By David Ruth
Published on January 26, 2005
On Tuesday, January 25, Governor Tim Pawlenty unveiled his biennial budget proposal for 2006-2007, and University of Minnesota officials received the answer they were looking for in their 50-50 partnership offer to the state: "Yes."
Although Pawlenty's plan does not cover the full request, the University received 84 percent of the dollars it asked for. The money would go towards biosciences, attracting and retaining talent, and research support.
The total amount of new funding for the University in the governor's budget is $113 million, $7.5 million of which will be used towards a University-Mayo Clinic collaborative research partnership.
University President Robert Bruininks applauded the governor's budget Tuesday saying, "Governor Pawlenty has done a great service to all Minnesotans by recommending a substantial funding increase for the University of Minnesota."
Although Bruininks was pleased with yesterday's outcome, he stresses that there is still hard work to do. "Besides the legislature having to take up the governor's proposal, the University has its part to do in this agreement," he says. The University's part of the deal will be to find ways to reallocate approximately $15 million in each year and institute a tuition increase of 5.5 percent.
"Tuition increases are never easy," says Bruininks. "However, after suffering through budget cuts and double-digit increases in tuition the past few years, 5.5 percent should be much more manageable for students."
According to Bruininks, the good news for students is also the retention and recruiting of quality faculty and staff. "Students will benefit in the classroom," he says. "They have wonderful professors here and we need to maintain them and become more competitive in recruiting."
Bruininks has been talking a lot recently of the University's aspiration to be one of the world's top three public research universities and pointing out that the University has brought in more than $520 million in sponsored research awards. U.S. Department of Commerce statistics show that 39 jobs are created for every $1 million spent on university-based research. "Minnesota is in an enviable position of having one of the top research universities in the nation," Bruininks says. "We thank the governor for recognizing the importance of the University to the state."
In the Governor’s State of the State address he said that he was intrigued by the funding model in Colorado and felt that Minnesota should move in that direction. This article explores the High Aid, High Tuition model and what it could mean for Minnesota.
Read the Story here: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5201203.html
Normally we don't like to promote these types of bad news stories. But we felt it was important to show how the budget cuts have impacted the U. Read how the U of M has slipped in the rankings as one of the top research institutions in the country.
Read the story here: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5199403.html
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune
A Taiwanese family struggling to save their three boys from a rare genetic disorder known as adrenoleukpdystrophu, or ALD, arrived at the University of Minnesota on Thursday with the hope that doctors here can reverse the march of the fatal disease before it's too late.
Read the full story at: http:www/startribune.com/stories/1556/5196154.html
The Senate Capital Investment Committee passed their bonding bill yesterday. The University funds 1/3 of the cost of most projects, thus the state’s share in this bill for University projects is $118,383, with a total project authorization for the University of $152.414.
Total Project Authorization:
HEAPR - $50 million
Duluth Life Science - $15.1 million
Kolthoff Hall - $26.1 million
Education Sciences - $21.7 million
AHC - $17,400
Duluth Recreational Sports - $13 million
Morris District Facilities - $8.6 million
Grand Rapids Research - $424,000
The bill will be in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday morning and on Monday the full Senate will vote on it.
In today's Star Tribune read an editorial about the work of the Mayo-U partnership and why a commitment from the state is needed
http://www.startribune.com/stories/561/5187691.html
Read Lori Sturdevant's recent column on why the state needs to invest in the University of Minnesota. Sturdevant calls on legislators to invest in the only institution that can protect the state's quality of life
"Every plausible strategy for a state's success in a knowledge-based economy relies heavily on the presence of a first-class research university. It's the magnet for talent, the discoverer of knowledge, the breeder of industries, the disseminator of ideas and the solver of shared problems."
To read the full column see http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/5175074.html