The University of Minnesota might be the biggest campus planning a shutdown after the holidays, but other Minnesota colleges have similar plans.
For the second year, the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., will close between Christmas and New Year's as a way to save energy costs. Last year, the college saved about $10,000 in electricity costs over the 10-day period. "This year, we are going to more closely monitor the cost savings on water and natural gas in addition to the electricity savings," said spokeswoman Diane Hageman.
While the U's shutdown (details here and here) is paired with unpaid days off for many employees -- which bring the bulk of the savings -- St. Ben's is timed with paid time off. That's similar to the University of St. Thomas, where this year most employees recieved an additional three days paid vacation to use between the holidays.
There, the main motivation was not cost savings, according to spokesman Jim Winterer, although the university does expect to save money. In a note explaining the additional days off, President Dennis Dease said:
