The Board of Regents this month approved the $936 million supplemental budget request — far more than the $274 million the board sought in October, before the state announced it was flush with cash.
Multiple regents called the ask "bold" and necessary.
Janie Mayeron said it's designed to benefit Minnesota and its residents and would deliver a huge return on investment.
With spending on health care and agriculture and tuition support for students at the four outstate campuses, Steve Sviggum said there's enough in the request to create a coalition of support from lawmakers throughout the state.
"I feel a little like my grandchildren when Grandma asks them for a Christmas list, and it's a whole page of 20 things," Sviggum said.
CONSTRUCTION
Most of the requested money, $474 million, would pay for various construction projects and building maintenance. It includes the final $72 million for a new chemistry undergraduate teaching lab on the Twin Cities campus and $2 million to design the renovation of Duluth's science building.
That category also includes $400 million for what the U calls Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement, or HEAPR, which means projects that protect and extend the life of facilities.
That's double the HEAPR figure the regents agreed to ask for in October for the Legislature's upcoming session.
Still, it's a small fraction of the nearly $5.1 billion in HEAPR needs the U has identified for the next 10 years.
Here's what else is in the request:
AFFORDABILITY
An estimated 12,000 students per year would benefit from $65 million in new financial aid.
The plan is to raise the annual family income limit on the U's signature aid program, the Promise Scholarship, to $160,000 from $120,000, while also increasing Promise awards at all levels by at least $1,000 per year.
Meanwhile, the U would establish a new scholarship for students at the Duluth, Morris, Crookston and Rochester campuses, which unlike the Twin Cities, have struggled to attract students. It would be worth around $8,000 over the course of a student's four-year enrollment.
Each of those initiatives would cost $30 million. The final $5 million is for enhanced student services in hopes of getting more students to graduate on time.
Unlike the bulk of its supplemental request, which features a lot of one-time spending, the U asks that this $65 million be built into its ongoing state appropriation.
SAFETY, SECURITY
The U wants $185 million, including $10 million in recurring revenue, for safety and security. That means more police officers and other safety personnel, new security infrastructure such as lights and surveillance cameras, and IT improvements to protect against cybersecurity threats.
Regent James Farnsworth said he's most excited about the safety request, calling it "very responsive to what we've been hearing" from students and parents.
The U has seen a marked increase in robberies and assaults on the Twin Cities campus and surrounding neighborhoods since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year.
SUSTAINABILITY
Another $85 million would pay for environmentally friendly infrastructure upgrades, including geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, converting steam heating systems to hot water, and buying more electric vehicles for campuses.
There's also money earmarked for a new mineral processing and metallurgy lab in Coleraine and expanding a Duluth lab that works on water and mineland remediation.
AG RESEARCH
The U also wants $60 million to help launch a plant and animal research initiative called Future of Animal Agriculture Research in Minnesota, or FAARM.
With significant private support, and in concert with the Minnesota State college and university system, the U plans to use the money buy land and design and build the initial research facilities and infrastructure.
"The complex would bring researchers, instructors and industry participants together to focus on all aspects of agriculture: livestock, the crops used to feed them, and the results of those interactions on soil health, water quality, climate and the sustainability of rural economies," according to board materials.
HEALTH BUILDINGS
The request also has $152 million for health projects in the Twin Cities and Duluth.
Of that, $140 million would go toward a new 275,000-square-foot clinical research building on the Minneapolis campus, which could open by August 2025.
The rest would cover the costs of designing a new pharmacy college and medical school in downtown Duluth.
COMPETING NEEDS
The Legislature typically passes a two-year state budget in odd years and focuses on capital budget needs in even years. Still, the public college systems routinely ask for additional operational money in those even years and occasionally get some.
Their odds for 2022 are much better given the big surplus, although they will compete with other priorities, such as Republicans' desire for tax relief and Gov. Tim Walz's plan to start a fund that pays workers who are on family or medical leave.
OTHER COLLEGES
The Minnesota State system of public colleges and universities has not added to the state budget request its Board of Trustees approved in November, before the big budget surplus was unveiled.
At $60 million, Minnesota State's request would boost operational funding for campuses while enabling the system to freeze tuition next year instead of raising it 3.5 percent.
There's also a request to pay for workforce development and student support for mental health and basic needs.
©2022 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
