The interim president of the University of North Dakota says there’s been a lot of talk about belt-tightening on campus – as the result of Governor Dalrymple’s 4.05 percent allotment.
But Ed Schafer says that doesn’t mean the purse is sewn shut.
"Now that we've righted the ship, and gotten our house in order, we can take our dollars that we've generated and invest them in the future of the University of North Dakota," Schafer said.
Schafer says in fiscal 2017, UND will invest $7 million in classroom and IT upgrades; $2 million in repairing the campus steam plant; $600,000 on a new campus security system; and $1 million on elevator upgrades and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. In addition, Schafer says money will be spent on new programs and new faculty.
"As a result of our budgeting process, we are investing millions of dollars to make the University bigger and better," Schafer said. "That's the result of the pain and difficulties we had to go through with the budget. Now it's really apparent that we've done this, so we can invest in the University in a manner which is appropriate."
Schafer says the idea was not to save the status quo.
