University of Minnesota Pushes for State Funding with Focus on Unique Partnership Opportunities

Since the state’s formative days more than 170 years ago, it has partnered with the University of Minnesota to provide Minnesotans the benefits of world-class education, cutting-edge research and innovation, and community-level collaboration to tackle our toughest challenges. This week the Board of Regents Finance and Operations Committee emphasized the importance of those long-standing and unique partnership opportunities as Regents approved the University’s 2025 legislative funding request.

“This request will strengthen Minnesota, through our five campuses to communities across Minnesota’s 87 counties. We look forward to advancing our partnership with the state in ways that will support the University’s mission to serve all Minnesotans,” said Board Chair Janie Mayeron. “Whether it’s providing an accessible and affordable education for Minnesota’s future workforce or working in collaboration with Minnesota communities to advance discoveries that improve all aspects of our state’s health, strong investment in the University is a direct investment in the well-being and future of Minnesotans.”

During the Board’s September review of the proposed legislative funding request, U of M leaders outlined how the request will deliver a world-class student experience, drive statewide economic growth through U of M research and support health and well-being for all Minnesotans. Requested funding stretches across the next two fiscal years, consistent with how the State of Minnesota sets its biennial budgets. The request includes:

Strengthening U of M’s workforce, student-focused programs and community collaborations ($120 million): Funding will reinvest in the University of Minnesota’s critical needs to support statewide education, research and outreach programs, as well as the faculty, researchers and staff who make these programs successful, all while minimizing tuition increases. Additionally, funding will help expand student services, maintain spaces students use and enhance campus safety and other initiatives focused on supporting campus communities. The University plans to cover roughly 55% of the total costs of these efforts over the next two years, and requests the state allocate the remaining 45%, or $120 million.

Enhancing student experience ($30 million): Investments would improve learning, retention and graduation rates of U of M students — Minnesota’s future skilled workforce — by providing academic support and mental health services, addressing food and housing insecurity and providing 21st century technology infrastructure critical to modern campuses.

Driving economic growth through research ($40 million): This portion of the request will strengthen U of M research to drive Minnesota’s economy forward. As one of America’s leading public research universities, the U of M is positioned to immediately utilize funding to advance innovation and new technologies in four promising sectors with strategic statewide benefits: biomanufacturing, advanced agriculture, hypersonics and green energy-green iron.

Advancing health for all Minnesotans ($45 million): Minnesota has a well-earned legacy for being one of the nation’s healthiest states, but action by the state and U of M is needed to continue to improve health outcomes for all Minnesotans and ensure access to top-quality health care. New funding would be invested in ways that will identify Minnesota’s unmet health care workforce needs and increase class sizes in areas experiencing the most critical shortages, strengthen health care partnerships throughout the state to increase access in rural and underserved communities, and drive continued innovation for treatments and cures.

2025 state capital request

The Board also approved the University’s 2025 state capital request, which is built on Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) investments in existing University facilities, as well as new investment in the continued design and planning of the Future of Advanced Agricultural Research in Minnesota (FAARM) facility in Mower County, Minnesota.

The University regularly requests HEAPR funding from the Legislature, not only because it’s recognized as the most cost-effective way to protect and extend the life of investments already made by taxpayers, students and donors, but also because delivering the education and research Minnesotans expect from the University requires safe and modern facilities. However, a historic lack of state investment in maintenance and needed updates to U of M facilities has left more than 25% of the University’s roughly 32 million square feet of facilities statewide to decline into poor or critical condition. More often than not during the past decade, the U of M received no HEAPR allocation and, when funding was provided during those years, it averaged just 11% of what was requested.

The Board also:

• Approved updates to Board of Regents Policy: International Education, Research, and Outreach.
• Discussed existing pathways and new investments at the U of M focused on educating the future health care workforce for Greater Minnesota and Indigenous communities, focusing on strategic health care education initiatives and partnerships based in Duluth, other Greater Minnesota communities and Tribal Nations.
• Received a report on the evolution of AI in higher education from Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Croson; Caroline Hilk, assistant vice provost and director of the Center for Educational Innovation; CJ Loosbrock, senior director and chief technology officer in the Office of Information Technology; and Shashank Priya, vice president for Research and Innovation.
• Approved the appointment of Gregg Goldman as the University’s new executive vice president for finance and operations.
• Discussed Board input into the Regent selection process as required by state statute.
• Received a report on the University’s systemwide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives with Mercedes Ramírez Fernández, vice president for Equity and Diversity; Keisha Varma, deputy and associate vice president for Equity and Diversity and faculty development; and Tina Marisam, associate vice president for Equity and Diversity and Title IX coordinator.
• Received a report on intercollegiate athletics on the Crookston, Duluth and Morris campuses from Stephanie Helgeson, Crookston athletics director; Forrest Karr, Duluth athletics director; and Matt Johnson, Morris athletics director.