Growing Pains and Genuine Effort: MSU’s Expansion Plan

The MSU campus is flourishing like a Ponderosa pine in full sun. From Norm Asbjornson Hall to the Cameron Scholars Program, the university is growing rapidly. What led to this massive growth, and how fast is too fast?

In 2010, the MSU Alumni Foundation began a campaign to raise a massive amount of money for the expansion of the university. This project, titled the “What It Takes Campaign,” sought to undertake the first large-scale fundraising campaign that the campus had ever seen. The original campaign goal was $300 million. When this sum was reached in late 2016, the MSU Alumni Foundation “decided to keep going,” according to Drew Van Fossen, vice president of communications. By December 2018, the campaign had raised over $413 million for the university. These funds came primarily from private donations from individuals and foundations and ranged from $5-50 million.

When I began researching MSU’s expansion project, I was firmly against the development of the campus. It seemed as though MSU was recklessly enlarging its buildings and causing its students unnecessary discomfort. However, I soon changed my tune. After speaking with the people who made the campaign possible, I realized that MSU is making a genuine attempt to better serve its students and the greater Bozeman community.

A frequently heard complaint from students is that the university is spending money on constructing more buildings while ignoring other projects. However, the expansion campaign was fully financed through donations from private individuals and foundations. This means that the MSU growth project has put no additional strain on tuition or fee costs for students. Therefore, students benefit from the expansion project without footing the bill.

In addition, the campaign was carefully planned and managed over nine years of concentrated effort. Throughout my time on campus this semester, I assumed that the expansion program was rushed due to the problems caused by construction. However, the timelines on several large projects, like Romney Hall and the American Indian Hall, coincided with unanticipated work on the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center, which resulted in infrastructural problems. The campaign itself was clearly organized and bookended by a clear case statement and report that outlined exactly how the project operated. A summary is available online at http://www.whatittook.org/.

Each campus unit, including the seven colleges, graduate school, Honors College, athletics department, and library selected priorities within their own areas centered around the program foci “people, places, and programs.” Waded Cruzado organized and approved the priorities for the campaign, and donors came “to the table with funding for important MSU initiatives,” according to Chris Murray, president and CEO of the MSU Alumni Foundation. The donors were free to give to the projects that suited their interests. Over time, funds were raised to complete many of the campaign priorities. Some projects that were begun in the campaign, including the construction of Romney Hall and the Agricultural Teaching Arena Complex, are ongoing and require further funding.

The side effects of this campaign, including frequent construction disturbances and reduced parking, could be better mitigated. MSU News Service Director Michael Becker claimed that MSU’s campus planners have worked on alleviating the effects of the campus expansion and that they “hope that the impacts to classes and students' lives will be minimal.” However, MSU must make an effort to improve the short-term situation for students through carefully managing the impacts of construction. I look forward to seeing how the campus plans to soothe its growing pains.

Despite these complications, the overall impact of the campaign is overwhelmingly positive. Van Fossen remarked on the value of remembering that “expansion is not just buildings and facilities, but also the need for - with our enrollment records - more scholarships and financial need, faculty and staff positions, chairs of departments, and so on.” Van Fossen makes a good point here about the hidden benefits of the expansion program. The most visual part of the expansion program, the construction of new buildings, is also the most frustrating aspect of the project. While we struggle with the short-term impacts of the expansion plan, it’s incredibly important to remember all of the behind-the-scenes positive effects.

The long-term situation will greatly improve student life. More scholarship funds are available - both the Cameron Scholars Program and the Opportunity Scholars were created through the “What it Takes Campaign.” More faculty have been (and will be) hired for the increased number of students, and several new department chair and professorship positions have been created. For instance, the Don and Sue Fisher Professorship in Early Childhood Education and the Winifred Asbjornson Plant Sciences Chair both emerged from the “What It Takes Campaign.” The new freshman residence hall will extend housing space, and the new American Indian Hall will provide new classroom and study spaces for students. In addition, donations will fund faculty research and provide students with more opportunities to work in labs and research groups. MSU has planned well for the massive influx of students who have joined the university in recent years.

In a press release, President Waded Cruzado said, “In this new era of cutbacks in public support of higher education across our country, private philanthropy now spells the difference between an ordinary university and an extraordinary one.” The problems inherent in the system of publicly financing higher education are a topic for another time, but President Cruzado’s words highlight the importance of the “What It Takes Campaign” for this university. Admittedly, the issues caused by the coincidence of multiple construction projects are frustrating. However, the campaign is a genuine effort to improve student life. If we survive the growing pains, we have a bright future ahead.