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UND seeks state backing for second‑phase STEM complex, health professions addition and research funds
Summary
University of North Dakota President Andy Armacost outlined institutional budget asks that include a second‑phase STEM complex, an interprofessional health professions addition, expansions to research and economic development funds, and a National Security Crossroads initiative.
University of North Dakota President Andy Armacost and finance officers told the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division that UND needs state support across multiple capital and operating priorities, including STEM facilities, health‑sciences space, research commercialization and national security investments.
Armacost listed several major items the university has asked the legislature to consider: $55.6 million in state support for the second phase of a STEM complex (paired with an expected $24 million in donor funds), a proposed interprofessional addition to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (a $55 million state ask with $40 million local matching funds in sponsor language), and continued investment in the Economic Diversification and Research Fund and a larger Challenge Grant Fund.
"The total expense we estimate is $80,300,000 for University of North Dakota," Armacost told the committee when discussing the collection of salary and inflationary pressures that campuses face and the tension between tuition, formula funding and state appropriations. He warned that, given the scope of projected costs, "I don't see how we go into the biennium without the ability to increase tuition" for the portion of costs the legislature does not cover.
Armacost also described previously funded national security and space investments and a new proposal called National Security Crossroads, which would expand the state's counter‑unmanned aircraft systems and space systems capabilities and broaden federal research attraction across the system. Earlier efforts requested larger sums; the president said he would provide the committee with a detailed breakdown of the Crossroads proposal and its components.
Carla Morjean Stewart, UND vice president for finance and operations, walked through budget scenarios that show tradeoffs between state appropriations and tuition adjustments under several options. She told the committee the university has modeled a range of salary, insurance and retirement cost increases and the resulting tuition implications, and she said UND's estimated total operating exposure across the listed expense items is substantial.
Other items discussed included a $500,000 request for a North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine to support aviation medical exams and FAA‑related services; the Nursing Education Consortium's request for additional simulation funding; and an increased ask for high‑performance computing and Internet2 network capacity that UND and North Dakota State University expect to use for research, medicine and engineering work.
Why it matters: UND's requests include large, multi‑year capital investments and system‑level research funds that state leaders say have a direct economic development rationale. The president asked for detailed breakdowns of several complex proposals and underscored that tuition, appropriations and formula mechanics will interact as lawmakers set the biennial budget.
The committee asked for a detailed breakdown of the National Security Crossroads request and indicated it will review the governor's budget and system proposals as the session progresses.
