Thanks to the recent budget deal at the Capitol, the University of Minnesota will receive $25.2 million more than it budgeted for.
Compared to current spending, the deal cuts the U by 10.3 percent for fiscal year 2012 -- less than the deeper reduction the GOP wanted and the U had planned for in its budget.
Former U President Robert Bruininks had outlined how he'd spend any funding beyond what they planned for in that "worst-case" budget for fiscal year 2012. But it's new U President Eric Kaler who gets to decide.
In an interview Wednesday, he said he's "grateful for that opportunity."
"It does give me a little more room to not only talk about things I'd like to do," Kaler said, "but invest in them."
He agrees with Bruininks' logic that one-third of the additional money go toward tuition relief. Historically, Kaler noted, students have shouldered a third of the pain of any budget cut with tuition increases.
"It seems to me that when the conversation turns around, we should share in that benefit in the same proportions," Kaler said.
It's too close to fall semester to give students tuition relief now, he said. But he's hoping for spring semester. Will the money be used to lower the total sticker price? Or will the U target it toward specific students through scholarships?
