U of M budget directors outline $235 million O&M request, riders and campus priorities for the legislature

Julie Tonneson, the University of Minnesota's budget director, and President Rebecca Cunningham briefed the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee on the university's all‑funds budget, the distribution of state appropriations and a biennial operations and maintenance (O&M) request totaling $235,000,000 across the biennium.

Tonneson summarized the university's FY25 all‑funds budget, noting the board approved an estimate of about $4,800,000,000 in total revenues and explaining that the university uses fund accounting to track restricted and unrestricted revenue streams. She described three major buckets: restricted sponsored and donor funds, self‑supporting auxiliaries (housing, dining, athletics) and unrestricted funds, with the state O&M appropriation and tuition forming the largest unrestricted sources.

Tonneson walked committee members through several state appropriations and riders from the 2023 session (Chapter 41). She identified the College of Science and Engineering state special that supports the Minnesota Geological Survey (state special cited as $846,111) and the Talented Youth Mathematics Program (roughly $293,890). She said the system special appropriation…