By Shay Lelonek / News Director
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — As Interim President Larry Dietz prepares for his departure, tuition costs, campus redevelopment, and student housing were topics of conversation during KVSC’s Presidential Update Live on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Dietz announced his early departure in July due to family health concerns. His term will end with the conclusion of the fall 2025 semester.
Tuition Costs
Students could see another tuition increase next fall, according to Dietz.
In June, SCSU was approved for a 6.5% tuition increase, which has been used for operational costs, faculty and staff salaries, program improvement, and maintenance costs, Dietz said.
“This is a really base kind of an increase, but it’s helped. There’s no question that it’s helped,” Dietz said.
Dietz said next year’s tuition increase would mirror the rate of inflation. He added that it’s “just to keep even, that doesn’t include any extra money for technology or anything of that nature.”
He said that he doesn’t know the exact amount of the tuition increase for next fall, but he hopes the decision will be made earlier than June 2026.
Campus Redevelopment
As part of St. Cloud State University’s Comprehensive Facilities Plan, the Performing Arts Center (PAC) was closed down at the end of the Fall 2025 semester, with the plan to eventually tear down the building, along with other old buildings on campus.
“I began talking about demolition of buildings because, A, we don’t need them. B, we’re having to still spend some money on them, and that’s money that could be spent on something else,” Dietz said.
The university made a $25 million placeholder in the budget to cover the cost of teardowns. According to Dietz, that funding didn’t come through last year, but the university made a list of buildings that would be demolished and decided which buildings were a priority.
The PAC is at the top of the list, and Dietz said the university is “crane ready” and just waiting for funding. He hopes that when the next budget is planned, there will be some money to start demolitions
Student Housing
With winter break right around the corner for SCSU students, some are making plans to stay on campus, but there’s a new change to winter housing this semester. According to Dietz, students will now have to pay $100 to stay at the dorms during break.
In the past, winter housing was free to students living in the dorms. St. Cloud State University is the last institution among MnState public universities to charge students staying over break, Dietz said.
The fee will “cover costs and provide a roster of who is staying in the residence halls,” Dietz said.
But the added fee for winter housing isn’t the only housing change. The location of summer housing will be in Lawrence Hall this summer, Dietz said.
Previously, students staying on campus over the summer stayed in Stearns Hall for the cost of $80 a week.
“We’ve done some work in Lawrence Hall, and I think it will accommodate a few more folks the way we have addressed some of that,” Dietz said. Previously, there were 50 rooms available to students in Lawrence Hall, though Dietz didn’t say what the exact number of rooms added was.
Dietz said he “didn’t have a dollar amount” for the cost of summer housing for the upcoming summer semester.
Dietz’s Departure
As Dietz finishes his time here at SCSU, he said, looking back, he wouldn’t do anything differently.
“I’ve tried to be transparent. I’ve tried to be forthright. I’ve tried to listen to people but also to meet the expectations that were set out, not only for me as the interim president, but also for the campus, relative to some financial expectations and others,” he said.
He added that his favorite part of campus was how nice and respectful the people were. “There are a lot of meanings of that ‘Minnesota nice’ word for me, I’ll just take it on face value. People have been very nice. It doesn’t mean that we haven’t had differences of opinion at times, but it’s been respectful.”
After Dietz announced his early departure, the university immediately began the search for the next president. That search is now coming to an end.
On Thursday, Oct. 30, SCSU announced four finalists for the next university president. The finalists include Lisa Foss, Rodney Hanley, Matt Cecil, and Gregory Tomso.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, Chancellor Olson will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees for the appointment of the president, Dietz said.
