Gregory Tomso hasn't taken much time to get settled before diving into his new role as president of St. Cloud State University.
In his first few weeks, Tomso has met with faculty, staff, students, community members and political leaders who all have opinions on the university's challenges and how to tackle them.
"Everyone here has been very direct and quite blunt about what needs to be done and what's going on, and what the past has been like and what we want the future to be,” he said. “I find that very refreshing."
In a Jan. 16 interview, Tomso said he wants the university to be a more vibrant campus that’s more alluring to students and better connected to the larger St. Cloud community and workforce.
Declining enrollment
Longtime residents remember when St. Cloud State was once a considerably larger institution. Since its peak in 2010, enrollment has dropped from more than 18,000 students to just under 10,000 this year.
The decline is partly due to demographic changes every college and university is facing, as the number of college-age students declines. But Tomso said it's also true that fewer high school students want to pursue a college degree — a trend he calls "a little tragic."
“I think that we need to do more work to help high school students understand the value of a four-year college degree,” he said. “And also make sure that that degree is affordable for them, and that degree leads to a good job — that they're not just investing a lot of time and money in a degree that doesn't lead anywhere."
Tomso previously worked at the University of West Florida as vice president of academic engagement and student affairs, where he helped improve student retention rates. He wants to do the same thing in St. Cloud.
In his first week, Tomso prompted staff to call students who were enrolled but hadn't yet registered for spring semester, just days before the deadline.
"We all went to work, and we did actually see that little bump in retention,” he said. “So I know that we can move the needle."
The most common reason students don't return to campus, Tomso said, is financial issues. So staff scraped together scholarship money to help students with overdue accounts that prevented them from registering.
"I call it the hand-over-hand work of really talking to every individual student,” he said. “The truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to student retention, ever. Every student is different.”
Tushar Joshi, a junior at St. Cloud State majoring in mechanical and software engineering, also serves as vice president of student government. He said many students benefitted from that extra help, including one of his friends.
"That is allowing him to stay on campus, allowing him to study, allowing him to continue his degree,” Joshi said.
Budget challenges
One of the first issues Tomso needs to tackle is a budget deficit caused by the enrollment decline and rising costs. That led the university to make painful cuts to dozens of programs and more than 50 faculty positions in 2024.
"Unfortunately, they were necessary, and they were not trivial,” he said. “They did take a chunk out of this campus."
Tomso said the university has made progress reducing its once-$14 million shortfall. He said university administrators may need to make more cuts to close the budget gap, but only as a last resort.
"I don't want to say yet that we're going to have to do layoffs, but I do want to say clearly there might be,” he said. “We need to wait and see what the next three to six months hold."
Within two years, Tomso hopes to have a balanced budget — through private fundraising, recruiting new students and keeping those who are already enrolled.
One big question that could affect the budget and enrollment at St. Cloud State is whether tuition will increase after a 6.5 percent bump last year. SCSU’s student government is pushing for a tuition freeze and increased state funding.
Tomso said trying to keep college affordable is a priority, but the financial reality means small increases are needed to keep up with inflation. He said he hopes to raise community funds to create a student success endowment to help students pay tuition costs.
A ‘regional university’
Tomso also wants to strengthen the university's community connections to make sure it's preparing the future workforce and increase opportunities for mentoring and internships.
"We are a regional university, and our job is to produce graduates who can get good jobs and hopefully stay within our region,” he said.
Bringing change to St. Cloud State will take time, Tomso said. He said the university will develop a strategic plan with measurable goals to show where it’s making progress and where it’s falling behind.
Tomso also backs a plan started by his predecessor, interim President Larry Dietz, to improve St. Cloud State's campus by tearing down aging buildings, creating more green space and views of the Mississippi River. The plan likely would require legislative funding, he said.
“We're not talking about buildings that are beautiful and vibrant and being used for activities and classes and athletics,” he said. “We're talking about buildings that have reached their lifespan and just need to go.”
Tomso said St. Cloud residents he’s talked to want the university to be a stronger community presence — a vibrant campus where people can gather for events and enjoy public spaces and walking trails. And he said they want SCSU to be more involved in helping bring people together and solve neighborhood problems.
"I think that's really the bottom line — that the university has a role in creating community,” Tomso said. “That can mean a lot of different things, but we need to come to the table. We need to be present."
So far, Joshi said he’s impressed with Tomso's efforts to engage with and focus on students. He said he is optimistic that St. Cloud State is on a better path.
"I think the future does look bright for us in terms of student enrollment, in terms of getting students back on campus and just having the community stronger and stronger,” he said.