Statement: Response to Governor Dayton’s State of the State Address

Posted: March 14, 2018

Contact: Doug Anderson, doug.anderson@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1426

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 14, 2018 – In his State of the State address, Governor Dayton recommended $10 million in supplemental campus support funding for the colleges and universities of Minnesota State. This follows the strong bonding recommendation the Governor first announced in January that would provide for significant investments in the facilities of our state colleges and universities. 

“We sincerely appreciate the tremendous support that Governor Dayton has always shown for higher education and the 30 colleges and seven state universities of Minnesota State,” said Devinder Malhotra, chancellor of Minnesota State. “All of the supplemental campus support funding recommended by the Governor would go directly to our colleges and universities to support the success of our 375,000 students. This is a critical need for our 54 campuses to continue to be the key to developing the talent needed to grow Minnesota’s economy.” 

Governor Dayton also expressed continued support for asset preservation and capital projects at the colleges and universities of Minnesota State. Said Malhotra, “The infrastructure supported in the Governor’s recommendation are the facilities that our students need in order to become the talent that drives the growth of Minnesota’s economy. The capital projects in the Governor’s proposal will directly benefit students and expand our capabilities in fields that are in high demand by employers such as nursing, STEM, information technology, and the liberal arts. We thank him for his leadership in this important work. I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, campus leaders, students, faculty, and staff  across the state to make our case to the legislature and to the citizens of Minnesota.” 

More information about the Minnesota State supplemental budget and bonding requests

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Minnesota State includes 30 community and technical colleges and seven state universities serving approximately 375,000 students. It is the fourth-largest system of two-year colleges and four-year universities in the United States.