March 26, 2003

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board Chair Mary Choate appointed to national college board

Choate to represent state on Association of Community College Trustees Board of Directors

Contact: Nancy Conner, (651) 296-0541

Mary Choate, chair of the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, has been appointed to the Association of Community College Trustees Board of Directors.

Choate, of Minnetonka, will represent Minnesota on the association's board and also has been named to the Public Policy Committee. The Association of Community College Trustees is a nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern 1,200 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States, Canada and England. The association offers trustee training and professional development, educational programs, research and publications, board services and public policy advocacy.

Choate has served as chair of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees since July 2001. Appointed to the board in 1998, she also has been chair of the board's Audit Committee.

Choate is a graduate of St. Cloud State University. She and her husband, David Choate, own and operate seven McDonald's restaurants in the Twin Cities area, and she serves as secretary/treasurer for the business. Choate formerly was a stockbroker with Piper Jaffray, E.F. Hutton and Norwest Investment Services.

Choate will be a featured panelist in a presentation about coping with higher education budget reductions at the Association of Governing Board's National Conference on Trusteeship from April 5 to 8 in Seattle. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System faces a possible $204 million reduction in its adjusted base budget for the 2004-2005 biennium under the governor's budget proposal.

Choate also is a scheduled speaker at a joint conference for board chairs, presidents and executive leaders sponsored by the Association of Governing Boards and the Midwestern Higher Education Commission June 18 and 19 in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System comprises seven state universities and 27 community colleges, technical colleges and combined community and technical colleges located on 53 campuses across the state. The system serves approximately 235,000 students annually in credit-based courses and 130,000 in non-credit courses.