November 16, 2006
StarTribune
Associated Press
University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks said on Thursday that the university will expand its presence here, including moving to a new temporary location and giving the campus its own chancellor.
"We see the University of Minnesota Rochester as an integral part of our ambitious aspirations and the drive to discover that makes the University of Minnesota unique," Bruininks said in a news release.
"UMR has great potential to benefit not only southeast Minnesota, but also the state — particularly its health care infrastructure and resources," he told a meeting of the Rochester Higher Education Development Committee on Thursday morning.
In the short term, he said the university will have a new location up and running by July because the university has outgrown the University Center Rochester, which it shares with Rochester Community and Technical College and Winona State University.
He said the university was looking for 40,000 to 50,000 square feet to lease, likely downtown or close to the city's center. That location will be a stopover until the university can build its own space.
The university's expansion in Rochester is now backed by $5 million in state funding for each of the next three years. The university and the committee are working to develop four-year degree programs in biotechnology, bioinformatics, technology, health care and business.
Posted by john5091 at November 16, 2006 11:59 AM