On Monday morning, Aug. 25, as students start classes
at most Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Robert
O. Erickson will head off to college on his bicycle
to visit each of the system's campuses. Departing at
8:30 a.m. from Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon
Rapids, Erickson will pedal 2,300 miles to raise scholarship
money for part-time students and to make the case for
changing Minnesota's financial aid program to recognize
the needs of part-time students.
"Part-time students will be hardest hit by tuition
increases this fall because they typically don't qualify
for financial aid," Erickson said. "These students don't
carry a full load of classes because they are often
juggling family, work and other obligations. Adjustments
to Minnesota's 20-year-old financial aid program are
long overdue."
Last year, Erickson completed the same tour and raised
$79,000 in scholarships for part-time adult students
at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
As a former board member and chair of the finance
and facilities committee of the Board of Trustees for
the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System,
Erickson understands the complex financial workings
of Minnesota's public higher education systems. He served
as senior vice president for finance and operations
for the University of Minnesota from 1991 to 1995 and
worked as a senior executive for SuperValu for 16 years.
Erickson, 57, currently serves on the board of the Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities Foundation and is again
funding the trip at his own expense.
Pedaling from campus to campus in his neon yellow
gear emblazoned with "Minnesota State Colleges and Universities,"
Erickson will solicit donations for his scholarship
challenge. Contributions may be designated to individual
colleges and universities or to the Minnesota State
Colleges and Universities Foundation, where they will
be applied entirely to student scholarships.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities serve
235,000 students annually in credit-based courses and
45 percent are enrolled part-time. The average age of
part-time students is 30.
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor
James H. McCormick, Anoka-Ramsey Community College President
Patrick Johns and students will be on hand at the Coon
Rapids campus to wish Erickson well Monday morning as
he heads north to the Cambridge campus of Anoka-Ramsey
Community College, then to Pine Technical College in
Pine City.
"Minnesota has everything to gain by helping these
hard-working, enterprising students get an education,"
Erickson said. "This state has long valued higher education,
but the definition and the demographics of our college
students are changing, and we're currently leaving too
many people behind."
