I'm  announcing  a  proposal  for  the  Rochester  area  to take  greater  control  over its  own  higher  education  destiny. I  propose  that  we  create  a  university  here  in  Rochester. Welcome  to  Beyond  the  Nest, The  University  of  Minnesota,  Rochester's  alumni  podcast. I'm  Amber  Klein,  a  content creation  specialist  here  on  campus. A  little  over  18  years  ago, then  Minnesota  Governor  Tim  Plenty  came  to Rochester  to  deliver  his  2005  State  of  the  State  address. Tucked  in  his  message  to  the  fine  people  of the  North  Star  State  was  a  long  sought  commitment  to  re, imagining  the  landscape  of  higher  education in  the  city  of  Rochester  and  southern  Minnesota. In  today's  episode  of  Beyond  the  Nest, we  look  at  how  a  community  came together  through  civic  business  and academic  collaboration  to  move  the  idea  of a  four  year  university  from  concept  to  creation. In  1985,  after  two  decades of  steady  growth  and  expansion, the  community  of  Rochester  took  stock  of its  offerings  and  began plotting  a  course  toward  the  future. Following  a  trip  to  Washington,  DC. To  attend  a  planning  seminar  in  community  development, representatives  from  the  City,  Homestead, County  and  the  Rochester  Area  Chamber  of  Commerce returned  with  the  concept for  what  would  become  Future  Scan. 2000,  formerly  established  in  1986, and  spearheaded  by  the  local  chamber, Future  Scan  in  2000  was  comprised  of a  wide  cross  section  of  academic  business, civic  and  community  leaders. And  tasked  them  with  measuring Rochester  against  its  nationwide  peers. Homing  in  on  areas  of  need, from  critical  infrastructure  to  downtown  development, and  putting  forth  a  set  of recommendations  to  act  on  ahead  of  the  coming  millennium. Over  nearly  two  years, a  39  member  steering  committee conducted  extensive  stakeholder  interviews, met  with  peers  from  across  the  country, heard  from  numerous  local  and  regional  industry  experts, and  even  did  some  daydreaming  for  Marilyn  Stewart. Future  scans  work  helped  shape  the  community's  approach to  updating  its  outlook  on  higher  education. One  of  the  major  focus  points that  came  out  of  future  Scan 2000  was  that  we  were  to work  hard  to  get  more  and  better  higher  ed. At  the  time,  Rochester  was  home  to  several  institutions, including  the  Rochester  Community  College, St.  Mary's  University,  a  private  liberal  arts  college, and  Winona  State  University, and  the  University  of  Minnesota, via  a  patchwork  of  course  and degree  offering  located  mainly, but  not  always,  on  the  RCC  campus. In  listening  to  the  Rochester  community, academia  and  businesses,  large  and  small, Future  Scan  determined  there  was  a  need for  an  advocacy  group  to  push  local,  state, and  federal  policy  to  better  coordinate  and  serve Rochester's  growing  and  diverse  higher  education  needs. Born  out  of  Future  Scan's  recommendations, the  Greater  Rochester  Area  University  Center, or  Grog,  was  formally  established  in 1987  as  a  nonprofit  organization. Following  Future  Scan's  roadmap, Grouch  went  to  work  galvanizing  the  community, including  city  and  state  policy  makers, around  the  importance  of  bringing additional  higher  educational  resources  to  Rochester, a  city  bursting  at  the  scenes  for business  engineering  and  advanced  degree  offerings. As  a  former  Executive  director  of  Grouch, Allison  Good  captures the  organization's  unique  place  in  the  community. Grouch  is  a  community  advocacy  group  that  has,  I  think, been  recognized  throughout  the  state as  one  of  the  unique  assets for  bringing  important  issues before  the  community  and  building  coalitions, and  working  with  industry and  area  higher  education  institutions to  try  to  figure  out  a  model  that would  meet  the  unique  needs  we  have  here  in  Rochester. Steadily  moving  its  aims  forward,  In  1989, Grau  was  instrumental  in securing  $17  million  in  state  funding  for the  build  out  of  the  university  sent  to Rochester  on  the  campus  of  Rochester  Community  College. Bringing  together  three  institutions in  Rochester  Community  College, Winona  State  University  and  the  University  of  Minnesota. Ucr  would  provide  an  array  of degree  and  courses  for  students  in  Rochester and  across  southern  Minnesota who  may  otherwise  have  to  travel up  to  the  Twin  Cities  to complete  their  desired  training  and  education. Ucr  and  its  facilities  were  completed  in  1993. And  while  this  unique  and  collaborative  partnership would  run  through  2015, when  UCRs  Advisory  Board was  officially  dissolved  and  its  facilities fully  enveloped  by the  now  Rochester  Community  and  Technical  College  grout, did  not  sit  on  its  laurels  and  continued  throughout the  1990s  to  abdicate for  policies  that  would  eventually  bring. A  four  year  institution  to Rochester  as  an  active  member  of  Crouch. Eventually,  becoming  board  chair Marilyn  Stewart  was  energized by  the  community's  push  for  a  campus, but  lamented  the  lack  of  funding  to  support  the  endeavor. My  longtime  friend  Senator  Nancy  Brats, who's  no  longer  with  us, and  our  longtime  representative  Dave  Bishop, had  both  worked  so  hard  in the  Legislature  trying  to  get  a  branch. And  at  one  point  in  the  '90s, they  had  really  voted  to  have  a  branch  here, but  they  didn't  fund  it  and  you can't  do  anything  without  dollars. In  1999,  Gronk  successfully advocated  before  the  University of  Minnesota  border  Regents  and the  state  legislature  for  the  formal  establishment of  a  branch  of  the  UFM  in  Rochester. The  move  would  allow  the  U  to  expand  its  courses  at UCR  to  meet  the  community's  advanced  degree  needs, which  were  plenty  given  the  presence of  Mayo  Clinic  and  IBM. A  then  well  respected  IBM  project  manager,  Jim  Lawson, saw  the  lack  of  a  four  year  university  in  Rochester as  unique  and  something  to  eventually  change. Rochester,  Minnesota  was  the  only  site in  the  United  States that  didn't  have  a  fully  accredited  university at  an  IBM  location. So  that  was  another  motivation for  trying  to  get  this  connection established  by  the  early  2000 with  UC  R  Up  and  running  Grouch, now  known  as  the  Greater  Rochester Advocates  for  Universities  and  Colleges took  another  crack  at  bringing a  U  of  M  campus  to  Rochester. And  this  time  things  seemingly  fell  into place  after  decades  of pushing  in  several  fits  without  starts. The  idea  of  a  four  year  campus  in  Rochester  gained its  most  important  endorsement  in  January  2005. Governor  Plenty  came  down and  kind  of  made  this  announcement. I  think  kind  of  shocked  a  lot  of  people. We're  going  to  build  one  and  you  know  we're  gonna get  a  new  campus  and  it's  going to  be  right  here  in  Rochester. And  the  ripple  effect  through  the community  that  was  cheering. Because  people  have  been  talking about  not  necessarily  just  this  health  focus, but  wanting  a  four full  four  year  bachelor's  degree  program here  in  this  community  for  Gim  Norton, then  a  member  of  Grout  and  on the  Rochester  School  Board,  now  the  city's  mayor, Governor  Plenty's  endorsement,  kicked  the  effort  to  bring a  four  year  campus  to  town  into  a  much  higher  gear. Halfway  through  his  first  of  two  terms, Governor  Plenty  had  picked  up  the  mantle  for a  new  U  of  M  campus  with a  desire  to  take  an  innovative  approach to  higher  education  and  to  serve  one  of the  state's  great  economic  engines in  the  city  of  Rochester. There  are  certain  strengths, both  historical  and  current, that  Rochester  possesses  that  not only  provide  great  benefit  to  Southeastern  Minnesota, but  to  our  whole  state,  to  our  state's  economy. And  as  we  drill  down  into  that  in  more  detail, we  realized  the  critical  importance  of the  Mayo  Clinic  and  other  institutions  in  Rochester. But  also  the  need  to  supply  trained,  educated,  aligned, prepared  professionals,  and  an  educated  and trained  workforce  to  fuel  what we  hoped  would  be  Rochester. Taking  off  and  accelerating  even  further  driven  in  part, substantial  part,  by  the  health  sciences. That  led  to  some  review  within  our  office  and  by  me. Around  what  type  of higher  education  capabilities did  Rochester  currently  have? Was  that  really  well  aligned  and  well considered  as  it  related  to  a  future  vision about  Rochester  continuing  to lead  the  world  and  lead  Minnesota  in  health  sciences, and  how  could  we  make  it  better? That  led  to  studying,  of  course, the  long  history  of  the  higher  education  in  Rochester. But  seeing  that  the  idea of  making  a  full  university  campus at  Rochester  had  been  frankly, in  my  view,  overlooked,  deferred, shelved,  delayed,  you  know, whatever  word  you  want  to  use. And  we  decided  it's  time  to  put a  marker  down  and  make  it  happen. For  Marilyn  Stewart.  Governor  Plenty's  support  of  a  U  of M  campus  was  a  long  sought  goal,  however, one  that  required  Maryland  to once  again  sharpen  her  pencil, break  out  her  trustee, Dina  Realty  Notepad,  and  this time  shepherd  a  statewide  blue  ribbon  committee. Jack  got  in  the  Act  and  said  you  have  to  apply. I  said,  no,  I  have  an  office  of  100  agents, I've  got  a  job  and  I  don't  need  another  job. He  said  you  have  to  do it  because  look  what  you've  lived  through. The  night  before  the  applications  were  due, I  was  sitting  on  my  kitchen  island filling  out  that  form  and  send  it  in. You  got  to  know  that  I  was a  busy  person  and  I  worked  a  lot  of  hours because  I  had  all  those  agents  and all  those  things  I  needed  to  do  for  my  day  job. Anyway,  I  said,  okay, you  got  to  drive  me  up  for  this  interview because  I  don't  have  time to  think  about  what  I'm  going  to  say  to  these  people. And  so  I  went  and  I  was  about  to  leave, and  I  said,  well,  I  don't  know, Susan  Gard,  who  was  the  chairperson  for  the  Governor. She  was  the  Commissioner  of  Education, or  whatever  her  title  was. Anyway  said  to  me, I  just  don't  know  how  we're  going  to  pick  this  committee because  we  have  had  so  many  good  people  recommended. And  I  thought,  well,  that's  what  you  say  to  people  when you're  So  I  went  back  to  the  car  and  said, Jack,  I  think  I  just  got  the  royal  kiss  off  Anyway, I  went  ahead  and  had  some  vein  surgery. That  was  on  a  Monday  and  Thursday, I  got  a  phone  call  and  it  was  the  Governor's  office asking  would  I  like  to  chair  of the  committee  if  I  was  still  interested  in  being  on  it. And  I  said,  well, yes  I  said  I  said  I  can't  tell  you  no. Well,  when  the  Governor  comes  asking  to  have  you  sit  on a  committee  and  char  I think  that's  the  only  appropriate  answer. Yeah. Following  Governor  Tim  Plenty's  formal  appointment of  the  Rochester  Higher  Education  Development  Committee, or  RH  EDC,  its  members, a  deep  bench  of skilled  civic  business  and  academic  minds, began  their  work  in  earnest  in  the  basement  of Maryland's  Dina  Realty  offices  on the  morning  of  Friday,  July  22,  2005. On  a  somber  note, Rochester  Higher  Education Development  Committee  member  Dwight gone,  recently  passed  away. Dwight  came  to  RH  EDC  after  a  long  career  at  ABM, as  a  computer  development  engineer  and  manager, and  as  a  nationally  recognized  champion  of Stem  education  projects  serving Native  American  students  and  teachers. A  member  of  the  Turtle  Mountain  Band  of  Chippewa, Dwight  graduated  from Turtle  Mountain  Community  High  School  in  1961, earned  a  bachelor's  degree  in electrical  engineering  and  physics. And  while  at  IBM,  Dwight  would  publish  12  inventions, obtained  two  patents,  and  was recognized  for  numerous  accolades. Dwight's  contributions  to  UMR are  still  felt  today  and  he  will  be missed over  18  meetings spanning  nearly  a  year. Rh  EDC  crafted  a  set  of recommendations  they  would  present  to  Governor  Plenty  and the  Legislature  for  how  to address  complex  higher  education  needs  and workforce  demands  of  a  growing  city  like Rochester  for  Drew  Florida  at  the  time, an  IBM  employee  and  a  member  of  RH  EDC, the  committee  took  into  account  the  unique  position Rochester  plays  in  Minnesota as  home  to  Mayo  Clinic  and  IBM. As  well  as  creative  ways to  address  some  of  higher  education, more  thorny  issues  such  as  space  utilization, curricular  focus,  and  quite  frankly, how  to  build  a  campus  from  scratch. We  actually  spent  a  long  time  in  the  committee, kind  of  in  subcommittee  work. So  we  had  a  group that  was  focused  on  curricular  development. You  know,  what  are  you  going  to  have for  your  initial  focus and  what's  that  going  to  be  about? We  had  a  group  focused  in on  campus  development.  What  does  that  look  like? You  know,  from  the  standpoint  of, you  know,  where  do  you  start  to, what  does  the  real  estate  look  like  and all  the  subject  to, you  know,  the  overall  funding  side  of  things,  you  know. So  there  were  a  lot  of  different  sub elements  that  I  think  we  spent more  time  on  than  that  complete  vision  piece  up  front. I  think  like  I  said,  that  came  together  pretty quick  at  the  Legislature. Members  of  our  HE  DC, along  with  a  support  network of  higher  education  advocates, fanned  out  across  the  Capitol  to  build bipartisan  support  for  not only  the  establishment  of  a  campus, but  the  approval  of  state  funding  to  initiate. And  despite  the  warm  reception  from  the  Legislature, there  were  folks  at  the  Capitol  and  within Minnesota's  higher  education  ecosystem who  were  worried  about  the  creation of  a  campus  in  Rochester. Their  fears  focus  mainly  on  the  potential  impact a  new  U  of  M  campus  may have  on  existing  higher  ed  programs. And  if  critical  resources are  going  to  be  diverted  away  to fund  new  ideas  rather  than  legacy  programming, employing  a  sustained  offense to  win  over  legislators,  UM, M  system  leaders,  administrators  at Minnesota's  public  four  year  universities and  colleges  and  the  general  public, RH  EDC  engaged  with  a  wide  variety  of  stakeholders, shared  their  mission  in  committee  hearings and  before  local  chambers, and  made  their  pitch  to  the  citizens  of  Minnesota  through strategically  placed  op  ed  pieces  in  communities where  resistance  to  a  new  Rochester  campus  was  highest. By  May  of  2006, after  numerous  hearings  and extensive  meetings  with  key  policymakers, the  legislature  passed  the  recommendations  embedded  in RHEDC's  report  and  sent  it off  to  Governor  Plenty  for  his  signature. As  you  might  recall,  I  appointed  that  commission, and  so  I  pointed  it  with  people  in  mind,  Not  so  much. Whether  we  would  or  wouldn't  have  the  campus. But  how  could  it  be  structured  in  a  way  that  would be  most  beneficial  to  Southeastern  Minnesota, at  least  harmful  to  other  interests  that  were, say,  legacy  or  incumbent providers  or  platforms  in  the  area. I  wasn't  surprised  by their  findings  because  I  anticipated  it, or  at  least  plan  the  Commission  with that  potential  outcome  in  mind. But  importantly,  their  work of  not  only  recommending  the  campus, but  beginning  to  sketch  out  what  type of  scope  of  offerings  the  campus  might  have  that would  be  best  aligned to  the  need  strategic  needs  of  Minnesota, and  also  minimize  any  disruption  to  other. It  was,  I  think, an  elegant  piece  of  work  by  the  Commission, Standing  beside  Governor  Plenty  as  he  signed legislation  creating  the  campus of  the  University  of  Minnesota, Rochester  was  a  beaming  Marilyn  Steward, who,  along  with  scores  of Rochester  champions  and  advocates, helped  reshape  the  landscape  of higher  education  in  Rochester and  across  southern  Minnesota. And  set  in  motion  an  opportunity  for  forward  thinking academic  innovators  to  design  one  of the  country's  newest  public institutions  of  higher  learning. For  folks  like  State  Senator  Carla  Nelson and  others  in  the  Rochester  community, the  chance  to  build  a  campus from  scratch  was  not  only  unique, but  an  opportunity  to  look  at new  ways  in  which  higher  education could  be  better  delivered  to best  serve  the  21st  century  student. Now  what  I  saw  was  a  great  opportunity, a  great  opportunity  to  design a  university  today  with  today's  innovation. Mm  hmm.  Today's  tools  to  meeting  today's  needs. And  that's  where  I  see, even  over  and  above  what  I  had  even  anticipated, how  the  UMR  has  far  surpassed, I  think  what  anyone  could  have thought  regarding  today's  university, bringing  the  campus  of  the  University  of  Minnesota, Rochester  to  fruition, took  dedicated  supporters  and countless  hours  of  tireless  work  in  doing  so, these  champions  listened  to  their  community, Heard  from  experts  near  and  far, and  exquisitely  navigated  a  thicket  of public  opinion  in  even  a  healthy  dose  of  skepticism. Yet  in  the  end,  the  idea  of a  four  year  campus  in  Rochester  won  over even  its  loudest  detractors  and  positioned  UMR  to become  one  of  the  country's  most  innovative  campuses serving  a  diverse  student  body, eager  to  solve  the  grand health  challenges  of  the  21st  century. Thank  you  for  listening  to  be  on the  Nest  Umar's  alumni  podcast. In  our  next  episode, we  take  a  look  at  Umar's  first  chancellor, Dr.  Stephen  Lempel. And  the  opportunity  he  and  a  host  of other  innovative  academic  thinkers  had  to shake  higher  education  like  an  edge  of sketch  and  create  a  new  university  from  scratch. This  season  of  Beyond  the  Nest  is produced  by  Omar  Alumni  Relations, written  and  narrated  by Marco  Lance  and  edited  by  Dante  Fumo. Until  next  time,  I  am  Amber  Klein, and  thank  you  for  listening  to  Beyond  the  Nest.