
Feb. 12, 2009 Performance of Herbert Mitgang’s “Mister Lincoln” in the Askanase Auditorium at North Dakota State University in Fargo. This one-man show will feature NDSU alumnus Mark Neukom, originally from Jamestown, North Dakota, now living in the Twin Cities.
Feb. 12, 2009 Programs commemorating 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln during joint session of North Dakota Legislative Assembly, 12:45 p.m., at State Capitol Building in Bismarck, North Dakota, and at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, 5 p.m. Both programs will feature Chautauqua scholar George Frein in character as Abraham Lincoln.
*For more information on North Dakota's Bicentennial celebration, click here.
