According CAGW:

$250,000 by Senate appropriator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) for the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Minot State University-Bottineau.  According to its website, the center is “committed to furthering greenhouse production of organic and specialty vegetables in North Dakota.”  North Dakota is not among the leading states in horticulture sales .

Now, I gotta admit, I had never heard of Minot State University-Bottineau.  It’s located in Bottineau, North Dakota.  That told me a lot.  So, I checked out their website for better info.  Minot State University-Bottineau has an enrollment of about 600 according to their website.  That’s kinda small.  So, I figured they must have one hell of a horticulture program going in order to merit $250,000 for 600 students.  This is their current curriculum:

Minot State University-Bottineau Fall 2009 Class Schedule
§ Information Management – Accounting Technician (AAS) § Information Management – Administrative Assistant (AAS)
§ Information Management – Medical Secretary (AAS) § Advertising and Marketing (AAS) (Diploma)
§ Medical Assistant (AAS) (Diploma) § Reception Services (Diplo ma) § Bookkeeper (Certificate of Completion)
Contact Mr. Russ Gagnon regarding registration questions
Office: Admin. 2nd Floor Telephone: (701) 858-4339
CRS #	COURSE TITLE	INSTRUCTOR
ACCT 200	Elements of Accounting I	W. Johnson
	Lab	W. Johnson
ACCT 215	Legal Env of Business	Benson
ACCT 294	Independent Study	W. Johnson
ACCT 297	Co-op Ed Accounting	Gagnon
AH 136	Clinical Procedures	Staff
AH 138	Medical Coding I CPT	Boucher
AH 171	Medical Terminology	Staff
AH 297	Co-op Ed Medical Assistant	Gagnon
ASC 075	College Study Skills	Weber
ASC 092	Beginning Algebra	Nahinurk
BADM 105	Leadership Techniques	Keith
BADM 201	Principles of Marketing	Keith
BADM 205	Leadership Techniques	Keith
BADM 210	Advertising I	Keith
BADM 214	Entertainment Marketing	Keith
BADM 240	Sales	Keith
BADM 260	Principles of Retailing	Keith
BADM 297	Co-op Ed Advertising/Mktg	Keith
BIOL 115	Human Structure & Function ($15.00 Lab fee)	Brooks
		Staff
BOTE 108	Business Math	S. Johnson
BOTE 209	Office Management	Gagnon
BOTE 217	Records Management	Gagnon
BOTE 297	Co-op Ed Admin Assistant	Gagnon
BOTE 297	Co-op Ed Medical Secretary	Gagnon
CSCI 101	Introduction to Computers	Gagnon
NUTR 240	Principles of Nutrition	Kveum
PSYC 100	Human Relations in Org	Gagnon

I suppose promoting greenhouse vegetables is part of their Sales program.  Their online program does include some things to do with plants and dirt.  Not sure exactly how that would work.  I guess you email pics of what you’re growing.  But, to be honest, they do have a 100 level horticulture class online.  That one 100 level class ( for clarification, 100 level courses are those classes freshmen take in order to move on to more important things like, 200 level courses. )  For that one ONLINE class, Minot State University-Bottineau either has or will have an “Entrepreneurial Center”.  Not sure how big this entreprenurial center for students who never come to campus will be.  But, for $250,000, it’s probablty not that big.

For that matter, I wonder if it exists at all, or ever will exist.

But, I gotta hand it to whoever made this request that Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad could not say no to.  I mean, the beauty of it impresses me.  ”furthering greenhouse production of organic and specialty vegetables in North Dakota”.  I am completely in awe of someone who can get $250,000 to grow vegetables in North Dakota.  I mean, it’s not like vegetables can grow in North Dakota all by themselves.

Yes, I want that job.  I don’t want to live in North Dakota tho.  Too cold.  As with the students of the horticulture program, I’ll just live where I do now and teach them online.  I can do that for $250,000, easy.

Where I really think they slid a fast one on Dorgan and Conrad is by sticking the word “greenouse” in it.  Whenver someone simply mentions the word “greenhouse” in academia it is immediately assumed to be 100% legit and 100% politically correct.  Nevermind the fact that this particular money has nothing to do with limiting greenhouse gases and all to do with spending $10,000 on a bunch of plastic to grow vegetables.  They said “greenhouse”.  Write the check.

Tags: bottineau, byon dorgan, curriculum, global warming, greenhouse, horticulture, Kent Conrad, minot, North Dakota, pork, state, university