Greetings from St. Cloud State University!  Like so many organizations and businesses in the region, our campus community continues to work through the demands of an unpredictable pandemic. Our work to deliver a quality education to our students continues with an unwavering focus fueled by a sense of hope for the future, and the collective resilience of our faculty, staff and students. Although the landscape of how we do our work adjusted to social distancing and safety protocols, the pace of our work has substantially increased. Before the pandemic arrived, we already were aggressively moving forward with plans to evolve in to a new ‘state university’ through a bold initiative we call It’s Time. I am pleased to share some of the great things that are happening on campus.

Through our It’s Time framework, we are building on our academic excellence by being the leader in four academic areas of holistic health and wellness, applied science and engineering, education, and leadership. Our success is influenced significantly by our rich partnerships and the support of industry leaders in the St. Cloud region and around the state. These relationships help us in identifying the areas of need in the workforce and they result in developing degree programs and certifications for careers of the future. These efforts will undoubtedly serve Minnesotans, will strengthen the economy, and help our students make a positive impact in their communities.

As we create a new St. Cloud State University, we are thrilled with the opening of our School of Professional and Continuing Education that will provide access to professional and continuing education degree and certificate opportunities for non-traditional students and community partners. We are launching a Center for Innovation and Partnerships that will serve as the innovation hub for bringing great ideas to the marketplace. We are energized by the possibilities of these two initiatives and look forward to engaging our local and regional business and service providers in these developments and so much more.

We are radically changing the student experience from application to admittance and advising by providing on-going individualized support for students through our Husky Student Success Coaches.  We are expanding our reach to a broader range of students with distinctive academic programs with marketing and recruiting across the Midwest, the U.S. and around the globe. We are putting our stake in the ground as an institution of choice with widely celebrated and trailblazing academic programs. It’s time…to be bold.

Central to our success is the relationships that we have with our community partners and industry leaders. We are actively deepening these relationships as we find ways to connect our faculty and students to solve problems, serving the public as students learn professional standards through internships and field placements, and consult local nonprofits and business to gauge industry trends.

~Dr. Robbyn Wacker, President, St. Cloud State University.