The Center’s purpose was to help North Dakota cooperatives apply sound management principles and decision-making skills to maximize their services and benefits to members, and to increase public understanding of cooperative business and their role in our state and national economies. The idea of a university-based center for cooperatives originated with North Dakota cooperative members who believed that an academic teaching and research program devoted to cooperatives would better prepare undergraduate and graduate students to become effective members of cooperative management teams and more informed members and directors. The Center was named after Senator Quentin Burdick, a long-time supporter of cooperatives, both in North Dakota and nationally.

1994: One of the first projects undertaken by the new Center was a training program for new and emerging cooperatives in June of 1994. This effort was supported by the ND Coordinating Council of Cooperatives. This conference was held before the Center was dedicated in September, 1994. Other tasks initiated during the first year of the center’s existence included laying the groundwork for the cooperative curricula project, research on cooperatives handling fuel and fertilizer, and the establishment of the Bloomquist Lectureship series.

1995-97: During this period, the revision of the cooperative textbook was initiated by Cobia and Bruce Anderson of Cornell University. Bloomquist Lecturers included the dynamic Joe Famalette, the strong NDSU and cooperative supporter Vern Freeh, and Dennis Sexhus, the CEO of the North American Bison Cooperative. Training programs continued with a second training program for new and emerging cooperatives and the organization of a regional conference--"Building New Cooperatives-A Regional Conference". QBCC always participated in the annual Marketplace events. Research programs were conducted on executive compensation, non-agricultural cooperative potential, survey of agricultural loan officers, and  characteristics of joiner and non-joiners of NGCs.

QBCC went international during this period, hosting a Fulbright Scholar from the Ukraine. The original cooperative textbook edited by Cobia was translated into Japanese and Cobia gave a two day seminar in Japan. There were numerous speaking engagements on "New Wave" Cooperatives.  The addition of Frayne Olson as assistant director who carried a partial extension appointment enhanced the outreach activities of the center. Several extension publications on evaluating investment decisions in new processing cooperatives and one on the economic impact of cooperatives were published at this time.

1998-00: Bill Nelson became the new director in February, 1998, following the retirement of David Cobia. Nelson had experience in conducting feasibility and marketing studies, and conducting international executive training programs. These programs were added to the portfolio of QBCC. Expanding the training role of the Center, a six day executive level director & management training program for the New Generation Cooperatives was planned and executed in partnership with the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota in March, 1999.

Recent Bloomquist Lecturers were the dean of cooperative attorneys, Ralph Morris, 1998, and the former governor of North Dakota, George Sinner. Both individuals are linked closely to American Crystal Sugar’s origin and growth.

The course on cooperatives, offered both as Agricultural 374 and Business 374, continues to attract 30 to 40 students annually. Lecture notes have been developed in PowerPoint. Another significant development using the latest communication technology was the establishment of the QBCC Homepage. This internet page provides the reader with access to all publications, state statutes for cooperatives, newsletters, notes, and links to most of the cooperative organizations in the country.

1999-2003: The primary goal of the Center is to be of value to cooperatives in the region. One effort, combining service to students and to cooperatives, will be to expand the internships offered by cooperatives. QBCC can serve as the middleman, helping to prepare students to work for cooperatives and to place students in cooperative internships, and to encourage cooperatives to provide more internship opportunities and to assist cooperatives in making the internship a mutually beneficial experience.

An applied research focused on serving cooperatives will be emphasized in the future. Outreach and extension activities will continue to be used to support the growth of cooperatives.