It is with great sadness that the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies (HPRS) and the Northern Plains Ethics Institute (NPEI) announces the death of Professor John Helgeland, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies. John died in hospice care on 8 May 2023 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He is survived by his wife, Susan Rae Helgeland, two daughters, and grandchildren.

John is being remembered for the contributions he made to HPRS, AHSS, NDSU, and our regional communities since coming to NDSU in 1977.  As Tom Isern, Distinguished Professor of History, said:

No one could ask for a better scholar and colleague in university life than Professor John Helgeland. He had time for colleagues, he had time for students, and he would ride the train from Fargo to Williston just to spend an afternoon with citizens talking about Rolvaag. His powers of reflection and expression were unmatched in these parts. He was the Humanities in human form.

Even after John retired from NDSU in 2015, he continued teaching classes at Olivet Lutheran, playing his trombone in a local brass band, and supporting local humanities work.

John had a number of accomplishments of which to be proud.  First, he and a small group of committed faculty members saw a growing need for enhanced democratic participation in society. They worked diligently to establish the first – and only - ethics institution in the state of North Dakota.  The Northern Plains Ethics Institute’s (NPEI) core questions, as articulated by John, are what kind of world do we want to live in, and how do we get there? To answer them, John put into place the requirement that we abandon reactive shortsightedness in favor of 10, 50, or even 100-year planning.  This extended time horizon has allowed the NPEI and those working with it to think in innovative ways about how to solve old and new problems in pragmatic, effective ways.

Because of John’s dedicated efforts, the North Dakota Board of Higher Education chartered the NPEI in 2000.  He served as NPEI Director from 2000 until his retirement, and then as Advisory Board chairperson until his illness made him step down.  During his tenure, the NPEI at NDSU has addressed important ethical challenges facing the area and nation, such as the ethics of agriculture, education, political life, health-care, and business.  Our last series of public panels with him linked success to education and healthcare.  Panel participants included the presidents of Moorhead State University at Moorhead and North Dakota State College of Science, local business owners from healthcare, chiefs of police, and other leaders in worlds of education and health.

John was also central in the formation of NDSU’s Group Decision Center in 1998.  The GDC’s function is as an electronic consensus-forming laboratory comprised of a network of 40 laptop computers equipped with award-winning software that offers businesses, government organizations and non-profits an easy to use, high-return-on-investment way to receive quick analytical results. Groups participate in strategic planning, surveys, and decision making through a system that allows each person to simultaneously and anonymously contribute to consensus building.  One of the first successes was the reconfiguration of North Dakota’s judicial districts, which could not have been achieved with methods open to politicking and face saving.

In 2017, John received Luther College’s Distinguished Service Award.  Paula J. Carlson, President of Luther College, wrote that Helgeland’s award was "based on criteria which include meritorious service to society, loyalty and service to Luther College and fidelity to the ideals of Luther College…It will be a pleasure for us to recognize your accomplishments and service."

A celebration of life service is being planned for 3:00pm on 11 August 2023 at Olivet Lutheran Church, Fargo.  All are welcome to attend or to donate to the John Helgeland Lectureship endowment that is being developed at the NDSU Foundation.

Dr. Helgeland's obituary