MOORHEAD, Minn. – The president of Minnesota State Moorhead, Anne Blackhurst, said that major cutbacks in programs and staff were based on financial modeling before the COVID-19 crisis. The virus didn’t trigger the cuts, she said. Factors that did, she said, were projected state funding, tuition revenue, enrollment, and personnel and operational expenses. It was a university-wide committee that recommended the reductions after months of study, she said. “We are living in an era that requires virtually every industry to reinvent itself,” Blackhurst said. The university, she said, is committed to changing workforce needs. She pointed to online graduate programs for educators. She also mentioned a new nursing degree. Those programs, she said, will add faculty and staff as they grow.
Earlier: Prexy Moorhead cuts stats-driven