During the past decade, investment in Twin Ports’ campus structures reached nearly $270 million. Retired UMD Chancellor Kathryn Martin proved herself the dean of builders, convincing private donors and the Minnesota Legislature to invest $169 million on new construction.

“She’s done a fantastic job. Kathryn had a great vision for what she wanted to campus to be,” said State Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook.

Two others who also retired from Twin Ports campuses this summer also made strong impressions. Construction at UWS was valued at $77.4 million while Julius Erlenbach served as chancellor, and during her presidency, Kathleen Nelson secured $23.3 million to expand the footprint of Lake Superior College.

At UMD, Eleven buildings took root during the period, including two this year:

• The Swenson Civil Engineering Building was completed this summer at a cost of $15 million and received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold award. LEED is a green building certification system. Built on two levels, the structure has 34,000 gross square feet to accommodate teaching and research labs, classrooms and offices.

• Completed this spring was the $1 million Bagley Classroom. Its 2,000 square feet host a large assembly room/classroom and an equipment-storage room.

• $6.5 million was invested in Malosky Stadium, completed in the fall of 2008, adding four levels to house the press box, club suite, support space, restrooms and the concession serving area.

• Work on the $23 million Labovitz School of Business and Economics was completed in the summer of 2008. With 65,000 square feet, the LEED certified Gold award structure provides classroom and office space plus technology and computer labs and an auditorium.

• An investment of $15.2 million was made in renovating the 36-year-old the Life Science Building, completed in the fall of 2007. The 82,000 gross square foot three-story building contains laboratories, classrooms and facilities for UMD’s biology and pharmacy programs. It was given the LEED Certified SILVER Award.

• The UMD Sports and Health Center, completed in August 2006, provides 45,000 square feet for intramural sports, recreation, fitness and weight training.

• Completed in January 2005, the $33 million James I. Swenson Science Building added 110,000 square feet to the campus footprint in two wings, one for research and one for teaching.

• UMD’s Kirby Plaza was renovated at a cost of $17.7 million. Completed in December 2003, it included improvements to the old library building and added 19,000 square feet to the building, making room for the UMD bookstore, DTA Transit Center, campus food court and a child-care center.

• The $7.6 million Griggs Hall student residence addition provided 64,000 square feet in a seven-story dorm offering 256 beds.

• Weber Music Hall, completed in the fall of 2002, was a $9.2 million investment. The performance hall offers 350 seats along with rehearsal space.

• The Robert W. Bridges Grounds/Fleet Building, completed in 2001, offers 20,000 square feet of maintenance and equipment storage space. The construction cost was $2.2 million.

• UMD’s library, completed in the fall of 2000 at a cost of $26 million, provides 135,000 square feet spread across four stories.

Retiring Chancellor Julius Erlenbach followed a similar investment path at UWS, with three major projects complete and one more in the works. Their total value is $77.4 million.

• The $15.7 million Marcovich Wellness Center, which opened in 2003, added 115,000 square feet to accommodate a field house/indoor track, fitness room, weight room, racquetball courts, climbing wall, classrooms and offices.

• The $7.7 million Jim Dan Hill Library renovation celebrated its grand opening last October.

• Yellowjacket Union replaced Rothwell Student Center in January. The $22 million structure provides 80,000 square feet of student, visitor and community space.

• At $32 million, the Swenson Hall academic building adds about 150,000 gross square feet to the Superior campus. The project will be completed next spring.

Former Lake Superior College President Kathleen Nelson spearheaded two major projects during her tenure as president of Lake Superior College in Duluth:

• The $11.2 million Academic and Student Services building was funded and constructed, opening in 2007.

• Minnesota legislators authorized $12.1 million for the construction of the Health and Science Center. Ground was broken last month.

New decade, new challenge

The coming decade will be a challenging one for higher education which, after several years of capital investment, faces an ever-growing shortage of state funds.

Incoming chancellors will face a different challenge in coming years as the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin wrestle with billion-dollar budget shortfalls. The University of Minnesota faces a $152 million fund shortage through the spring 2011 semester, despite a 4.4 percent tuition increase that will raise $47.1 million. To bridge the gap, the Board of Regents in June enacted cuts that will reduce spending by $104.9 million system-wide through June 2011, with cuts trickling down to each campus.

That’s as it should be, Bakk said.

“We may have to force (higher education) institutions to find efficiencies. We can’t just keep raising tuition,” he said.

Full-time UMD students will face a $752 tuition increase during the fall semester, raising tuition to $10,782. Living on campus will be $968 more expensive, with the cost of tuition, room and board rising to $18,148.

Facing similar spending constraints, Minnesota’s two-year colleges and universities also are raising tuition this fall. It will climb about 4.5 percent. That’s on top of 3 percent last year.

“I’m very concerned about the cost of higher education,” said Bakk, who in recent legislative sessions has voted for a tuition freeze. “There’s only a certain amount of debt students are willing to carry.”

According to The College Board, the average indebtedness of a graduating UMD student is $27,931.

The workforce and Minnesota’s ability to retain major employers hang in the balance, he said.

“Developing an educated, competitive workforce is critical right now. If we don’t, companies will have to spend a ton of money on training. Otherwise, they’ll expand in some other state,” Bakk said.

Wisconsin’s Board of Regents in June approved a 5.5 percent tuition increase, which translates to an additional $292 at UWS. The per-year rate is $7,165, just slightly above the nationwide public university average of $7,020.

For students experiencing trepidation about the cost of higher education, the University of Wisconsin has developed a cost-benefit calculator, which can be found at http://payback.wisc.edu/. After a variety of data is entered into the calculator, it determines the likely income a UW grad will earn compared with a high school grad.

The College Board says the average indebtedness of a graduating UWS student is $22,516.

Meanwhile, the Pell Grant program is expected to experience a $5.7 billion deficit for 2011 unless Congress enacts an emergency appropriation as it did last March, when $13.5 billion was injected into Pell coffers.

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