Higher-ed in greater Minnesota braces for unallotment crunch
(From the Minnesota Independent)
For Minnesota’s college administrators, the announcement of the Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotment plans was a good news/bad news story. The size of the budgetary hit was not as big as they expected. But, it’s still a substantial amount. They were prepared for it, but it’s still coming.
The governor announced that the state’s two higher-education systems — which comprise 32 colleges and state universities, plus the four University of Minnesota campuses outside the Twin Cities — will each take a hit of $50 million dollars, or about a 3.6 percent drop. Many of these campuses are a couple of hundred miles away from St. Paul where the budget decisions are made.
Edna Szymanski, the new president of Minnesota State University at Moorhead, had a different situation to deal with: a deficit and a subsequent hiring freeze. Between that and the new budget, Szymanski said: “It’s my job to say, ‘No.’”
Read the full story: http://minnesotaindependent.com/37528/higher-ed-in-greater-minnesota-braces-for-unallotment-crunch