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Mayville State presses for Old Main renovation, campus security and base budget growth
Summary
Mayville State University updated the Appropriations committee on rising enrollment and retention, a large Old Main renovation request, a campus security project and a request to close faculty/staff pay gaps.
Brian Van Horn, president of Mayville State University, told lawmakers the university recorded an 8.2 percent enrollment increase for fall 2024 and pushed the committee to support a second phase of renovation for Old Main and an expanded base budget.
“About 20 to 25 percent of the students in the parent‑to‑teacher pathway that the legislature funded in the last legislative session have come through Mayville State University,” Van Horn told the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division, citing the university's role in statewide teacher pipelines.
Van Horn and Amber Hill, vice president for business affairs, presented a multi‑part funding request. The largest capital ask is a roughly $35 million second phase for Old Main, a 55,000‑square‑foot historic building the university has begun renovating. Van Horn described the project as addressing approximately 60 percent of the campus deferred maintenance and said the legislature had previously authorized $17 million; the administration seeks the remainder to complete the renovation.
Hill described a separate campus security package priced at $1.3 million for card access, additional IP cameras and pedestrian lighting; she said the campus currently has no dedicated campus security presence, only a roving sheriff's deputy. Hill also presented capital requests for roof restoration (multiple roofs), parking and an electrical distribution upgrade tied to a community utility project; the total capital package the university presented exceeds the small, annual tiered allocations it receives for deferred maintenance, and Hill argued the requested amounts would be difficult to fund only from campus matches and donors.
On operations, Mayville asked the legislature to restore the 3 percent mandatory salary reduction that had been applied to the system, provide ongoing cost‑of‑living and market adjustments, and to consider a request to close a faculty and staff pay gap the university quantified in submitted materials. Hill said Mayville's faculty pay gap versus the North Dakota University System average is about 33 percent and staff about 18 percent; the university requested a $1.75 million base increase intended to reduce that gap.
Van Horn also highlighted Mayville's progress on retention and financial stability. He said the university improved first‑year retention from 67 percent to 77 percent year over year and increased foundation assets substantially, crediting challenge‑grant matches for growth in endowment funds.
Van Horn and Hill noted a system‑wide discussion of challenge grant match rates and tiered capital distribution (Senate Bill 2212 and other proposals were mentioned by committee members during Q&A). No legislative action was taken on Mayville's requests during the hearing.
Ending: Mayville State framed Old Main as a multi‑purpose investment to reduce deferred maintenance, add classroom and student spaces, and deliver operational efficiencies while also seeking base budget increases to address salary competitiveness and rising operating costs.
