Ben Strand/ Winonan

Governor Mark Dayton announced on Jan. 27 that no additional funding would be allocated to Minnesota’s largest group of higher education in the state’s proposed budget.

In a joint statement issued from leaders of the MnSCU administration and Inter Faculty Organization (IFO) in regards to Dayton’s decision, they said, “We are all committed to continuing our progress and are confident of a positive outcome. MnSCU faculty and staff look forward to working with the governor on a budget that ultimately meets the needs of our students and the state of Minnesota.”

Colette Hyman, a member of IFO that serves on the diversity implementation team, said it is disappointing that Dayton decided to hold off on funding for a system that serves so many students—a percentage of whom can hardly afford school.

“It’s unfortunate that Dayton wants to take away from the funding for higher education,” Hyman said.

According to Hyman, MnSCU serves more students in financial need than the University of Minnesota, who received a budget increase for their needs, such as their medical school.

Hyman also added the process of planning was unfair because it did not respect the needs of the students nor the faculty who worked on the proposal.

Hyman said the process was flawed for two reasons. One, there was never actually a financial commitment from MnSCU. Two, the process was fixed and limited, regarding the chancellor’s failed promise for complete transparency.

“The chancellor wasn’t being straight-forward about how he was moving forward, and he made a promise that he didn’t do a good job of keeping,” Hyman said.

However, Hyman said leadership and faculty involved in the process of the proposal have met since the announcement to continue working the proposal and left with a general feeling of optimism.

Winona State University Student Senate President Jessica Hepinstall said there is not a lot to be done in the meantime except focus on Winona State.

“Now that a decision has been made, it is time to focus on what Winona can do regarding their own future,” Hepinstall said.

On Feb. 2 and 3 Winona State invited students and staff to review the draft of the university’s Strategic Direction document, which is an outline of Winona State’s academic plan for the next five years.

There are five points of emphasis on the Strategic Direction that the university will focus on for the next five years: student learning, student success, stewards of resources, inclusive excellence and relationships.

The draft is based on data collected from Hopes and Dreams, Initiatives and other outputs. The Long Range Planning Committee will continue to work on the provisional draft and take input from faculty and staff to compose the most complete version of Winona State’s Strategic Direction going forward.