NDSU President David Cook recently testified before the North Dakota House Appropriations – Education and Environment Division during the 69th Legislative Session.
NDSU President David Cook testified before the North Dakota House Appropriations – Education and Environment Division during the 69th Legislative Session, outlining key budget priorities aimed at responding to workforce demands, providing flexibilities to students and improving student success.
During his testimony, Cook emphasized the New Horizon: NDSU 2035 initiative, which seeks to position the university as a leader in meeting the state’s workforce needs. The university is requesting $35 million for the next biennium, including:
- $5 million to enhance workforce impact through industry connections and student affordability.
- $15 million to advance North Dakota’s competitive edge in engineering, agriculture, energy, and manufacturing.
- $15 million to expand and modernize programs in nursing, pharmacy, and health sciences to meet workforce demands.
This proposal builds on NDSU’s strengths as the state’s largest nursing program and only pharmacy school. This continues innovation to support our engineering program that has produced 64% of the state’s engineers and of course expands our leadership precision agriculture.
Cook also expressed strong support for broader higher education funding priorities, including a $50 million Challenge Grant that matches state dollars with private donations for scholarships and faculty initiatives. Other key priorities include $25 million for economic diversification research funding and $4 million for high-performance computing at NDSU and UND.
Cook highlighted NDSU’s role in economic growth and research, noting that the university ranks among the top 100 public research institutions in the nation and has a 95 percent job placement rate for graduates. He pointed to new degree programs, industry collaborations and research initiatives that align with state needs, particularly in the engineering, agriculture and healthcare fields.
Alan Kallmeyer, NDSU interim dean of the College of Engineering, and Teresa Connor, NDSU dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, provided testimony about new high-demand degree programs and outreach capabilities at NDSU. NDSU pharmacy student Alyssa Hodges also presented about her experiences at NDSU that have set her up for success.
Cook’s testimony also covered capital project requests that need authorization but no investment from the legislature, including a wrestling practice facility ($13 million), University Village Phase II ($54 million), Memorial Union renovation ($50 million) and a biosafety lab ($8 million).
As part of ongoing efforts to support students, faculty and industry partners, NDSU leaders emphasized their commitment to continuous improvement, curriculum innovation and industry-aligned learning experiences.
Keep updated throughout the session here. Watch NDSU’s testimony online.
