In the fall of 1972, my parents drove me to the University of North Dakota for my freshman year.

NEWYORKER: The Reptile Garden

Grand Forks, for example, is home to the University of North Dakota, which has a Center for Innovation-ranked eighth best undergraduate program in the country.

FORBES: An American Heartland Renaissance

The University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University came out the strongest in our list, in large part because the state is not running a deficit.

FORBES: Why College Students in North Dakota and Texas Should Be Happy

Researchers at the University of North Dakota, working with NASA and others, recently flew a Cirrus SR22 equipped with special software to see if it could sense and avoid conflicts with a nearby Cessna 172.

FORBES: Will Your Next Airplane Be A Drone?

At the Hilton Garden Inn Grand Forks, which is connected by closed walkways to the University of North Dakota's Center for Innovation, I heard Irish and Norwegian accents and saw two Southeast Asians working on a presentation.

FORBES: Bear Rally or Real McCoy?

Only four schools in 2003's top 25 (Bryant University, The University of South Dakota, Hofstra University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) remain on the list.

FORBES: The 25 Most Connected Campuses