1936-; UND Political Science Department, 1969-2000

Pedeliski, Theodore (1936-)

Theodore Pedeliski was born in April 1936, in Belfield, North Dakota, to Nicholas and Polly (Logosz) Pedeliski. His father was a teacher at Murphy School, a rural school in Billings County, North Dakota. Nicholas Pedeliski taught his son, Theodore Pedeliski, for seven years at this school. He attended Dickinson State Teachers College, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957. After graduation, Pedeliski taught English at a high school in Napoleon, North Dakota, before being entering the United States Army. He served with the Army as Post Librarian at Kagnew Station in Asmara, Ethiopia, from 1959-1961.

After being discharged from the U.S. Army, Pedeliski taught for two years at the Division of Independent Study in Fargo. He next enrolled at the University of North Dakota, and earned a Master's Degree in Political Science in 1965. He next attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1972. The title of his doctoral dissertation was “The States and Criminal Justice Policies 1960-1970: Orientations Toward Due Process and Crime Control.”

Pedeliski returned to UND in 1969 to become an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1973, and achieved tenure in 1975. He was named a full Professor in 1988. He was awarded emeritus status following his retirement from the University in 2000.

While a faculty member at the University, Pedeliski served on many committees and was nominated for the Best Teaching Award. He was the producer of the radio program Jazz Streams on KFJM, in addition to a presence on the radio station as a commentator. He authored several publications for the UND Bureau of Governmental Affairs, co-authored the book Public Personnel Administration: Confronting the Challenges of Change in 1996, and was a frequent presenter at scholarly conferences. Pedeliski also wrote A Tour of St. Michael’s Church in 2001.

Pedeliski received a 1995-1996 American Judicature Society Award from the American Political Science Association, and was inducted into the North Dakota Ukrainian Hall of Fame in 2001. This honor was based on his contributions to the history of Ukrainians in North Dakota.