Dickinson State leaders ask appropriations committee for $48.5 million campus renovation, other support

Dickinson State University officials told the North Dakota House Appropriations Committee’s Education and Environment Division on Tuesday that the campus needs significant state support to finish deferred-maintenance work, expand academic and student-support space and sustain program growth.

"My name is Ty Orton. I'm the acting president and executive director of the DSU Heritage Foundation at, Dickinson State University," Orton told the committee as he opened Dickinson State's budget presentation. He and Les Wheatstock, the university’s vice president for finance and administration, outlined capital, operational and program requests and described maintenance problems that campus leaders say are hindering operations.

The administration’s largest ask is a $48.5 million proposal to modernize May Hall and renovate Stickney Hall to create a Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, improve accessibility, and reduce the university’s footprint and deferred-maintenance liability. Wheatstock told the committee the renovation plan would remove roughly $28 million in deferred maintenance from the campus inventory and would demolish one dormitory to reduce campus square footage by about 19,000 square feet.

Why it matters: Dickinson State is a regional public university whose officials say many graduates stay and work in western North Dakota and nearby states. Administrators argued that the proposed projects would both update classroom and student-support spaces and help the institution recruit and retain students — including in high-demand areas such as nursing, welding and diesel technology.

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