By Alex Capdeville
During the past two months, I have spent a great deal of
time in Helena trying to explain the needs of MSU-Northern
to the members of our Legislature. On Jan. 31, the CEOs from
the MSU campuses presented their needs to the Joint Budget
Appropriations Committee.
These presentations all followed a similar format. They
explained the several areas where our costs have gone up but
the schools have not received any additional funds to
compensate for these new expenses. The two largest areas
were the cost of living salary increases that were required
by law but were not funded by the state, and the increases
in utility costs.
The $500 per full-time equivalent student, in additional
funds, that the commissioner's office is requesting will
only cover these funding gaps within our operating budgets.
This increase in funding will not help us to do anything
new, but it is essential to minimize the financial burden on
the students.
Applied Technology Center
On Feb. 9, I presented our needs and plans for a new
Applied Technology Building before the Joint Long Range
Building and Planning Committee. They were very
understanding of our needs and the potential that this
building represents to our growth but they voted not to fund
the State portion of this building project at this time.
Feasibility Study
Last fall the MSU-Northern Foundation hired Galusha Higgins
Galusha Critical Data Inc. to conduct a comprehensive
unbiased analysis of MSU-Northern. Their findings were
released to the faculty and staff of Northern during a lunch
meeting on Monday, Feb. 5. Critical Data, Inc. recommended
that the campus focus its efforts on three important areas:
recruitment, a comprehensive master plan and the campus
infrastructure particularly as it relates to the residence
halls, student union and library. A copy of the report is
available to the public in the MSU-Northern Vande Bogart
Library.
Bus Tour
On Feb. 25-28 I will be taking a busload of faculty, staff
and students to visit several high schools in the
northeastern part of the state. This tour will allow faculty
representatives to get into high school classrooms to talk
about the programs at Northern. I will have lunch with the
administrators and guidance counselors and dinner with
alumni and prospective students.
New Computers in the Library
The Vande Bogart Library has just received its new flat
screen, self-contained computers. These computers are not
only extremely fast but they take up very little space on
the desk so students have significantly more room for their
books and papers. This represents a significant improvement
in function and form for our library. Next time you are in
our library be sure to c
