Posted: November 20, 2014
Contact: Doug Anderson, doug.anderson@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1426
ST. PAUL, Minn., November 20, 2014 – The Board of Trustees and the presidents of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities reaffirmed their support for Chancellor Steven Rosenstone and implementation of Charting the Future.
At its November meeting, Chair Thomas Renier said, “The Board of Trustees supports implementation of Charting the Future because our students deserve the highest quality and most affordable education. Working in partnership with students, faculty, staff, and community stakeholders, the board commits to work actively to build trust and cooperation to move Charting the Future forward. In this spirit, we affirm our support of Chancellor Rosenstone and welcome the IFO and MSCF leadership to participate in mediation with MnSCU to solve our differences through the services of the State.”
Charting the Future is a set of recommendations to maximize the collective strengths of the system to increase access and affordability and better serve students. The MnSCU Board of Trustees unanimously adopted the recommendations of Charting the Future in November of 2013 and approved an implementation plan two months later. Implementation teams have been meeting since this past June. This fall, more than 4,500 faculty, staff, students, and community members have participated in 39 Gallery Walks held on campuses across the state where implementation teams have shared their initial ideas. The teams will use the feedback they receive to improve their proposals.
Rosenstone thanked the board for its support and said, “We are moving forward – in the same spirit of inclusion that has characterized Charting the Future from the very beginning. The intention has always been to engage and empower people to lead. At every step, students, faculty, staff, and our campuses have been doing the charting. Everyone has had a seat at the table.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Bemidji State University President Richard Hanson and Century College President Ron Anderson, speaking on behalf of the MnSCU Executive Council that includes the presidents of all 31 state colleges and universities, said, “We, the presidents of the MnSCU colleges and universities, are united in our strong support for our leadership, our board, and our chancellor, and united in our enthusiasm for and pride in the work to-date on Charting the Future. We believe our work must continue because in our quest for continued excellent service to our students, there are difficult questions of sustainability facing our institutions. Together we must imagine a strong and productive future. In creating a responsive and articulate pathway to the future, we will meet our obligations to our students and to the people of Minnesota. We have the leadership, we have the plan. Let’s get to work!”
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities include 24 two-year community and technical colleges and seven state universities serving more than 410,000 students. It is the fifth-largest higher education system of its kind in the United States.
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